Ермакова Александрв Николаевна : другие произведения.

Imprinted

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  Imprinted
  
  Chapter 1-First Sight
  
  It was lunch at our small school. It would have been any normal day, except we had a new student join or small student body. Her name was Bella. She was pretty, long brown hair; she was slim, maybe around the same height as me.
  
  Mike was babbling to her about our school. Good, maybe she would take some of his attention off of me. I did feel a bit bad for her; I mean I knew how annoying Mike could be. She seemed to already know how annoying he was.
  
  I smiled; she was looking at the Cullens' table.
  
  "Who are they?" she gasped.
  
  "The Cullens." Angela said, smiling.
  
  "The big burly guy with the dark hair is Emmett. The gorgeous blonde girl beside him is Rosalie; they're sort-of together. The tiny dark haired girl is Alice. Beside her with the blonde hair is Jasper, they're together, too." I explained.
  
  "Oh." She said. "Who's the one with bronze hair? The boyish one."
  
  "That's Edward." Jessica said, blushing.
  
  "Is he...with anybody?" Bella asked.
  
  "Not that I know of." I said.
  
  "But, don't waste your time." Jessica said. "He doesn't date. Or, he's never shown any interest in any girls here."
  
  I could here the acid, and annoyance in Jessica's voice.
  
  "Who knows, you might be an exception, Bella." I giggled. "He's looking at you."
  
  She glanced over at the Cullens' table, and dropped her gaze immediately.
  
  "Mel, don't give her hope." Jessica said loudly.
  
  "Hey, just because none of us has caught his attention, it doesn't mean Bella won't." I said. "Why do you always have to do that? Crush everyone else's hopes."
  
  Jessica glared at me, but I didn't care. She was being nasty, and it pissed me off.
  
  The bell rang, and I went off to gym. Joy.
  
  Once I got to the change room, I realized I had forgotten my gym clothes.
  
  "Does anyone have an extra set of clothes?" I asked the room.
  
  All the girls shook their heads.
  
  Great.
  
  I left the change room, to face Coach Clapp. I knew he would give me crap for this.
  
  "Coach?" I asked coming up behind him.
  
  "Yea?" he asked, turning. He smiled when he saw me. "What can I do for you today?"
  
  "I forgot my gym clothes." I said.
  
  "You'll just have to sit out then." He said, gruffly.
  
  "Will do." I muttered. I sat on the bench, and watched everyone play volleyball. When Eric got hit in the head, I almost fell off the bench laughing at him.
  
  When the bell rang, I headed to English. This was the class I sat with Jasper in. He never really said anything, but when he did, he made just about every girl swoon, even the teacher. His velvety, slightly southern drawl, made girls want him even more.
  
  I sighed as I sat down next to him. He was intoxicating. His golden curls, mysterious look. Alice was very lucky.
  
  Jasper was smiling to himself over something. Who knew what it was? Who knew what was going through his mind?
  
  I sighed, thinking about having to work after this. I put my head down on my desk, annoyed that I had to drive down to La Push just to get a paycheck.
  
  But, maybe if I was lucky I'd see that cute Quileute boy. Paul, I think his name was.
  
  I sort-of hoped he would ask me out. I mean, every time he saw me, he'd look at me like I was the most important thing, and we hadn't said three words to each other!
  
  Whatever. All the Quileute boys were pretty damn hot.
  
  I sighed again, itching for the clock to go faster, now anticipating my trip down to La Push.
  
  Suddenly, I felt calm. A wave of relaxation came over me. I glanced around; no one in the room noticed anything different.
  
  "Did you feel that?" I whispered to Jasper.
  
  "What?" he asked, hint of amusement in his voice.
  
  "Never mind." I muttered.
  
  When the bell finally rang, I jumped out of my seat and went out to the parking lot. I was glad to be the first one out of the parking lot for once.
  
  I sighed as I made my way down the highway, going down the familiar route to the little grocery store where I worked as a cashier. I blasted my radio to keep myself from going crazy.
  
  Okay, I'll admit it. I really wanted to see Paul again. He was irresistible. Something about him made me want him.
  
  I felt a bit obsessive, but it was okay. I might be borderline crazy, but I was definitely fine with that if I got to see Paul.
  
  I pulled into a parking spot reserved for employees, and pulled on my apron over my school clothes. I stuck my name tag in, and went into the store.
  
  "Hey, Johnny." I called to my boss, who was in the back room.
  
  "Hey Mel. I need you to stay late today." I groaned inwardly.
  
  "Why?" I whined.
  
  "Liz couldn't come in." he sighed. "I'll pay you extra; you know I always do when you have to stay late."
  
  "Fine." I sighed. "What time am I leaving?"
  
  "Eleven?"
  
  "You're lucky I don't have homework." I grumbled.
  
  I went behind my cash register, and flicked on the light, signaling I was open.
  
  Customers can be some of the most annoying people on the planet. They're either rude, or don't have enough money to pay for something, and have to sort through every item to find out what they can and can't pay for.
  
  I sighed when I didn't see Paul anywhere, and it was seven o'clock. I groaned, hoping he'd show up. Having to stay late was no fun without seeing the highlight of my day.
  
  Soon it was eight o'clock. Then nine. As ten-forty-five came around, I was upset. It was ten-thirty at night; I knew he wouldn't be coming around.
  
  I was checking to make sure I had enough bags, when I heard a voice at the register.
  
  "Excuse me?" asked a familiar, slightly husky voice.
  
  I almost hit my head standing up straight again.
  
  "Hi." I smiled, now my day was complete. Paul was here.
  
  He grinned at me. "You're working late today."
  
  "Yea, another cashier couldn't come in." I said. "Are you buying anything?"
  
  "No, I was just looking around." He said, smiling coyly.
  
  I smiled back at him.
  
  "So, could I buy you a coffee or something when you get off?" he asked.
  
  "I'd love that." I said, smiling shyly.
  
  He grinned at me.
  
  I glanced at my watch. "Listen, I get off in five minutes. My car is parked out back. It's the blue Matrix. I'll meet you out there, okay?"
  
  "Alright." He smiled.
  
  I clocked out, but before I left, I at least had to thank Johnny.
  
  "Thanks Johnny." I grinned.
  
  "For what?" he asked, surprised.
  
  "For making me stay late. I'll get some extra cash, and maybe even a boyfriend." I smiled.
  
  "Then you're welcome." He said. "I would give you tomorrow off, but I can't. I'll give you Sunday."
  
  "That would be great. Thanks again, Johnny." I went out the back door to see Paul leaning against my car.
  
  "Hey." He grinned at me.
  
  "Hey." I smiled, thanking myself that I took the time to do my make-up today.
  
  "You ready?" he asked.
  
  "Yea, know any good coffee shops down here?" I asked, unlocking the car doors, and sliding in the driver's seat.
  
  "Yea, there's one off the main road." He said, getting into the passenger seat. "It's a family restaurant."
  
  "Will it be open?" I asked.
  
  "They're always open." He said, trying not to laugh, as I started the car.
  
  "Okay. Give me directions." I said.
  
  "You can't miss it. When you leave this parking lot, turn left. Keep driving till we hit it."
  
  I followed his instructions, and he was right. Impossible to miss and they were open. I sighed, annoyed at the fact that he had been right.
  
  I turned in the parking lot, and found a space close to the door.
  
  When we went inside, Paul led me to a cozy table in the corner, and went up to the counter to order our coffees.
  
  He came back a few minutes later, with two cups of steaming coffee. He slid next to me, and put a cup in front of me.
  
  "Thank you." I said. Suddenly, I got a chill. I shivered.
  
  "Cold?" Paul asked, putting his arm around my shoulders.
  
  "Not anymore." I smiled.
  
  The rest of the night was wonderful. We talked for a good hour, until my phone vibrated in my pocket.
  
  It was my mom. Great.
  
  "Hello?" I asked, detaching myself from Paul's arm.
  
  "Melanie. Where are you?" she asked, royally pissed off.
  
  "Johnny made me work late tonight..." I said.
  
  "And you didn't call?" she asked. "And, I know the store closes at eleven. Where have you been the past hour?"
  
  "A friend asked me to have coffee with him." I explained. "Mom. Chill. It's not like I'm walking the streets alone, I'm with someone in a coffee shop. I'll be home soon, okay? And I don't have school tomorrow anyway, so just calm down, okay?"
  
  "Be home soon. No later than two. Got it?"
  
  "Yea, whatever you say." I said, hanging up.
  
  "Sorry about that." I murmured to Paul.
  
  "Do you have to leave?" he asked, putting his arm around me again, clearly showing he didn't want me to leave.
  
  I was totally fine with that.
  
  "Not yet. I don't have to be home till two."
  
  "Good." He whispered into my hair. "I wasn't ready to let you go yet."
  
  I felt my face heat up. I leaned into him, just resting my head on his shoulder.
  
  "When can we see each other again?" he asked.
  
  "I don't know." I said honestly. "But I'll give you my number." I wrote it on a napkin. "I should probably go, my mom sounded pretty pissed at me."
  
  Paul's face dropped.
  
  "Call me tonight." I said.
  
  "Will you pick up?"
  
  "Yes." I promised.
  
  He perked up. "Okay. I'll call you later then."
  
  "Do you need a ride?" I asked.
  
  "Nah, I can walk." He said.
  
  "It's cold, and raining." I pointed out.
  
  "I don't live very far from here, its fine." He said with a grin.
  
  "Are you sure?" I asked, leaving the restaurant with him.
  
  "Yes, I'm sure." He said, walking me to my car.
  
  I leaned against the driver door, looking into his dark eyes. "I had a really nice time tonight, Paul."
  
  "Me too." He said, leaning into me, he bent his head, and brushed his lips against mine.
  
  "Goodnight Mel." He whispered.
  
  "Goodnight Paul." I said, getting in my car.
  
  Wow.
  
  I watched Paul walk onto the sidewalk, but after that he disappeared in the darkness.
  
  I started my car, and started driving home. My brain was still clouded from tonight's events. It was hard to concentrate on driving when thinking about Paul, but I managed to get home.
  
  When I got there, my cloud of bliss was ruined.
  Chapter 2-The Beach
  
  "Where were you?" my mom demanded the second I walked in the door.
  
  "I was with a friend." I said, pouring myself a glass of juice.
  
  "Which friend?"
  
  "Paul." I said simply.
  
  "You've never said his name before." She accused.
  
  "He lives in La Push." I said, gritting my teeth.
  
  "So, you were out with a boy you've just met all night?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.
  
  "Look, how could I not meet someone working at a grocery store?" I asked, seething. "I'm sorry I didn't call, I just got caught up. I'm sorry."
  
  "Fine." She said, going up to her room.
  
  I sighed. If I wasn't having boy problems, I was having mom problems.
  
  I finished my juice, and went upstairs, where I plopped down on my bed.
  
  Not only had I got to see Paul, I had got to go on a date with him. And, a totally unexpected bonus, he had kissed me.
  
  I smiled up at my ceiling as my phone vibrated.
  
  "Hello?" I answered.
  
  "Hey." Said a very familiar, deep, husky voice.
  
  I smiled into the phone. "So you got home okay?"
  
  "Oh no, there are so many thugs down here in La Push, I almost didn't make it." He said sarcastically.
  
  "Very funny." I said, rolling my eyes.
  
  "You know it." He said, laughing.
  
  I smiled into the phone again.
  
  We were quiet for a bit, till he broke the silence.
  
  "Was your mom mad at you?" he asked.
  
  "Yeah." I said indifferently. "But it's okay."
  
  "Are you sure?" he asked.
  
  "Yea, she's not going to stop me from going out on a Friday night." I said.
  
  "Speaking of going out," he began. "I really had a good time tonight; maybe we could do it again sometime, on your turf."
  
  I laughed out loud. "I'd love that. When are you free next?"
  
  "Anytime." I could hear the smile in his voice.
  
  "Well, I have to work tomorrow, but I could meet you before work. I start at five. And I have Sunday off."
  
  "Can I have you both days?" he asked.
  
  I smiled. "Of course."
  
  "Where do you want to meet tomorrow?" he asked.
  
  "There's a diner near my house. How about we meet there at noon?" I asked.
  
  "Sure, just tell me how to get there."
  
  I gave him directions.
  
  "I'll see you tomorrow, then." He said.
  
  "Goodnight Paul." I said.
  
  "Goodnight Mel." He said.
  
  I hung up, and lay back on my bed.
  
  I smiled at my ceiling, too happy for words. I slipped into my pajamas, turned off the light, and fell into bed, falling right asleep.
  
  I woke up at eleven thirty.
  
  I panicked.
  
  I ran a brush quickly through my black hair, pulled on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweater. No time for a shower.
  
  I put a bit of make-up on, and made it out the door with only five minutes to spare. I jumped in my car, and sped to the diner.
  
  Paul was already in a booth.
  
  I sat next to him, flustered.
  
  "Sorry." I said, breathless.
  
  "It's okay, you weren't very late." He smiled at me.
  
  I felt my face heat up, so I hid behind my menu.
  
  "What are you having?" I asked, looking over my menu at him.
  
  "I don't know." He said. "Maybe a burger. You?"
  
  "Maybe pasta." I said. "This gnocchi looks good."
  
  He laughed.
  
  "What's funny?" I asked.
  
  "Oh, nothing." He said, trying to bite back his laughter.
  
  I rolled my eyes. When the waitress came over, Paul ordered his burger, and I ordered my gnocchi.
  
  "Have you gotten bigger?" I asked, eyeing his arm. It looked like he had grown muscles overnight!
  
  "Yea, maybe working out in gym is paying off." He said with a wink.
  
  I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, though. Your arm wasn't that big last night."
  
  "That's weird." He said, seriously.
  
  I looked at him, and there was a hint of fear in his eyes.
  
  "Are you okay?" I asked.
  
  "Yeah, I'm fine." He smiled, but I could still see the flash of fear in his dark eyes.
  
  The waitress came over with our food, then. "If there's anything else you need, just call me." she said, with a waitress-y smile.
  
  "Thank you." I said politely.
  
  Paul made a face at my pasta.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "How can you eat that?" he asked, taking a monster-sized bite out of his burger.
  
  I laughed. "How can you eat that big of a bite, and still be able to talk?"
  
  "It's a talent." He said, barking out a laugh.
  
  I popped a gnocchi into my mouth.
  
  "Did you sleep well?" he asked.
  
  "Yeah." I laughed. "Did you?"
  
  "Yeah, I guess." He said, taking another bite out of his burger.
  
  I popped another gnocchi in my mouth.
  
  We ate in silence for a bit, but I could feel his eyes on me. I could also feel my face heat up.
  
  I checked my watch, relieved that it was only one o'clock.
  
  "Have you ever been down to First Beach?" Paul asked me.
  
  "No. I've always wanted to go, though." I said honestly.
  
  "Why don't we?" he offered. "You'd be down in La Push before you started work, so you wouldn't have to drive as far."
  
  "I'd love that." I said.
  
  "I'll drive." He said.
  
  "Okay, but I'll have to drive my car to my house first." I said. "You could follow me there."
  
  "Sure." He said.
  
  I pulled my wallet out to pay for our meals, but he pushed it away.
  
  He left the money on the table, and we left the diner. I got into my car, and started it. I made sure Paul was following me before turning out of the parking lot.
  
  I drove the familiar way to my house, constantly checking my rearview mirror to make sure Paul's black Celica was following me.
  
  I pulled into my driveway, and got out. Paul was parked out on the road; I was almost to his car, when my dad's voice called me from the backyard.
  
  "Mel, why don't you park your car in the garage?" he asked, then saw the black car at the end of our driveway. "And who is this?"
  
  "My friend." I muttered.
  
  "He looks like a guy." My dad noted.
  
  "Please, don't embarrass me." I begged.
  
  "Me? Embarrass you?" he teased. "So, am I going to be allowed to meet this mystery boy?"
  
  "Nope." I said.
  
  "Come on." He said. "Where's he from?"
  
  "La Push." I said.
  
  "Oh, a Quileute boy?" he said. "I might work with his dad."
  
  "I highly doubt that someone from the reservation works in Forks." I said.
  
  "You work down there." He reminded me.
  
  Crap. "Please dad? Could you please wait to meet him at least?" I begged. "He's taking me down to First Beach."
  
  "Fine." He said. "You better not be late for work, though."
  
  "I won't." I promised.
  
  "See you later." He said.
  
  "Bye dad." I called, over my shoulder, getting in Paul's car.
  
  "Drive. Please." I said.
  
  Paul laughed and started his car. "Your dad?"
  
  "Yeah." I said, sighing in relief as Paul turned off my street. "He wanted to meet you."
  
  Paul laughed again. "You should've let him."
  
  I glared at him.
  
  He rolled his eyes, laughing again.
  
  "We're almost there." He said.
  
  "Good." I said with a smile.
  
  "Excited?" he asked, barking out a laugh.
  
  "No, my legs are cramping, you have absolutely no room in here!" I teased. "How do you fit?"
  
  "Years of practice." He said, smiling again.
  
  Man, his smile made me melt.
  
  He pulled into a small parking lot, and I looked out at the ocean. It was gorgeous; a deep blue, which would come from a stormy day, but it wasn't ugly at all.
  
  "This is first beach?" I gasped.
  
  "Yeah." He said, laughing at me. "Why are you so shocked?"
  
  "Because, people at my school always say how California beaches are so much prettier." Jee, thanks Mike. "I've seen pictures of California, I like this better."
  
  "Alright, then." He said, getting out of his car, I followed suit. "I'm glad you like it."
  
  He walked me to the beach, and pulled me down with him as he sat down. We both stared out at the water for a bit. I was just drinking in how gorgeous it was.
  
  I shivered. The beach may be beautiful, but it was cold.
  
  "Cold?" Paul asked, seeming to read my mind.
  
  "Very." I replied. He put his arm around me shoulders.
  
  "Better?" he asked, smile in his voice.
  
  "Very much so." I said with a smile.
  
  I looked up at him; he looked like he wanted to say something more.
  
  "What is it?" I asked.
  
  He smiled down at me. "Nothing important."
  
  We sat looking into the water for a bit. Well, I was looking into the water, Paul seemed to be either looking at me, or looking around him.
  
  Finally, I had to ask. "What's wrong?"
  
  "Nothing." He said, glancing behind him again.
  
  "You're jumpy." I accused.
  
  "Its not-" he started, then decided against it, knowing I would fight him if he denied. "Can I tell you something?"
  
  He sounded really serious. "Yes." I said, shifting uncomfortably.
  
  "Do you know Sam Uley?" he asked.
  
  I thought about it. "Yes, I think so. I think he comes into the store sometimes."
  
  "Well, he has this 'gang,' right now it's just him and this old friend of mine, Jared. But, he keeps...looking at me." Paul explained.
  
  "Looking at you?" I asked. "How?"
  
  "It's weird, it's like he's thinking 'you're next' every time he sees me." Paul sounded scared.
  
  "It's okay." I tried to soothe. "I'm sure it's nothing."
  
  "Thanks Mel." He said, but he didn't sound convinced.
  
  To tell the truth, neither did I, but I didn't want to upset Paul by asking him anything else.
  
  I checked my watch, and sighed.
  
  "What is it?" Paul asked.
  
  "I have to get to work." I said.
  
  "I'll drive you." He said, pulling me up to my feet. We walked to his car, but before he unlocked it, he did something that surprised me.
  
  He pulled me closer to his chest, and bent his head to my level. He brushed his lips against mine, but this time, the kiss lasted longer.
  
  When we broke apart, he unlocked the car doors.
  
  I got him, feeling the teeniest bit light-headed.
  
  He drove me to the grocery store, where I had to leave him for another day.
  Chapter 3-Fever
  
  Work dragged.
  
  Customer after customer came to me with their problems. The saying: "Customer is always right," isn't very accurate.
  
  "Excuse me?" asked a feminine voice from behind me when I was going back to my register after my break.
  
  "Yes?" I asked, turning to face her.
  
  "Do you know where the dog treats are?" she said, obviously trying to hide a smile.
  
  "Aisle seven." I replied.
  
  "Thank you." She said.
  
  "You're welcome." I went back to my register, and turned the little light on, signaling I was available.
  
  After that, work dragged even more.
  
  Finally, after pleading with Johnny, he let me leave earlier than scheduled. When I walked out of work, I went to go to my car, but remembered Paul had driven me here. He was no where in sight. I thought about calling him, but it wasn't raining (for once), and it wasn't very cold.
  
  So, I decided to walk.
  
  After ten minutes, I realized I should've called Paul. It was cold. I was shivering. I glanced around me, and wondered if I was lost. I kept walking the way I thought I should be going, when my phone vibrated.
  
  "Hello?" I said, through chattering teeth.
  
  "Mel? Where are you?" asked Paul. "Are you okay?"
  
  "I'm fine, I got off work early, and decided to walk home." I said.
  
  "Where are you? I'll come pick you up."
  
  "I'm not sure." I said, looking around.
  
  "How long have you been walking?" he asked.
  
  "Ten minutes." I said.
  
  "I'll drive around looking for you, okay? Stay where you are."
  
  "Okay."
  
  "Bye Mel."
  
  "Bye Paul." I said, hanging up.
  
  I sat down on the side of the sidewalk. I was cold, and I was shivering. I knew I should've just called Paul right when I finished work. I felt raindrops on my head.
  
  Great.
  
  "Hi." Said a voice from behind me.
  
  I turned. And saw a Quileute boy, no, not boy, a Quileute man behind me.
  
  "Hi." I said.
  
  "You look like you could use some help." He said with a smile.
  
  "Actually I'm waiting for someone to come rescue me." I laughed.
  
  "I'm Sam Uley."
  
  I froze. How had I not recognized him? Then, I remembered how scared of him Paul had looked at the beach today.
  
  "Let me give you a ride at least?" he offered.
  
  "I really should wait for my friend." I objected. "And, I don't you to have to go through any trouble."
  
  "No, it's fine. And I'm sure you can just call your friend." He said. "Really, it's no trouble at all. You're getting soaked, and it's cold."
  
  I saw headlights on the road, and I prayed it was Paul. When he pulled up in front of me, I sighed in relief. He got out of the car right away when he saw me.
  
  "Sam." He greeted curtly.
  
  "Paul." Sam said in the same tone.
  
  I glanced between them, scared they were going to start fighting or something, with that glares they were giving each other.
  
  I shivered, and got into Paul's car, and turned the heat up.
  
  When he got in the car, he looked angry.
  
  "Are you okay?" I asked.
  
  "Yea, I'm fine. Are you okay?"
  
  "I'm fine, just cold." I said.
  
  "Sam's not a good character." He said.
  
  "I know." I said, looking at Paul. "Hey, you don't look so good, are you okay?"
  
  "I'm fine, I'm just feeling a bit off." He said.
  
  I touched his hand. "You're burning up! Like, really hot, I think you should go to the hospital."
  
  "No, I'm fine, it's just a fever."
  
  "No, it's worse than a fever." I argued. "I've never felt someone this hot."
  
  "I'll just get you home, and then I'll go to sleep. I promise." He said.
  
  "Are you sure? I could drive you." I offered.
  
  "No, I'm sure. I'll be okay." He said.
  
  I wanted to believe him.
  
  "Call me when you get home, okay?" I said, as he pulled into my driveway.
  
  "I'll try. But if I don't call, don't worry, I'm probably just going to go straight to bed." He said, smiling weakly.
  
  "Okay, go to bed." I said. "Call me tomorrow?"
  
  "I'll try." He promised.
  
  I kissed his cheek, and got out of his car. He drove off when he saw I was in my house.
  
  When my dad saw me, he looked like he was going to comment on my soaked hair, and drenched clothes, but he decided against it. I snuck up to my room, so my mom wouldn't see me like this.
  
  I felt a bit nauseous. Wasn't there some flu going around? I thought I had heard some old ladies talking about it in the store today.
  
  Maybe that was what was wrong with Paul.
  
  No, he had been burning hot; surely he would've felt his body temperature that hot. He had been sweating, too.
  
  I didn't feel hot, I was actually shivering, and I felt like I was about to puke my guts out. Lovely.
  
  I pulled pajamas on, and lay back in bed. I curled up under my blanket, and tried to calm the waves of nausea rolling through me.
  
  I fell asleep, but when I woke up, I almost didn't make it to the bathroom so I could throw up.
  
  I'll spare you the gory details I had to go through. I lay my head on the cool tile floor.
  
  And to think, I had had such a nice day.
  
  "Mel? Are you okay?" my mom asked me, seeing me on the floor.
  
  "I feel sick." I groaned.
  
  "Do you want some Pepto?" she asked.
  
  "No, I just want to sleep." I groaned.
  
  "Let me help you to your bed." She helped me up, and helped me into bed. She grabbed a bucket from under the bathroom sink.
  
  "Here," she said, putting it next to my bed. "Just so you don't have to run out of your room all night."
  
  "Thanks mom." I whispered.
  
  "Try to get some sleep, okay?"
  
  "Okay." I said, rolling over.
  
  All through the night, I tossed and turned, and...well let's just say the bucket came in handy.
  
  When it was morning, I still felt really nauseous, and stayed in bed. My mom came in to check on me once or twice through the day.
  
  Then I remembered I had told Paul to call me. I checked my phone, but he hadn't called. I didn't blame him, if he felt as bad as I did, I completely understood.
  
  I fell asleep again, and when I woke up it must have been at least midnight.
  
  My stomach growled at me.
  
  I was feeling better, and I was starving.
  
  I crept down to the kitchen, where I found some crackers to munch on, and I poured myself a glass of water.
  
  I snuck back up to my room, and took a cautious bite out of a cracker. Nothing came back up, so I figured I was in the clear. I ate the rest of my crackers, and drank the water in one big gulp. Then, I rolled over and fell asleep.
  
  The next morning when I woke up, I didn't want to go to school. I considered asking my mom if I could stay home, telling her I was still sick.
  
  When she came into my room, I put my best sick face on.
  
  "Still not feeling good?" she asked.
  
  I shook my head.
  
  "Your dad and I both have to work today, will you be okay to stay here alone?" she asked.
  
  "I'll be fine." I said quietly.
  
  "Okay, go back to sleep."
  
  I closed my eyes, and waited till I heard both cars leave, before I got out of bed. I padded around my house, looking for something to do.
  
  There was absolutely nothing.
  
  I thought about calling Paul, but I figured if he was sick, he wouldn't want to be bothered. I sighed, and plopped on the couch, channel surfing.
  
  I found some reruns of Lost playing, and decided I could live with seeing Sawyer with his shirt off for a few hours.
  
  When my dad came into the house, I smelled food on him.
  
  "Hey Mel, how you feeling?" he asked.
  
  "Do you have food?" I asked, stomach growling.
  
  "That sounds like you're better." He commented, laughing.
  
  "Yea, I'm better." I said. "Food?"
  
  "Here." He said, handing me a bag.
  
  I opened it, and inside was chicken soup.
  
  I spooned it into my mouth, not caring when it burned my tongue.
  
  "Your mom is working late tonight." My dad called to me from the kitchen.
  
  "Okay." I said, spooning more soup into my mouth.
  
  "What do you want to do for dinner?" he asked.
  
  "I don't know." I said. "Whatever you want."
  
  "How about some pasta?" he asked.
  
  "Sure." I said, not paying attention.
  
  I glanced at my phone for the millionth time. I also considered calling Paul for the millionth time.
  
  No. I would just look like a needy girl.
  
  But, what if something's actually wrong with him, and he needs someone's help? A voice whispered in my head.
  
  Then he'll call someone, surely he knows how to dial 9-1-1.
  
  I sighed, what if something was wrong with him?
  
  I had to call him.
  
  I dialed, and it went straight to voice mail.
  
  "Hey Paul, its Mel. I just wanted to make sure you were feeling okay, I had some sort of stomach flu, or something, but I'm better now. Call me when you can."
  
  I finished my soup, and tried to concentrate on the island drama in Lost.
  
  An hour lady I could smell pasta and sauce cooking. I wandered into the kitchen, where my dad was pouring sauce onto pasta in two plates.
  
  "I was going to bring it in to you." He said, laughing.
  
  I smiled, sitting at the table. "It's okay."
  
  We ate in silence for a few minutes.
  
  "How's Paul?" he asked, hiding a smile.
  
  "Good..." I said. "Why?"
  
  "Oh, no reason." He said.
  
  I glared at him, and he laughed at me.
  
  When we finished, I put my dad and my plates in the dishwasher.
  
  "I'm going to go upstairs, and study or something." I said. "Thanks for dinner."
  
  "No problem." He said, smiling.
  
  I went up to my room, and stared at my phone.
  
  Why was I psyching myself out with this? I should just leave him alone, and let him get better.
  
  Unless he was avoiding me. Then I'd be pissed. Why would he have any reason to avoid me? I would march down to wherever he lived, and demand to know what his problem was.
  
  I groaned I was torturing myself.
  
  I hopped in the shower, and let the hot water cascade over me, loosening my stiff muscles.
  
  When I got out, I checked my phone, and my heart lifted when I saw that I had received a text from Paul.
  
  Hey, still not feeling good, I think I might have mono or something. I'll try to talk to you soon.
  
  Mono? Don't you get mono from kissing people? Maybe I had had mono? No, I think it lasts longer than one day.
  
  I tried not to wonder who else he would've been kissing.
  
  I tried, but didn't succeed.
  Chapter 4-Answers
  
  By the end of the week, Paul still hadn't contacted me. It was really starting to get to me, but I figured I would've known it was serious.
  
  Or, he was avoiding me.
  
  I hated to let that thought come into my head, but it did.
  
  I sighed, I had been texting him, and calling him all week, always getting no reply, or his voicemail.
  
  "Mel?" asked Mike's voice, snapping me out of my mind blabbing.
  
  "Yea?" I asked.
  
  "Do you want to go to First Beach next Saturday?"
  
  "Sure. Why not?" I said.
  
  "We're meeting at my parents' sporting goods store at eight o'clock, okay?"
  
  "Yea, that's fine." I mumbled.
  
  I sighed again. If I didn't hear from Paul by tomorrow, I would march down to La Push, and demand to know what his problem was.
  
  I mean, if he wanted to break up with me, shouldn't I know about it? Shouldn't I get a chance to at least get an explanation as to why he broke up with me?
  
  The bell rang, and I went to the gym. Coach Clapp was away, so I got away with sitting on the bleachers with a few other girls.
  
  English was horrible. It went by as slow as it possibly could. Even Jasper, who was always calm, and patient, seemed to be a bit antsy.
  
  I let my thoughts wander back to Paul. How would I be able to wait for tomorrow? I had no idea, but I had to. I didn't want to seem pushy, but I couldn't not know what was up with him.
  
  I sighed, thinking for the millionth time that he had found another guy, and was avoiding me.
  
  No. I pushed the thought out of my head.
  
  He would've called at least to break it off with me.
  
  Would he?
  
  "Melanie?" called the teacher from the front of the room.
  
  "Yes?" I stammered.
  
  "Do you know the answer?"
  
  I made myself look like I was thinking.
  
  "Macbeth." Jasper whispered from beside me.
  
  "Macbeth?" I answered.
  
  "Correct." The teacher said, pursing her lips.
  
  "Thanks." I muttered.
  
  "No problem." He murmured back.
  
  When the bell rang, I jumped out of my seat, eager to get out of school.
  
  I practically ran out to the parking lot, wanting to beat everyone out, so I wouldn't be stuck in the long line-up there always was.
  
  I was thankful that Johnny let me have tonight off, but I found myself turning down the road that led down to La Push.
  
  It wasn't on purpose, promise...
  
  When I got to La Push, I realized I had no idea where Paul lived. I decided I would just drive around a bit, until I saw him...
  
  After about twenty minutes, it started pouring, and I was about to give up, when I saw a familiar body walking down the street.
  
  I pulled over, and got out of my car.
  
  "Hey!" I yelled over the rain, slamming my car door.
  
  Paul turned around to face me.
  
  "I thought you were sick!" I said. "You could've at least answered my calls, to let me know you were alive."
  
  "Melanie, you should leave." He said, without emotion.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "Go away." He told me.
  
  "What the hell happened to you?" I asked.
  
  He didn't say anything.
  
  "You could've at least called me, to tell me it was over." I yelled over the rain.
  
  "Maybe I don't want it to be over." He said, angrily, showing the first bit of emotion.
  
  "What are you talking about?" I demanded.
  
  "I can't be with you anymore. But I want to be. Can't you see that?" he asked.
  
  "No, I can't." I said, sadly. "Because right now, you're just pushing me out of your life."
  
  He cupped my face in his hand, and I saw the old Paul, my Paul. He looked vulnerable, and sad.
  
  "I want to be with you, but there are rules I-" he was cut off.
  
  "Paul!" barked a voice from behind him.
  
  I looked around Paul's massive bicep to see Sam and another Quileute man standing beside each other.
  
  "Did Sam get to you?" I asked. Paul looked away. "What did he do?"
  
  "He's trying to help me." Paul tried to reason.
  
  "No, he's obviously not." I said, pushing past Paul. I walked straight up to Sam, and stared him in they eye.
  
  "What did you do to him?" I demanded.
  
  "What are you talking about?" he asked.
  
  "He's been avoiding me all week, saying he was sick. And now you are here, ordering him around?" I was really getting pissed now. "Who do you think you are?"
  
  "Melanie, go home." Sam tried to order me.
  
  "No." I said coldly. "I want some answers."
  
  "Like what?"
  
  "Like, how are you just walking around out here with no shirt on? And what is happening to Paul?"
  
  "I can't tell you that." he said.
  
  "Why not?"
  
  "Because, there are rules." He said.
  
  I glared at him.
  
  "Mel, you should leave." Paul said from behind me, grasping my arm. I turned and looked at him, his eyes were boring into mine, and I knew he wanted me to leave, but I couldn't leave without an answer.
  
  "Paul," I whispered. "I need some answers."
  
  "I wish I could tell you, but I can't. I wish you knew, that way it would be so much easier." He said.
  
  "Paul!" barked Sam's voice.
  
  "I have to go." Paul said, looking down at me sadly.
  
  "So that's it?" I asked, pissed off. "That's how you're going to end it with me? Telling me there's something you wish I knew, but couldn't tell me?"
  
  "Please, try to understand." He pleaded.
  
  "How can I try to understand?" I asked. "I don't know anything, because you haven't told me."
  
  "Paul! We have to go." Sam barked out. "Now."
  
  "Can you give us a minute?" I demanded.
  
  "We have to leave." The man beside Sam said in a rude tone.
  
  "Don't talk to her like that, Jared." Paul said.
  
  "Or what?" Jared taunted.
  
  Paul had a thunderous look on his face. He started shaking.
  
  "Paul. Calm down." Sam said, warning clear in his voice.
  
  Paul couldn't stop shaking.
  
  "Is he having a seizure?" I shrieked.
  
  "Stand back, Melanie." Sam ordered.
  
  Paul was...changing? His whole body seemed to be transforming.
  
  "What's happening to him?" I shrieked.
  
  "Stand back!" Sam yelled.
  
  I looked at Sam for a long second, and when I looked back at Paul, he was gone.
  
  Or...there was a huge grey wolf where he used to be standing.
  
  I stood rooted to the spot, frozen with fear.
  
  The giant wolf growled at Jared, moving towards him.
  
  "Jared, don't you dare." Sam warned, glaring at Jared's smirk. "You should take Melanie to Emily's. Look at her. She's terrified. I'll calm Paul down."
  
  Jared glanced at me, and held his hand out.
  
  I stared at his hand, then back at his face, then back at his hand again. Having no idea what he wanted.
  
  He cleared his throat. "Car keys?"
  
  Oh. Duh! "They're in the ignition." I mumbled.
  
  "Come on, let's get you warmed up. Can you walk?" he asked.
  
  I nodded, and looked back at Sam, and then back at the wolf.
  
  Or, was it Paul?
  
  Sam had called him Paul, but that couldn't be him!
  
  I walked with Jared back to my car, glancing back at the wolf and Sam.
  
  I got in the passenger seat, still in shock.
  
  "You know, you're doing really well. Emily fainted when she found out." Jared tried to joke.
  
  "Was that....that was Paul?" I asked.
  
  "Yea." Jared said, driving my car expertly.
  
  "How?" I burst out.
  
  "It's a long story; you should get Paul to explain it."
  
  "And you...you're a...a wolf, too?" I asked, bewildered.
  
  "Yea, Sam, Paul, and me." he grinned. "All wolves."
  
  "Mono?" I asked. "Really? That was the best he could come up with?"
  
  "Hey, don't take that part out on me, it was all him." Jared reasoned.
  
  "What's Sam doing now?" I asked, looking out the back window. Of course, we had driven too far to see them anymore.
  
  "He's probably just going to talk to Paul. No biggie." Jared said.
  
  "No biggie." I murmured.
  
  We drove in silence until Jared pulled into the driveway of a little house.
  
  "Where are we?" I asked.
  
  "Emily and Sam's place." Jared said. "Don't worry, we won't bite."
  
  "Jee, thanks." I mumbled.
  
  "Come on, Emily's probably made some food." I followed Jared into the house but stood by the door, and he automatically went for the food in the middle of the kitchen table.
  
  "Hey!" said a female voice from the stove; she had her back to me. "Don't eat it all. Save some for the other two."
  
  She turned, and I automatically recognized her. She was the woman in the grocery store who had asked me where the dog treats were.
  
  "Who's this?" she asked, smiling at me.
  
  "Her name's Melanie." Jared explained.
  
  "Paul's Melanie?" Emily asked.
  
  "Yep. She just found out, I think she's in shock." Jared said with a quick laugh.
  
  "I don't blame her." Emily said, smiling at me again. "Are you hungry?"
  
  "No, not at all." I said quietly.
  
  "You should sit down." She said, coming over to me. She led me over to the kitchen table. "I know how big of a shock it is now, but you'll get used to it." She helped me into a chair.
  
  "Is she his imprint?" Emily asked Jared.
  
  "I think so, he hasn't stopped thinking about her." He said, rolling his eyes.
  
  "Thinking about me?" I repeated.
  
  "Pack plural." Jared said as if I should know what that meant. I looked at Emily, begging with my eyes for an explanation.
  
  "When the boys phase, they can read each other's thoughts." She explained.
  
  "Oh." I said.
  
  "Ugh you should hear him! All he thought about was how much he missed you, but Sam and his rules..." Jared said.
  
  "Sounds like an imprint." Emily said. "Speaking of which, where are they?"
  
  Jared shoveled more food into his mouth. "Paul phased in front of her, I'm sure Sam is having a stern conversation with him."
  
  Emily sighed, obviously upset about something.
  
  At that moment, Paul and Sam walked in. Paul was wearing a pair of cloth gym shorts. Sam went up to Emily, and kissed her. I heard a small grown from Jared.
  
  I looked down at the plate Emily had put in front of me when I wasn't paying attention.
  
  I felt a warm presence behind me. "Can I talk to you?" Paul murmured in my ear.
  
  He led me into a bedroom, behind the kitchen.
  
  I sat on the bed, looking at my hands.
  
  He leaned against the wall across from me.
  
  "So, now you know." He said
  
  "Yea, I guess I do." I said, keeping my head down.
  
  "I know you probably think this is weird."
  
  I laughed a short laugh. "Weird doesn't even begin to describe it."
  
  "I know how insane this is." He said, kneeling in front of me, turning my face up to his with his finger. "But I can't help it."
  
  "I know that." I said with a sigh.
  
  We were quiet for a few minutes.
  
  Then I remembered something.
  
  "What did Jared say about an imprint?" I asked.
  
  "So he let that slip." Paul sighed. "An imprint is sort-of a love-at-first sight thing with us. We see a girl who we love, and we imprint on them."
  
  "So you've...imprinted on me?"
  
  "Yes." He said. I opened my mouth, but he stopped me. "I'm not forcing you into anything. If you don't want to be with me, I don't blame you. I just need to always know you're safe, so I don't go insane."
  
  "I do want to be with you." I said.
  
  "Thank you." He whispered.
  
  Then, kissed me as if his life depended on it.
  Chapter 5-Part Of The Pack
  
  Paul and I went back out to Emily's kitchen, hand-in-hand, smiling at each other. I heard another groan from Jared.
  
  "Another happy couple." He said with a sigh.
  
  "Hey, quit with the sour mood." Emily scolded, like a mother. "You'll find somebody, and imprint, one day."
  
  "Yea, yea." He said. "Whatever you say, Mom."
  
  She playfully smacked the back of his head with a whisk.
  
  Sam was sitting across from Jared at the table, shoveling some pancakes into his mouth.
  
  Jared leaned away from his plate.
  
  Paul laughed at him. "What lose your appetite?"
  
  "Hardy har har." Jared retorted.
  
  "Are you guys hungry?" Emily asked.
  
  "Starved." Paul said, leading me to the table.
  
  Emily put a stack of pancakes in front of both of us. I could barely eat two! I gave Paul the rest of my plate.
  
  "Is something wrong with them?" Emily asked, worriedly.
  
  "No, they're just huge, I'm so full." I smiled.
  
  Emily looked relieved. The guys were still stuffing their faces.
  
  "Can I help you with anything?" I asked.
  
  "No, I'm fine." She smiled.
  
  I was glad today was Friday, that way I could spend a whole weekend with Paul, and after a week without him, I was totally excited.
  
  "Come take a walk with me?" Sam asked me.
  
  I glanced at Emily, who was nodding at me encouragingly, and glanced at Paul, who looked angry, but didn't complain when I got up. Thankfully, it had stopped raining.
  
  We walked down the street for a few minutes without saying anything.
  
  "Melanie, you know about us now." Sam said, breaking the silence. I nodded, and he continued. "Nobody can know about this. You are Paul's imprint, which makes you a part of the pack. But, you can't tell anyone about us."
  
  I nodded. "I understand."
  
  Sam stopped walking and looked me in the eye. "I need to know that you will not tell anyone about this."
  
  "I won't." I promised.
  
  "There's something else." Sam said. "Paul isn't allowed in Forks."
  
  "Why?" I asked.
  
  "That's not my secret to share." He said.
  
  "Okay. So, he's just never allowed to come where I live?" I asked.
  
  "He's not allowed." Sam answered. "There are rules that can't be broken."
  
  "Okay then." I said, looking up at Sam.
  
  He stared down at me. "You're taking this really well."
  
  "I think I'm still in shock." I said, looking out at the beach, which was visible from where we were standing.
  
  "No, you're not freaking out." He said.
  
  "That doesn't mean I'm taking this well. I still think that I think it's insane." I sighed. "If that makes any sense at all?"
  
  "It does." Sam said.
  
  We were quiet for a bit.
  
  "We should get back." Sam said. "Paul's probably wondering what I've done with you."
  
  We walked back to Emily's house, not saying anything. Paul was waiting on her porch. Sam walked by him into Emily's house, and I leaned against the pole on her porch, looking at Paul.
  
  "Hey." He said.
  
  "Hey." I said. "So, you're not allowed in Forks anymore?"
  
  "Yea. Pretty much." He said.
  
  I sighed. "So, I can only come to you?"
  
  He smirked, and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Just because I'm not allowed to come, doesn't mean I won't come."
  
  I smiled.
  
  "If you ever need me, or you're hurt, or anything." He said seriously. "All you have to do is call me."
  
  "Okay." I said. "Why aren't you allowed in Forks?"
  
  "There's a treaty." He said. "With..."
  
  "Don't you dare, Paul!" barked Sam's voice from inside the house.
  
  "Guess I can't tell you." He smiled.
  
  "It's okay." I said with a grin.
  
  "Mel, Paul! Come in here and eat!" Emily called from in the kitchen.
  
  More food? I couldn't eat anything else! I glanced at Paul, not wanting to offend Emily. Paul pulled me into the house.
  
  "Mel needs to get home." Paul saved me.
  
  "Here, let me wrap something up. How about some muffins for the road?" she asked, smiling warmly at me.
  
  "Sure." I said helplessly.
  
  Paul walked me out to my car, holding my bag of muffins for me.
  
  "I'm glad you know now." He said.
  
  "Me too." I said smiling.
  
  He bent his head down to kiss me, and I had to stretch to reach him, to make the kiss last longer.
  
  He broke off the kiss, and I got into my car. He handed me my muffins, and leaned down to look at me.
  
  "Be careful." He warned.
  
  I snorted. "What could possibly happen to me in Forks?"
  
  "There are...well, let's just say there are worse things than wolves out there." He said.
  
  "Like what?" I couldn't help but asking.
  
  "I can't tell you." He smiled.
  
  "It was worth a shot, though." I muttered.
  
  He closed my car door for me. I smiled at him, and waved, then, sadly, I drove away. Back to Forks.
  Chapter 6-Second Home
  
  We were eating muffins for days. Emily had given us a dozen, and they were huge! When my dad asked me where I had bought them, and I had told them they were homemade, his eyes widened.
  
  "You're kidding!" he accused, taking a bite out of one.
  
  "Nope." I said. "My friend Emily made them."
  
  "Emily?" he asked. "Who's that?"
  
  "She lives down in La Push..." I said.
  
  "Oh okay." He said, nodding.
  
  "Where's mom?" I asked.
  
  "Upstairs. Packing."
  
  "Packing?" I asked.
  
  "Yea, she has some conferences to go to." He said. "She'll be gone for a few weeks."
  
  "Oh wow." I said. "Lucky her."
  
  "Yea. I think she's going somewhere sunny."
  
  "Then she's even luckier." I said with a sigh.
  
  "Don't even think about trying to go with her." He warned with a smile on his face. "You have school."
  
  I sighed again.
  
  My mom came down the stairs with a suitcase as I was nibbling on a chocolate-chip muffin.
  
  "Need help?" I asked.
  
  "No," she said. "A cab's going to be here soon."
  
  "Okay then." I shrugged. "Want a muffin? We have chocolate-chip, banana nut, carrot, and blueberry."
  
  "I'll have a carrot one, thanks." She said, taking a bite out of it. "Wow. Where did you get these?"
  
  "My friend Emily made them." I said. "She's a great cook."
  
  "She really is." My mom murmured.
  
  I glanced out the window, and saw headlights. "Mom, your cab's here."
  
  "Okay." She said. I got up, and gave her a hug.
  
  "Bye mom." I said.
  
  "Bye Mel."
  
  My dad helped her carry her suitcase outside, where I'm sure they had a more...intimate goodbye. Ick.
  
  I spent the rest of my weekend down in La Push. Where I had to come home every night, much to my dismay.
  
  When Emily heard that my mom was going to be gone, she wanted to come over and cook everyday. I politely declined, and told her my dad did most of the cooking anyway.
  
  On Sunday night, I knew it would be my last time just hanging out with Paul for a whole day, till the next weekend. He walked me out to the car.
  
  "When can you visit again?" he asked.
  
  "I don't know." I said with a sigh. "Since I got this whole weekend off, I have to work all week. And I'm going to need to help my dad out more, too."
  
  He frowned slightly. "I wish I could visit you for once."
  
  I stared up at him, an answer to his wish obvious on my face.
  
  "Sam's strict." He explained. "He's watching me even more now. He knows I would try to cross the border in a second."
  
  I looked into Emily's living room window, where I could see a tall figure through the curtain.
  
  I sighed, and looked down.
  
  "Hey," Paul said, tilting my face up. "I'll find a way around it; I'll visit you, one day. Maybe Sam will have to be sick or something...you think he'd get sick if he ate chocolate?"
  
  I laughed. "The way he was wolfing down those chocolate-chip muffins, last week? I don't think so."
  
  "Damn." He said.
  
  "You'd know better than I would." I said with a snort.
  
  "I guess you have to go." He said sadly.
  
  "Yea." I said.
  
  He cupped my face in his hand, and bent down to kiss me. Not wanting to break the connection, I put my arms around his neck, playing with the back of his hair.
  
  When he broke off the kiss, I could feel his warmth leave me right away. I sighed, and got into my car. He closed the door for me, smiling a small smile as I drove away.
  
  I hated driving away from him.
  
  As I drove past the "Welcome to La Push" sign, I saw a white blur flash across the road. I slammed on the breaks, and looked around. It was night, and it had started to rain. I looked out all the car windows, and in the review mirror, but I couldn't see anything.
  
  Whatever it was had to have gone into the forest.
  
  My hands were shaking as I started driving again, scared that I would crash into whatever that thing was.
  
  It looked strangely human?
  
  No, there was no way a human could go that fast. I knew it wasn't a wolf.
  
  Had it been a human? No, it wasn't. I must just be seeing things now.
  
  Great, I was crazy now?
  
  No. I had seen something out there.
  
  I pulled into my driveway, and got out of my car, still a bit shaken.
  
  "How was Emily's?" my dad asked when I walked in.
  
  "Good." I said. "Way too much food, but what else is new?"
  
  My dad laughed.
  
  "Hey, I'm going to go shower, then sleep. I'm really tired." I said lamely.
  
  "Sure." He said. "Oh, before I forget. You're mom called. She's in Florida."
  
  "She's so lucky." I sighed.
  
  "I know she is." He laughed.
  
  I went upstairs, showered and plopped down on my bed, lost in my own thoughts.
  
  This weekend had been one of the best weekends I had ever had. Emily's house felt like a second home to me now.
  
  Sam and Jared felt like brothers to me in a weird way. Jared more than Sam, of course. Sam was always so...pushy.
  
  I knew he was pack alpha and all, but if Paul said one little thing, Sam would snap at him.
  
  Jared and Paul tended to just roll their eyes when this happened, murmuring something about "I could be trusted with their secrets."
  
  I lay back on my bed, thinking about that white blur on my way home.
  
  What was that?
  
  The more I thought about it, the more I thought I was insane.
  
  I sighed, thinking about having to go to school tomorrow. Without Paul.
  
  I hated the fact that he couldn't visit me, and that he didn't live here in Forks.
  
  When I woke up, I wasn't exactly sure when I had fallen asleep, but I knew I hadn't had any dreams.
  
  I straightened my long, black hair, and put a bit of make-up on. I figured I looked good enough in jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweater. And if I didn't look good enough? Who cares?
  
  I hopped in my car, earlier than usual, and drove to school, annoyed at the rain pelting my windshield. I glanced in my backseat, and groaned when I realized I had forgotten my umbrella. Lovely.
  
  I pulled into the school parking lot, and pulled my hood up over my head. Once I got in the school, and realized no one was there, I knew just how early I had left my house.
  
  I went into the library, and read for a bit, but Paul, my werewolf, wouldn't leave my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a pale figure at the circulation desk. I turned and looked, it was Edward Cullen.
  
  Something about him was oddly familiar, not the fact that I saw him almost everyday at school, it was something else.
  
  Something was nagging at my brain about him. He turned slightly, to look at me, confusion spread across his face.
  
  I looked away from him, then gasped quietly.
  
  I know what that blur was last night. It was Edward Cullen.
  
  How I knew this, I had no idea. But I knew it was him.
  
  I glanced back up at him, and he was staring at me, with a hint of anger on his gorgeous face.
  
  I couldn't stop looking at him, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't break the connection. His golden eyes just held on to mine.
  
  He motioned for me to follow him, and I couldn't help but get out of my seat, grab my bag, and follow him to the cafeteria.
  
  "What do you know about me?" he growled.
  
  "What?" I asked, bewildered.
  
  "How much do you know?" he asked again, gold eyes probing mine.
  
  I stared at him.
  
  "You obviously know about those dogs in La Push." He said, spitting the word dogs.
  
  He knew about the wolves? And...how did he know I know about them?
  
  "And you saw me last night." He continued. "So, I ask again; how much do you know?"
  
  "I have no idea what you're talking about." I said.
  
  A low growling sound came from deep inside his chest.
  
  "You know exactly what I'm talking about." He argued. "I can smell the wet dog on you from here."
  
  "You can smell them?" I asked, jaw dropping.
  
  "Yes, I can smell them." He said, rolling his eyes.
  
  I stared at him, not sure what to say.
  
  "They didn't tell you about me?" he asked.
  
  "Are you the reason he can't come in Forks?" I asked.
  
  "Who?" he asked, smirking.
  
  "Any of them. Any of the wolves." I said.
  
  "Why, I don't know what you're talking about." He mimicked.
  
  Ah. So he wanted to play like this, did he? "You know exactly what I'm talking about."
  
  He sighed, obviously annoyed. I cocked an eyebrow at him.
  
  "Yes, my family and I are the reason they can't come here." He sighed.
  
  "What are you?" I asked.
  
  "They didn't tell you?" he asked, surprised.
  
  "No. They said it wasn't their secret to share." I said. "But it's your secret..."
  
  "You're difficult." He said.
  
  "What are you?" I countered.
  
  "What are you?" he mimicked.
  
  "An imprint." I answered without skipping a beat. "What are you?"
  
  "I'll be breaking a rule by saying this." He warned.
  
  Yea, like I was scared.
  
  "I'm a vampire." He said.
  
  I stared at him, jaw hanging open, for a good five minutes. Until I heard a trilling voice behind me.
  
  "Edward!" she called.
  
  "Alice." He acknowledged.
  
  Alice Cullen had skipped to Edward's side, looking gorgeous with her spiky black hair. She was holding out a piece of paper to Edward, when she saw me.
  
  "Who's this?" she asked in her soprano voice.
  
  "Her name is Melanie." Edward said.
  
  Alice crinkled her nose. "What's that god-awful wet dog smell?"
  
  "That would be me." I said with a sigh.
  
  She stared at me. "She knows?"
  
  Edward nodded curtly.
  
  "How?" she gasped. "Rose will be upset! Edward, how did you let this slide?"
  
  "He didn't." I interrupted. "I'm an imprint, for one of the wolves in La Push. Edward somehow knew that I knew about the wolves, and started interrogating me on 'how much I knew'. When he started asking about that sort-of thing, I sort-of put the pieces together."
  
  "Edward do you know what this means?" a wide grin spread across her face. He stared down at her.
  
  "Alice, don't even think about it-" he started.
  
  "Too late!" she trilled. "I have a shopping buddy!"
  
  He rolled his eyes. I stared at her, mouth hanging open.
  
  She grinned at me. "I'll get over the smell sooner or later. I have a friend, Edward! Don't we have first period together?" she asked me.
  
  "Yea, I think so." I said. "Science, right?"
  
  "Right!" she squealed. "I'll finally get to sit with someone! The seat beside you is empty, right?"
  
  I thought about it. "Yea, this guy Rob used to sit there, but he switched classes."
  
  She grinned wide at me, and I couldn't help but smile back.
  
  Edward rolled his eyes again. "Aren't you afraid?"
  
  I looked at him. "No. I'm not. I saw my boyfriend turn into a huge, silver wolf right in front of my eyes. It would take a lot more than you just telling me," I looked around "that you're a vampire to scare me."
  
  He rolled his eyes again. I glanced at Alice, who was looking over my outfit.
  
  "What?" I asked, looking down.
  
  "You look too...plain." She said, biting her lip. "What are you doing tonight?"
  
  Hopefully seeing Paul. I thought. "I have to work."
  
  "Hmmm...what about tomorrow night?" she asked.
  
  "I have to work every night this week." I said with a shrug.
  
  "Okay. Saturday, then. I'll take you shopping." She grinned.
  
  "You really don't have to do that." I objected.
  
  "I want to." She said with a grin.
  
  Edward walked away, muttering something that sounded like, "Girls."
  
  "Don't mind Edward." Alice said, taking hold of my arm. I realized just how much taller I was than her. The top of her head came up to my shoulder.
  
  She walked with me to class, talking about unimportant things. We were the first ones there, when our teacher left, I couldn't help but ask her about how Edward knew, that I knew about that pack.
  
  She giggled. "He can read minds. Most of us have powers. I can see the future, Jasper can manipulate emotions. Cool, huh?"
  
  "Very." I muttered.
  
  I couldn't believe it. Vampires and werewolves existed? This was insane.
  
  And I was right in the middle of it.
  Chapter 7
  
  The day went by slow. At lunch I glanced at the Cullens' table, where Alice was grinning hugely, Jasper was smiling at her, Emmett was grinning, and Edward and Rosalie were scowling.
  
  When Bella saw Edward, she was obviously surprised. I heard her murmur, "I'll just have a soda."
  
  We sat down at out regular table, and Jessica started giggling wildly. "Edward Cullen is staring at you."
  
  Bella and I automatically looked up. He was staring at her; I breathed a sigh of relief.
  
  Bella looked down immediately. "Does he look mad?"
  
  I laughed nervously, did Bella know? "No, why would he be mad?"
  
  "No reason." She said quietly.
  
  I glanced at Edward again; there was a small smile on his face. I rolled my eyes.
  
  My phone vibrated in my pocket, and when I checked my caller I.D., I couldn't hide my grin. I got up out of the cafeteria, and rushed out to the hallway.
  
  "Hello?" I asked, smiling into the phone.
  
  "Hey." Came Paul's husky voice. "How are you?"
  
  "I'm good." I said with a small sigh. "I know why you can't come here, now."
  
  There was silence on the other end.
  
  "How did you figure it out?" he asked quietly.
  
  "It's hard to explain..." I said, looking around.
  
  "Try." He said. "Mel, this is serious."
  
  "I know it is." I said. "But, it's just, I can't explain here, in the middle of the school hallway."
  
  "Sam's going to be pissed." He said.
  
  "Why?" I demanded. "What does it matter what I know? Does he think I can't keep a secret?"
  
  "He just knows the consequences. He's scared for Emily knowing, and now I'm scared for you knowing." He said. "Who knows what they could do?"
  
  I sighed. "I'll be okay."
  
  "Be careful, Mel." He said.
  
  "Bye Paul." I said, hanging up.
  
  I groaned, and leaned against the wall.
  
  "Are you okay?" asked a female voice from beside me.
  
  I turned to see Bella looking worriedly at me.
  
  I smiled at her. "I'm fine."
  
  "Are you sure?" she asked. "I could walk with you to the nurse or something."
  
  "No." I reassured her, with a smile. "I'm fine."
  
  "You've been really nice to me since I came here." She said, biting her lip.
  
  I laughed. "Everyone has."
  
  "No," she smiled. "Some people are overly nice, it's like they're trying too hard to be nice, because I'm new. You're just being nice, I can tell."
  
  I smiled. "I don't really enjoy picking on new students, or making them think I'm being fake when I'm nice to them."
  
  She smiled at me. "Thank you."
  
  "No problem." I said. "Oh, and if Jessica ever says anything to you that upsets you, don't let it get to you."
  
  "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." She said. "The girls' washroom is that way, right?"
  
  "Right." I said.
  
  "See you around, Mel."
  
  "Bye, Bella." I said.
  
  Bella walked away to the girls' washroom, and I slid down the wall, sitting on the floor.
  
  What was I going to do about Sam? I knew Paul wouldn't have a choice in telling him, and even if Paul didn't tell him, Sam would find out.
  
  Well, if I just stayed in Forks, Sam would never be able to get to me.
  
  But, there were problems with that.
  
  First, work. I worked in La Push. I wasn't just going to quit because of Sam.
  
  Second, Paul. How could I hide out in Forks, when Paul wasn't allowed to come here?
  
  Third, Sam would probably still come over the border, rules or no rules.
  
  I sighed, and went out to my car. I figured hiding in there, and listening to music would do my brain some good.
  
  I leaned back against the seat, smiling to myself as one of my favourite songs came on the radio.
  
  There was a small knock on my window. I sighed, and saw Alice knocking on the passenger side window, smiling at me.
  
  I unlocked the door for her, and she hopped in.
  
  "Nice car." She grinned.
  
  "Thanks." I said.
  
  "Are you okay?" she asked, pursing her lips.
  
  "I'm fine." I smiled.
  
  "No, you're not." She pointed out. "Something's bothering you, or you wouldn't be out here in your car."
  
  I sighed. "You read me well."
  
  She laughed.
  
  "Well, I'm scared." I admitted.
  
  "Of what?"
  
  "My boyfriend's pack alpha." I said with a sigh. "He knows that I know about you guys now, and he thinks I can't keep the secret."
  
  Alice rolled her eyes. "Sam Uley, right?" I nodded. "He's been that way since he started phasing."
  
  "Oh." I said.
  
  "Want to go shopping?" she asked, grinning.
  
  "Now?" I asked.
  
  "Why not?" she asked.
  
  "Well, school."
  
  "I think we both know that you aren't planning on going back in anytime soon, and I can miss a class once in awhile."
  
  "I have to be at work by four." I said.
  
  "And you'll make it in time." She promised. "Now, let's switch seats. I'm going to drive."
  
  We switched seats, and Alice sped to Port Angeles.
  
  "Oh shoot!" I exclaimed going through my wallet. "I don't have any money! Dammit!"
  
  Alice smiled. "I saw that coming."
  
  "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
  
  "Because, I'm paying for everything you buy."
  
  "No, you can't do that." I objected.
  
  "Yes, I can." She said. "And I will."
  
  "What if I don't pick out anything?" I asked smugly.
  
  "I'll just pick out a bunch of stuff for you, and I'll make you try it on." She said. "Oh, and if you tell me nothing fits, I will force you into the clothes, in the fitting room."
  
  I sighed, knowing I wouldn't win in any way. Alice pulled into the parking lot of the small mall in Port Angeles.
  
  Okay, I have to admit it. I had fun shopping with Alice. People were staring at us through the whole mall, but Alice ignored them. I still didn't like that she paid for everything, seeing as I had just met her, but she picked out amazing clothes for me, that fit perfectly.
  
  I sighed when I saw the amount of bags she was stuffing in my trunk.
  
  "Didn't you buy anything for yourself?" I asked, eyeing the mound of bags.
  
  "Yep, I just put them on hold. I knew there wouldn't be enough room for both of our purchases." She said with a grin.
  
  "Where do you work?" she asked.
  
  "In a grocery store, in La Push."
  
  She pursed her lips. "I can't drive you all the way, then. I'll drive you to the border, but then I have to get out."
  
  "Couldn't you just drive to your place, and then I could drive all the way to La Push?"
  
  She eyed the clock. "We wouldn't make it."
  
  I stared at the clock.
  
  I could not believe the time.
  
  I rubbed my eyes; I couldn't be reading it right.
  
  "Fifteen minutes?" I screeched.
  
  "We'll make it." She tried to soothe.
  
  "No we won't, Alice!" I exclaimed.
  
  "With my driving, we'll make it." She said, and then floored it to La Push.
  
  I gripped the dash board the whole way there. I had a feeling she wouldn't crash the car, but I was still scared for my life.
  
  When she whizzed past the "Welcome to La Push" sign, she swore quietly.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "I drove over the border." She said.
  
  "Pull over," I said. "I don't want you to get in trouble."
  
  "We don't have time." She said, glancing at the clock that showed I had five minutes to get to work. "I'll just be really careful, and if they catch me...well, we just won't talk about that."
  
  "What could happen to you?" I asked quietly.
  
  "They might want to start a war." She said.
  
  "But, you were helping me, and imprint." I pointed out. "Couldn't that make a difference?"
  
  "It might." She said, biting her lip.
  
  "I'll see if they're in the grocery store." I said. "They hang out there sometimes. What's your cell number? I'll text you if they're there."
  
  She gave me her number, as she pulled into my parking space.
  
  "Thank you, Alice." I said, smiling at her, as she handed me my car keys, and I got out.
  
  "Don't mention it." She smiled.
  
  I rushed into work, smiling at Johnny as I flew past him.
  
  I ninja'd my way through the store, trying to find my wolf. I was sneaking around the refrigerated section when I saw them in produce, laughing at each other.
  
  I sent a text to Alice: They're here, you should go.
  
  The reply came automatically: Thank you.
  
  I smiled. My job was done.
  
  Well, not in the literal sense, of course.
  
  I grabbed a broom, and started sweeping the floors, looking around for Paul.
  
  Well, mostly for Sam, since I was scared of how he would act when he saw me. I avoided them as well as I could, and tried to side-step going to register.
  
  I had a feeling they would probably be able to sniff me out, but I didn't care very much. So far, they hadn't approached me, and I was hiding in the women's washroom, feigning cleaning toilets.
  
  I had a feeling the boys were still in the store, probably waiting around for me so Sam could talk to me.
  
  I was really trying to avoid that.
  
  Hmm...I wondered if I just drove over the border, could he do anything? I could call Alice and ask her to meet me there, bringing Edward or Jasper, of course. That way he would have no choice but to stay on his side.
  
  A wicked grin spread across my face.
  
  But then I remembered I had to make it across the border. Surely, he would stop me before that happened.
  
  Would he? I mean, if there was a chance of me getting hurt, would Paul let him try and stop me?
  
  I hopped up on the sink counter in the bathroom, holding a toilet brush and some cleaner, just so if anyone came in they'd think I was actually working.
  
  I couldn't help but think of ways I could avoid Sam. I didn't want to face him just yet.
  
  Then I thought my fears were stupid. Really, what could Sam do? What would Paul let Sam do?
  
  But I knew Paul couldn't disobey his alpha.
  
  Could he?
  
  Would he disobey Sam for me?
  
  I doubted it.
  
  I sighed and checked my watch. I guessed I had feigned cleaning toilets long enough.
  
  I snuck out the washroom, and snuck over to the produce section. I glanced around, and turned around.
  
  Right into Johnny.
  
  "What have you been doing your whole shift?" he asked, scowling.
  
  "I've been cleaning." I said. "Johnny, this place is totally gross."
  
  "But you're a cashier." He pointed out.
  
  "But this grocery store hasn't been cleaned in god knows how long." I shot back. "Look, you don't have to pay me extra, and you don't even have to pay me as much as you normally would." I glanced over his shoulder, to see Paul, Jared and Sam turning a corner towards us.
  
  "Crap!" I squeaked, missing what Johnny was saying.
  
  "What's wrong?" he asked, looking over his shoulder. "Are they giving you trouble?"
  
  "No, I said. I just, I need to, um...go clean something, far away from here." I said, looking around.
  
  "Mel, are these guys trouble?"
  
  I had to think about what to say.
  
  "No," I said carefully. "It's hard to explain, but don't kick them out of here. They haven't done anything wrong, okay?"
  
  He pursed his lips. "Fine. But if they give you any trouble, let me know."
  
  "Thanks, Johnny." I said, relieved.
  
  I practically bolted from where Johnny was standing to the pet section. I hoped this was the last place they'd look.
  
  I couldn't wait till my shift was over.
  
  When my shift finally was over, I ninja'd my way to my car.
  
  I couldn't help but burst out in laughter when I had made it to my car.
  
  I had spent my whole shift avoiding three werewolves, and I still got paid for it.
  
  I pulled out of my parking spot, and started driving back to Forks. I kept looking around, making sure there was no one walking down the street, shirtless.
  
  That would be a dead giveaway that I was being followed.
  
  I kept checking my review mirror, making sure there was no one.
  
  When I sailed across where I thought the border was, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
  
  When I walked in the door of my house, my dad was already asleep. I grabbed a snack, and went up to my room.
  
  My phone vibrated in my pocket.
  
  I didn't recognize the number.
  
  "Hello?" I asked.
  
  "Melanie." Sam's gruff voice came from the other end of the line.
  
  "Hi." I said, biting my lip, wishing I could just hang up on him.
  
  "I know you were avoiding us today." He said.
  
  "Why would you think that?" I asked nervously.
  
  "Because anytime you saw us, you'd run the other way." He said.
  
  "You were at the store tonight?" I asked, playing dumb. "Was Paul with you?"
  
  "Yes. He was." Sam said, obviously getting annoyed. I grinned wickedly, feeling powerful at pissing off Sam. "He was hurt when you'd run away."
  
  Ouch. That sent a pang through my heart. "I'm sorry; I didn't realize you guys were there. Joh-my boss had me cleaning the whole place."
  
  "I hear you know something." He said.
  
  Here it comes...
  
  "Yea, and?" I asked, feeling brave.
  
  "You never know when they might do something to you, to try and learn secrets from the pack." He said.
  
  I rolled my eyes. "And how do I know you won't do the same thing to me?"
  
  "You're an imprint." He said. "If we did anything that might even have the slightest chance of hurting you, Paul would flip."
  
  "And if any of the Cullens tried to do anything to me, you could just come over the border and rescue me, right?" I countered. So there, Sam!
  
  He didn't say anything.
  
  "Look, they won't hurt me, and you can't hurt me." I said. "So can you just let me sleep, now?"
  
  "Fine." He said. I could tell he wasn't happy.
  
  And to tell you the truth, I really didn't care.
  Chapter 8-Dangerous
  
  The next day at school everyone was buzzing about the La Push trip. Mike was saying that he was going to bring his surfboard.
  
  I burst out laughing at that.
  
  "You? Surfboarding? You're really funny, Mike." I said, crushing his ego.
  
  "Hey, I learned how to surf in California." He whined.
  
  What a marshmallow. "And the chances of surfing here are slim. It'll be too cold, dummy."
  
  He rolled his eyes, and turned to Bella again, bragging about his surfing "skills".
  
  I sighed and bit into my sandwich.
  
  I couldn't believe it was only Tuesday. I was annoyed at Sam. What did he care if I knew about the Cullens? He didn't trust me with their secret, but he trusted me with his secret?
  
  What was that about?
  
  Then I thought of Paul.
  
  I had forgotten that I had also been running away from him last night, as well as Sam and Jared.
  
  I sighed, feeling like the worst girlfriend (imprint?) in history.
  
  How could I have done that to him? I put my sandwich down, feeling like crap.
  
  "What's wrong, Mel?" asked Jessica from beside me.
  
  "Nothing." I said, not wanting to go into it with her.
  
  "Whatever." She muttered.
  
  I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her.
  
  When the bell rang, I dreaded having to go to gym. I considered ditching, but I thought I should go, seeing as I skipped yesterday.
  
  We were playing badminton. Joy.
  
  I got through it, somehow. The one sport I hated was badminton. In my opinion, it wasn't really a gym sport, since you barely moved around.
  
  I preferred football.
  
  The whole girls can't play football thing is complete bull.
  
  Whatever, if Coach Clapp didn't start our football unit soon, I might slap someone.
  
  I made it through English, trying not to feel awkward sitting next to a vampire.
  
  Did he know I knew? Had Alice and Edward told the rest of their family?
  
  I glanced at him, and he was staring at me.
  
  Yea, I figured he knew.
  
  Either that or he could smell wolf on me.
  
  Or Alice?
  
  Would I still smell like her? Or would I smell like the wolves?
  
  Would Jasper know I knew, if he could smell Alice on me?
  
  Maybe...
  
  But Alice had surely told her mate that I knew about them, right?
  
  Or had she wanted to keep that a secret?
  
  Oh, this was so confusing.
  
  Then my thoughts switched back to the wolves.
  
  Would Sam be hanging out at the grocery store again? Would Paul? Would Paul be mad at me? Would they know Alice had crossed the border?
  
  Well, I did have an excuse as to why they smelled vampire. I had been shopping with her all day. Obviously some of her scent would rub of on me.
  
  Of course. If they approached me, asking why they smelled vampire, I had an excuse ready.
  
  When the bell rang, I jumped out of my seat, and got ready to sprint out the door, when my teacher called me.
  
  Crap. What had I done?
  
  "Melanie." He smiled at me. "I just want you to know, you did wonderfully on the test we had last week."
  
  "Thanks." I muttered.
  
  "I was wondering if you wanted to enter a competition." He said. "It would be a writing competition, any form."
  
  I did not need any more stress in my life. "Thank you, sir. But right now my life is sort-of hectic, and I don't have much time for such things."
  
  "Oh, it's a shame." He sighed.
  
  "Sorry." I muttered. "I have to get to work."
  
  I ran out the door, and into the parking lot.
  
  Of course, I was stuck in the long line-up of students waiting to leave.
  
  There was a knock on my car window, and when I saw Eric there, I plastered on a fake smile.
  
  "Hey Eric." I said rolling down my window. "Do you need a ride?"
  
  "No, I was just wondering...if you wanted to go to the dance with me?" he asked.
  
  "What dance?" I asked dumbly.
  
  "The girls' choice dance." He said. "The signs aren't up yet, but I know about it, since on the student council..."
  
  "Didn't you just say it was girls' choice?" I asked.
  
  "Yea, but I was wondering if you wanted to go with Me." he said hopefully.
  
  Wow. Going to a dance with Eric, or spending the day in La Push...hmmm, the dance was tempting. I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes at him.
  
  "Sorry, Eric." I said. "I'll probably be in La Push."
  
  "Why?" he asked.
  
  "Because I sort-of have a boyfriend type-thing there..." I said, biting my lip.
  
  "Oh." He said. "Sorry."
  
  "It's okay, you didn't know." I said. "I have to get to work."
  
  "Bye Mel." He said, slightly frowning.
  
  I sped away, seeing as all the cars had cleared out.
  
  I burst out laughing. Eric wanted to go to a dance with me?
  
  No chance in hell.
  
  When I got to work, Paul, Jared and Sam were waiting by the back door, with cut-off shorts, and t-shirts on, all looking serious. I fought the urge to run Sam over.
  
  I got out, and went over to Paul. He put his arm around me, a rush of warmth flooded into me, and I felt relieved.
  
  "We smelled vampire here yesterday." Sam informed me, all business. "Was there a Cullen here?"
  
  "Nope." I said. "I probably just smelled like one."
  
  "And why would you smell like one?" asked Jared.
  
  Paul bared his teeth slightly at Jared. Jared smirked in return.
  
  "Because, one of them took me shopping yesterday." I addressed Sam.
  
  "What?" Paul growled.
  
  "When she found out I knew about them, she was excited that someone knew all about them, and wanted to take me shopping." I explained.
  
  "You went shopping with one of them?" Paul growled, taking his arm away from my waist, making me feel cold all over.
  
  "Yes. I did." I replied. "Is that a problem?"
  
  "Yes, it is." Sam informed me.
  
  "Did I ask you?" I snapped.
  
  Paul pulled me away from the other two. "How could you trust them, Melanie?"
  
  "What, they're not good enough monsters for me?" I asked. "You could snap at me any second, and would I be any worse off than if one of them did?"
  
  I saw hurt flash through his eyes. It sent a pang through my heart, but I needed to stand my ground here.
  
  "The Cullens aren't going to hurt me." I said. "And I trust that you won't. Do I have to choose between you and them?"
  
  He softened a bit. "No. It's okay if you want to hang out with them, just make sure you shower afterwards. Their scent burns our nostrils."
  
  I smiled at him. "Okay."
  
  He bent down to kiss me, when Johnny came out the back door, looking at me expectantly.
  
  "Sorry." I said.
  
  "Get in here." He said.
  
  I looked at Paul apologetically.
  
  "Yea, Johnny?" I asked, once in his office.
  
  He had his back to me. "I have to leave for a few days."
  
  "Oh." I said.
  
  "I don't know what to do." He confessed, looking at me. "I can't just close the place, but who can I leave in charge?"
  
  "I don't know." I said. "I have school and all. If I didn't, I would totally manage the place for you."
  
  He smiled. "I know you would."
  
  "Johnny, you're just going to have to close the place. What else can you do?" I said.
  
  "Yea, you're right." He sighed. "You'll be out of work for a few days."
  
  "Don't worry about it." I smiled. "I'll survive."
  
  "Thanks, Mel." He said.
  
  "When are you leaving?" I asked.
  
  "Tonight." He said.
  
  "Tonight!" I gasped.
  
  "Yea, I couldn't call you, I don't have your home number, and you weren't picking up your cell."
  
  Had it even rung?
  
  "Sorry." I said, sheepishly.
  
  "Don't worry." He said. "Sorry I wasted your time."
  
  I waved off his apology. "It's okay."
  
  "I have nothing for you to do tonight." He hinted, seeing as I was still standing there like an idiot.
  
  "Oh! Jeez, sorry Johnny." I said. "I'll just go."
  
  "Sorry again, Mel." He said.
  
  "It's okay." I said, walking out the back door.
  
  Paul was sitting out there by my car. I looked around, expecting to see Sam or Jared.
  
  "They're not here." He said quietly.
  
  I went over and sat beside him.
  
  "What's wrong?" I asked.
  
  "I'm tired." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
  
  "So why don't you sleep?" I asked.
  
  "Sam's working me hard." He said. "It hurts to be away from you."
  
  I melted. I wrapped my arms around him. "Isn't there a way you could take a break?"
  
  "No, Sam's making us work doubly hard, in case one of the Cullens crosses over." He sighed. "He just wants to pick fights with them."
  
  I sighed. He pulled me onto his lap, and I snuggled in to him, trying to put as little space between us as possible.
  
  "Couldn't you just, hide for a few days or something?" I asked.
  
  "He'd just smell me out." Paul sighed.
  
  I had to bite back a laugh. Images of Sam sniffing the ground on his hands and knees popped into my head.
  
  "Why aren't you at work?" he asked suddenly.
  
  "Johnny's going away for a few days, he didn't need me tonight."
  
  "Oh." Paul said.
  
  "You need rest." I said, sounding like a mother.
  
  "I know." He sighed. "But Sam's the alpha, I can't disobey him. I wish I could."
  
  "So then why don't you come to Forks with me?" I pleaded. "You could sleep, and Sam wouldn't touch you."
  
  "I can't cross the border." He objected.
  
  "The Cullens owe me." I said, thinking of Alice.
  
  "How?" he asked.
  
  "Wait." I said, taking out my phone. Paul looked warily at me. I dialed Alice's number.
  
  "Pick up, pick up, pick up..." I willed.
  
  "Hello?" came Alice's wind-chime voice.
  
  "Hey Alice, its Mel." I said.
  
  "Oh, hey Mel." She said, I could hear the smile in her voice. "What's up?"
  
  "I have a favour to ask you..." I said.
  
  "Okay, what is it?" she asked.
  
  "Could my boyfriend please come over the border into Forks?" I asked.
  
  There was silence on the other end.
  
  "Mel...I don't know..." she said.
  
  "Alice, please." I begged. "He's not sleeping well, and it would only be him. I promise. You can even patrol the border to make sure none of the other ones come over. You sort-of owe them..." I trailed off.
  
  "Don't mention that." she said quickly. "Fine, I grant him permission. But only him. Warn him that if any other ones come over, there will be trouble."
  
  "Thank you Alice!" I squealed into the phone.
  
  "No problem, bye Mel."
  
  "Bye Alice." I said, hanging up.
  
  I grinned at Paul. "Ready to disobey your alpha?"
  Chapter 9-Horrible
  
  Paul was nervous driving to the border. He kept looking around to see if we were being followed.
  
  It wasn't till I had crossed the border that he begged me to stop.
  
  "What's wrong?" I asked, pulling over. "We made it."
  
  "Sam's there." He said nervously. He was literally shaking with fear.
  
  "It's okay." I soothed. "You have permission to be here."
  
  I sighed as we got out of the car.
  
  "What do you think you're doing, Paul?" Sam barked.
  
  Paul looked at the ground.
  
  "Get back over here." Sam barked out again.
  
  "He has permission." I said.
  
  "From who?" Sam demanded.
  
  "From me." said a tinkling voice from inside the forest.
  
  I smiled gratefully as I saw Alice come out onto the road where we were.
  
  "I have given him permission to come across the border for a bit." She said. "Mel told me he can barely stand he's too tired. And be warned, if any of you cross over, there will be trouble, seeing as I haven't granted you permission."
  
  Sam snarled at Alice.
  
  I hoped she had brought someone else with her. I looked into the forest, and saw Edward and Jasper standing there, watching the scene go down.
  
  "Now, are you going to try to cross over?" Alice taunted.
  
  "You don't want to mess with me." Sam growled. I was surprised he had kept his cool so long.
  
  "And you don't want to mess with Me." said a slightly southern drawl from inside the forest.
  
  Jasper.
  
  I glanced at Paul; he was still looking at the ground. I grasped his hand, and squeezed.
  
  "Paul." Sam addressed him.
  
  Paul looked up at him.
  
  "Don't make this a habit." He warned.
  
  Paul nodded once. And Sam ran off. Jared was close behind, and threw Paul an apologetic glance.
  
  Paul looked upset.
  
  "You'll be okay." Alice assured me. "Sam won't come over here, knowing how serious we are about the treaty."
  
  I shared a knowing glance with her.
  
  "Come on, Paul." I said. "We should go."
  
  He walked over to my car; I think he was still a bit stunned at what had happened.
  
  "Thank you, Alice." I said. "And you too, Edward and Jasper."
  
  "You're welcome." Came three replies at the same time. Two bass, one soprano.
  
  I smiled at Alice again, and got into the driver seat of my car.
  
  I drove for a bit, but then I couldn't take the silence anymore.
  
  He was just staring out the window.
  
  "Say something." I begged.
  
  "Like what?" he asked.
  
  "Anything." I begged. "Please, tell me you're not mad at me."
  
  "Mad at you?" he asked, obviously shocked. "Why would I be mad at you?"
  
  "For making you leave La Push." I said.
  
  "I'm not mad at you for that." he said. "I'm proud of you."
  
  My jaw dropped. "Proud of me?"
  
  "You had the guts to call up a vampire, to request my access in Forks, and you stood up to Sam." He said. "So, yes, I am proud of you."
  
  I smiled warmly at him. He smiled weakly back. I realized just how tired he was.
  
  As I turned into my driveway, I breathed a sigh of relief that my dad wasn't home.
  
  We walked in the front door, and I led Paul up to my room.
  
  "Here." I said, motioning to my bed. "You can sleep here."
  
  He pulled me along with him as he flopped down on my bed.
  
  I smiled at him. He smiled back.
  
  "You could use some sleep, too." He said, touching my cheek.
  
  I snuggled against him, letting his warmth engulf me. I smiled against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. It soothed me, and made me fall right asleep.
  
  I woke to someone kissing my neck.
  
  I didn't mind, it felt good.
  
  I let out a small moan, and Paul stopped, grinning at me.
  
  "Hey sleepy-head." He said.
  
  "Yea yea, you're one to talk." I muttered.
  
  He laughed.
  
  "Did you get enough sleep?" I asked.
  
  "Definitely." He said.
  
  "Good." I smiled. I glanced out the window. "What time is it?" I gasped.
  
  "Nine o'clock." He said, checking his watch. "In the morning."
  
  "What?" I screeched. "I'm late!"
  
  Paul pulled me back to his chest, as I was about to try and make a superhero attempt at getting to school on time.
  
  "It's okay." He said. "One day off won't kill you."
  
  I sighed and snuggled in his arms. "Did my dad come in?"
  
  "Not that I know of." Paul said.
  
  That was weird. Normally my dad would at least acknowledge I was alive when he came home. And he would've hit the roof if he had seen Paul and me together in my bed.
  
  My phone vibrated. I sighed. Who would be calling me?
  
  I picked up my phone, but didn't recognize the number.
  
  When I didn't pick up, I saw I had five missed calls from this person.
  
  "Paul, do you recognize this number?" I asked, showing him the phone.
  
  "That's Jared's number." He said. "Why would he be calling you?"
  
  I shrugged, and jumped when he called again.
  
  "Hello?" I asked.
  
  "Mel! Thank god you picked up!" He sounded worried, or scared? "Mel, something's happened..."
  
  "What's wrong?" I asked sharply.
  
  "It's Sam..." he started.
  
  "What happened to Sam?" I asked. Paul looked at me worriedly.
  
  "Last night, he was mad. Emily tried to calm him down...she was a bit too close."
  
  Oh. My. God.
  
  No.
  
  "No," I whispered, dropping the phone.
  
  "Jared, what happened?" Paul asked into my phone, I barely heard him.
  
  No. No. No.
  
  "Oh my god." I heard Paul whisper. "We'll be there soon."
  
  He snapped my phone shut.
  
  I sat on my bed, paralyzed.
  
  Emily was hurt? Oh god, no.
  
  "Melanie, we have to go." Paul said, tugging on my arm. I couldn't move.
  
  I was frozen in shock, sitting on my bed.
  
  "Melanie, come on." Paul begged. "We have to go to the hospital."
  
  I still couldn't move.
  
  "I'm going to pick you up and carry you to the car." He warned.
  
  I felt myself being lifted off my bed, and outside. Paul strapped me into the passenger seat.
  
  I didn't care how he had found my keys.
  
  Emily was hurt. And it was all my fault.
  
  It dawned on me then, it was my fault that Sam was mad. It was my fault Emily got hurt.
  
  If she...died I would never be able to live with myself.
  
  I hadn't noticed Paul had started driving.
  
  "What happened to her?" I whispered.
  
  "Sam...he scratched her when he phased." Paul explained.
  
  My throat felt dry and scratchy. I thought I would've burst into tears by now, but surprisingly I hadn't.
  
  I looked down, mildly surprised that I was still wearing what I wore yesterday.
  
  "I feel horrible." I whispered, knowing my voice wouldn't get much louder anytime soon. "It's all my fault."
  
  "It is not your fault." Paul tried to assure me.
  
  "Yes, it is." I half-sobbed, feeling tears spring to my eyes. "If I hadn't made Sam angry...this never would have happened."
  
  Paul took my hand in his, and squeezed. "This is no one's fault. It was an accident."
  
  I looked at Paul, his face was serious.
  
  When he pulled into a parking spot in the hospital parking lot, I didn't want to go in. I wasn't sure I could face Emily right now.
  
  Or Sam.
  
  I sat in the car for a minute, biting my lip.
  
  "Hey," Paul said, holding my face in his big hands. "It's okay. She'll want to see you."
  
  "Will Sam?" I asked, hearing how my own voice shook.
  
  "I don't care what Sam thinks of you." Paul said quietly. "Emily really likes you, she will want you there right now."
  
  I sighed, and got out of my car. Paul took my hand as we neared the hospital doors.
  
  I had no idea what I was about to walk into, but with Paul at my side, I suddenly knew I could face anything that was thrown at me.
  Chapter 10-Unexpected
  
  Paul and I walked quietly through the still hospital. If it wasn't for Paul's steady hand covering mine, I would be shaking.
  
  I was nervous, more nervous than I had been in a long time.
  
  We finally got to Emily's room, where Jared was waiting outside, his face ashen.
  
  "How is she?" Paul murmured.
  
  "They don't know." Jared said quietly. "She's asleep right now. Her face got pretty beat up."
  
  "How's Sam?" I asked quietly.
  
  "Dealing. He's upset with himself."
  
  Paul said something in a different language to Jared. Jared answered swiftly.
  
  Quileute?
  
  "Come on, Mel." Paul said quietly. "Let's go in."
  
  We went into Emily's room, and, surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I had expected.
  
  Because of the gauze covering the right side of her face.
  
  Sam was sitting on a chair beside her bed, holding her hand, staring at her face.
  
  I felt a pang in my heart at the look on his face. He was beating himself up about this, and I could tell.
  
  I went over beside him.
  
  "She'll be okay." I whispered.
  
  He looked at me, and in his eyes, I didn't see what I expected.
  
  I had expected him to glare at me, to see hate in his eyes when he saw me.
  
  His eyes were sad. So sad, I did something I never thought I would do.
  
  I hugged him. He seemed as surprised as I was, but I squeezed him, trying to comfort him.
  
  I let go of Sam. "I'm sorry." I whispered.
  
  "It's not your fault." He said. "I don't even remember why I would've been mad, now, and it doesn't matter."
  
  I nodded, feeling tears in my eyes.
  
  Paul and I sat with Sam for a bit, and after a while, Emily's uncovered eye flicked open.
  
  She smiled warmly when she saw us sitting around her, but when she saw Sam staring at her; it was like a light suddenly went on in her eyes.
  
  Paul squeezed my hand, signaling that we should leave them to be alone for a bit.
  
  Jared was outside the door, snoring softly. Paul kicked him softly to wake him up.
  
  "She's awake." Paul said with a smile.
  
  "How did she look?" Jared asked.
  
  "She looked happy to see us." I said. "We decided to give them some privacy."
  
  "She'll be okay." Jared sighed, relieved. "Sit."
  
  We sat down across from Jared.
  
  There was an awkward silence following. None of us sure what to say.
  
  Emily's room door opened.
  
  "Em, come on you need to rest." Came Sam's voice.
  
  "No, I'm hungry." She said.
  
  "We'll get something for you, Emily." I offered. "Sam's right, you need your rest. What do you want us to get you?"
  
  She sighed, biting the half of her lip that was visible.
  
  "A sandwich, with anything on it, just no mushrooms."
  
  "No problem." I smiled.
  
  Paul and I went down to the cafeteria to grab some food for everyone.
  
  Five sandwiches and five drinks.
  
  Paul had to carry half of our loot.
  
  Once we got back to Emily's room, Jared had moved into Emily's room. She was sitting on the bed, and there were four more chairs around her bed.
  
  Paul and I sat down, and handed out the food.
  
  We all nibbled on what we got, except Emily. She seemed really, really hungry.
  
  She smiled at us. "I feel like I'm being rude."
  
  I smiled. "You're not."
  
  She smiled warmly at me.
  
  Given the circumstances, I was surprised she was in such a good mood.
  
  Smiling, and laughing with each other, I learned something that night.
  
  No matter what happened, we were all a family. Nothing could stop that. We would always be there for each other.
  
  Awhile later, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to have phones in here, but whatever.
  
  I didn't check the caller I.D. when I picked up.
  
  "Hello?" I asked into the receiver.
  
  "Mel? Thank god! Where are you?" it was my dad.
  
  Had I not left a note?
  
  "Sorry dad, there was an accident...something happened to my friend Emily." I said.
  
  "Is she okay?" my dad asked.
  
  "Yea, she'll be fine." I said.
  
  "When are you coming home?" he asked.
  
  "I think I should stay here with her." I said.
  
  "Yea, that would be better." He said. "Just let me know when you're coming home, and I'll call the school for you and everything."
  
  Wow. "Thanks dad."
  
  "No problem."
  
  I hung up, and smiled at Emily. Somehow, we were the only ones left in the room. Where had the guys gone?
  
  Emily noticed me looking around.
  
  "They had to go take care of some things." She explained.
  
  "Oh." I said.
  
  "Don't worry, they're not running around outside. They're just talking." She bit the half of her lip that was exposed.
  
  "What's wrong?" I asked, sitting closer to her bed.
  
  "Nothing, it's just..." she looked at me. "I think Sam is beating himself up about this too much. He needs to know that I don't blame him. This sort-of thing was bound to happen sooner or later, what with Paul annoying him all the time. I know this was an accident, and I don't want them, or you, blaming themselves for this." She sighed. "I knew the risks when I agreed to be with Sam. I knew there was danger. I always knew there was a chance something would happen. And honestly, it could've happened to anyone. Any of the elders, any of the locals, either of us."
  
  My throat tightened. Emily was right. Something like this could have happened to anyone.
  
  It didn't scare me.
  
  I was slightly surprised at that. Knowing that I could get hurt in this sort-of accident should have sent me running screaming out of the hospital.
  
  But it didn't scare me at all. I knew the risks of being with Paul; it was shown right in front of me with Emily here in the hospital.
  
  So why was I still here?
  
  Silly! A small voice in my head said. You love him! Can't you see? If you didn't love him, you wouldn't be here. You love all those dogs, on some level!
  
  I felt the slightest bit crazy, but the voice was helping.
  
  I loved Paul.
  
  There was no stopping it.
  
  The realization hit me like a wrecking ball.
  
  I loved him. And there wasn't anything anybody could say about it to stop it.
  
  Nothing.
  
  "You don't need to stay with me, you know." Emily said, obviously not rude, just very polite.
  
  "No, I want to." I said. "When the boys aren't here, who will keep you company?"
  
  She smiled. "Thank you, Mel."
  
  "No problem." I grinned.
  
  We talked for a little bit after that, just random girl-things.
  
  Awhile later, Paul, Jared, and Sam came in laughing at each other.
  
  Sam automatically went to Emily's side, and Paul came over to me, and grasped my hand.
  
  Jared stood in the doorway.
  
  I felt bad for him, since he didn't have anybody.
  
  Jared left the doorway, and went out into the hallway.
  
  "Hang on." I murmured to Paul, and followed Jared out.
  
  He was looking out a window.
  
  I went up beside him.
  
  "Are you okay?" I asked.
  
  He didn't look at me. "What's happened with Emily has made us all think."
  
  I didn't say anything, so he continued.
  
  "Paul's especially worried about you." Jared said. "And since I have nobody..."
  
  My stomach lurched. "You'll find someone."
  
  He looked at me then. "How can you be so sure?"
  
  "I just know you will." I said.
  
  Jared stared at me. The way he was looking at me, scared me a bit.
  
  It reminded me of the way Paul sometimes looked at me.
  
  "Melanie..." Jared whispered, pulling me closer to him.
  
  No way.
  
  No. This was not happening.
  
  "No, Jared." I said, quietly, trying to pull away from him.
  
  He was strong.
  
  "Please." I whispered.
  
  "I can't." he said, quietly.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "Melanie..." he paused. "I think I've imprinted on you."
  Chapter 11-Scars
  
  "But...Paul's imprinted on me." I stuttered.
  
  Jared sighed. "When I look at you, it's like you're the only thing holding my world together."
  
  No. This was not going to happen.
  
  Sure, I loved Jared, but as a big brother. Definitely not the way I felt about Paul.
  
  Jared had his hand on my back, and I tried to pull away from him. This time he let me.
  
  "Jared, I can't be with you." I said.
  
  "Why not?" he asked, frowning.
  
  "Because, I'm with Paul!" I exclaimed.
  
  "So?" he asked. "Run away with me?"
  
  This was insane! "No, Jared."
  
  He sighed as if he knew I would've said no when the words escaped his mouth.
  
  "Jared, I love you," I whispered, and his eyes lit up. "But not the way you want me to love you. You're more like an older brother to me."
  
  His face fell.
  
  "I don't even think you have imprinted on me." I said. "Is it even possible?"
  
  "Who knows?" he asked me. "But, how I feel for you now is exactly what both Sam and Paul have described."
  
  I stared at him. "I'm sorry. But I can't be with you."
  
  He looked down.
  
  I felt horrible, but it was the truth. I could not be with Jared.
  
  I was with Paul.
  
  I had to repeat that over and over again in my head.
  
  Something all of a sudden snapped in Jared. He looked deep into my eyes, and took my face in his hands. I tried to wiggle free, but his grip was too tight.
  
  "Lately I've had this feeling of being pulled to you, Melanie." He whispered.
  
  Before I even knew what was going on, his lips were on mine.
  
  I didn't want this!
  
  His heat engulfed me, not in the good, comforting way of Paul's heat. I tried to get him off me, but he wouldn't budge. If my mouth was free, I would've screamed for Paul, if my mouth was free, but it obviously wasn't.
  
  "What are you doing?" demanded my knight in shining armor...or should I say furry armor?
  
  Jared broke off immediately, and I ran over to Paul's side. He tucked me under his arm.
  
  His face was thunderous. Jared looked scared.
  
  "What were you doing to her?" demanded Paul.
  
  "I-I don't know." Jared stuttered. "I-I...think I may have i-imprinted on her."
  
  "You what?" yelled Paul. I felt a tremor run through him.
  
  "It's not my fault." Jared defended.
  
  "Unimprint, Jared." Paul growled.
  
  "I can't!" Jared yelled. "You know how it feels!"
  
  Another tremor ran through Paul's body. I put my hand on his arm, trying to calm him down.
  
  "You had better try." Paul growled.
  
  "What is going on out here?" demanded a gruff voice.
  
  I had never been so happy to hear Sam's voice.
  
  "He imprinted on her!" Paul yelled.
  
  "What?" Sam asked.
  
  "He's imprinted on Melanie." Paul growled.
  
  "That's impossible." Sam said.
  
  "Apparently it's not." Paul growled again.
  
  "Melanie, you should go with Emily, we don't want you getting hurt." Sam advised me. I took a look at Paul's shaking body, and ran for Emily's room.
  
  "Is everything okay out there?" she asked, pursing the half of her mouth that wasn't covered with gauze.
  
  I sunk into a chair, holding my head in my hands.
  
  "No." I groaned.
  
  "What's wrong?" she asked.
  
  "Apparently Jared imprinted on me." I said.
  
  "Oh my god." She whispered.
  
  "Yea, I know." I agreed.
  
  "Where did Sam go?" she asked.
  
  "I think he took them outside." I said. "Paul was shaking."
  
  Emily nodded slowly.
  
  "Emily, do you mind if I sleep?" I asked. "I'm just really tired."
  
  "Sure, go ahead." She smiled.
  
  "Thank you." I said gratefully.
  
  I curled up on the comfy chair, and fell right asleep.
  
  I dreamed Paul and Jared were fighting. They both phased, and it was horrible.
  
  I woke with a start; I could feel my heart thudding in my chest. I looked around groggily. My neck was stiff, and my back was sore.
  
  But at least I wasn't tired anymore.
  
  Emily was awake, reading a book. When she saw me looking around she smiled at me.
  
  "The boys came back once through the night. They're talking about what's going to happen." She explained.
  
  "Oh." I said.
  
  "We have to change your bandages, Emily." A female nurse sang, coming into the room.
  
  She took the gauze off Emily's face, and I fought hard to keep my face blank.
  
  It looked horrible, and I felt terribly for her, it must hurt like hell! There were scars covering the whole right side of her face.
  
  She smiled weakly at me. I smiled apologetically.
  
  "You'll be out of here soon." The nurse grinned at her.
  
  When the nurse left, Paul, Jared, and Sam came in. Paul didn't look as mad as Jared did, which was good.
  
  Sam went over to Emily and kissed her lightly.
  
  Paul came over to me, and put a protective arm around my shoulders. Jared glared at him.
  
  "I should probably get home." I said, getting out of my chair.
  
  Paul walked me out of the hospital. "I'm sorry about last night."
  
  "It's okay." I said quietly. "It wasn't your fault."
  
  Paul looked away. "Something like this has never happened before."
  
  I nodded.
  
  "I don't even think it's possible." He said bitterly.
  
  "Hey," I said, turning his face to mine. "Don't get all upset about this. I love you. Not Jared. Sure, I love him as a big brother, but nothing more."
  
  Paul smiled down at me. "I was scared you might choose him over me."
  
  My heart squeezed. "How could I do that to you?"
  
  He leaned down and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he gripped my hips with his hands.
  
  Paul's heat made me feel like there was nothing wrong in the world. It soothed me, and made me forget all my worries.
  
  He deepened the kiss, and I was happy I was with him.
  
  Would I think differently if Jared had imprinted on me before Paul? If Jared had imprinted on me first, would I be standing here kissing Paul?
  
  I wanted to think so.
  
  I broke away from Paul, and plastered a small smile on my face, even though on the inside I was full of mixed emotions.
  
  Paul handed me my car keys, he had had them? Oh, right. He was the one who drove here.
  
  "Drive safe." He murmured.
  
  "I will." I said quietly.
  
  I climbed into my car, and Paul closed it behind me.
  
  I drove off, anxious to get home.
  
  Was I crazy?
  
  Yea, I thought so.
  
  I loved Paul. There was no denying it.
  
  But if Jared imprinted on you first, you would be with him. The annoying little voice in my head whispered.
  
  Shut up.
  
  It was a snooze-you-loose situation. It's Jared's fault for not getting you first. If he doesn't like it, tell him to suck it up.
  
  Okay. The voice was helping.
  
  I could not be with Jared. He is too much of a brother to me, being with him, would be as awkward as being with your biological brother.
  
  Ick.
  
  There was no competition between Jared and Paul. None what-so-ever.
  
  Nada.
  
  I needed to make that clear to Jared, somehow.
  
  Now that I thought about it, sometimes before I had caught him just looking at me. Why hadn't I taken that seriously? I had probably just thought he was jealous of Paul and my relationship, but now...
  
  Not so much.
  
  I hadn't realized I had driven the entire home in the midst of my mental blahs.
  
  I went to my room right away, and flopped down on my bed.
  
  What if I just left? Leave all this drama behind, start somewhere new.
  
  It would kill Paul, but how could I ask him to choose me over his pack brother?
  
  Unless he came with me.
  
  That was crazy.
  
  He couldn't just run away from his pack.
  
  And, the wolves were Emily's family, too. How could I even think of taking away one of them?
  
  I sighed. I didn't want to be the cause of a pack breaking up.
  
  How much would it really hurt Paul if I left?
  
  I knew the answer to that.
  
  Could an imprint break? It sent a pang through my heart thinking about it. Maybe if there was distance between the wolves and me...
  
  No. I couldn't leave. I glanced at my calendar; there were still a few months until spring break.
  
  Damn. I could go visit my best friend, Leslie, who moved to Vancouver. But my dad would never let me go before spring break.
  
  I couldn't ignore them. I knew Paul would come over the border if he thought something was wrong.
  
  Unless...
  
  No. It was crazy.
  
  The thought of hiding out at the Cullens' place popped into my head, but that was insane.
  
  Was it?
  
  No, living in a house full of vampires was definitely crazy.
  
  I wasn't eighteen yet, I couldn't move out.
  
  I really liked the thought of running away with Paul.
  
  But I knew it could never happen.
  
  I groaned, holding my head in my hands.
  
  There was a small tap at my window, it made me jump.
  
  There, standing out on my back lawn was Jared.
  
  I stared down at him.
  
  He looked up at me, pleading with his eyes.
  
  I opened my window. "What are you doing here?"
  
  "I need to talk to you."
  
  "You can't come in." I said.
  
  "Mel, I'm sorry." He said. "I shouldn't have kissed you last night, and I promise I won't get in the way of you and Paul. But if he ever hurts you, I'll kill him. I'll only ever be there as a brother for you. I wouldn't want to force you into anything."
  
  "Thank you, Jared." I whispered, but I knew he would hear me.
  
  It felt as though a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.
  
  "I have to go, I can't be here." He said, and ran off.
  
  I plopped down on my bed again.
  
  Well, my problem was solved?
  
  Was it?
  
  Ugh. I hated this.
  
  I was with Paul.
  
  End of story.
  Chapter 12-Scared
  
  The next day at school, Mike was especially annoying.
  
  "Mel, don't forget about Saturday." He reminded me.
  
  "What about Saturday?" I asked, dumbfounded.
  
  He stared at me blankly. "The trip to First Beach..."
  
  Oh. Right. "Yea, I'll be there. We're meeting at your parents' store, right?"
  
  "Yea." He said. "Bring your surfboard."
  
  "In your dreams." I retorted. "What time?"
  
  "Eight."
  
  I groaned. "Okay. Who's coming to pick me up?"
  
  "I will!" Eric said excitedly.
  
  Dammit. "Okay, you better get there one time though, and if I'm asleep...well let yourself in. The extra key is under the welcome mat."
  
  Little did Eric know, I would be hiding that key somewhere else after Saturday...
  
  I sighed.
  
  Eric was looking at me. Look at Bella! Please! I willed in my head, but Bella was looking towards the Cullens every so often, and would drop her gaze to her food right away.
  
  "Is there anything you need, Eric?" I asked.
  
  "Did we have gym homework?" he asked, lamely.
  
  I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Totally, coach told us to dribble a soccer ball, didn't you hear him?"
  
  The whole table burst out laughing, even Bella, which was a rare event for her.
  
  Eric's face turned beet red, and I had to hide my grin.
  
  I skipped gym.
  
  Yea, yea. I know what you're thinking. But really, we were doing health, and learning that stuff from Coach Clapp was not at the top of my to-do list, thank you very much.
  
  I sat in my car, and leaned back in the seat. Suddenly, there were cold hands on my mouth.
  
  "Don't scream." Warned a female voice that sounded high-pitched and girly.
  
  I froze.
  
  "Start the car." She demanded. "And drive."
  
  With my hand shaking, I started the car, and pulled out of the parking lot.
  
  I was scared to look in the rearview mirror. Her hand came away from my mouth.
  
  "Where am I going?" I whispered, voice shaking.
  
  "Anywhere." She said.
  
  I wasn't sure where to go at first, but then it clicked.
  
  I drove to the only place I knew was safe for me.
  
  I glanced in my rearview mirror, and was shocked.
  
  She was gorgeous, but had a sort-of...warrior look to her? It was like she had been running through a forest all day.
  
  Her flaming red hair had leaves and twigs in it.
  
  But, the eyes were the scariest part.
  
  They were ruby red.
  
  Seriously. What was she?
  
  As I crossed the border between Forks and La Push, I sped to Emily's house, praying they were there.
  
  I groaned silently as I saw Jared sitting on her porch.
  
  I pulled over and ran to him, the woman in my car stared at me, and got out.
  
  "What's wrong?" Jared asked me.
  
  I pointed at the crazy red-head, trying to stop my hand from shaking.
  
  They faced each other, and I bit back a hysterical laugh as the crinkled their noses in unison.
  
  "You should get out of here, or you'll be sorry." He warned.
  
  She glared at him. "What can you do? You smell like a dog."
  
  I slumped on Emily's little couch on her porch.
  
  "You don't want to know what I can do." Jared growled.
  
  She laughed at him, and it sounded like bells.
  
  Heh...how could someone so evil sound like bells?
  
  I felt a bit light headed.
  
  What was wrong with me? I glanced at Jared, oh, had he chased crazy fire hair away?
  
  She was gone?
  
  Oh, Jared was coming over to me.
  
  He was right in front of me.
  
  I giggled. How had he moved so fast?
  
  Uh oh, his mouth was moving...what was he saying?
  
  I couldn't concentrate, and that made me burst into more fits of laughter.
  
  Before I knew what was happening, I was lifted off the ground. Where was I?
  
  I sighed as I was plopped onto something soft.
  
  And warm.
  
  I fell right asleep.
  
  When I woke up I was confused. Where was I? What had happened? I looked around, rubbing my eyes.
  
  Jared was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room I was in.
  
  Was I in Emily's house?
  
  Why?
  
  "Because, there was a bloodsucker in your car with you." Jared said. Had I been talking out loud during my morning sleepiness? Lovely. "You drove here, and you fainted, or something."
  
  "Oh." I said. "Is Paul here?"
  
  Jared's face darkened a shade. I didn't give a crap. "No, but he's coming."
  
  Good. A huge flood of relief washed through me.
  
  "You saved me?" I asked.
  
  "Yea, I guess I did." He shrugged, and then added bitterly, "What are brothers for?"
  
  I glared at him. "I thought you were fine with this!"
  
  "I'm trying to be." He sighed.
  
  "Mel?" called a voice from the kitchen.
  
  My heart almost swelled right out of my chest.
  
  "Back here!" I called.
  
  Paul came loping into the bedroom, and jumped to my side, taking my head in his big, gentle hands.
  
  "Are you okay?" he murmured.
  
  I kissed him long and hard, as if he were my life preserver.
  
  "Now I am." I whispered.
  Chapter 13-Moving?
  
  I woke to the sound of someone knocking on my door.
  
  I groaned and rolled over.
  
  Then, there was more knocking, this time on my bedroom door.
  
  "Mel? It's Eric...we have to get to Mike's parents' store soon..."
  
  He cracked my door open.
  
  "Get out." I growled. "I'll be out in five minutes."
  
  I sighed as I rolled out of bed. This was way too early to be moving for a Saturday.
  
  I somehow managed to get ready in less than five minutes.
  
  Why had I agreed to this?
  
  I could go to First Beach anytime. With Paul.
  
  Eric was waiting outside my bedroom door.
  
  "Ready?" he asked.
  
  "Yea," I said. "Can we stop for coffee on the way?"
  
  "Sure." He grinned.
  
  I got my coffee, and I was the teeniest bit happier.
  
  Except for the fact that Eric wouldn't stop talking.
  
  I was glad when we got to the Newton's sporting good store; I automatically distanced myself from Eric.
  
  We all piled into the car we were taking, I wasn't even sure whose car it was, and started driving. Bella was in the front, where Mike had dragged her to.
  
  I stifled a laugh. He was trying to flirt with her, and it obviously wasn't working. She was more into Edward.
  
  As soon as we crossed over the invisible border between La Push and Forks, I automatically felt at home.
  
  La Push was totally my second home.
  
  Maybe when I was eighteen I would move down here.
  
  Maybe? Whispered that annoying voice in my head. Don't kid yourself. You know you're going to live here when you're eighteen, so you can be with Paul.
  
  Okay, it was right.
  
  I had told Paul to be at the beach today, but who knew when he would show up?
  
  Mike wanted to surf. I told him no.
  
  He dragged me out to the water, and threw me in.
  
  I was going to kill him.
  
  "You want me to surf?" I challenged, shivering in my wet clothes.
  
  "Yea." He grinned.
  
  I glared at him. "You first."
  
  He was walking out into the water, getting ready to mount his board, and I pushed him in, face-first.
  
  "That's what you get." I said.
  
  I went over to where the other girls were sitting, and Bella handed me a towel.
  
  "Thanks." I muttered.
  
  Jessica and Lauren were fighting the urge to laugh at me. I glared at both of them.
  
  My death-glare must have worked, since they stopped giggling right away.
  
  But, they were looking over my shoulder.
  
  I turned, and saw my Paul.
  
  I grinned at him, and hugged him. His warmth made me feel a million times better.
  
  "What happened to you?" he asked, quietly. "You look like a washed up cat."
  
  "Mike Newton threw my in the water." I said, gritting my teeth.
  
  "Want me to take care of him?" Paul smirked.
  
  "Nah, I did it." I said.
  
  Paul chuckled and put his arm around me. Jessica and Lauren's jaws hung open.
  
  Bella blushed slightly. Angela was grinning.
  
  I was warming up, and drying really quickly.
  
  People were staring at us, which really ticked me off. Eric had a face that was half shock, half trauma.
  
  Okay, I smirked a little at him.
  
  I sat with Paul on a log, with a few other people. Then, Sam and Jared came.
  
  I was a little surprised to see Sam here, was Emily home already?
  
  I was even more surprised when Jared didn't make a face at Paul's arm around me.
  
  "Is Emily home?" I asked.
  
  "Yes," Sam said. "She's getting re-settled. She says it's strange to not have the gauze on her face anymore."
  
  "Oh." I said.
  
  "Did you tell her?" Sam asked Paul.
  
  At first I thought they were talking to Emily, but when Paul's arm tightened around me, I wasn't so sure.
  
  "Not yet." He said through gritted teeth.
  
  I stared at them blankly, having no idea what was going on.
  
  "If you don't tell her, I will." Jared warned.
  
  "Tell me what?" I asked, pleading at Paul with my eyes.
  
  We locked eyes.
  
  "I want you to come live down here in La Push." He said.
  
  "Why?" I asked, disbelieving the words that were coming out of his mouth.
  
  "Because you could've been kil-" Sam cut Paul off.
  
  "Maybe we could take this somewhere a bit more private?" he urged, looking around at the other students staring at the scene that was sure to go down any second.
  
  I sighed, Paul obviously wasn't thinking straight. There were lots of reasons why I couldn't come down to live here. Yet.
  
  First, I wasn't eighteen. My parents would never let me go.
  
  Second, I still had school, I wasn't going to switch schools with less than a year and half till I graduated. No way.
  
  Third, where would I live? I didn't have enough for my own apartment yet.
  
  What was Paul thinking?
  
  I hadn't realized we had been walking to where all the cars were, my mind blabbing had got the best of me. Again.
  
  "Mel, you could've been killed by that red-headed bloodsucker." Paul growled. "I want you safe, where I can always see you."
  
  I rolled my eyes. "I'm not eighteen!"
  
  "So?" he asked.
  
  "My parents will never let me." I objected.
  
  "I don't care." He growled. "Forks isn't safe."
  
  "Paul, listen to yourself." I begged. "I'm not eighteen, I have school, and I don't have enough money to but my own apartment."
  
  "I have my own apartment." He reasoned. "You could live with me. And as for school, well there's the school down here, and we can make something up to deal with your parents."
  
  It did sound great to live with Paul...
  
  No. I couldn't.
  
  I looked at Paul deep into his eyes. "I can't come live with you."
  
  "Why not?" he asked.
  
  "I've told you already." I sighed. "Wait another year, when I'm legal."
  
  He smiled a small smile at me. "You'd really come live with me?"
  
  "Yes." I promised.
  
  "I love you." He whispered.
  
  "I love you, too." I said pulling his face close to mine.
  
  And then there was a sound of someone clearing their throat.
  
  "Not to be rude or anything," Jared said sheepishly. "But PDA can really make people feel uncomfortable."
  
  I sighed, knowing the moment between Paul and I was over.
  
  I glared at Jared as I pushed past him and walked back to the beach.
  
  Mike wanted to go for a hike, I giggled when I saw that his hair still hadn't dried, like mine.
  
  We went for the hike, I had Paul leading me, since I didn't trust Mike, and Paul was running around here every night.
  
  At some point we were separated from the rest.
  
  "Where are we?" I whispered to Paul.
  
  "Who cares?" he grinned. "We're alone.
  
  I smiled at him, and pulled his face down to mine again. He kissed me, and I felt every ounce of his love for me in that kiss.
  
  He broke off, but I still wanted more, I pulled his face back to mine, and kissed him. He gripped my hips, and I ran my fingers through his short, cropped hair. He deepened the kiss, and I knew why I hadn't run screaming from Emily's hospital room that day.
  
  I loved Paul, with all my heart. Nothing would separate us.
  
  I heard a small "oh!" from somewhere around us.
  
  I broke away from Paul, and looked around. Bella had tripped over a rock, and I rushed over to help her.
  
  "Are you okay?" I asked, helping her to her feet.
  
  "Yeah, just a few scrapes." She smiled at me. "Thanks, Mel."
  
  "No problem." I grinned. Paul had come up behind me, by this time. "Bella, this is Paul."
  
  "Nice to meet you." She smiled shyly.
  
  "Ditto." He said.
  
  We walked back to the beach where they were starting a bonfire. More Quilieute boys had shown up.
  
  When Lauren put Bella on the spot by telling how she invited Edward, her face turned red, and the three wolves around me stiffened.
  
  "The Cullens don't come here." Sam said gruffly.
  
  I looked away from him, fighting the urge to roll my eyes.
  
  Well, in Sam's mind, he probably somehow blamed what happened to Emily on the Cullens. He probably thought that if Alice hadn't let Paul over the border, it never would've happened.
  
  Yea right.
  
  Bella and a Quileute Boy, Jacob, took a walk.
  
  Paul, Jared, and Sam stared after them.
  
  "Wanna go?" Paul whispered in my ear.
  
  "And spy?" I asked, acting disgusted. "Let's go!"
  
  We snuck around behind Bella and Jacob, and hid behind rocks.
  
  "Did you know the Quileutes are supposedly descended from wolves?" I could barely hear Jacob, Bella spoke even softer. I had no idea what either of them said, I only caught snippets.
  
  Paul looked pissed. "He's telling her!"
  
  "Shhh!" I complained.
  
  "It's just a scary story, Bella, it's not true." Jacob laughed, and then said something else.
  
  "Crap!" Paul said. Then tackled me.
  
  "What?" I managed to get out.
  
  He grinned down at me. Then whispered, "They're coming this way."
  
  I laughed at Paul, as he was tickling my sides, and pecked him on the lips.
  
  Paul got off me, and we went back to the bonfire, and since it was dark, I got the real effect of the different colours of the flames.
  
  It was really gorgeous.
  
  It made me appreciate what I had a bit more.
  Chapter 14-Unfair
  
  That night when I got home from the beach, I hid our extra key under a little ceramic gnome we had.
  
  Yes, I picked it out. He's really cute.
  
  Don't judge me, okay?
  
  He was the only gnome left, and he is adorable.
  
  Okay?
  
  I went up to my room, and fell right asleep.
  
  I woke up and I was the teeniest bit confused.
  
  What day was it today?
  
  Oh, Sunday. Right.
  
  Ahhh I didn't have to work till Johnny called me again. When did he say he was coming back?
  
  I thought hard about it, but couldn't concentrate long enough to remember.
  
  I sighed happily, not wanting to get out of bed. It was too warm and comfortable.
  
  "Hey sleepy head." My dad called, knocking on my door. "Are you going to get up today at all?"
  
  "What time is it?" I asked.
  
  "Noon." He said.
  
  I had slept that long? "I'll be a few minutes."
  
  I dragged myself out of bed, and pulled a sweater on over the tank top I was wearing.
  
  I went downstairs to where my dad was waiting at the kitchen table.
  
  "I heard there's a school dance coming up." He said.
  
  I groaned. "And?"
  
  "Are you going?" he asked.
  
  "Well, since Paul doesn't go to my school, and they probably won't like an outsider at the dance, I think no." I said, crossing my arms.
  
  "You should go with one of the boys here." He said.
  
  I rolled my eyes. "No thanks. I think I'll just spend that day in La Push."
  
  He pursed his lips.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "You're spending an awful lot of time down there." He said. "And I don't like Sam Uley's gang."
  
  I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "They're not a gang, dad!"
  
  "I want you to stay away from them." He said.
  
  "No." I said. "No, dad, I can't do that. I won't."
  
  "Yes, you will." He fought. "You're my daughter, and I don't want you hanging out with the wrong crowd. Stay away from those boys."
  
  "But, Paul hangs out with him." I objected, stating the obvious.
  
  "I know." He said.
  
  "Dad, please." I begged. "They're helping La Push, they're not a gang. They're not trouble, and they're not violent."
  
  "I've heard stories about them." He said. "They have bad tempers."
  
  "Ooooh I'll be sure to pack pepper spray next time I go down, just in case one of them gets mad at me." I said, pissed.
  
  "Mel, I will ground you." He warned. "Don't give me attitude."
  
  "You know what, dad?" I said. "You're being unreasonable. There are worse things out there than Sam."
  
  "I saw his girlfriend." He said quietly. "She had scars all down her face..."
  
  "That was an accident." I said, gritting my teeth, not wanting to go into that. How could I explain it to him?
  
  "What happened to her?" he asked.
  
  Crap. "There was a wild dog, I think it had rabies or something," I lied. "And it got too close to Emily, and it scratched her. Lots."
  
  He didn't look like he bought it.
  
  "You're grounded." He said.
  
  I glared at him. "What did I do?"
  
  "Gave me attitude." He said. "And you were going to try and defy what I said. You're only allowed out for school and work. That's it."
  
  "For how long?" I asked.
  
  "A month."
  
  A month? One whole month without Paul?
  
  He had to be kidding.
  
  "A month?" I sputtered.
  
  "Yes." He said. "I'm not joking."
  
  I stomped up to my room, and threw myself on my bed.
  
  A month. Without Paul.
  
  No way.
  
  Nope. I wouldn't do it.
  
  First, I would go crazy. Hell, I went crazy not seeing him every day.
  
  Second, he would go crazy.
  
  I wasn't going to not see Paul for a month.
  
  There was absolutely nothing my dad could do about that.
  
  I would skip class to go see him if I had to. I would sneak out every night to see him.
  
  My dad would not stop Paul and me from being together.
  
  Not. Going. To. Happen.
  
  I flopped on my bed, and went back to sleep, seeing as that was the only thing I could do on a Sunday when I was grounded.
  
  I woke up to my phone ringing.
  
  "Hello?" I asked, breathless.
  
  "Mel?" Paul's urgent voice answered.
  
  "Hey." I sighed happily.
  
  "Why haven't you been answering your phone?" he asked, worriedly. "It took everything in me not to come across the border and see if you were okay."
  
  "Oh, no. I'm fine." I assured him. "I was asleep."
  
  "Are you going to come down today?" he asked.
  
  I sighed. "No, my dad grounded me. I'm only allowed out of the house for school and work."
  
  "Oh." He said, obviously upset.
  
  "I know." I sighed. "It sucks."
  
  He laughed. "Yea, it does."
  
  I sighed and rolled onto my back. "I'll sneak out every night to see you if I have to."
  
  "I don't want you to get in more trouble." Paul objected.
  
  "My dad's asleep at ten o'clock every night." I said, rolling my eyes. "He'll never know. And there's no way I'm going a month without seeing you."
  
  "You know there is another alternative..." he trailed off.
  
  "Paul, I'm not moving in with you." I said. "We've been over this."
  
  "I could always just take you..."
  
  "No Paul." I said. "Chief Swan would be on your ass in a second, and he'd arrest you. And, my dad would probably think I left willingly, and he'd ground me for even longer."
  
  He sighed.
  
  "Look, I know how badly you want me to move in with you, but I'm not eighteen yet, and I want to graduate at my high school."
  
  "After graduation you'll come?"
  
  "I promise." I said, smiling into the phone.
  
  "Good." I could hear the smile in his voice. "I feel better when you're with me."
  
  "I feel better when I'm with you, too." I said.
  
  My stomach growled.
  
  "Even I heard that." Paul laughed. "Go get something to eat. I love you."
  
  I smiled. "I love you too."
  
  "Bye Mel."
  
  "Bye Paul." I said, flipping my phone closed.
  
  I padded down to the kitchen, and my dad was there reading a book.
  
  I didn't look at him as I poured myself some cereal and milk. I sat at the table across from him, not saying a thing.
  
  I quietly ate, while I could tell he was getting uncomfortable. He wanted to say something, but was waiting.
  
  I chewed, waiting.
  
  He put the book down and cleared his throat. I didn't look up.
  
  "Mel." He said.
  
  I didn't look at him, or say anything.
  
  "I want you to go to that dance."
  
  Still, I didn't say anything.
  
  He sighed. "I know you're mad, but I'm just trying to keep you safe."
  
  I was probably as safe as anyone could be with three wolves helping me.
  
  "Say something." He practically begged.
  
  "Why do I have to go?" I asked, pissed off.
  
  "It will be good for you to know boys at your school." He said.
  
  I rolled my eyes. "I know all the boys at my school; I've known them my whole life! When I finally get a good boyfriend, you want me to stay away from him! That's not going to happen, dad."
  
  He muttered something under his breath, and I didn't bother listening to what it was.
  
  He pushed away from the table, and went to watch TV.
  
  I rolled my eyes, and finished my cereal.
  
  One thing I did know, I was not going to that dance.
  
  Chapter 15-Dance
  
  The dance was awful.
  
  Eric ditched Angela, twice, to ask me to dance. I felt bad for her, but she seemed to be really interested in Ben.
  
  Which was good, she wouldn't have to live through the horror of dating Eric.
  
  Jessica and Mike seemed happy.
  
  It wouldn't last.
  
  I should make a bet with someone on that.
  
  I sat in the corner the whole time, drinking a coke, and texting Paul.
  
  He was tired. Again.
  
  Stupid Sam.
  
  I sighed, and glanced down at what I was wearing. Jeans and t-shirt.
  
  I bit back a laugh; every other girl here went over the top with their outfits.
  
  It's not like I cared, anyway.
  
  I would rather be with Paul. If my dad hadn't grounded me and made me come to the dance, I would be with Paul right now.
  
  I should be with Paul right now.
  
  But, if I left the dance, one of the chaperones would tell him, he made a deal with Mr. Newton.
  
  I groaned I still had a few hours of this hell.
  
  The music sucked, and there was no breathing room. I was getting stuffed up.
  
  This was hell. If only Paul were here, it would be a million times better.
  
  No, I wasn't bitter because I didn't have a date. I was bitter because my would-be date couldn't come here, and I was stuck here, away from him, for another twenty-eight days.
  
  Yes, I was counting.
  
  I got up, and told Mr. Newton I was going home. He called my dad.
  
  I sighed, waiting for them to get off the phone.
  
  Mr. Newton gave me the okay, and I bolted out of the gym.
  
  I drove home, and made a face at my dad's back when I saw him working in the garden.
  
  "Wanna help me?" he asked.
  
  "Nope." I said, breezing by him into our house. I went for the fridge, and grabbed an apple. I washed it and crunched into it.
  
  My dad came in the house, then.
  
  "How was the dance?"
  
  "Awful." I said, going up to my room.
  
  I flopped onto my bed, and munched on my apple.
  
  I hated being grounded. I hated being away from Paul.
  
  Emily explained to me that the imprint only went one way that Paul had imprinted on me and it wasn't the other way around.
  
  But it physically hurt being away from him. Maybe Emily was wrong?
  
  Then there was Jared, who seemed to always be in the way of Paul and my alone time. I was glad to be getting a break from him, but I missed Paul terribly.
  Chapter 16-Unstable
  
  I drove home, feeling a bit happy.
  
  Two more weeks till I could see Paul again.
  
  When I walked in the door, my dad wasn't there. I shrugged, he was probably still at work.
  
  Johnny still hadn't called me, it was pissing me off just a bit, but he had personal stuff to do.
  
  I plopped down on the couch and went channel surfing.
  
  A few hours after old reruns of Friends, there was a knock at the door.
  
  I opened it to see Chief Swan there, his face ashen.
  
  "Melanie?" he asked.
  
  "Yes?" I answered.
  
  "I'm afraid I have some bad news." He said, looking down. "There was another animal attack in the woods..."
  
  My heart rate increased.
  
  "You're father was out hunting."
  
  My hands started to shake.
  
  Chief Swan looked at me grimly. "I'm so very sorry, Melanie."
  
  That was when my world fell apart, and came crashing down around me.
  
  I don't remember falling, but I do remember Chief Swan picking me up, and putting me on the couch.
  
  I couldn't think. Couldn't speak. Wouldn't believe it.
  
  No.
  
  No way.
  
  This wasn't happening.
  
  I don't remember when Chief Swan let himself out, but I knew at one point that he was gone.
  
  I curled up in a ball on the couch, and tried to make sense of everything.
  
  I did the only thing I could think to do.
  
  I called my wolf.
  
  "Paul, I need you." Was all I could manage to say.
  
  Twenty minutes later, Paul's strong, warm arms were around me, murmuring wordless nothings in my ear, trying to soothe me.
  
  That's when it hit me.
  
  My father was dead.
  
  I buried my head in Paul's shoulder, and balled my eyes out.
  
  Then stopped cold.
  
  Chief Swan had said it was an animal attack.
  
  Animal. Attack.
  
  I jumped away from Paul.
  
  "What's wrong?" he asked.
  
  "You..." I gasped. "You did this!"
  
  "What?" he asked, getting up.
  
  "Chief Swan said it was an animal attack!" I screamed, tears streaming down my cheeks. "It was you and your pack of mutts!"
  
  "We didn't touch your father, we weren't even in the woods today." He tried to reason.
  
  "It was you!" I screamed, heart breaking. "How could you?"
  
  "It wasn't us!" he tried to defend himself.
  
  "Don't lie to me, Paul." I warned.
  
  "I'm not, Mel, please listen to Me." he begged.
  
  "No," I said. "I can't...I-I..."
  
  He pulled me into his arms, I wanted to push him away, but couldn't do it. He was too strong.
  
  "I think I need to be alone right now." I whispered. "And you shouldn't be here, you'll get in trouble."
  
  "I'm not leaving." He said quietly. "You should sleep, I'll stay down here."
  
  "The Cullens..." I started.
  
  "Will understand what you're going through." He said.
  
  I bit my lip, not wanting to ask, but I had to. "What did this to him?"
  
  "A vampire." He said, scowling.
  
  "A Cullen?" I gasped.
  
  "No, I don't think so. They don't hunt humans."
  
  I thought about Jasper, and how Alice had told me he had the hardest time...
  
  No. she would stop him.
  
  I went up to my room, and curled into a little a little ball on my bed.
  
  My dad was dead.
  
  My mom was no where to be found, seeing as she hadn't called us since the day she landed in Florida.
  
  I don't know how I managed to fall asleep, but when I woke up I felt oddly refreshed.
  
  And then I remembered.
  
  A whole slew of emotions ran through me, anger, sadness, guilt.
  
  I felt dizzy sitting in my bed.
  
  He was gone.
  
  I fell back on my bed, fighting the urge to cry out in pure agony.
  
  He was just gone.
  
  I would never see my father again.
  
  Ever.
  
  The thought sent a painful pang through me.
  
  How could this day get any worse?
  
  I went downstairs, where Paul was dozing on the couch.
  
  I sat on him.
  
  He woke up. Looked at me.
  
  I looked back.
  
  He held his arms out for me, and I fell into them, sobbing into his chest.
  
  I finally let it all out; I cried my eyes out while Paul comforted me.
  
  He held me, and just let me cry. He didn't say anything, didn't try to stop me, didn't do anything except be my security blanket.
  
  It was the best thing he could do for me.
  
  I didn't want to hear him tell me that everything would be okay, I didn't want him to lie to me, and I just needed him to be there for me.
  
  And he did that.
  
  He did exactly what I needed from him.
  
  My phone rang, and Paul answered it.
  
  "There's been a situation." He said shortly. Pause. "I have to be here with her." Pause. "No, I'm not leaving until she's stable on her own." Pause. "Treaty or no treaty, there's been an emergency here, and she needs me." Pause. "Maybe you should ask someone like you." He snapped. "I'll be here until she doesn't need me, I'm not leaving her side." He snapped the phone shut, and squeezed me tight.
  
  "Is everything okay?" I whispered.
  
  "Yes. Don't worry." He smiled weakly.
  
  "Okay." I said.
  
  And I stopped worrying.
  Chapter 17-Condolences
  
  There wasn't a funeral.
  
  Paul stood beside me as the casket was lowered into the small grave of the small cemetery.
  
  I fought back the tears that were threatening to come to the surface any second.
  
  Paul squeezed my hand.
  
  I sighed, I wanted to leave. Just wanted to get out of here.
  
  I cast a desperate glance at Paul, he understood, and pulled me away and to his car.
  
  "Are you okay?" he asked as he drove.
  
  "Yes. I'll be fine." I smiled weakly at him.
  
  "Where do you want to go?" he asked.
  
  "I don't know." I shrugged. "I don't care."
  
  He smiled. "We'll just drive around for a bit."
  
  "Okay." I smiled, taking his hand.
  
  I was the teeniest bit pissed at my mom. I had called her a whole bunch of times, but she didn't pick up any time.
  
  It was ridiculous.
  
  Shouldn't she know what was going on?
  
  I had left her a lot of messages; maybe she was just being a bitch and not answering.
  
  Whatever. It was her fault if she didn't care anymore.
  
  I sighed and Paul squeezed my hand.
  
  "I want to go home." I said quietly. "I need some alone time."
  
  "Mel, I don't want to leave you there alone."
  
  "Paul, please." I begged. "I just need to be alone right now."
  
  He cast a sidelong glance at me.
  
  "If that's really what you want..."
  
  "Yes."
  
  He drove to my house, and kissed me lightly on my cheek before I got out.
  
  I went up to my room, and fell onto my bed.
  
  I shouldn't have asked Paul to let me be alone.
  
  Being alone made me think more about everything that had happened.
  
  It made me feel even worse.
  
  I wasn't going to go to school for a bit, I needed some time to feel better about this.
  
  I curled into a ball, a tiny part of me still in denial.
  
  He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be.
  
  It wasn't possible.
  
  My phone rang.
  
  "Hello?" I managed to choke out.
  
  "Oh Mel I heard!" came Alice's tinkling voice. "I'm so sorry."
  
  "Thank you." I murmured.
  
  "Do you know what caused this?" she asked.
  
  "Paul told me it was a...a vampire." I said.
  
  There was silence on the other end.
  
  "A vampire?" she asked. "No, it couldn't have been. We don't hunt humans."
  
  "Paul said it probably wasn't you." I sighed.
  
  I heard a tiny sigh of relief escape her lips.
  
  "So there are more vampires in town?" I asked, trying to get my mind off other things.
  
  "I guess so." She said. "It's probably just passing through. We'll keep an eye out, though."
  
  "Thank you, Alice." I said.
  
  "You know, where you live may not be the safest place for you right now, and you'll get awfully lonely..." she trailed off.
  
  "And?" I asked.
  
  "Well, I was thinking, maybe you could come here and live with us."
  
  I froze on the other end of the line.
  
  No way, I couldn't live with the Cullens...
  
  "It will be good for Jasper, seeing as it looks like Bella's going to be around a lot more now."
  
  "No, Alice I can't." I said sadly. "Paul would hate the smell, and I can't be away from him."
  
  I heard her sigh.
  
  "Alice, I'd love to live with you, but I can't." I said with a sigh.
  
  "Look, I know you'll be lonely, maybe you could just stay over for a few nights?" she asked.
  
  "No, I can't. You have a vampire to find, remember?" I said.
  
  She sighed. "Promise you'll spend the night in the summer or something?"
  
  "I promise."
  
  "Good." Her voice brightened.
  
  "Alice, I want to sleep." I said, trying as hard as I could not to sound rude.
  
  "Go to sleep, feel better, Mel."
  
  "Bye Alice." I said, hanging up.
  
  I fell asleep as soon as I put my head on the pillow.
  
  I woke up feeling gross. I was still in my clothes from whenever we had been to the cemetery.
  
  When had that been?
  
  I checked my clock. Midnight.
  
  I guess it was yesterday, then.
  
  What day was it today?
  
  No idea.
  
  If it was a school day, was I going?
  
  Nope.
  
  I sighed, feeling miserable. I didn't want to eat, didn't want to talk to anyone, and I definitely didn't want to do anything.
  
  I lay in bed for a bit, staring at the ceiling. Trying not to think.
  
  About anything.
  
  My phone rang.
  
  Who was calling me?
  
  It wasn't even five o'clock yet!
  
  "Hello?" I growled into my phone.
  
  "Oh Mel! I just heard! I'm so sorry!" Jessica's voice said, she sounded like she had been crying.
  
  "Thanks." I muttered, not wanting to talk about it. "Why are you up so early?"
  
  "Oh, I went for a run this morning, I couldn't sleep." She said.
  
  I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
  
  "I have to look my best for Mike!" she squealed.
  
  Were they an item now?
  
  Good luck.
  
  "Okay..." I said.
  
  "Are you coming to school today?" she asked.
  
  "No," I said. "I-I can't just yet."
  
  "Okay." She said. "I'll let you rest. Come back soon."
  
  "Bye Jess." I said, and hung up.
  Chapter 18-Not Ready
  
  A week or so later, there was a knock on my door at seven thirty in the morning.
  
  I didn't make a move to get up.
  
  The knocking persisted.
  
  I didn't care, I was still in bed.
  
  A few seconds later, Alice was standing in my doorway.
  
  "Get up." She commanded.
  
  "Why?" I groaned.
  
  "You need to get to school." She said, rolling her eyes.
  
  "I don't want to go." I sighed.
  
  "You can't afford to miss anymore." She said.
  
  I sighed. She was right. "Alice, I-I can't...it's too hard right now."
  
  She sat on my bed. "I know it's hard, but you can't miss too much. Spring break is coming up, and you should get back before then, at least."
  
  "Alice, not today, please?" I begged.
  
  "Nope." She said, pulling my covers off of me.
  
  I groaned.
  
  "Go shower." She said. "I'll find something for you to wear."
  
  I rolled out of bed, and hopped into the shower.
  
  The hot water felt good on my tight hair really did need a good wash. I'm sure I stood under the water for a good ten minutes, because it felt so good.
  
  I dried myself off, brushed through my hair and saw Alice holding up an outfit for me.
  
  "No way." I said.
  
  "Why?" she pouted.
  
  "I'm not wearing those shorts without leggings! Do you see how short they are?"
  
  "Fine." She pouted.
  
  I pulled on the leggings, short shorts and tank top she had picked out for me. I looked at her when I was done.
  
  "Hair." Was all she said, grinning evilly.
  
  What had I gotten myself into?
  
  She sat me down, and pulled a blow dryer out of her purse.
  
  "How did you fit that in there?" I gasped.
  
  "Shhh." She hushed, turning it on.
  
  She dried my hair, and then brought out a curling iron. How she worked them without using a plug was beyond me, battery operated?
  
  She curled my hair, and it did look good, but for something like prom, not a regular school day.
  
  She fixed my side bangs, and smiled at me. Then, of course, she put make up on me.
  
  "I'm driving!" she sang.
  
  "You really don't need to..." I objected.
  
  "I like your car." She grinned. "It can go pretty fast, not like Bella's."
  
  "I actually like Bella's truck." I said. "It's vintage."
  
  "Yea, but it doesn't go fast." She complained.
  
  I sighed, as she pushed me out the front door.
  
  "I forgot my bag." I said.
  
  "It's in the car." She said, getting in the driver's side of my car.
  
  "How did you get my keys?" I asked, once in the passenger seat.
  
  "It's a talent. Plus, you take really long showers." She grinned.
  
  I glowered out the window. Why had Alice made me do this? I didn't want to face everybody yet.
  
  I sighed quietly as Alice pulled into the parking lot, getting the best spot.
  
  She got out, and looked at me through the window. I looked back.
  
  She sighed, and got back in.
  
  "What's wrong?" she asked.
  
  "I-I can't do it yet." I said, feeling the weight of today on my shoulders.
  
  She closed her car door, and started the car.
  
  "Where are we going?"
  
  "Anywhere." I said.
  
  And so, we did.
  
  Chapter 19-Helping out Bella
  
  Alice took me to Port Angeles. She was practically bouncing with excitement.
  
  "Why are you so excited?" I asked.
  
  "Edward's letting us meet Bella!"
  
  I smiled. "Congrats."
  
  "I'm so excited!" she said. "Finally I get to talk to her!"
  
  I smiled at Alice.
  
  She shoved me into the fitting room to try a bunch of stuff on. They all fit, of course.
  
  I got out of the fitting room, and Alice grabbed the clothes from me. There were so many they almost swallowed her whole.
  
  "Go over there into Coach, and find yourself a purse." She commanded.
  
  "Alice, no!" I objected. "Do you know how much anything in that store costs?"
  
  She gave me a look that said, obviously, now go! But I didn't budge.
  
  She glowered at me. "So difficult." She muttered.
  
  She paid for all my clothes, which I didn't like much, but there was no way to say no to Alice when she was shopping.
  
  I was surprised I had managed to stop her from throwing me into Coach. I was getting better at this!
  
  We walked out of the clothing store, and she sat me down on a bench outside Coach. She threw the bags on me.
  
  "Wait here." She said as I tried to look at her through the mountain of bags.
  
  I couldn't dig my way out. There were too many!
  
  She was back not five minutes later.
  
  She put some of the bags on the ground, and was holding up a new purse.
  
  Okay, it was pretty awesome. It was black, with a medium length strap, and a little chain on it. Of course, the Coach design was on it, but that just added to the purse.
  
  "How much was it?" I sighed.
  
  "None of your beeswax." She grinned. She pulled a matching wallet out of the purse. "You like it?"
  
  I sighed. "I love it."
  
  "Good!" she grinned. "We need to find something for Bella, to welcome her to the family. I was thinking about getting her a car..."
  
  "Alice, she doesn't really seem like a material girl." I said. "She loves her truck, and isn't into wearing designer clothes."
  
  Alice pouted. "What can I buy her then?"
  
  "Nothing." I said, smiling. "I think with Bella, the little things count more than money. For her, she doesn't need people to go crazy buying her things."
  
  Alice sighed. "I'm glad you can take gifts."
  
  "Don't get used to it." I warned. "I don't want you spending a lot of money on me."
  
  Alice laughed. "You have no idea."
  
  I groaned. Maybe I had helped Bella a bit; I could tell that she hated being the centre of attention from how she acted at school. She hated answering questions, and hated presenting things more than anyone else.
  
  She would always get all nervous, and blush a lot.
  
  There was something weird about Edward, though. He had approached me a bunch of times to ask me about her. And he wanted me to keep track of her on sunny days.
  
  Which was weird, because wouldn't Alice just know what was happening to her?
  
  Maybe that van accident had scared him.
  
  I bit back a laugh. The van had scared him? He had probably been more scared than Bella had.
  
  We were in the car by then, and I had burst out laughing. Alice stared at me.
  
  "Nothing." I managed to choke out through fits of giggles.
  
  "Okay then." She muttered, driving back to Forks.
  Chapter 20- Caught in the Middle
  
  I managed the rest of the week of school, and the week after that was Spring Break, which was good.
  
  It was Wednesday morning; I had spent the night with Paul in La Push in his little apartment.
  
  No, we didn't do anything.
  
  I was curled to his side, he was snoring lightly.
  
  My phone rang. I almost growled.
  
  "Hello?" I asked, annoyed.
  
  "Mel?" came Alice's worried voice.
  
  Alice, worried? "What's wrong?" I asked, bolting up.
  
  "We need your help." She said. "I'm not in Forks. Something happened, there's a vampire, and he's tracking Bella. He wants to either turn her, or drain her."
  
  "What am I supposed to do?" I asked, going into the bathroom where Paul hopefully wouldn't hear me.
  
  "Well..." she said. "Edward had an idea, you look a bit like Bella, I mean, you're her height, and you're hair is black, but it's not that much darker than Bella's, you're both pale, the eye colour's wrong, but that's okay, he won't look at that..."
  
  "Alice, what is it?" I asked.
  
  "He wants to use you as bait." She said.
  
  "Bait?" I repeated.
  
  "Yea, to lead the tracker into a trap." She said. "You'd just have to stand there, wearing something of hers."
  
  Paul banged on the bathroom door. "Open it, Mel."
  
  "Alice, I have to go." I said.
  
  "No!" roared Paul. "I want to talk to her."
  
  "Let him talk to me." Alice sighed.
  
  I opened he door, and Paul looked thunderous. I handed him the phone.
  
  He yelled at Alice, telling her there was no way I was going to be put in danger for a 'leech's' human.
  
  As Paul yelled at Alice, I cleaned his apartment. I made his bed, tidied things up, and ate breakfast.
  
  He was still yelling.
  
  I showered.
  
  Out of the shower.
  
  He was still yelling at her.
  
  I blow dried my hair, straightened it, got dressed, put on make up.
  
  He wasn't yelling anymore.
  
  But he looked mad, and he was still on the phone.
  
  I held my hand out for it.
  
  He shook his head at me.
  
  I gave him a look.
  
  He sighed, and gave it to me.
  
  Alice was in the middle of a rant to him.
  
  "If Mel was in the kind of danger Bella is in, you would want Bella to do this for you." She said hotly.
  
  "Alice." I said.
  
  "Hey Mel." She said.
  
  "What do I have to do?"
  
  Alice had told me to meet Edward at their house; she gave me directions, and granted Paul permission to come with me.
  
  It was a quiet drive there.
  
  Finally, he said something.
  
  "What are you thinking, Mel?" he asked.
  
  "That I'm needed." I said, shrugging.
  
  "You don't have to do this." He said. "Please, if you got hurt, I couldn't live with myself."
  
  "Paul, I owe Alice this." I said. "She's done a lot for me, she's helped me out with all the school work I've missed, she's taken me shopping, and she's stuck by me at school. I owe her this, and Bella's my friend."
  
  He looked at me, begging with his eyes, I looked away quickly, turning onto the Cullens' long driveway.
  
  I drove up to the house, where Edward was waiting outside. If the circumstances weren't so serious, I would've laughed at the way both Edward and Paul's noses crinkled at the same time once we got out of the car.
  
  "Thank you for coming." Edward addressed me. "Come inside."
  
  Paul and I walked hand-in-hand into the Cullens' massive house.
  
  We followed Edward into their unneeded dining room, where there was a long table, with four of the Cullens sitting around it; Edward went to the head of the table.
  
  Having so many gorgeous people in one room was overwhelming. I sat down, next to Mrs. Cullen, who was the least intimidating. Paul didn't sit.
  
  Rosalie smiled warmly at me, which was surprising; I had only ever seen her scowl before. Emmett was grinning, Dr. Cullen's face was ashen, and Mrs. Cullen's face was kind, with a small smile. Edward was grimacing.
  
  All their noses were crinkled.
  
  I sighed quietly.
  
  Rosalie laughed a little.
  
  "What's funny?" Edward growled at her.
  
  "Nothing." She snapped.
  
  "Melanie, we're sorry to drag you into this." Dr. Cullen addressed me.
  
  "Its okay, Dr. Cullen." I said. "Bella's my friend, and I'm the only friend of hers who really knows about all this."
  
  "Please, call me Carlisle." He said, smiling.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "We need you to pretend to be Bella." Edward said. "Rosalie will take you out to the forest, pretending to be giving you to the tracker. We'll attack him when he comes for you."
  
  I heard a small growl from behind me.
  
  "You're wolf won't be allowed to come." Edward said, staring at Paul.
  
  "Why?" I asked desperately.
  
  "The tracker will be able to smell him right away." Edward explained.
  
  "No." Paul said. "I'm coming, or she isn't."
  
  Edward and Paul locked gazes. They each had a big part of their lives at stake here.
  
  "Fine." Edward said. "You'll have to keep your distance."
  
  "I will." Paul said.
  
  "So, I just have to stand there, looking like Bella?" I asked.
  
  "Yes." Edward said. "We have some of her clothes here, so you can smell like her, too."
  
  "Okay." I said.
  
  "Come with me." Rosalie said. "I'll get you into her clothes."
  
  I followed Rosalie up the stairs to where I'm sure her bedroom was. She picked up a pair of jeans, a coat, and a sweater off of her bed with distaste.
  
  "Is something wrong?" I asked, pulling on Bella's jeans. They fit!
  
  "Bella is not my favourite person." She said, handing me the sweater.
  
  "Why?" I blurted, and then blushed. "Sorry, I'm not trying to pry..."
  
  She laughed. "Don't worry. I guess, in a way, I'm jealous of her. I never caught Edward's attention. I know Carlisle turned me, hoping we could be together, but I never caught his eye. I never loved Edward; he was far too annoying for my taste. But, the fact that he didn't fall in love with me the moment he saw me was irritating. And now, he's attracted to a plain human girl." She looked at me. "No offense."
  
  "None taken." I said truthfully. "So, Carlisle changed you so Edward could have someone?" I pulled on the coat.
  
  "No." she said. "He found me, on the road, dying. My fianc?e at the time, and his friends, had...done things to me, and left me to die out in the cold. I was too far past saving any other way, so he had to turn me. There was no other choice for me."
  
  "I'm sorry." I said.
  
  She waved it away. "That's all in the past."
  
  "There's something bothering you, though." I said, biting my lip. "Do you...not like this life?"
  
  "I would never pick this life for anyone." She said. "As a female, you can never give birth, and I've never heard of males being able to reproduce. Our kind is at the end of the biological line. We can't reproduce. My dream was always to mother a child, and now that has been taken away from me."
  
  Wow. I looked down. I had never seen it that way.
  
  "Come on, there's not time to lose." She said. "We have work to do."
  
  I followed the Cullens outside into the forest, Paul walked behind me.
  
  We got to a point in the forest where Edward made Paul stop.
  
  "He'll smell you if you come any further."
  
  I looked at Paul, he raised his hand to stroke my cheek, but Edward stopped him.
  
  "You can't touch her, he'll smell it."
  
  The look on Paul's face broke my heart. "It will be okay." I whispered.
  
  He nodded. "Be careful."
  
  "I'll be fine." I promised.
  
  I walked away from him, glancing back every few steps, hoping that this wouldn't be the last time I ever saw him.
  
  "Rub against the tree." Edward said quietly after a while. I rubbed against it.
  
  "That's good." He said, and we pressed on.
  
  Every few feet, Edward had me press against a tree.
  
  After a while, we came to a clearing.
  
  "You two stay here." Edward said. "We'll surround you, and when he comes, we'll get him. Rosalie, call out for him, tell him you have Bella. Melanie, keep your head down, and put your hood up.
  
  I did as he was told, and watched as the Cullens ran off.
  
  Rosalie waited, her head cocked.
  
  "Okay," she breathed, then yelled. "James! I have her! I have Bella!"
  
  I kept my head down, Rosalie grasped my arms. "Struggle a bit." She breathed in my ear.
  
  I struggled, fighting against her grip.
  
  "James!" Rosalie yelled again. "I have her, you can take her! I don't have much time!"
  
  Not too long after that, I felt Rosalie's arms come off me. I didn't look up.
  
  Then, I was picked up.
  
  "NO!" I heard Rosalie scream.
  
  I was flying through the air. I was on someone's back.
  
  No, I wasn't flying; I was riding as a vampire raced through the forest.
  
  We stopped a while later, in a warehouse. I was dropped off whoever's back I was on. He turned, and I fought a scream.
  
  I was staring right into ruby red eyes.
  Chapter 21- My Fault
  
  I was frozen in shock. The tracker stared at me, and then got angry.
  
  "They tried to trick me?" he exploded.
  
  I was frozen, staring at his pale complexion, light coloured hair, ruby red eyes.
  
  "You look like your mother." He said after his little rant.
  
  I stared at him.
  
  "Her name's Talissa, right?" he asked.
  
  I nodded, voice not working yet.
  
  "We just wanted her blood. But no, Laurent had to have his fun with her." He said, rolling his eyes. "She makes a good vampire."
  
  My mother?
  
  "And your dad, was just delicious." He said, licking his lips. He was in front of me in a second. "I think you would taste the same."
  
  "Where's my mom?" I asked, voice coming back all of a sudden.
  
  He laughed. "Sorry, I can't tell you that."
  
  I looked down. "Please."
  
  "Nope." He said with another laugh. He buried his face in my neck. "You smell just like your dad did."
  
  This was it, this was the end. I felt his hands go around my neck.
  
  I love you, Paul I thought. Tears rolled down my cheeks.
  
  His hands came off my neck.
  
  "You didn't think I would end it that soon for you did you?" he asked, smiling. "You're dad put up quite a fight; I'm surprised you're not doing the same."
  
  I looked at him, trying to stop the tears.
  
  His hands lingered down to my foot. He grasped the bottom of my pant leg, near and my shoe then snapped my ankle.
  
  I bit back the scream that tried to escape.
  
  "You're a little toughie." He mocked. His hand moved to my arm, then snapped at the elbow. This time a scream escaped my mouth.
  
  "Not as tough as you may think." He grinned.
  
  I lost feeling through my body. My broken limbs seemed to be floating away. The ground was cold beneath me that was the only feeling I felt.
  
  Cold.
  
  "It's so hard to resist you." He said.
  
  I couldn't concentrate on his words. I felt lightheaded, my ears were slightly ringing. I felt teeth on my wrist, but didn't process it at all.
  
  I somehow heard a soft moan escape from him. I tried to pull my wrist away from him, but his grip was strong.
  
  Just let it end fast I begged silently.
  
  "Get off her!" commanded a husky voice.
  
  And then, everything went black.
  
  I didn't know where I was when I woke up, but my head hurt. My wrist had gauze wrapped around it, my arm and ankle had casts.
  
  I looked around. I was in a hospital.
  
  Why was I...?
  
  Oh.
  
  Now I remembered.
  
  Now I remembered everything the tracker told me about my mom, and my dad. I fought back tears.
  
  "Mel?" Paul's husky voice asked from somewhere to my left.
  
  I looked at him. The expression on his face made my heart throb.
  
  I had failed him. I had promised him I would be fine, and look at me. I was in the hospital.
  
  "Are you okay?" he asked, quietly, not coming in the room any further.
  
  I nodded, throat feeling tight.
  
  He looked down. "I'm so sorry."
  
  What? He was sorry? "What?" I whispered.
  
  "I let you go out there, and look what's happened." He said. "I never should have allowed it."
  
  "Paul, come here." I said.
  
  He didn't budge.
  
  "Fine." I muttered, getting up.
  
  I limped over to him, he had come over to try and sit me back down.
  
  "You listen to me," I said, finding my voice again. "Don't hold yourself responsible for this mess. It's my fault I'm in here. I was the stupid one who agreed to do this. This isn't your fault, or the Cullens fault. It's my fault. Got it?"
  
  He looked down at me. "I hate seeing you like this." He motioned to my casts, and gauze.
  
  My heart squeezed. "I'm alive. That's all that counts."
  
  He helped my back into the hospital bed, and sat in the chair next to it. "You lost a lot of blood when he drank from you."
  
  I nodded.
  
  "It's because of Dr. Cullen that you're alive." He said.
  
  "Where are we?" I asked.
  
  "Jacksonville." He answered. "The tracker found Bella's real path, and followed her here, the Cullens had to come here, and you obviously couldn't get treated by a regular doctor."
  
  "Is Bella okay?" I asked, lip trembling.
  
  "Yea, he bit her, and broke her leg. Edward sucked the venom out of her." He said. "I think she's in better shape then you are."
  
  I sighed. "Is she awake?"
  
  "Not yet, at least I don't think so. I've been with you. I just left to grab a coffee." He said, holding up the cup I hadn't noticed in his hand.
  
  "They turned my mom." I said. "Or, at least I think they did. He kept going on about how much fun she was. And my dad..." I trailed off.
  
  "Did they turn him, too?" Paul asked, squeezing my hand.
  
  "No." I whispered. "They didn't. They just killed him." I added bitterly.
  
  "Mel, it's okay." He said. "If your mom is one of them, we'll find her, and get some answers, okay?"
  
  "Okay." I nodded.
  
  "Mel?" Alice's tinkling voice came from outside.
  
  "Come in, Alice."
  
  Alice was beside my bed, on the other side of Paul, in a second.
  
  "I'm so sorry!" she said.
  
  "It's not your fault." I waved off her apology.
  
  "You're in here because of us." She said sadly.
  
  "And I'm alive because of Carlisle. So it's all good." I said.
  
  "We're paying for all the bills, okay?" she said. "Even the bills around your house, since you're living there alone now."
  
  "I was actually thinking of her moving in with me." Paul said.
  
  My head whirled around to stare at him.
  
  "Yea, I just invited you to live with Me." he smiled. "Will you?"
  
  "I have school..." I said, biting my lip.
  
  "You can drive there." He said. "Or I can drive you. I don't mind."
  
  "We'll pay for your bills." Alice chimed in. "I promise, rent, utilities, all that. It's the least we could do, honest."
  
  "Are you serious?" I asked, not sure to who.
  
  "Yes." They said at the same time.
  
  "I'll move in with you, then, Paul." I smiled. Then turned to Alice. "Thank you, so much."
  
  "You deserve it." She said.
  
  "Is Bella awake yet?" I asked.
  
  "Not yet." She said. "And I can't see when she'll wake up, either. Paul, I need to ask you something."
  
  "Yes?" he asked, obviously not wanting to let go of my hand.
  
  "I would like to have Mel at least one night a week?" she asked. "Please, she's my friend, too."
  
  He sighed quietly. "Fine. Just not too long a time, okay?"
  
  "Okay!" she grinned. "And I guess I could grant you permission into Forks for prom..."
  
  "Prom?" I repeated. "No way. I can't go to prom like this! And they probably won't let Paul in."
  
  Alice rolled her eyes. "We'll see about that."
  
  I groaned.
  
  She grinned.
  
  Rosalie came in.
  
  "Mel, I'm sorry. I tried to stop him, but he was too fast." She said, coming over to where Alice was standing.
  
  "It's okay." I said. "I'm fine."
  
  She smiled.
  
  I was surrounded by monsters, and I couldn't have wished for anything else.
  Chapter 22- Finally Happy
  
  Paul helped me move.
  
  Alice put the house up for sale, and promised everything would be taken care of.
  
  I stood in my bare room, looking around. The realization hit like a wrecking ball that I would never be sleeping here again.
  
  I wasn't sad about leaving, there were too many memories here for me to bear. Living with Paul would be a good thing.
  
  I hope.
  
  No, it would be. He wouldn't go crazy worrying about me, and the Cullens would know I was safe.
  
  Well, at least Alice would.
  
  She didn't like the wolves, but she could tolerate Paul.
  
  That was all I needed.
  
  Jared was glad I was moving to La Push, too.
  
  I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
  
  Paul was leaning against his car in front of my house.
  
  "Ready?" he asked.
  
  I nodded, and got into the passenger side. My car was already at Paul's building waiting for me.
  
  I sighed quietly as he sped to La Push. I knew he was still the slightest bit uncomfortable being in Forks.
  
  Since there were no vampires around that were hunting people, he didn't have to be on watch at night anymore.
  
  I made sure Sam knew the Cullens wouldn't come across the border, so there was no reason for them to have to be on guard.
  
  That made both Emily and me happy.
  
  I toyed with the cast on my wrist.
  
  "Why did you go there, Mel?" Paul asked quietly.
  
  I sighed. "I told you already. Alice helped me out a lot. She helped my catch up on my school work, helped around the house, and helped me deal with everything. Besides, Bella's my friend."
  
  "You could've been killed." He said softly, gripping the steering wheel. "You almost were."
  
  "But I wasn't." I said. "I knew the risks when I went out there with them. I knew what could've happened, and I knew that I had to do it."
  
  He sighed. "I hated staying behind."
  
  "I know." I said quietly.
  
  "He could've turned you." He said, I could hear distaste burn his words.
  
  I didn't know what to say, so I just looked out the window.
  
  James could have turned me. Right now, I could be a vampire.
  
  That was insane.
  
  Now that I thought back on what I had done, it was totally insane! What was I, crazy?
  
  Paul was right. I never should have done that.
  
  But I had, and there was no taking it back now.
  
  Paul pulled into the parking lot of his building, next to his car.
  
  I didn't have much to unpack, just some clothes and toiletries.
  
  I had brought a dresser, but Paul loaded his clothes into it, and cleared out his closet for me.
  
  The closet was bigger than the dresser.
  
  I already had everything put away, so I plopped down on Paul's bed.
  
  Correction: Paul and my bed.
  
  I looked around, and then noticed something sticking out on one of my sweaters that I had thrown on the bed.
  
  It was an envelope? On the front in really fancy writing it said my name. I tore it open, and out fell a note.
  
  Melanie,
  
  I don't know how I can thank you enough for helping us save Bella's life. You got hurt, I know, but we killed James. You and Bella are both alive, and that's all that matters. Please, don't hold my family to blame for what happened, even though it was our fault, please don't hate us. We never wanted you to get hurt. Rosalie felt awful that you got hurt and Alice was as close to crying as we can get when I called her and told her. James bit you, but only drank from you, there was no venom in your system, so you don't need to worry about that.
  
  Thank you, so much.
  
  -Edward Cullen
  
  Wow. I never would've expected Edward to write a note to me apologizing for what happened. I decided to write him back. My writing wasn't even close to as perfect as his, but I did my best.
  
  Edward,
  
  Of course I don't hold you responsible for what happened to me. You shouldn't hold yourself responsible for my stupidity, okay? Thank you, for everything you all have done for me; paying for my hospital bills, helping me recover, all that. Alice has been a huge help to me and Rosalie has been really nice to me.
  
  -Mel
  
  I wasn't really sure how I was going to get that to him, but somehow I would.
  
  I sat on my new bed, staring around in wonder.
  
  This was my new home.
  
  I lived with Paul.
  
  No one could take that away from me.
  
  No one in this world was happier than I was right now.
  Chapter 23-Home
  
  Going back to school after Spring Break was hard. I woke up at seven Monday morning, not wanting to go. Paul groaned and rolled over, covering his head with the pillow.
  
  I sighed, and rolled out of bed.
  
  Today was going to be bad. I had a weird feeling in my stomach that it would just suck.
  
  I pulled on some clothes, not sure what they were, and finished getting ready to leave.
  
  I tried to sneak out without Paul hearing, and I was so paranoid about him not hearing me, I walked right into him when he blocked me from walking out the front door. He pulled me into his arms.
  
  "You weren't going to try and sneak out without me knowing, did you?" he asked.
  
  I smiled. "Of course not."
  
  "You suck at lying." He laughed.
  
  "Kiss me already, or I'll be late."
  
  He looked at me. "You're pushy."
  
  I grinned.
  
  He pressed his lips against mine, and it felt so good. It felt like it had been years since we had last kissed.
  
  He put his hands on the small of my back, and I reached up to wrap my hands around his neck, which was awkward because of the cast, but I managed.
  
  When he broke off, we were both breathing heavy.
  
  "You have school." He said with a smile.
  
  "Do I have to go?" I whined, going for a whiny teenager voice.
  
  "Yes." He said as if he were a parent. "And bring homework!"
  
  I laughed at him. "Don't you have school?"
  
  "Nope. I dropped out." He grinned.
  
  "I'm so lucky to have you." I teased.
  
  He pushed me out the door. "I love you too."
  
  I grinned back at him.
  
  I got in my car, and threw my backpack on the passenger seat. I sighed as I drove out of La Push.
  
  I got to school early.
  
  Of course. The day after break, I get to school early.
  
  I waited in science for Alice to get there.
  
  Yes, it was awkward with my teacher in the room alone with me.
  
  Yes, I wanted him to leave.
  
  Yes, he probably thought I was crazy.
  
  I didn't care at all.
  
  Alice came in after what felt like an eternity. She hugged me tight, but I couldn't help but notice her crinkle her nose.
  
  "What are you doing tonight?" she trilled.
  
  I shrugged.
  
  "Well...how about you sleep over?" she asked.
  
  "Alice, I'm not even settled at Paul's yet." I said, rolling my eyes. "Maybe not tonight."
  
  She pursed her lips. "Sometime this week?"
  
  "Maybe." I said cryptically.
  
  She punched me lightly in the arm. Well, light for me, it was probably just a tap for her.
  
  The day went by excruciatingly slow. By lunch I wanted to go home.
  
  But I didn't.
  
  Somehow, I made it through the whole day.
  
  When I was driving home, I decided to stop by the grocery store to see if Johnny was back yet.
  
  He wasn't.
  
  I sighed. Had he fallen to the same fate as my parents?
  
  I doubt it.
  
  I sped to Paul and my apartment, walked in the door, and was pulled into Paul's strong arms.
  
  He carried me to his bed, and kissed me with enough force to drown me.
  Chapter 24-Trying to Make it Work
  
  Paul and I kissed for a long time. He slid his hand under my t-shirt, to rub my back; his other hand was running his fingers through my hair. I played with the hair at the back of his neck.
  
  Of course, the moment had to be ruined.
  
  "Paul! Open up!" Sam called.
  
  Paul growled quietly. I broke away from him, sighing, but he pulled my face back to his and kissed me again.
  
  "Paul, I swear to god, I will break this door down if you don't open up!" Sam snarled.
  
  I wiggled away from Paul, fixed my hair, and opened the door to see Sam and Jared waiting outside.
  
  "Yes?" I asked.
  
  Jared looked away.
  
  "We need to talk to Paul." Sam said gruffly.
  
  "Can it wait?" I asked.
  
  "No." he said coldly.
  
  I stared Sam down for a minute, and then gave up.
  
  "Come in." I sighed.
  
  Sam pushed past me, and Jared didn't look up as he walked by me.
  
  Paul was waiting on the couch. I stood by the door, leaning against the door frame.
  
  "You aren't doing your duties." Sam addressed Paul.
  
  "You told me there nothing I needed to do." Paul said. "And, while Mel is at school, I do what you tell me."
  
  "And at night?" Sam asked.
  
  "You haven't called me for anything." Paul said, totally relaxed.
  
  "I shouldn't need to." Sam snapped.
  
  "Maybe you should." Paul said.
  
  "You aren't the only one with an imprint." Sam growled. "All of us want to spend time with their imprints, but you don't hear us complaining."
  
  "You haven't told me to do anything!" Paul defended himself. "We had a deal, Sam. You told me I could work while Mel was at school, and I could be with her when she came home."
  
  Jared moved away from them and closer to me. I fought the urge to glare at him.
  
  Sam sighed. "Jared wants to spend time with Melanie, too."
  
  I looked at the floor. I heard and unmistakable growl from Paul.
  
  "No." he said flatly.
  
  "She is his imprint too." Sam tried to reason. "You would want the same if you were in his shoes."
  
  "No." he said with a low growl, a tremor rolling through him.
  
  "Paul..." I said, trying to move closer to him, but Jared pulled me back.
  
  "He could be dangerous." He said quietly.
  
  "Jared, get Melanie out of here." Sam said.
  
  Jared pulled me out the front door, and shut it behind him.
  
  I didn't look at him.
  
  "Alpha's orders." He grinned.
  
  "Very funny." I muttered. I tried to open the door, it was locked.
  
  I had forgotten my key.
  
  Dammit.
  
  "Where do you want to go?" he asked, smile hinting at his lips.
  
  "I want to go back into my apartment." I said.
  
  "Sorry, no can do." He grinned.
  
  I glared at him.
  
  "Come on, live a little." He said. "I haven't bonded with my imprint yet." He moved closer to me.
  
  I backed up, and hit the railing.
  
  He was still moving closer.
  
  "Stop." I warned. "You know what he'll do."
  
  "So?" he asked. "I could take him."
  
  He was really close now. I tried to push him away, but that didn't work, I only had use of one hand.
  
  "Jared, please stop." I said, putting my good hand on his bare chest.
  
  He pushed my hand away, and came even closer, our bodies were almost touching. He wrapped an arm around my waist, and leaned in to kiss me.
  
  I fought against him, but his hold was like a death grip. There was no way I could get out. I was trapped.
  
  When his lips were inches away from mine, he grinned, and threw me on his back, and jumped over the railing, and started running.
  
  I felt nauseous at how sudden it was, and how fast we were going.
  
  He dropped me somewhere in the forest. I didn't have time to catch my breath again before he had picked me up, and pushed me against a tree.
  
  "Stop." I gasped.
  
  "No." he muttered, burying his head in my neck.
  
  "I'll scream." I warned.
  
  "Go ahead." He said, staring at me now.
  
  I sucked in a breath to scream, and he kissed me before I could let it out.
  
  A soft moan escaped his mouth.
  
  One small part of me wanted him to keep going.
  
  The bigger part of me was pushing me to fight against him, trying to make me remember Paul.
  
  My brain was hazy. I was confused as Jared kissed me.
  
  How could I fight him? He was so much stronger than me. How could I run away from him? He was so much faster than me.
  
  I didn't kiss him back, just waited. I didn't fight against him, didn't do anything. Just waited for him to stop kissing me.
  
  I tried to name all fifty states in my head while I waited.
  
  Florida, Michigan, California, Washington, Montana, Kansas.
  
  Nope. Still not finished.
  
  Alabama, Hawaii, Indiana, Arizona, Idaho, Ohio, Nebraska.
  
  Still? Jeez.
  
  Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Minnesota.
  
  Great. Now he was kissing my neck. What the hell was this?
  
  Pennsylvania, Utah, Wyoming, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, Rhode Island.
  
  Finally he broke away from me. He was breathing heavy.
  
  I glared at him.
  
  "Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that." he said.
  
  "Well, I was trying to name the fifty states in my head while I was waiting for you to get your face off me."
  
  "Really? How far did you get?" he asked.
  
  "Twenty-five." I said.
  
  "Maybe I should kiss you again so you can get the rest." He grinned.
  
  "Don't you dare." I said.
  
  He laughed.
  
  "You know," I started. "I really thought we could make this thing work, with the whole double imprint thing. I thought we could be friends, or you could be like a big brother to me, like you always have been, but then you pull a stunt like this. You bring me into a forest, where you know I won't be able to find my away out, push me against a tree, and make out with me."
  
  He sighed. I knew I had struck a chord.
  
  "I hope you go crazy hoping I'm okay." I said bitterly.
  
  And walked away from him, not caring about getting lost.
  Epilogue-Prom
  
  I was lost. I had no idea where I was, and I was cursing Jared's name.
  
  "Mel!" Jared called from behind me. "What the hell are you thinking?"
  
  "Go away." I said, moving forward. Well, limping forward, I still had the stupid cast on my leg.
  
  "Come on, Mel." He said. "You're being stupid."
  
  He was following me.
  
  I whirled to face him. "You are the one who brought me out here in the first place. I don't want to see your face right now, okay? You pissed me off pulling that little stunt, and when Paul finds out..."
  
  "Mel, stop." He said. "This is insane. I know the way to Emily's, Paul is probably worried sick about you. Please let me take you there."
  
  "I don't need your help." I growled.
  
  "I will carry you there." He warned.
  
  I limped away from him. I heard him running behind me. He grabbed me, and spun me around to face him.
  
  "Let go." I commanded.
  
  "No." he growled.
  
  "Let go of her, Jared." Warned a husky voice from behind me.
  
  Jared let go right away. I spun to see Paul and Sam emerging from the trees.
  
  Paul's face was thunderous.
  
  I limped over to him, and he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. I breathed in his scent.
  
  "What you did was unacceptable." Sam said to Jared.
  
  Jared hung his head.
  
  I found Paul's hand, and squeezed it, he squeezed mine back.
  
  "Apologize." Sam commanded.
  
  "I'm sorry." Jared muttered.
  
  I didn't look at him, neither did Paul. I didn't want to see his face right now.
  
  "Come on." Paul said.
  
  I started to limp away from him, but I was lifted off the ground. Paul was carrying me home.
  
  I was in Paul's arms, and I was right where I wanted to be.
  
  I snuggled close to him.
  
  He took me back to our apartment.
  
  "I have a surprise for you." He murmured. "But you can't have it yet."
  
  "How is that any fun?" I pouted.
  
  "Because." He laughed.
  
  A few weeks passed, and he still hadn't given me my surprise.
  
  I sighed; walking around the school was no fun with all the prom posters up.
  
  One day after school, Alice was waiting for me in my car.
  
  She didn't say a word, just drove.
  
  "Where are we going?" I asked.
  
  She didn't answer.
  
  "Alice!" I whined.
  
  "If I tell you, you'll probably jump out of the car." She said.
  
  I sighed, and crossed my arms tightly over my chest.
  
  This was not fun.
  
  She pulled into a mall somewhere in Seattle. Wow, she drove fast.
  
  She dragged me into a dress store where Rosalie was waiting.
  
  "No, Alice!" I complained. "I'm not going to prom!"
  
  "Oh yes you are!" her and Rosalie said at the same time.
  
  "Who am I going with?" I asked.
  
  "You'll see." Alice trilled.
  
  I sighed.
  
  Rosalie and Alice raced through the store picking out a bunch of different dresses for me to try on. I didn't even try to follow them.
  
  The first one was pink and strapless. It went just past my knees, and had black lace around my stomach area.
  
  It was nice. But I wasn't really a pink girl.
  
  "We can get it in a different colour." Alice promised.
  
  The next one was baby blue, think straps, and went to the floor. I liked it.
  
  The next one was a dark red colour, it went to my knees, and had a pink bow around the waist. Not one of those huge bows, but a nice slim ribbon tied at the end.
  
  The next one was black, but in the same style as the red one, without the bow. I really liked it.
  
  "Okay, which one?" Alice asked when I was back in my regular clothes.
  
  Rosalie grinned. "Can't you see which one she's going to choose?"
  
  "Yea, but you can't!" Alice complained. "Nice choice, Mel."
  
  "Thanks." I muttered. Rosalie looked at me expectantly. "Oh, the black one."
  
  "Ooooh!" she cooed.
  
  "Now, we have to look for Bella's!" Alice exclaimed.
  
  Rosalie rolled her eyes.
  
  We found it. It was gorgeous. But apparently it was the wrong colour.
  
  "This is perfect." Alice gasped.
  
  "Edward's favourite colour on her is blue, remember?"
  
  Alice pursed her lips. I was still staring in awe at the thing.
  
  It was a deep purple. It was frilly, and was obviously supposed to be worn off the shoulders, and had draping sleeves that gathered at the wrists. In front it was cut, so you could see the different layers of fabric, which got lighter with every layer, in the bodice.
  
  "Excuse me?" Alice murmured to a clerk. "Do you have this in blue?"
  
  "Let me check." She said in a nasally voice, staring at Rosalie and Alice, then looking at me, and cocking an eyebrow.
  
  I rolled my eyes at her and she left.
  
  Alice looked like she was about to faint.
  
  "If they don't have it..." she said, annoyed.
  
  "Can't you just look?" I asked.
  
  She stood still for a moment, concentrating hard on something, then her brow furrowed.
  
  "She's going to come out here, and tell us she doesn't have it." She growled.
  
  "Go in there!" Rosalie urged.
  
  Alice sprinted in there, obviously this was an emergency.
  
  Rosalie smiled. "She's giving the clerk hell in there."
  
  I held onto my dress, shifting on my feet.
  
  "What's wrong?" Rosalie asked me.
  
  "Nothing, it's just..." I cleared my throat. "You guys shouldn't have to pay for this."
  
  She laughed, and it sounded like bells. "It's the least we can do."
  
  "Are you going?" I asked. She looked confused. "To prom, I mean."
  
  "Of course!" she exclaimed. "Alice and I have our dresses."
  
  "What do they look like?" I asked.
  
  "Well, mine is red, it has no back, and cuts down to my waist in the front, and has a huge billowing skirt. Alice's is black with geometric cutouts that show some skin."
  
  "Wow." I breathed. "Those sound wonderful."
  
  Rosalie smiled. "Thank you."
  
  Alice came out of the back of the store then, holding a deep blue dress in her arms, a wicked grin on her face.
  
  The saleswoman came out a few seconds later, looking scared.
  
  Alice grinned at us.
  
  She pulled my dress away from me, and went to the counter to pay. I sighed.
  
  "When is prom, anyway?" I asked.
  
  Rosalie stared at me.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "Mel, it's tomorrow." She said.
  
  "What? No!" I said. "It can't be!"
  
  "Well, it is." She said. "Alice wanted to come shopping with you sooner, but your wolf wouldn't let you out."
  
  I sighed. This was impossible.
  
  "I'm not ready!" I said.
  
  "You will be." She smiled. "We're getting our nails done, and you're sleeping at our house tonight."
  
  "I need to call Paul." I sighed.
  
  "He already knows." She promised. Oh, so he was in on this? I was going to kill him next time I saw him.
  
  I sighed again.
  
  Alice came over to us. "Now we need shoes!"
  
  I groaned.
  
  We found a nice pair, the were black and strapped. There were stilettos. Obviously.
  
  "What about Bella's?" I asked.
  
  "I'm not sure of her size." Alice said.
  
  We drove to the Cullens' massive home.
  
  Well, Alice drove. I sat in the back.
  
  I was still shocked at the Cullens home.
  
  I couldn't get over how huge it was, how open it was!
  
  Alice pushed me up to her bedroom.
  
  "Ooooh, I could give you a French manicure!" she trilled.
  
  I looked at my nails. "They're not long enough."
  
  She rolled her eyes. "I have acrylics."
  
  "If you want, I don't care." I sighed.
  
  "Tips it is." She said. "Besides, I wouldn't want to paint your nails black, it would be too much black. Your hair, your dress, your heels."
  
  I sighed as she put the fake nails on my nails. Okay, it did look great.
  
  She then insisted on painting my toes black, and added little designs in silver to my big toes.
  
  "Thank you so much, Alice." I breathed. "They're gorgeous."
  
  She smiled.
  
  "What about your nails?" I asked.
  
  "I'm getting them done tomorrow, with Bella, so we can buy her shoes." She said. "I need to keep it a surprise that she's going to prom."
  
  I laughed. "Like you did with me?"
  
  "Exactly." She grinned.
  
  "Alice, who's my date?" I asked. "Paul can't come over the border, you know that. And I don't want to go with anyone else."
  
  "You'll see." She said, a wicked grin lighting her face.
  
  I groaned.
  
  She pursed her lips. "How should we do your hair?"
  
  "Curls?" Rosalie asked, coming into the room. "Big curls would look nice."
  
  Alice nodded. "Will you do that while I'm out with Bella tomorrow?"
  
  "Sure, I'll make Emmett and Jasper help Me." she grinned.
  
  I sighed.
  
  "Oh! You need food, don't you?" Alice asked.
  
  I laughed. "Yea, I sort-of do."
  
  "Come with me." she commanded.
  
  I followed her to the Cullens kitchen. "Edward!" she yelled. I knew it was for fun, he could probably hear her talking to me upstairs.
  
  "What?" he asked, looking at the stove.
  
  "Mel needs food. You still cooking?" she asked.
  
  "Yes," he said, and turned to grin at me. "I want to cook for Bella tomorrow night; do you think you could test it for me?"
  
  "Sure." I said, and sat down.
  
  He handed me the food, and it was really good. It was chicken parmigiana.
  
  "This is amazing, Edward!" I gushed.
  
  "Thank you." He smiled.
  
  "No problem." I said.
  
  Alice was watching my nails worriedly.
  
  "I won't break them, Alice. I'll be careful." I promised.
  
  "You better be." She growled.
  
  Edward laughed. "You are one feisty little monster."
  
  "Shut up." She said with a laugh.
  
  Jasper came in then; he smiled at me, and wrapped his arm around Alice's waist. I smiled.
  
  The rest of the night I helped Alice arrange things for Bella's arrival for tomorrow, and helped Alice lay out all of her hair products and makeup.
  
  It took the whole night! I collapsed onto a bed, I wasn't even sure whose it was, but it was comfy.
  
  I woke up to Rosalie scowling over my head.
  
  "We don't have much time!" she exclaimed. "Alice can do everything for Bella in an hour, but you need to be out of here before she gets here."
  
  "Why?" I asked, still drowsy.
  
  "Someone wants to take you out." She smiled.
  
  I looked at the clock, it was noon.
  
  "What time are Bella and Alice getting here?" I asked.
  
  "Three o'clock." She said.
  
  I sighed. "Let's get ready."
  
  Rosalie washed my hair, and used nice smelling shampoo, it was grapefruit and mint.
  
  It smelled really good.
  
  "Do you normally have many knots or tangles in your hair?" she asked.
  
  "Not really." I said. "It may be long, but it doesn't tangle very much."
  
  She bit her lip, and then muttered something that sounded like, "Well, just in case." And proceeded to comb some yellow goo in my hair.
  
  She started drying my hair, and then called for Esme. Even with the two of them, it wasn't going fast enough. She had to call Jasper and Emmett to help.
  
  Emmett was cracking jokes the whole time. He was making fun of my human-ness.
  
  "Are you as clumsy as Bella?" he asked, trying to hold back laughter.
  
  "Hardy har har." I said dryly. "I actually don't trip that much."
  
  He laughed, and I swear it rocked the entire house.
  
  After my hair was dry, Emmett and Jasper made their escape. Esme and Rosalie put big hot rollers in my hair.
  
  "Let's get you dressed." She said.
  
  We got the dress on, and I did look really good. Rosalie sprayed some good smelling perfume in the room.
  
  She pushed me back to the bathroom, and took the rollers out.
  
  My hair looked really good. They were nice curls, not poufy, frizzy curls that I normally got when I tried curling it.
  
  Rosalie looked into my eyes. "Green eyes." She murmured, and then found liquid eyeliner that was a purplish brownish colour. Apparently it would bring out the green in my eyes.
  
  "You don't need much makeup." She said. "You're skin is very fair."
  
  I smiled at her.
  
  She put some dark red lipstick on my lips, then helped me into my shoes, yes, she asked Carlisle if my ankle cast could come off. He had examined it and let me take it off last night.
  
  "Now what?" I asked, wobbling a bit in my heels.
  
  "I need to drive you...somewhere." She said.
  
  "Somewhere?" I asked. "Where?"
  
  "Wait and see." She smiled.
  
  I got into her shiny red BMW convertible.
  
  She drove me to a restaurant.
  
  "Go inside, someone will be waiting at the door for you." She advised.
  
  I went inside, and there stood my werewolf in a black tux.
  
  I smiled shyly at him.
  
  He held his hand out for me, and I took it.
  
  "Reservation for, uh, Cullen." He said, clearing his throat.
  
  "Alice arranged this?" I hissed.
  
  "Yep." He said.
  
  We ate dinner together, well, more like a late lunch, early dinner.
  
  After we were finished, he helped me into his car, and drove to the school.
  
  "You're not supposed to be here." I smiled.
  
  "Alice granted me permission." He said, wincing slightly as he said her name.
  
  I grinned at him. He helped me into the school, since my heels were slowly starting to kill me.
  
  We go to where the dance floor was, and Paul started dancing with me. Of course, he led; I wasn't even close to stable enough to move in these damn heels.
  
  Other couples were dancing around us, but then the Cullens came in.
  
  Alice and Rosalie looked gorgeous in their dresses, and the boys looked equally handsome on the girls' arms.
  
  As soon as the Cullens came to the dance floor and started twirling elegantly, the other couples all automatically left, and leaned against the walls.
  
  I tried to follow suit, but Paul held on tight, and from behind Alice elbowed me.
  
  I knew I wasn't going anywhere for awhile.
  
  I blushed a lot, not liking everyone looking at us.
  
  Well, they probably weren't looking at us, just at the Cullens.
  
  Paul twirled me, and to my horror, everyone was staring at us, jaws slack.
  
  I blushed again.
  
  "I'm thirsty." I said quietly.
  
  Paul danced off the dance floor, and led us to the refreshment table.
  
  I felt eyes on me the whole way there.
  
  Jessica was staring at me.
  
  I stared right back.
  
  She didn't look happy.
  
  Neither was I.
  
  Mike's face was angry, and a twinge jealous.
  
  Bella and Edward came in then, and when she saw everyone standing at the walls, I could tell she just wanted to leave.
  
  I didn't blame her.
  
  Paul and I had a pretty good night, by the end of the night; people started leaking onto the dance floor again. Jessica shot lots of jealous glances in my direction.
  
  At the end of the night, Paul drove us home.
  
  "Thank you." I whispered, holding his hand as we walked in the front door.
  
  "For what?" he asked.
  
  "For everything." I said.
  
  He didn't say anything; he just grasped my face in his hands and kissed me.
  
  Life with my wolf was pretty good.
  
  And I would never ask for anything more.
  Imprinted-New Moon
  
  Chapter One-Ruined
  
  Summer was great. Every night was spent with Paul, just lounging around. During the day I was usually with Alice and Rosalie.
  
  Rosalie was spending more time with me, since Bella was always around. In way, I did miss Alice, but that was just being selfish of me.
  
  It was late August. Today was one of the days that Edward had Bella all to himself, and both Alice and Rosalie were with me.
  
  For once we weren't shopping.
  
  One thing I learned, the Cullens seemed to have an endless amount of money.
  
  Today, we were just sitting in the Cullens massive backyard.
  
  It was a rare day in Forks, the sun was shining. Rosalie and Alice looked like they were made of diamonds when the sun hit them.
  
  It just added to their beauty.
  
  Rosalie was happy. She and Emmett were taking a second honeymoon in Africa, they were leaving tonight.
  
  Alice and I were dreading the return to school.
  
  "What day did Edward say was Bella's birthday?" Alice asked.
  
  "September 13th." Rosalie answered shortly.
  
  "I'm planning a party for her." Alice grinned. "Want to help?"
  
  I shrugged. "I have work, remember?"
  
  Johnny had come back, finally, in July. He didn't tell me where he had been, or what had taken him so long.
  
  I didn't ask.
  
  Alice sighed. "I guess I'll have to do it all by myself." She pouted.
  
  I groaned. "I'll see what I can do."
  
  She perked. "Thank you!"
  
  I rolled my eyes.
  
  My phone rang in my pocket.
  
  "Alice, can you tell me who it is?" I asked, not wanting to take my phone out if it wasn't important.
  
  She held up a finger. Her face scrunched up. "I can't tell."
  
  Rosalie and I gaped at her.
  
  I answered my phone. It was Paul.
  
  "Hey." I said as Rosalie and Alice spoke quietly to each other.
  
  "When are you coming home?" he asked. "I just finished working."
  
  I smiled into my phone. "I'm not sure."
  
  "Please hurry," he begged. "I miss you."
  
  "I miss you too." I murmured.
  
  "See you soon?" he asked.
  
  "I'll leave soon." I promised, and then hung up.
  
  Alice and Rosalie both looked at me expectantly.
  
  "I have to go." I said, feeling my face heat. "You didn't need help packing, did you, Rose?"
  
  She smiled. "No, I was done last week."
  
  "I guess I'm just going to go then..." I said, glancing at Alice.
  
  She sighed. "I wish you could spend the night again..."
  
  I smiled. "I spent the night two nights ago, remember? And, besides, Paul misses me...a lot."
  
  She sighed again. "Fine. Go play with your wolf."
  
  I laughed at that. "You know I'll be back again tomorrow."
  
  She brightened. "Let's go shopping for school stuff!"
  
  "Sure." I smiled. Anything to let me go and be with Paul, it was pathetic how desperate I was to see him.
  
  "Bye Rose, have fun in Africa." I said.
  
  She grinned. "Thanks, I will." She got up and hugged me tight.
  
  "Bye." I said to them when Rosalie released me.
  
  "Bye." They said together.
  
  I walked out to my car, just in time to see Edward walking into the house, alone.
  
  "Bye Edward." I said, getting into my car.
  
  "Bye Mel." He grinned.
  
  "Good day?" I asked.
  
  "Yes," he laughed. "It was."
  
  I smiled and drove down the long driveway.
  
  It was strange how comfortable I had gotten with the Cullens.
  
  I mean, I was calling Rosalie Rose now. That was something I never would've thought possible when they first moved to Forks.
  
  I sighed happily when I breezed over the border between La Push and Forks. I always felt better when I was back here. It was soothing somehow.
  
  I pulled into the parking lot of our apartment building.
  
  As soon as I walked in the door, I was scooped into Paul's arms.
  
  I giggled as he kissed my neck.
  
  He tossed me down on the couch, and crinkled his nose, face hovering above mine.
  
  "Go shower." He said. "You smell bad."
  
  "Too bad." I said, taking his face in my hands, and pulling his lips down to mine. He pulled away.
  
  "Seriously." He said, smiling.
  
  "You know, you look really stupid when you try to be serious, and you're smiling." I commented.
  
  He snorted. "You're too funny."
  
  I punched him playfully.
  
  "Really?" he asked. I nodded. "You really want to play like that?"
  
  I nodded, grinning.
  
  "Alright." He said. He got up off me, and disappeared.
  
  I got up off the couch, and looked around. Where was he?
  
  My head was spinning.
  
  "Paul?" I called.
  
  Nothing. I pursed my lips, and sighed.
  
  Next thing I knew, I was on the floor, something like a lead weight pinning me down.
  
  It rolled me over, and I found myself looking into Paul's dark brown eyes.
  
  I made a face at him.
  
  He laughed. "I obviously win."
  
  "Pfft. Never." I said.
  
  He pinned my arms down. "What about now?"
  
  I shook my head.
  
  He bent his head close to mine. "Now?" he whispered, breath tickling my face.
  
  I shook my head again.
  
  He kissed me lightly. "Now?"
  
  "Nope." I said. I wanted to pull his face down to mine again, but he still had my arms locked in his iron grip.
  
  He kissed me longer this time, then let go of my arms to run his own hands through my hair.
  
  I wrapped my arms around his neck, and my legs went around his waist. He broke away from my lips, and I kissed his neck. He nibbled my ear.
  
  Like every moment alone we had together, it had to be interrupted.
  
  Someone knocked on the door.
  
  "I'm not home." He murmured to me, when I tried to get up. I smiled, and kissed him more.
  
  The knocking persisted, and Paul growled quietly.
  
  "I know you're in there!" Sam's gruff voice called.
  
  "Shhh." Paul murmured to me. "He won't hear us if we're quiet."
  
  "I see both of your cars out here, and if you don't open up soon, I will break this door down." Sam warned.
  
  Paul let out a quiet growl, and then picked me up, I almost let out a yelp, but Paul put his hand over my mouth. He carried me into our bedroom, and fell onto the bed with me. He pulled the covers over us, and I curled up next to him.
  
  "We can pretend we're sleeping." He whispered.
  
  The banging continued on the door. It was getting irritating. What did Sam need Paul for that was so important?
  
  Finally, I had had enough.
  
  I got out of bed, and marched to the door.
  
  "Yes?" I demanded icily, flinging the door open.
  
  Sam looked hard at me. "What took you so long?"
  
  "We were asleep." I said. "Is that a problem?"
  
  He rolled his eyes at that. "Why are you lying?"
  
  "I'm not." I scoffed.
  
  "Liar." He muttered, pushing past me. "Where's Paul?"
  
  "In there." I said, jabbing my thumb to the bedroom.
  
  Sam marched in to the bedroom. I sighed.
  
  Every time Paul and I were alone, something had to come up. I cursed Sam's name.
  
  Paul and Sam emerged from the bedroom a few minutes later.
  
  "Jared's sick." Paul explained. "I have to run the border with Sam tonight."
  
  "Be careful." I sighed.
  
  "I will." He promised, and kissed me lightly on my lips.
  Chapter 2-Finally Getting Things Right
  
  I plopped down on the couch after Sam and Paul had left. I channel surfed.
  
  I sighed. Nothing was on.
  
  I got up, cleaned the apartment. It didn't take long.
  
  I had nothing to amuse myself with. I could go into work, but I knew Johnny would get mad that I was coming when I wasn't scheduled.
  
  I sighed, knowing there was really only one thing that would take up my time.
  
  No. I was not going to do it.
  
  Well...maybe just stop by...
  
  Oh just go. Said a little voice in my head. You know you want to.
  
  Shut up. I told it.
  
  I sighed again. I got to the door, and then turned back around. I couldn't go.
  
  This was ridiculous, why was I torturing myself?
  
  I went into the bedroom, and flopped onto the bed. I tried to catch sleep, but it wouldn't come.
  
  I pursed my lips.
  
  I knew what I had to do.
  
  I really didn't want to do it.
  
  But I had to.
  
  I pulled myself of the bed.
  
  I made it to the door again, then stopped, reconsidered, turned around, then turned back to the door again.
  
  This went on for a good couple of minutes.
  
  Finally, I made it to my car. I took one last glance at the apartment door, I could turn back now if I wanted, but I didn't. I got in my car, started it, and drove to Jared's house.
  
  Don't ask how I knew where it was.
  
  I had been there a few times with Paul.
  
  I pulled in his driveway.
  
  God. What was I doing here? I really shouldn't have come here.
  
  I walked to the front door, and knocked on his door. If he didn't answer I would just leave no biggie...
  
  "Mel?" he asked, obviously surprised to see me standing on his doorstep.
  
  "Hey." I said looking down.
  
  "What are you doing here?" he asked, he sounded a bit stuffed up.
  
  "Well, I heard you were sick, and..." I trailed off. What was I doing here? I certainly couldn't explain to him that I wouldn't be able to concentrate till I knew he was fine. That would make me sound more pathetic than I really was.
  
  "And..." he asked.
  
  "And I wanted to know what was wrong." I said, feeling my face heat.
  
  "Allergies." He said with a small smile. "I've been dealing with them all summer, but today they've been really bad. Sam sent me home."
  
  "Oh." I said. "Well, is there anything I can do?"
  
  "Come in." he said, moving out of the way for me.
  
  "Oh, no." I said, waving off his suggestion. "I really don't think that's appropriate."
  
  "Please?" he asked, pleading with his eyes. "I'm really lonely."
  
  Okay, the puppy dog eyes look worked. I really shouldn't have gone in, but I did.
  
  Because I'm stupid.
  
  Once I was in there, I knew I shouldn't have come in. he sat down on his couch, where Kleenexes were covering his coffee table.
  
  Okay, he was sick. He had allergies, could I rest easy now?
  
  "Come sit." He said, patting the couch cushion beside him. "It's not like allergies are contagious."
  
  "I really probably should get going..." I said.
  
  "No, please?" he begged, full-force puppy dog eyes on me now.
  
  I sighed. "Fine." And I went to sit next to him.
  
  It was cold in here, I shivered. He put his arm around me, and then glanced at me as if to ask, is this okay?
  
  It was, because I was cold.
  
  I wasn't paying attention to what he was watching on TV.
  
  I didn't care what it was.
  
  He pulled me closer to him, and when I tried to move away, he just tugged harder.
  
  "You're cold." He said.
  
  I sighed.
  
  "Mel, I owe you and apology." He said.
  
  "Damn straight." I muttered.
  
  He turned my face to his. "I am sorry."
  
  I didn't say anything.
  
  "I would never want to break up you and Paul...I don't know what came over me...I know it took long to apologize, but you wouldn't look at me all summer."
  
  I looked away. He was right.
  
  "I don't want you to hate me, Mel." He said. "I'm just here to protect you."
  
  "What about Paul?" I asked quietly.
  
  "Where is he now?" Jared asked.
  
  "Running, with Sam." I said.
  
  "When Paul's not around, I'm here to protect you." He said. "Obviously you don't feel the same way about me as you do with Paul, but I'd rather be in your life as a brother, rather than not be in your life at all."
  
  "I'd like that." I said. "But, this is your last chance."
  
  "I know." He said.
  
  Then, I curled up beside him, like I curl up to a big brother.
  
  Finally, this might actually have a chance at working out.
  Chapter 3-Guilty
  
  I hadn't realized I had fallen asleep till I woke up curled up next to Jared.
  
  Why was I...?
  
  Oh, right.
  
  He was snoring quietly, I nudged him awake, and he jumped.
  
  "Wha-?" he asked, looking around.
  
  "I have to go." I said, getting up.
  
  His face fell. "Oh, okay."
  
  "Sorry." I murmured. "But I should probably eat sometime, and Paul will probably be starving when he comes back." Jeez, I sounded like a housewife!
  
  "Okay." He said with a sigh. "Bye Mel."
  
  "Bye Jared." I said, walking out the door. Suddenly, I felt guilty. It felt like someone was watching me, I turned, but no one was around.
  
  I shook my head. I was going crazy.
  
  I got in my car, and drove to my apartment.
  
  It was still the slightest bit weird to think of it as my apartment.
  
  I opened the door to complete darkness. I couldn't see an inch in front of my face. I felt around for the light switch.
  
  I swore quietly. I couldn't find it. I took my phone out.
  
  Great. It was dead.
  
  I swore again, and then felt my way around the apartment.
  
  I wasn't sure what to do with myself. Should I go to my bedroom? Curl up on the couch in the darkness?
  
  I heard a thump somewhere coming from the bathroom. It made my blood run cold.
  
  I froze, barely breathing.
  
  Was it Paul? Was it someone else?
  
  "Paul?" I whispered.
  
  No answer. My hands shook.
  
  "Paul?" I asked a little louder, hearing my voice shake.
  
  Another thump. I frantically searched for something, anything that could help me, a light switch, a flash light, some sort of weapon, anything.
  
  I could hear light footsteps in the same room I was in. I was panicking, where was I again? I tripped over something and fell.
  
  I heard a small intake of breath.
  
  Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.
  
  The footsteps were closer to me now, I was shaking. I wanted to scream, but my throat was suddenly dry.
  
  The footsteps were even closer now.
  
  "Mel?" called a husky voice; dim light was suddenly streaming into the room.
  
  "Paul?" I asked hoarsely.
  
  "Where are you?" he asked sharply.
  
  "Wait, there's someone in the apartment." I said tears oddly stinging at my eyes.
  
  "What?" he growled.
  
  I heard a faint giggle, then nothing.
  
  "Did you hear that?" I whispered.
  
  "Yes." He said quietly. "Mel, where are you?"
  
  "Right here..." I said, and then felt fuzzy. My vision blurred a bit, I tried to say something but no words would come out. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Paul's face in front of mine.
  
  Then, nothingness.
  Chapter 4-New
  
  When I woke up I wasn't quite sure where I was. I looked around, there was something familiar about this room, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
  
  Paul was sitting on a chair close to my bed; he was crinkling his nose a bit. Why...?
  
  "Mel!" Alice trilled rushing into the room. "You're awake!" she hugged me tightly.
  
  Now I knew where I was, I was in the Cullens guest bedroom.
  
  Why was I...?
  
  "Wha-" I started to ask, but my throat burning.
  
  Paul was quiet. I glanced at him, he looked upset.
  
  "What happened?" I asked, my voice was still a bit hoarse.
  
  "Well...Paul says there was a vampire in your apartment." Alice said, biting her lip.
  
  "What?" I yelled, then grimaced. That had really hurt my throat. "You got it though, right?" I looked at Paul.
  
  "No, I tried, but I was too worried about you." He said.
  
  "What did it look like?" I asked.
  
  "Red hair, female." Paul said.
  
  "Victoria." Alice breathed.
  
  "You didn't tell her?" I asked Paul, gaping at him.
  
  "I wanted to wait for you to wake up." He said quietly.
  
  I looked back at Alice. "Who is she?"
  
  "She was James' mate." Alice explained.
  
  "Why is she after me?" I asked, bewildered.
  
  "I don't know, maybe she wanted answers."
  
  I sighed, relief flooding into me. I looked at the door, Jasper was leaning against it, smiling at me.
  
  "Not funny." I muttered.
  
  He laughed.
  
  "Mel, there's something else." Alice said, biting her lip again.
  
  "What? What is it?" I asked, looking at Paul. He wouldn't meet my eyes.
  
  "She..." Alice took a deep, unnecessary breath. "She bit you."
  
  My world seemed to be crashing down in front of me.
  
  "S-she...b-bit me?" I stuttered.
  
  Alice nodded glumly.
  
  "Am I..." I took a breath. "Am I like you now?"
  
  Alice wouldn't meet my eyes.
  
  "Oh just tell her." Paul growled.
  
  Alice looked out the window. "Mel, she...she did turn you."
  
  I stared at Alice, then stared at Paul. No wonder he wouldn't look at me. I was a monster to him, now.
  
  "We tried to get the venom out, but it was too late." Alice said. "Paul didn't know what to do with you, we were his last resort, and by then..."
  
  No. No no no no. this was not happening.
  
  I looked around, everything did seem unnaturally clear...
  
  No. I shook my head.
  
  "No." I said. "I'm not, that's...that's impossible!"
  
  "No, it's not." Alice said.
  
  Great. What was I going to do now? Paul couldn't stand the sight of me, and I was a vampire.
  
  "Paul..." I said. He didn't look up. "Paul, please look at me."
  
  He glanced up, then cringed.
  
  He cringed.
  
  My boyfriend cringed at me.
  
  The hit me hard.
  
  I looked away, fighting a sob.
  
  "It's not you." He said quietly. "It's your eyes."
  
  My eyes? "What's wrong with them?" I whispered in horror.
  
  Alice grabbed a mirror and handed it to me. I gasped.
  
  No way. Those were not my eyes. I didn't look at how gorgeous my face was now, I didn't look at the stranger in the mirror.
  
  My eyes were red.
  
  Ruby red.
  
  Blood red.
  
  "Why...?" I gasped.
  
  "You still have a lot of human blood in your system." Alice said quietly.
  
  "Oh my god." I muttered.
  
  "Paul, can we go home?" I asked.
  
  He shot a glance at Alice, who was looking at me nervously.
  
  "Alice...?" I asked desperately.
  
  "You can't go home...yet." she said, biting her lip.
  
  "Why?" I yelled. "No! You aren't keeping me away from him! He may smell like wet dog, but I probably smell worse to him!" I shot a desperate glance at Paul, he was smiling a small smile. "No, Alice. Please! I can't be away from him! I'm not signing that treaty, no matter what Sam says!"
  
  Paul looked at me. "It's what's best, for now."
  
  I glared at him. "This isn't like you! You would fight to let me come home any other time! What's so different now?"
  
  "You're a monster now." He whispered.
  
  Then, I really woke up.
  Chapter 5-Monster
  
  "Mel? Can you hear me?" Paul asked.
  
  Paul's head was floating above mine.
  
  "Why aren't you cringing away in horror at me?" I asked, giving him and icy look.
  
  "What are you talking about?" he asked.
  
  I jumped away from Paul and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.
  
  "Mel, what's wrong?" he asked, banging on the door. I sat in front of the door; I was a monster to Paul. I always would be. Nothing would change that.
  
  I sobbed.
  
  "Mel, open up." He said. "What's going on with you?"
  
  "Why?" I asked bitterly. "I'm a disgusting monster to you."
  
  "Why do you think that?" he demanded.
  
  "Because it's true!" I yelled.
  
  I didn't want to go to the mirror; I didn't want to face the person who would be staring back at me with red eyes.
  
  "Mel, what's wrong?" he demanded. "I'm worried."
  
  "Please, I need to be alone." I said miserably.
  
  "You aren't a monster." He said quietly. "I love you so much, and there is nothing wrong with you."
  
  "I'm a vampire!" I shrieked, flinging the door open.
  
  He stared at me. "No, you're not."
  
  "Yes I am!"
  
  "Mel, you're not." He said, pushing me towards the mirror.
  
  "No!" I fought against him. "I can't look."
  
  He pushed me in front of the mirror, and I gaped at my reflection.
  
  I was normal.
  
  My eyes were green again.
  
  I wasn't ridiculously beautiful.
  
  I was me again.
  
  "Oh Paul!" I moaned, flinging my arms around him.
  
  "It's okay." He murmured.
  
  "I had the worst dream, I...I was a vampire, and you thought I was disgusting." Tears were rolling down my cheeks now. "I had red eyes, and I was so scared...I thought you had hated me."
  
  "It's okay." He soothed. "You're fine now."
  
  I looked into his eyes. "I know I am."
  
  He kissed me hard on my lips, and I kissed back, he pulled me into our bedroom, our lips still locked together, and flung onto the bed, me on top of him.
  
  He rolled over, and his heat engulfed me, but it was soothing. My sweater fell from my shoulders.
  
  I stiffened when I realized how serious this was. Paul stopped, too.
  
  I didn't look at him, not sure what I wanted.
  
  Was it wrong to want to be with someone you loved?
  
  "It's okay." I muttered.
  
  "I don't know..." he said, looking away.
  
  "I'm okay." I said. "If you're not..."
  
  "I don't want to force you..." he said.
  
  I took his face in my hands. "You're not."
  
  He kissed me again, and then we made love as our worlds exploded with passion.
  
  My head was against Paul's shoulder. I sighed happily, my head was hazy, but it was a happy haze.
  
  "Are you okay?" Paul asked.
  
  I looked at him oddly. "Of course."
  
  "I didn't want to...hurt you." He said.
  
  I smiled. "You didn't. You can't crush me that easily."
  
  "You have no idea..." he said quietly.
  
  I giggled. Then remembered why I had been asleep before.
  
  "So, who was in here?" I asked.
  
  "Some red headed bloodsucker." He said.
  
  I thought back to my dream. "Victoria?"
  
  "I don't know their names!" Paul said, "I really only know Alice, because of you."
  
  Alice should know about this. I thought. She needs to know these kinds of things. Meh. I would tell her later.
  
  "You should sleep." Paul whispered.
  
  I nodded, and fell right asleep.
  
  Again, I dreamed I had been turned. This time, Alice was teaching me to hunt, she said it would bring the red out of my eyes, and make them golden.
  
  "Where's Paul?" I complained.
  
  "He's...not here." she said, looking away.
  
  "He thinks I'm disgusting, doesn't he?" I asked.
  
  "No, the eyes just freak him out." She said, trying to soothe me.
  
  I sighed. I didn't like being away from Paul, even if he did stink.
  
  "You may never be able to go back to him." Alice said quietly.
  
  I gaped at her. "Why?"
  
  "Because to him..." she sighed. "You're a monster."
  
  Why did all my dreams end with someone calling me a monster?
  Chapter 6-Faker
  
  I woke up alone, tears stinging at my eyes. Where was Paul? I looked around, sniffling. There was a note on the nightstand, I reached over and grabbed it.
  
  Mel, I had to go running with Sam. I'll see you late tonight, Jared still isn't well enough to come out yet.
  
  I love you, Paul
  
  Oh. Okay. Now what to do? I sighed, and called Johnny.
  
  "Can I come in today?" I asked.
  
  "No, Mel." He said with a sigh.
  
  I groaned. "Can I ask why?"
  
  "Because we don't need you today." He said. "We have enough cashiers working, and we don't need anyone else today, it would be too crowded."
  
  "When am I working again?" I asked.
  
  "When school starts." He said. "We got a bunch of kids come in who wanted a summer job, but once school starts up again for you, your hours will be normal again."
  
  "Okay, thanks Johnny." I said.
  
  "Bye Mel." He said, and the line went dead.
  
  I cleaned the apartment. Again.
  
  I hated having nothing to do.
  
  I made some food, ate it, and saved some for Paul.
  
  I plopped on the couch, and turned the television on. The power had (miraculously) come back on, apparently minutes after I had passed out.
  
  Nothing to watch. And nothing to do.
  
  There was something nagging at me. Something I had to do.
  
  No, to be more specific, it was like I had to tell someone something.
  
  But for the life of me, I couldn't remember what it was.
  
  My phone rang, it was Jared.
  
  "Hello?" I said into the receiver.
  
  "Mel!" he sighed happily, still stuffed up. "Are you okay?"
  
  "I'm fine." I said. "How are you?"
  
  "Been better." He said. "I heard there was a bloodsucker in the apartment."
  
  "Yea, but Paul took care of her." Sort-of. I added silently.
  
  "Good." He said. "If you got hurt, or turned-"
  
  I cut him off. "Don't finish that sentence, please."
  
  "Okay..." he said. "Could you do me a favour?"
  
  "What is it?"
  
  "I ran out of allergy meds, could you get me some?"
  
  "Sure." I said, and he told me what kind to get him.
  
  "I'll be there soon." I said, and hung up. I drove to the pharmacy and grabbed his meds.
  
  I drove to his house, and knocked on the door.
  
  No answer.
  
  Really?
  
  Maybe he was in the shower...
  
  No, I doubted it. I walked around to the backyard, and he was lounging on some patio furniture, looking really relaxed.
  
  "What did you say you were allergic to, again?" I asked, crossing my arms.
  
  He jumped about three feet in the air when he heard me.
  
  "Uh...dust." He said.
  
  "Really?" I asked. "So, if you're allergic to dust, why can't you just step outside where there isn't any dust, and run with Sam?"
  
  "Please don't tell him?" he begged. "I'm still stuffed up..."
  
  "But you're outside, where you're allergic to what's out here, right?"
  
  He sighed. "I'm allergic to pollen, but it's not as bad today."
  
  "So then why didn't you tell Sam?" I asked.
  
  "Because, I was testing it out. I was going to call him, if it wasn't that bad anymore. Which it isn't."
  
  I tossed the meds at him. "Call him."
  
  He sighed, and held his hand out for my phone, I gave it to him.
  
  He called Sam, but had to leave a message with Emily.
  
  I sat down on a chair across from him.
  
  "Is something wrong?" he asked, studying my face.
  
  "No, I just-" he cut me off.
  
  "Something's bugging you." He said. I opened my mouth to disagree, but he cut me off again. "You can't lie to your imprint, Mel. I can tell there's something wrong, Paul probably can too, but doesn't want to pry."
  
  I sighed. "I keep having this dream...well, it's more like a nightmare."
  
  "Tell me about it." He said, face softening.
  
  "In the dream, I'm a vampire," he made a face when I said that. "And Paul hates me. He thinks I'm a monster, and he can't stand the sight of me," tears threatened to surface. "And it's just awful. It's really starting to scare me." I hated breaking down in front of anybody, so I was even more embarrassed when the tears rolled down my cheeks.
  
  "Hey, it's okay." He said, pulling me into his arms. "You aren't like them, you aren't one of them. You have a whole wolf pack behind you, protecting you; you have nothing to worry about. You're probably the safest girl alive, with two werewolves who know when you're hurt, or in trouble."
  
  I sobbed into his chest. "But what if it comes true? What if I ever do get turned? Will Paul hate me?"
  
  "No, I don't think so, I don't think anything will make him hate you." He said. "And nothing will make me hate you."
  
  I sniffled. "Thank you, Jared."
  
  "No problem," he said. "It's my job."
  
  I smiled feeling, for one of the first times, comfortable in Jared's strong arms.
  
  Maybe this could actually work out.
  
  Then again, maybe not. Jared knew he was walking on a fine line, he knew this was the last chance I was giving him. If he tried anything stupid again with me, I wouldn't even look at him anymore. And he knew it.
  Chapter 7-Big Complication
  
  I was helping Emily cook. The guys were out, doing some wolfy business.
  
  "What's it like?" Emily asked. I stared at her, giving her a question mark look. "Having two of them imprinted on you..."
  
  "It's weird..." I said. "It always feels like I'm going to tear apart their friendship or something."
  
  "They're brothers..." Emily said quietly.
  
  "I know." I said. "That makes it worse."
  
  Emily sighed quietly. "Don't worry about that."
  
  "I try not to." I smiled.
  
  The guys came in then, and we were done cooking by then.
  
  "Em, did you make muffins?" Jared asked.
  
  "Not today." She smiled. "Burgers. Homemade."
  
  "You helped?" Paul asked. I nodded. He burst out laughing. "She let you help her?"
  
  "She's not you." Emily smiled.
  
  I grinned at him. "Ha!"
  
  "She kicked me out of the kitchen last time." He said, entwining his fingers with mine.
  
  Emily put a plate of our huge burgers on the kitchen table. Each of the guys took one right away. Emily took one for herself, and handed me one.
  
  "Thanks," I smiled. "I didn't want my arm taken off if I had tried taking one myself."
  
  Emily giggled.
  
  I had to give the rest of my burger to Paul to finish, Emily gave hers to Sam.
  
  Each of the guys had another three.
  
  "Good thing we made so many." I muttered.
  
  "You got that right." Emily said.
  
  We hung out at Emily and Sam's for a while, and then decided it was time to leave.
  
  We curled together in our bed. I tried to get as close to Paul as I could.
  
  "You know I would never want anything to hurt you, right?" he asked.
  
  I looked at him. "Of course."
  
  "I don't ever want to hurt you." He said quietly.
  
  "You won't." I said. He didn't say anything, and looked away. "Hey," I said, turning his face back to mine, "Why are you talking about this?"
  
  He was quiet for a bit. "I see what Sam has done to Emily. I have a worse temper then Sam."
  
  "Paul," I said sharply. "Stop thinking like that, okay? I love you. No matter what happens, or doesn't happen won't change that."
  
  He didn't say anything, just looked away.
  
  I tried to catch his gaze, but he wouldn't look at me.
  
  "Maybe it would be better if I was away from you." He finally said, still not looking at me.
  
  "Why?" I asked, hearing my voice shake.
  
  He glanced at me, then looked away quickly again, seeing the hurt on my face.
  
  "I can't bear to hurt you, Mel." He said. "You mean too much to me already. During Spring Break, when that bloodsucker hurt you, I-I didn't know what I was going to do with myself. I was so scared that you were going to..." his Adam's apple bobbed. "To die."
  
  "Paul, please stop." I said, my hands were shaking. "I can't live without you." I held onto him, as if her were a life line. "If I get hurt, it's not your fault, it's mine."
  
  "But-" he started and I cut him off.
  
  "Spring Break wasn't your fault, or the Cullens. It was my fault. Mine. I was the one who went out there in the first place. Not you. So, if something happens to me, I need you to be there to help me, not blame yourself."
  
  He sighed.
  
  "Paul," I said, turning his face to mine. "I'm only a human; I'll get hurt no matter what."
  
  "If you were a bloodsucker you wouldn't." he grumbled.
  
  "Why would you say that?" I asked, staring at him.
  
  "Because, that's something they can give you, and I can't."
  
  "Who says I want that?" I asked.
  
  "All I know is that since you've been with me, you've gotten hurt more times then in your whole life." He said. "You've told me you've never broken a bone, or got seriously hurt, then that bloodsucker bites you, and breaks two of your bones."
  
  "I chose that." I said. "I know the risk of being with you, and I've chosen it. I'd rather get hurt everyday and be with you, then have you think I'm a monster and never get hurt."
  
  "Why would you ever think that I would think of you as a monster?" he gasped.
  
  "If I were like them, you'd hate me." I said. "You'd think I was a monster."
  
  He gaped at me. "I think it would be the other way around."
  
  "No," I said. "It wouldn't. I've seen it."
  
  "You've seen it...?" he asked.
  
  "My dreams, I've had two that entail me being a vampire, and you hating me." I admitted.
  
  His features softened. "Why didn't you tell me?"
  
  "I have, I told you about the one yesterday, when I was freaking out, remember?" he nodded. "And this morning when I woke up, you were already gone."
  
  "What happened in last night's dreamed?" he asked softly.
  
  "Alice was teaching me how to hunt, and right before I woke she told me I was a monster to you."
  
  "It's okay," he soothed. "You're here, with me. And I would never think of you as a monster. No matter what happened."
  
  "So, let's say I did get turned." I said, noticing how he flinched slightly. "You would grow old, and die, and I would still be like this."
  
  "Mel, I don't age." He said.
  
  "What?" I yelled.
  
  "As long as we're still phasing, we don't age." He explained.
  
  "You're kidding!" I gasped.
  
  He shook his head.
  
  "So you're going to stay like that, and I'm going to be a grandma." I said.
  
  He looked away.
  
  I sighed.
  
  Well, that's just great.
  Chapter 8-Escape
  
  I groaned as I rolled out of bed to get ready for school. We had already been back for about a week, and I was already sick of it.
  
  Today was the thirteenth; something was special about today...
  
  Oh yea, today was Bella's birthday. Alice was having that big party. She had invited me, but I decided against it, Bella should be with the Cullens on her own birthday, without me barging in on everything.
  
  I snuck out of the apartment, I had finally mastered being quiet enough to leave without waking Paul.
  
  Yea, it was sad how proud of myself I was.
  
  When I pulled into the parking lot, Bella hadn't arrived yet, Alice skipped over to my car before I even got out.
  
  "Why can't you come tonight?" she pouted.
  
  "Wolf business." I lied, getting out of my car.
  
  "Liar." She muttered.
  
  "Hey! I'm not lying." I said. "The guys have some business to tend to, and Emily and I have some errands to do. Maybe I should've said Imprint business."
  
  Alice sighed. "It would be fun if you were there, though."
  
  "Does Bella even know its happening?" I asked, leaning against my car.
  
  "Nope." Alice said, grinning. "I love surprises."
  
  I sighed. "She won't."
  
  "I don't care." She said smugly.
  
  I laughed. "Well, here she comes."
  
  I looked at Bella's '50's bright red Chevy truck. It was loud, but pretty awesome.
  
  "Gotta go!" Alice grinned.
  
  "Bye," I laughed.
  
  Alice skipped over to Bella before Edward had even greeted her. The look on Bella's face told me she didn't want anyone talking about her birthday.
  
  I would respect her wishes and not wish her a happy birthday.
  
  I didn't want to go to gym, which was my first period class. I sighed, but went anyway.
  
  "Coach?" I asked.
  
  "Yea?" he asked, turning to face me.
  
  "What are we doing today?" I asked.
  
  "Volleyball." He said gruffly.
  
  "Really?" I groaned.
  
  "Yea, go get changed."
  
  I sighed and changed sluggishly. There were a few other girls in the change room, but not many.
  
  Gym was awful. I normally don't mind volleyball, but today it just didn't go well.
  
  The rest of my classes went exactly the same.
  
  It was strange today; it was as though something bad was going to happen.
  
  "Hey, Jess." I smiled to her in Spanish.
  
  "Hey, Mel." She said, flipping through her notes.
  
  "How's your day going?" I asked, trying to be subtle.
  
  "Pretty good." She said. "How's yours?"
  
  "Been better." I said.
  
  "What's wrong?" she said, finally looking at me, eyes hungry for gossip.
  
  "Nothing," I said. "It just seems like something bad is going to happen today...I mean, today everything is going wrong, or something like that."
  
  "Oh," she said, face falling. Obviously this wasn't the sort of thing she was hoping for.
  
  I sighed. I guess I was the only one. Thankfully, this was last period, I couldn't wait to go home, curl up in a little ball, and die.
  
  Yes, I had lied to Alice about Emily and me running errands.
  
  Crap! I shouldn't have thought about curling up and dying. Now she'd know I had lied to her.
  
  Of course, after class she was waiting for me, scowling at me.
  
  "Hey." I squeaked.
  
  "Come with me." she growled.
  
  I groaned. "Where are we going?"
  
  When she saw I hadn't moved, she glared at me. "I'll pull you to your car if you don't come."
  
  "Where are we going?" I asked, planting my feet.
  
  "Don't do this." She warned.
  
  "Alice, I have to go home." I said.
  
  "Liar." She said, tugging at my arm.
  
  "Alice, please." I pleaded. "I just want to go home."
  
  "Edward and Bella aren't going to be at our house till seven." She said. "I need your help."
  
  "With?"
  
  "Food!" she yelled, exasperated.
  
  I bit back a laugh. "Okay, why do you need me?"
  
  She gave me a look. "We don't have time to cook, and we don't know what to buy. How do we know what tastes good? Anything I would taste-test would taste disgusting."
  
  "Fine." I said, and followed Alice out to my car.
  
  "Keys." She said, holding her hand out.
  
  I passed her my keys, and hopped in the passenger seat.
  
  "Where are we going?" I asked.
  
  "You'll see." She said.
  
  "What are you getting her?" I asked, trying to sound like a four year-old bombarding her with questions.
  
  "Edward made her a CD, that's from him and me, Esme and Carlisle are giving her plane tickets to go to Jacksonville to visit her mom, and Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett are giving her a new stereo for her truck."
  
  "Wow." I breathed.
  
  She giggled. "That's not even half of it."
  
  "What are you getting for food?" I asked.
  
  "Pink cake, edible arrangements..." she said. "Do you think that will be enough?"
  
  "Well, knowing Bella, she probably won't eat that much, she'll be too nervous about tripping or something."
  
  Alice laughed. "Very true."
  
  She pulled into a bakery, and we went inside.
  
  "Hi, the pink cake?" Alice asked the cashier.
  
  She nodded, looking dazzled.
  
  "Do you have a sample of the kind of cake you used?" Alice asked.
  
  The cashier nodded again, and handed Alice a piece of red velvet cake.
  
  "Thank you." She grinned.
  
  Alice pushed me to a little table, and put the cake in front of me.
  
  "Taste it?" she asked.
  
  I bit into it, and it was amazing.
  
  "Oh my god, Alice." I said. "This is really good."
  
  "Good!" she grinned. "I didn't want it to be awful."
  
  I laughed.
  
  "Finish that piece fast." She said, checking her watch. "We only have a few hours."
  
  I finished it, and Alice skipped to the counter. "I need to pick up the cake now."
  
  The cashier must have remembered Alice from when she ordered the cake, because she went right to the back, and grabbed a huge cake box.
  
  And when I say huge, I mean huge. It wasn't only big around, but it was tall.
  
  "We put some cupcakes in there, too." The cashier said.
  
  "Thank you." Alice smiled, paying for the cake.
  
  We loaded the cake into my car, and Alice assured me it was fine, but I kept glancing back nervously.
  
  "What if it falls?" I asked.
  
  "It won't." she promised.
  
  She drove to an Edible Arrangements shop, and skipped in. I followed close behind her, not skipping.
  
  "Hi," Alice smiled at the cashier, this time he was male. "Cullen. And do you have a sample of what I ordered?"
  
  He handed her a shish kabob that had strawberries, pineapple, and grapes on it.
  
  Alice handed it to me.
  
  "Alice, its fruit!" I said. "You can't really go wrong with that."
  
  "Shut up and eat." She muttered.
  
  I giggled, and bit into one of the strawberries. "It's really good."
  
  "Good." She said.
  
  The cashier handed her another three huge boxes.
  
  "Do you need help carrying them?" he asked, eyeing her skinny arms.
  
  I thought she might bite his head off.
  
  We loaded them into the car.
  
  "Alice, how much do you think she'll eat?" I asked.
  
  "Who knows?" she asked. "If we have leftovers, I'll bring 'em to you. I'm sure those wolves of yours could eat all this in one sitting."
  
  I laughed. "I think one of them could eat it all."
  
  She laughed, and drove to her massive home.
  
  "Alice..." I warned.
  
  "I just need some help." She said.
  
  "What about Rosalie?" I asked.
  
  "She's not back yet." Alice lied.
  
  "You're lying!" I sang.
  
  "Damn," she said. "You're good. At least help me carry this stuff inside?"
  
  "Fine." I said.
  
  So, as it turns out, I stayed till seven.
  
  When I checked my watch, and it was close to seven, I almost screamed.
  
  "Oh, Alice?" I said.
  
  "Hmmmm?" she asked, arranging some pink flowers.
  
  "I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."
  
  "You better come back." she warned.
  
  "Yea yea." I muttered.
  
  I slipped into the bathroom on the main floor, and was super relieved to see that it had a window in it.
  
  I stood in the bathroom for a minute, flushed the toilet, and ran the water. While the water was running, I pried the window open.
  
  I pressed my ear against the door, Bella and Edward had arrived.
  
  I turned the water off, and slid out the window.
  
  Success!
  
  I snuck around to the front of the house. Dammit! Emmett was inside Bella's truck. I could see my car from here.
  
  If I waited too long, Alice would come looking for me, I knew that. But, if I went now, Emmett would catch me.
  
  I had to make a decision, quick.
  
  I waited at the side of the house.
  
  Hurry your ass up, Emmett!
  
  I glanced around the corner again, he was still there. I reached up to look in the bathroom window, Alice wasn't there, and I slid the window shut, hiding my escape evidence.
  
  I looked around the corner again, Emmett was closing Bella's truck door. I sighed in relief.
  
  He started walking back to the house, when he froze.
  
  I flattened myself against the wall, where he wouldn't see me, and held my breath.
  
  Please just go back into the house, please, please, please, Emmett. Don't come over here. I willed.
  
  I heard the Cullens' front door open, and close behind Emmett.
  
  I sprinted to my car, and flung open the door.
  
  I was relieved the keys were still in the ignition.
  
  I sped down the Cullens' driveway, expecting Alice to stop me somewhere along the way, but she didn't.
  
  I sped back to La Push, and slowed down as soon as I crossed over the border. Relief flooded into me.
  
  My phone rang in my purse.
  
  I waited till I pulled into my apartment parking lot to check it.
  
  It was a text from Alice.
  
  I'm going to seal that window shut.
  
  I burst out laughing.
  
  Tears were streaming steadily down my cheeks I was laughing so hard.
  
  I sent a text back to her.
  
  Have fun tonight!
  
  I was still giggling when I went into my apartment.
  Chapter 9-Gone
  
  The next day at school, I could tell something bad had happened. Edward and Bella barely looked at each other-well, Bella constantly looked at Edward, but he wouldn't return her gaze.
  
  Alice wasn't there either.
  
  "Hey, Bella." I said as brightly as I could.
  
  She smiled a small smile at me. "Hey."
  
  "How was your birthday?" I asked. "Sorry I didn't get to say anything yesterday, I couldn't really find you."
  
  "Oh don't worry about it." She bit her lip. "Don't remind me about my birthday."
  
  "Okay." I said, the look on her face told me not to pry.
  
  I turned away from Bella, and started walking to my English class, and I walked right into Edward.
  
  He was about to glare at me, I could tell by the way his eyebrows were slanting down, but then saw it was me.
  
  "Sorry." He muttered.
  
  "Wait," I said, grabbing his arm.
  
  "What?" he growled.
  
  "What the hell happened last night?" I asked. "You look pissed, Bella looks scared, and Alice isn't here."
  
  "Nothing." He lied.
  
  "I know you're lying." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
  
  "Bella got hurt." He muttered. "And we're leaving."
  
  "You're kidnapping her?" I gasped; I could picture the wolves attacking him. "Those wolves will be on your ass in a second if you take her."
  
  His golden eyes stared down at me. I wasn't getting it, but then...
  
  "Oh my god." I gasped.
  
  He looked away.
  
  "You can't leave her!" I whispered angrily. "It will break her!"
  
  "It's the best thing for her." He said.
  
  "No, it's not." I said. "It will just kill her."
  
  "How would you know?" he snapped.
  
  "Because I have it with Paul!" I yelled. "I know how I would feel if he left me."
  
  "It's not the same." Edward growled.
  
  I rolled my eyes. "I hope you know what you're doing."
  
  Edward pushed past me.
  
  I was furious in English. How could Edward be so selfish? How could he do this to her? I thought he loved her!
  
  I was practically shaking with anger at him.
  
  After English I went to Spanish and was still ticked off.
  
  "What's wrong with you?" Jessica asked.
  
  "Nothing." I said curtly.
  
  Every two seconds I would look at the clock, when it felt like twenty minutes had gone by, only about three had actually gone by.
  
  Now the clock was pissing me off?
  
  Then it hit me, the Cullens were leaving.
  
  I would never see Alice again.
  
  The thought made me freeze. No more Rosalie, no more Emmett, no more Jasper.
  
  No more Alice.
  
  The realization hit me like a wrecking ball.
  
  When the bell rang, I jumped out of my seat, and ran to my car. With shaking hands I started the car, and drove to the Cullens' house.
  
  They were all getting into Carlisle's Mercedes, and Rosalie's BMW.
  
  "Wait!" I yelled, running to the garage.
  
  Alice got out of one of the cars; I didn't pay attention to which one it was, looking somber.
  
  "Hey Mel." She said quietly.
  
  "You can't leave!" I felt close to tears.
  
  "We have to." She said, looking down.
  
  "Why?" I asked desperately.
  
  "Because," she said. "It's Edward's choice, Bella got hurt last night, and he feels it will protect her to leave her."
  
  Didn't I have this exact conversation with Paul last night?
  
  "We have to stop him!" I pleaded.
  
  "We can't." she said. "Mel, I'm so sorry."
  
  "You can't just leave." I said quietly. "He's being stupid, this isn't better for her, its worse!"
  
  "We've tried to talk him out of it." She said. "He won't budge."
  
  Tears stung at my eyes. "Please." I whispered.
  
  Alice looked like she was about to start crying herself. She hugged me tightly, and then slipped something in my pocket.
  
  "Be safe." She whispered. "There's some food leftover from last night, I snuck across the border today."
  
  She let go of me, and when I reached for my pocket, she gave me a glance that said, not yet.
  
  Rosalie came out of her BMW, looking upset. She came right to me, and hugged me.
  
  "Good luck." She whispered.
  
  "Bye." I managed to choke out.
  
  Jasper was leaning against Rosalie's car, looking upset. He didn't look at me.
  
  "Bye Mel." Alice said quietly. "I'll miss you."
  
  "I'll miss you too." I whispered. "All of you."
  
  Rosalie and Alice both pulled me into a tight hug at the same time.
  
  "Will you ever come back?" I asked, knowing the answer already.
  
  "No." Rosalie said quietly. "But we'll write to you."
  
  "Okay." I whispered.
  
  They walked back to the BMW, and I leaned against my car. They drove past me, and I waved, Alice looked really upset, and Rosalie was clutching the steering wheel tightly. Jasper looked ashamed, Emmett looked sad.
  
  In the Mercedes, the windows were too dark; I couldn't see Esme and Carlisle.
  
  I looked back at the now empty Cullen house. It had already lost some of its beauty, even though they had just left it.
  
  I don't know how long I stood out there, but it had gotten dark, and had started to rain a little bit.
  
  Then, I saw Edward.
  
  "Hey!" I yelled angrily through the rain.
  
  He was getting into his car, and he stopped.
  
  "What?" he asked obviously annoyed.
  
  "How could you do this to her?" I asked.
  
  "I'm sorry, I just told the one person I love most that I don't love her anymore, and that I have to leave her, could you please let me leave without a fight?" he asked.
  
  "Fine," I said, feeling myself soften a bit, seeing just how much this hurt him. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your life."
  
  I could've sworn I heard him mutter something that sounded dangerously like, "Not without Bella."
  
  "Goodbye, Melanie." Edward said, shaking my hand.
  
  "Goodbye, Edward." I said.
  
  He got in his car, started it, and drove off.
  
  I stood alone in the Cullens' garage.
  
  They were gone.
  Chapter 10-Search Party
  
  I drove home in a daze. This was not happening.
  
  I walked into the apartment, not knowing where I was going.
  
  "Mel?" Paul asked.
  
  I didn't say anything.
  
  "What's wrong?" he asked.
  
  "The Cullens..." I said quietly.
  
  "What did they do to you?" he asked sharply.
  
  "Nothing, they didn't do anything to me." I said quietly. "They...they left."
  
  "Where's Bella?" he asked softly.
  
  I looked into his eyes. "I don't know."
  
  "Do you think she's safe?" he asked.
  
  "I don't know." I whispered.
  
  The shrill phone in the apartment rang, Paul loped over to it.
  
  I didn't pay attention to what he was saying.
  
  They couldn't be gone.
  
  "Mel," Paul said softly, coming back into my vision. "We need to go, Bella's missing."
  
  "Where are we going?" I asked.
  
  "The Swan house." He said. "Sam, Jared and me will look in the woods, you should console Charlie."
  
  "Console him?" I asked. "She's not dead!"
  
  Paul shot me a look that said who knows what could've happened to her?
  
  Quietly, Paul drove into Forks.
  
  "What about the other guys?" I asked.
  
  "We're meeting them there." He said.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.
  
  I nodded again.
  
  He didn't say anything else.
  
  When we arrived at Bella's house, Sam, Jared, Billy Black, Harry Clearwater, Jacob Black, and Emily were there.
  
  Charlie was sitting down on a chair; Emily and Jacob were beside him, talking quietly to him.
  
  Paul went straight for Sam, I went straight to Emily.
  
  "We'll find her." Emily murmured. "Those boys can find anything."
  
  Jacob was looking away, I knew he didn't like the pack; therefore he didn't like Emily and me.
  
  "Yea, Charlie," I said. "She'll be fine."
  
  Charlie didn't say anything.
  
  Emily and I kept murmuring to Charlie about how fine Bella would be.
  
  It was hard, seeing as I just wanted to curl up in a little ball and die.
  
  "Charlie." Jacob said urgently. It was the first word he had said all night.
  
  Charlie's head snapped up, and I saw Sam coming out of the woods, carrying Bella's body. She was super pale, and looked...lifeless.
  
  Charlie raced over to her, and picked her up out of Sam's arms. Paul and Jared came out not long after.
  
  Paul tucked me under his arm, and pulled me along to his car.
  
  He drove in silence, and when he didn't turn into the apartment parking lot, I stared at him.
  
  "You missed the turn." I said quietly.
  
  "I know." He said. "We're not going home yet."
  
  "Where are we going?" I asked.
  
  "There's a bonfire tonight." He said.
  
  "Why?" I forced myself to ask.
  
  "We're...celebrating." He said, biting his lip.
  
  "Oh." I said, looking away.
  
  "We don't have to go..." he said.
  
  "No, you shouldn't miss it because of me." I said.
  
  "Mel, its not-"
  
  "Paul, I know you're happy they're gone." I said. "Don't try to hide it from me, because you know I was friends with them. Don't lie to me."
  
  He sighed quietly. "I'll take you home...if you want."
  
  "No," I said, looking at him. "Being alone won't help me right now. I want to be with you."
  
  "Okay." He said quietly, taking my hand in his.
  
  He pulled up to the beach, where people had already started celebrating. There was a fire going already, people were dancing around, they were eating, drinking, just all around having a good time.
  
  Right away, I knew I shouldn't have come.
  
  Paul pulled me over to where Sam and Emily were sitting together. Jared was sitting with them.
  
  I looked around, the Clearwaters were here, even Seth and Leah, they were dancing and laughing.
  
  I didn't really know the other people here, sure I had seen a few of them in the grocery store when I worked, but I had never really spoken to them.
  
  I saw Jacob, Embry, and Quil sitting together and laughing.
  
  Was I the only one who couldn't enjoy this? I guess it was different for me, since I had grown up in Forks, and had been friends with the Cullens, and Bella.
  
  "Paul, I have to leave." I said, after what seemed like hours.
  
  "Okay, let's go." He said.
  
  "No..." I said. "You stay; you should be able to enjoy this."
  
  "Are you sure?" he asked.
  
  "Positive." I said, and got up.
  
  I started to walk home.
  
  "Mel!" I heard Jared call from behind me.
  
  I groaned quietly.
  
  "Wait up!" he called, I heard him jogging to catch up with me.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "You shouldn't be alone." He said.
  
  "Why?" I asked, annoyed. "The Cullens aren't here to 'hurt' anyone anymore!" I air-quoted the "hurt".
  
  "Still." He said. "Let me walk you home."
  
  "Will you talk?" I asked.
  
  "Not if you don't want me to." He said.
  
  "I don't."
  
  We walked in silence. I didn't notice when tears sprang to my eyes, and rolled down my cheeks till Jared said something.
  
  "Mel, you're crying." He said softly.
  
  "So?" I asked.
  
  "They were important to you, weren't they?" he asked.
  
  "They were my friends." I said quietly. "And now they're gone."
  
  Jared put his arm around my shoulders. "It's better now."
  
  "How?" I demanded angrily, shaking his arm off my shoulder.
  
  "They were a threat." He said.
  
  We had reached the apartment by then. "How are they any more of a threat then you?"
  
  "We protect." He said.
  
  "They don't hurt humans!" I yelled.
  
  "Did you not see what they did to Bella?" he asked.
  
  "So he left her out in the woods, he probably left her on the path, but Bella's stubborn, she probably tried to follow him."
  
  "Didn't you see what happened to her arm?" he asked.
  
  "What are you talking about?" I asked. "She was wearing a jacket."
  
  "In school, has she shown her arm since last night?"
  
  "No." I said.
  
  "She had stitches." He said. "Charlie told Sam to be careful not to move her arm too much, in case the stitches ripped."
  
  I froze. Bella had stitches; Edward had said there was an accident last night.
  
  He left so she would never get hurt because of what his family is.
  
  "Oh my god." I said quietly. It had to be Jasper; he had looked ashamed when I saw him today.
  
  "Mel?" Jared asked quietly.
  
  "I'm sorry, Jared." I said, and went into my apartment, locking the door behind me.
  
  Oh. My. God.
  
  I could only imagine what sort of shape Bella would be in tomorrow at school.
  Chapter 11-Favour
  
  Bella didn't come to school for a whole week.
  
  I was worried about her, but even more annoyed at Jessica. The rumors that girl spread were absolutely disgusting. I was gripping the lunch table, trying not to smack her across the back of her head.
  
  "I heard he raped her, and then left her alone out in the woods to find her own way back home." She said smugly. "I bet if we went to the Cullen house, they would still be there."
  
  "And where exactly did you hear that?" I asked, sick of her rumors.
  
  "Bella told me." she said.
  
  "You've talked to Bella?" Mike asked.
  
  "Yep." Jessica said.
  
  "Really?" I asked. "Because I've been over to her house, and Charlie let me in to see her, and she wasn't talking to anybody. Not even her own father."
  
  Jessica stared at me, but I wasn't finished.
  
  "And, by any chance did you see the Cullens after that night?" I asked.
  
  "No." she said quietly.
  
  "Well, if you did, like I did, you would know that they actually did left, and were all upset about it. Especially Edward."
  
  "Why did they leave, then?" she asked, smiling venomously.
  
  "Didn't you hear?" I asked. "Dr. Cullen got a job in California."
  
  Jessica snorted. "Yea right."
  
  "Whatever." I said, rolling my eyes. "Believe whatever you want. But I know the truth."
  
  She rolled her eyes at me.
  
  Mike scooted close to me.
  
  "You've been to Bella's?" he asked.
  
  "Yea." I said, not meeting his eyes. I had gone over to see how she was doing, but she was just lifeless, she didn't say a word to me, didn't even acknowledge my presence.
  
  "How is she?" he asked.
  
  I looked up; his blue eyes were boring into mine.
  
  "Not good." I said, looking away again.
  
  "Did she say anything?" he asked.
  
  "No." I said.
  
  He sighed. "I can't believe Cullen left her alone in the forest."
  
  I couldn't stop myself from saying, "He left her right on the path! She tried to follow him."
  
  "How do you know?" he asked.
  
  "I was with Charlie that night, trying to make him feel better, and I saw a note from her, saying they were going for a walk, and she'd be on the path." I lied.
  
  "Oh." He said.
  
  I turned away from him, not wanting to talk to him anymore. He didn't realize that I had been friends with the Cullens, too. And for the first time I let myself think it, I did miss them.
  
  When the bell rang, I packed up my things, and headed to English.
  
  I had tried not to think about the Cullens since they left.
  
  There was something I was forgetting...
  
  Alice...something about Alice...
  
  Oh my god! She had put something in my back pocket the day the left, what jeans had I been wearing?
  
  I checked all the pockets in my jeans, nope it wasn't there.
  
  Crap! Had I washed them?
  
  I stopped outside my English classroom, and called Paul.
  
  Of course, I got his voicemail.
  
  "Paul," I said sharply. "Do not; I repeat do not do any laundry. Do you hear me? Please, please, please don't. There's something important I need to find."
  
  I flipped my phone shut, and went to English.
  
  I remember sitting next to Jasper in this class last year.
  
  I forced myself to stop thinking about them; it would just drive me crazy trying to think about what she had given me.
  
  I was itching to leave the school; I made up my mind that I was going to skip Spanish.
  
  When English was finally over, I went straight to the parking lot.
  
  I was getting into my car, when I was rudely interrupted.
  
  "Melanie, where do you think you're going?" asked a voice from behind me.
  
  I turned to see Coach Clapp looking at me.
  
  "Hey Coach..." I said.
  
  "Where do you think you're going?" he asked again.
  
  "I'm not really feeling well." I said. "I'm going home."
  
  "Skipping, aren't you?" he asked.
  
  "What? No!" I said. "I'm just not feeling good."
  
  "Get to class." He ordered.
  
  "Please, sir." I said. "I feel like my head is going to explode."
  
  "Fine." He said gruffly. "But it better not happen again."
  
  I got into my car, and sped away before Coach Clapp could change his mind.
  
  I ran into the apartment, and went looking for my jeans.
  
  Where were they...?
  
  Yes! Found 'em!
  
  I went into the back pocket, and sighed in relief when I pulled out an envelope.
  
  In really nice writing, it said my name on the front.
  
  I tore it open, and read the letter that fell out.
  
  Mel, I know how upset you probably are that we've left, but it wasn't my choice. If it had been up to me, we would've stayed. But this was Edward's choice. Not ours. Carlisle saw how much Edward felt he needed to leave Bella. He still loves her, he just won't admit it. I will miss you, so much, Mel. I wish I could tell you in person how much I'll miss you.
  
  I probably have absolutely no right to ask you this, but I will anyway. You can say no if you like, I'll understand, and I won't hold it against you. I was hoping you could maybe watch out for Bella. She's a danger magnet, and I don't want my brother to do anything stupid if she got hurt. I can't see what Bella's future is at this point, because I don't know how Bella is going to take what's happening yet.
  
  If you do this, and I'll be able to tell when you do decide, I'll mail you another letter, and I will mail you a credit card, believe me, it's the least I can do.
  
  We will miss Forks, but I can't ask you enough, please don't write back. I promised Edward I wouldn't interfere with your life or Bella's.
  
  I will miss you so much, Mel.
  
  Please think about what I asked?
  
  Thank you, oh so much.
  
  -Alice Cullen
  
  I stared at the letter for about ten minutes, just re-reading it.
  
  Then, I made my decision.
  Chapter 12-Letters
  
  A week after I got letters from Alice and Rosalie.
  
  I opened Rosalie's first.
  
  Melanie,
  
  W e all miss Forks so much. Alice wants to convince Edward to let us visit, but I doubt that will ever happen. We're in Alaska now, with the Denali clan. They've been helping Jasper with his self-control. They are so nice; maybe one day you could meet them? Edward barely ever stops by; we've only seen him once since we left. I think Alice told you this, but just in case, please don't write back to me. I know I would love to hear from you, but if Edward knew we were in contact with anyone from Forks, he might bite our heads off. I miss Forks dearly; I hadn't been back long before we left. I hope to see you sooner than we think. Hopefully Edward will come to his senses.
  
  All my love,
  
  -Rosalie Hale
  
  Well, that was sweet of her. I could tell she really missed Forks. Damn you, Edward Cullen.
  
  I tore open the one from Alice.
  
  Mel!
  
  Thank you so much! It means a lot to me, and I'm sure Edward would've asked you, had he been thinking straight. I've enclosed a credit card for you, use it all you want. The bill will be taken care of. We're in Alaska right now, Jasper is learning better self-control, even though he was doing really well until that one little paper cut.
  
  I miss you! I miss Forks! I might visit, I've learned to hide my thoughts from Edward, not that he'd notice, we barely see him. I never really found out who I was before I was turned, I'm thinking of doing some research on that. I really hope to find out something good.
  
  Well, I guess that's all there really is to say right now.
  
  Best of luck, and thank you again.
  
  -Alice Cullen
  
  After reading Alice's letter, and staring at the credit card with my mouth hanging open, I realized that taking care of Bella would be harder then I thought.
  Chapter 13-Liars
  
  "I heard that there were bears in the forest!" Mike said at lunch. Bella still hadn't returned to school. It was the Friday after they had left. "I heard it on the news this morning, there's been more attacks."
  
  "Animal attacks?" I asked, snapping my head up from the book I was reading.
  
  "Yea, I heard that these hikers were attacked by huge bears." He said.
  
  "How many?" I asked quietly.
  
  "I think there have been different sightings of three different ones."
  
  "Do you know what colours they were?" I asked, feeling my stomach drop.
  
  "I think one was black, one was grey, and one was brown." He said.
  
  Oh. My. God.
  
  "Why?" Mike asked.
  
  "Ummm no reason." I said quietly.
  
  Were they killing people now? I would kill them!
  
  "Mel, are you okay?" Angela asked.
  
  "Yea, she's fine!" Jessica said acidly. "I think the bear story scared her. Don't worry, as long as you stay out of the forest, no big bad bears will get you."
  
  "Shut up, Jessica." I said, feeling a bit sick. How could they be killing people? And they complained about the Cullens!
  
  How could they be such jerks? Hypocrites!
  
  "Mel, I think you should go to the nurse, you're looking kind-of sick." Angela said.
  
  "Yea, I'll take you." Mike said.
  
  I didn't say anything; I let Mike pull me along to the nurse's office, still a bit frozen in shock.
  
  "Nurse?" Mike said quietly.
  
  She took one look at me, and told me to sit down.
  
  She looked me over, and told me I should go home, she made Mike drive me.
  
  I handed him my keys, and he drove to La Push.
  
  "This is your apartment, right?" he asked, pointing.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Are you okay?" he asked, after he pulled into a space.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Are you sure?" he asked.
  
  I nodded again.
  
  "Do you want me to come up with you, or something?"
  
  I shook my head vigorously, then cleared my throat. "No, thanks though."
  
  He handed me my keys, then walked back to Forks.
  
  I went up to the apartment, and paced.
  
  Paul was out running today. Which would mean he would be home at around four.
  
  How would I be able to wait that long?
  
  I paced back and forth. No, I couldn't wait.
  
  I hopped in my car, and drove around for a bit, of course, it started raining.
  
  And I don't mean just spitting, it started pouring.
  
  I kept driving, till I finally saw them. All three of them, walking together, shirtless, wearing cloth shorts.
  
  I got out of my car, and slammed the door shut.
  
  I saw confusion on all three of their faces.
  
  Paul loped over to me.
  
  "What are you doing here?" he asked.
  
  "How could you?" I yelled, by this time Sam and Jared had reached us.
  
  "What are you talking about, Mel?" Paul asked quietly.
  
  "There have been hikers in the woods going missing; they've deemed them all animal attacks. Oh, and people have seen three huge 'bears' in the forest!"
  
  "Mel, we don't kill people." Jared said.
  
  "Oh yea, sure." I said, rolling my eyes. "The Cullens never hurt people, and if they do it's an accident. How dare you have such huge problems with them, when you're killing people?"
  
  "We're trying to protect you." Sam said gruffly.
  
  "Yea, I'm sure hikers cause huge problems in Forks, right?" I asked sarcastically.
  
  "Mel, please listen." Paul said quietly.
  
  I shook my head. "I'm most shocked at you, Paul."
  
  "Mel, come on." He begged.
  
  I shook my head, and walked away from them.
  
  "Wait!" I heard Paul call over the rain.
  
  I got in my car, and drove away. I went back to the apartment, and packed up some of my clothes, tears streaming down my face.
  
  I got back in my car, and drove back into Forks.
  
  Once I was there, I realized I had absolutely no idea where to go.
  
  Then it hit me, the Cullens were gone. There was a big empty house on the river.
  
  It would feel weird living there, but it wouldn't be for long. I'd find some place to live sooner or later. This would be temporary.
  
  I drove to the big, beautiful house. When I got there, some of its beauty was gone, only the Cullens could keep it gorgeous.
  
  I was relieved when I went to the front door, that there were keys in the mailbox.
  
  Had Alice known I would need to live here? Maybe she was just being cautious. She knows the tempers all the wolves had.
  
  I opened the door and walked in, suitcase in hand and backpack in hand.
  
  I looked around, I was sad at how empty the house was.
  
  Well, there was still all their furniture, the big piano, that was smashed for some reason, the television, but there was no life left in this house.
  
  I sighed unhappily, and went up to the guest room that had been reserved for my overnight visits to the Cullen house.
  
  I plopped down on the big bed. I was sad for leaving Paul, but I couldn't live with a killer. How could they lie to my face like that?
  
  My phone rang, and it was Paul.
  
  I ignored it.
  
  He called again, and again. Then, I got a text message.
  
  Mel, please come home. Where are you? Please, talk to me.
  
  I didn't answer.
  
  I got calls from Jared and Sam, even Emily. I considered picking up when Emily called, but I knew I wouldn't be able to say no to her if she asked me to go back.
  
  I never would have thought that Paul could be a killer.
  
  What was worse was that he had lied to me about it.
  
  My phone rang again, and I almost cried out in shock when I saw who it was.
  
  "Alice?" I asked, breathless.
  
  "Mel, what happened?" she asked.
  
  "What do you mean?" I asked.
  
  "I see that you're living in our house, not that I have a problem with it, but is everything okay?"
  
  "Not really." I said. "There's been bear attacks, and the descriptions fit the pack wolves. I couldn't live there anymore."
  
  "Oh." She said quietly. "Okay, as long as you're not hurt. I have to go."
  
  "Bye, Alice."
  
  "Bye, Mel." She said, and disconnected the call.
  
  I lay back on the bed, still a bit sad, but in a way, I was relieved. If Paul was killing innocent people, and lying about it to my face, then how could I stay with him?
  
  I cried for the whole afternoon.
  Chapter 14-Leaving Forks
  
  I'm not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing I didn't have school the today.
  
  It was good, because, well, no school. And, Paul could just come over to Forks High and drag me back to La Push.
  
  It was bad, because I was alone with my thoughts.
  
  I ignored all thoughts I had about the wolves.
  
  And Paul.
  
  He had called another three times.
  
  I knew if they didn't have that whole thing about the Cullens, they would've come and got me by now.
  
  My phone rang, and it was Paul. Again.
  
  I answered it.
  
  "Hello?" I asked coldly.
  
  "Mel, thank god!" he sighed happily. "Where are you?"
  
  "Like you don't already know." I said.
  
  "Please, come home." He said.
  
  "No." I said.
  
  "Please?" he begged.
  
  "You've been killing innocent people, Paul." I said. "I could've known them! How can I come back after that?"
  
  "Mel its not-"
  
  I hung up before he could finish.
  
  Of course he called back, and I didn't answer.
  
  For the first time he left a voice mail.
  
  "Mel, I know where you are. If you don't come back soon enough, I'll come and get you. I'm not afraid to take you. You need to try and listen to our side of the story. If you're not back by tomorrow night, I'm bringing you back."
  
  No chance in hell, Paul.
  
  I made myself some breakfast, with the little supplies the Cullens had. There wasn't much, but there was enough to last for a bit.
  
  Tomorrow night. Hmmm... how would he even get to me? Maybe if I hid somewhere?
  
  Nah, he'd follow my scent.
  
  I didn't want to go with him. I wouldn't.
  
  Don't be stupid. What are you going to do? Tell him you're not going? Yea, like that'll work!
  
  Shut up.
  
  He'll drag you out of here, there's no stopping him. He loves you too much.
  
  Shut up.
  
  Whatever, you know I'm right.
  
  Shut up.
  
  Stupid voice in my head.
  
  Stupid Paul.
  
  I felt like screaming.
  
  Was it bad of me that I didn't want to live with a killer?
  
  For the rest of the day, I curled up into a little ball, and felt like dying.
  
  When I woke up the next morning, I braced myself for Paul banging down the door.
  
  But it was really quiet.
  
  Maybe I could leave.
  
  Like, leave Forks altogether. Not forever of course, but just to visit someone...
  
  Yes, and I did have a friend who didn't live in Forks anymore.
  
  The phone rang three times before she finally picked up.
  
  "Hello?" she asked tiredly.
  
  "Jeez! I could grow a beard waiting for you to answer the phone!"
  
  "It's a Sunday, and it's before noon, and you're calling Me." my best friend, Leslie said. "What's so important?"
  
  "What are you doing this week?" I asked.
  
  "Ummm school?" she said.
  
  "Okay, how 'bout you ditch the whole week, and chill with me while I visit?" I asked.
  
  "You're visiting?" she asked, excitedly.
  
  "Only if you're free..." I said.
  
  "Oh, I would totally ditch the whole week for you!" she squealed. "When are you arriving?"
  
  "I still sort-of have to get a ticket..."
  
  "Damn you, Mel!" she said. "You better hurry that little ass of yours up! I wanna see you!"
  
  "I'll get the soonest flight." I promised.
  
  "Oh my god! I'm so excited."
  
  I giggled. "Me too, I have so much to tell you." I said, and hung up.
  
  First, I went to the computer that the Cullens had left behind, and fired it up. Yes! There was a flight leaving tonight, and there were still seats left. I ordered them right away with the credit card Alice had sent me, and luckily they sent me the print-out ticket right away.
  
  Next, I packed a bit more, and looked for my passport.
  
  Where. Was. It?
  
  Crap! I had left it in La Push!
  
  No!
  
  I searched through everything a few more times, when I knew that I had to go back and get it.
  
  Well, this would be fun.
  
  With my suitcase full, and my plane ticket in my purse, I drove to La Push. I prayed that Paul would be running, hopefully not along the border.
  
  Ooh or maybe he would be at Emily's eating.
  
  I pulled into the parking lot, so far so good. I grasped the keys in my now shaking hands.
  
  I got out of my car, and snuck up to the apartment.
  
  My hands were still shaking as I unlocked the front door, and snuck in. should I turn on the light?
  
  Nah.
  
  I snuck around the apartment.
  
  Where had I left it?
  
  I went into the bedroom, and went through the dresser drawers.
  
  Aha! Found it! Right next to Paul's. I opened his, and felt a pang through my heart at his face.
  
  I heard a toilet flush.
  
  Crap! I high-tailed it to the closet.
  
  Oh my god, he was coming into the bedroom.
  
  Please, please, please, don't come into the closet.
  
  "Mel?" he asked quietly.
  
  He could smell me!
  
  No no no no no!
  
  I barely breathed, didn't dare say anything.
  
  I looked at him, he looked pained. I only wanted to get out of this closet, and assure him it was okay, stroke his face, tell him I was sorry...
  
  But I wasn't.
  
  Okay, I was.
  
  But Paul was a killer.
  
  I almost sobbed thinking about that.
  
  Please I willed just leave, please; don't make me have to sneak by you.
  
  He sat on the bed, and I heard the springs creak, assuring me he was lying down.
  
  A few minutes later, I heard him snoring.
  
  Good. He slept like a rock. I waited a few extra minutes, just to make sure.
  
  I opened the closet quietly, and closed it behind me, quiet as a vampire.
  
  I looked at him, and felt my throat tighten.
  
  Though I hated it, hated it with a passion, I did miss him.
  
  I looked at him for a bit, then had to leave.
  
  First, I left a note for him.
  
  Paul,
  
  Don't bother trying to come and "kidnap" me tonight. I won't even be in this country. If you don't believe me, go to the Cullen house and see. I won't be there. I'm visiting my friend, Leslie, in Vancouver. I think Forks is driving me a little crazy. Look, I'm still mad at you. But, I just need some time away. I don't hate you, and I don't blame you-well-I still know you killed those people-but I'm going to be with my friend. Not to punish you.
  
  I'm sorry.
  
  Love, Mel
  
  Tears were streaming down my cheeks by the time I was done the note. I crossed out the part about him killing the hikers; it was a little too harsh.
  
  I got in my car, and drove to Port Angeles, where I caught my plane, just on time. I curled up in a ball on my seat. I was sad, but excited.
  
  I honestly didn't care how much school I was missing. It wasn't like it was exam time or anything.
  
  And I got to be with Leslie.
  
  Who I missed. A lot.
  
  I fell asleep, thinking about the week ahead of me.
  Chapter 15-The Truth
  
  My week with Leslie was great.
  
  I told her all about Bella, and how the Cullens were sort-of my friends. And I told her about how the Cullens had left.
  
  "What else?" she asked. "I miss Forks!"
  
  "Well..." I said, biting my lip.
  
  "You have a boyfriend!" she squealed.
  
  "How do you know?" I asked, bewildered.
  
  "I can tell." She grinned. "Details. Now."
  
  "Well, his name is Paul, and he lives in La Push." And he's a werewolf.
  
  "Oh my god! Those La Push kids are HOT stuff!" she gushed.
  
  I smiled.
  
  "What's wrong?" she asked.
  
  "Nothing." I said quickly. "I guess I just miss him."
  
  She smiled.
  
  "What about you?" I asked. "What's new with you?"
  
  She told me about her boyfriend, her new friends-which, weren't as good as her Forks friends, as she informed me-and everything else.
  
  Leslie drove me to the airport, we were both equally sad.
  
  "Call me when you land, okay?" she asked.
  
  "Of course!" I said, hugging her tightly. "You need to visit more! This summer, definitely."
  
  "Yes!" she said, grinning.
  
  "Bye." I said, frowning.
  
  "Bye Mel." she said.
  
  I hugged her again, then went into the airport to wait for my flight to take off.
  
  When the plane finally took off, I curled up in my seat and slept.
  
  If you've ever slept over at your best friend's house, you'll know that you get barely any sleep.
  
  Yea, well imagine that, but for a week.
  
  The person next to me nudged me awake when we were landing.
  
  "Thanks." I muttered.
  
  He nodded.
  
  When I got off the plane, I waited by the luggage carousel. I pulled my suitcase off when it came around, then went out to the parking lot, where I hoped they hadn't towed my car away.
  
  When I got out there, it was raining, of course.
  
  I was shocked.
  
  Paul was leaning against my car.
  
  I went over to him.
  
  "Hi." I said quietly.
  
  "Do you hate me?" he asked, his voice sounded broken.
  
  "Have you been lying to me?" I asked, looking down.
  
  "No, Mel." He said. "I wouldn't ever lie to you. It hasn't been us who were killing those people. We've been trying to protect you all."
  
  "Who was it then?" I asked, trying not to sound like a bitch.
  
  "Vampires." He spat the word. My head snapped up.
  
  "But the Cullens left." I pointed out.
  
  "It's not the Cullens." He said. "It's other ones. A red-head and a dark haired one."
  
  "Victoria?" I asked.
  
  "Yea, I guess." He shrugged. "So, you don't hate me?"
  
  "No!" I yelled, throwing my arms around him. "I don't hate you! I just thought it was you killing them, and how could I be sure you weren't lying?"
  
  He took my face in his hands. "I will never lie to you."
  
  I smiled. "Good."
  
  He kissed me then, and I knew he was telling the truth. Paul wouldn't ever lie to me, no matter what. He loved me. Not even Sam could stop that.
  
  He let go of me, then. "Why'd you leave?"
  
  "I was mad, and sad." I said. "And I missed my best friend."
  
  "But why'd you decide to go now?" he asked.
  
  "Because, I was mad at you. And I knew you would come and kidnap me if I had stayed." I said.
  
  "You made me really worried." He said.
  
  I buried my head in his neck, well; I had to stretch really far to reach his neck. "I'm sorry."
  
  "You needed some time away." He said softly. "I understand. But I missed you."
  
  "I missed you too, even though I hated to admit it."
  
  He laughed. "Jared missed you too."
  
  "Yea, I figured." I said.
  
  He barked out a laugh. "Ready to go home?"
  
  "Yes." I said.
  
  He stowed my suitcase in the trunk, and opened the passenger door for me. I slid in.
  
  When he got in the driver's seat, I grasped his hand. It had been too long since it had just been him and me alone together.
  
  When he drove near the Cullens driveway, I told him to pull in.
  
  He stared at me, mouth hanging open. "Why?"
  
  "I have to get something!" I said.
  
  "Fine." He sighed.
  
  "You don't have to come in." I assured him, and then ran into the Cullens house.
  
  I found a piece of paper, and prayed Alice would see this.
  
  Alice, everything's fine now, I mean with the wolves and everything. They weren't killing the hikers. But, you should be on the lookout; it's been Victoria and Laurent. I really hope you see this!
  
  I miss you guys!
  
  Love, Mel.
  
  I really, really, hoped Alice would see that.
  
  I ran back out to the car, where Paul was waiting.
  
  "Did you get it?" he asked.
  
  I nodded, smiling.
  
  "So, the day you left, it was last Sunday, right?" he asked.
  
  "Yep." I said, not looking at him.
  
  "You forgot something in the apartment, didn't you?"
  
  I felt my face heat up.
  
  "Yep."
  
  He laughed. "What was it?"
  
  "My passport." I said, blushing.
  
  He laughed even harder then. I slapped him playfully.
  
  When he pulled into the apartment parking lot, and helped my carry my things into the apartment, I pulled him into our bedroom, and flopped down on the bed with him.
  
  He pulled me into his arms, and we curled up together and fell asleep.
  
  I was home again.
  Chapter 16-Content with a Wolf
  
  I had thought my dreams were going away, but I was wrong.
  
  This time, I was in a meadow with Alice and Rosalie.
  
  "When can I see Paul again?" I whined.
  
  "When your eyes are golden." Alice said.
  
  "What colour are they now?" I asked.
  
  "Amber." Rosalie said.
  
  "Isn't that good enough?" I asked.
  
  "Nope." Alice said. "They need to be golden, without any red."
  
  I sighed.
  
  The sun shone into the meadow, and my skin looked like it was made of diamonds.
  
  I stared at my arm, still not believing that I was actually like this.
  
  I glanced at Alice and Rosalie; they were talking to each other.
  
  I got up slowly, surprisingly they hadn't noticed.
  
  I walked to the edge of the meadow, still shocked that they hadn't noticed.
  
  Then, I ran to La Push.
  
  I ran straight to Paul's apartment, opened the door, and jumped into his arms.
  
  "Mel?" he asked, surprised.
  
  "Oh Paul!" I sighed. "I've missed you!"
  
  "Mel, please get off me." he said.
  
  "What?" I asked, detaching myself from him, and he automatically crinkled his nose, well, I did too, but that's not the point.
  
  "I can't be with you." He said.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "I can't be with you." He repeated.
  
  My mouth hung open.
  
  "You smell too bad." He said. "And technically you're one of them now."
  
  "One of the Cullens?" I asked. He nodded. "But I'm not on the treaty! My last name isn't Cullen!"
  
  "That's not the point." He said. "You're like them."
  
  "B-but, no!" I stuttered.
  
  "I'm sorry, Mel." He said. "You should get out of here, before Sam comes."
  
  And with that, he pushed me out of his apartment.
  
  I woke up with tears stinging at my eyes.
  
  "What's wrong?" Paul whispered.
  
  I smiled weakly at him. "Nothing."
  
  "Stop lying."
  
  "Just another bad dream." I said.
  
  He hugged me close to his chest. "What happened?"
  
  "You hated me." I whispered. "You told me I smelled bad, and you kicked me out of the apartment."
  
  He held me even tighter. "That will never happen."
  
  I cried into his shoulder, relieved that it was only a dream.
  
  "Want something to eat?" he asked.
  
  "What do we have?" I asked.
  
  "Well, I could make you something." He said.
  
  "You?" I asked, fighting laughter. "Cook?"
  
  "Yep." He smiled.
  
  "Nah, I'll cook." I smiled. "Emily's told me the mess you've caused in her kitchen."
  
  He sighed as I jumped out of bed, and into the kitchen.
  
  I made spaghetti and meatballs.
  
  No, it wasn't seven in the morning; it was five-thirty at night.
  
  Since I had never seen Paul eat anything but meat, I had to add in the meatballs.
  
  I wonder what he'd do if I was a vegetarian.
  
  I pondered this as I stirred the pot of pasta.
  
  Once the food was ready, I decided to play a mean joke on Paul. I loaded our plates, but didn't give myself any meatballs. I poured sauce over everything, and took it to Paul, where he was waiting in the bedroom still.
  
  I laughed. "Dinner in bed?"
  
  "Yep." He said, and grabbed his plate.
  
  He looked at my plate, then looked at his.
  
  "No meatballs for you?" he asked.
  
  "No..." I said, biting my lip. "I think I'm going to be a vegetarian."
  
  His jaw dropped.
  
  "What?" he asked, staring at my like I was insane.
  
  "Yea, I mean, it's awful how some animals are treated, then slaughtered." I said, thinking back to the SPCA pamphlet we got in the mail last week.
  
  He stared at me.
  
  Finally I snapped, I broke out into a fit of giggles.
  
  "What did I miss?" he asked.
  
  "I'm not a vegetarian!" I choked out between giggles. "I wanted to see what you'd do."
  
  Tears were streaming down my face because I was laughing so hard.
  
  "Oh you're mean." He said, I could hear the smile in his voice.
  
  "What are you going to do about it?" I asked, grinning.
  
  "You'll see." He said, shoveling pasta in his mouth.
  
  We sat together on our bed, and ate our dinner in silence.
  
  We were randomly content with this.
  
  But, of course, Sam interrupted.
  
  "Paul, we need you." He said, coming into our bedroom.
  
  "Is something wrong?" I asked, worriedly.
  
  "No, not at all," Sam said. "Just since Paul got all day off, Jared's dead tired.
  
  Paul sighed quietly.
  
  He kissed me on my cheek, and left the apartment with Sam.
  
  First, I gathered our plates, and washed them. When I heard a thump somewhere in the apartment, I dropped a plate.
  
  I spun around, and my jaw dropped.
  
  There she was, smiling softly. But she looked different. She still had the same dark brown, almost black hair, but now it tumbled down her back in soft curls. Her eyes were ruby red, and her faced had changed a bit. She looked a lot prettier, but I would recognize her anywhere.
  
  "Mom?" I stuttered.
  Chapter 17-Mistake
  
  I stood frozen, bracing myself on the counter.
  
  I stared at my mother. She seemed like a complete stranger, yet she was familiar somehow.
  
  She smiled at me. "Hello, Melanie."
  
  I was still frozen in shock.
  
  She looked at me curiously.
  
  "Why are you living here?" she asked, taking her eyes off me to look around. "Your father must be awfully lonely."
  
  That sent a pang through my heart; I looked down, biting my lip.
  
  "What's wrong?" she asked.
  
  "Mom, Dad's..."I took a deep breath. "He was killed."
  
  She didn't even look surprised.
  
  "So you moved down here with a pack of..." she trailed off, and studied me. "How much do you know?"
  
  "I know what you are, and I know what my boyfriend is." I said quietly.
  
  She nodded.
  
  "Why'd you leave us, Mom?" I asked. My voice was barely a whisper, but I knew she'd hear it.
  
  She laughed a tinkling laugh. "I told you, I had conferences."
  
  "But you've been gone almost a year." I said.
  
  "Because now I'm like this." She said, motioning to herself.
  
  "How?" I asked.
  
  "Oh, Melanie." She sighed. "I fell in love with a man, who ended up being a vampire. And he bit me."
  
  "Who is he?" I asked.
  
  "His name was Laurent." She said with a scowl.
  
  Oh. My. God.
  
  "But now he's in Alaska, because he fell in love with one of those vegetarian vampires." She scowled again.
  
  "So now you're alone?" I asked.
  
  She nodded, a wicked smile lighting her face. "But I don't want to be."
  
  I stared at her, not understanding what she was talking about.
  
  "I want you to be like me, Melanie." She said softly. "Just picture it, you'd never age, you'd be indestructible, super speed, super strength, outstanding beauty..."
  
  The sad part was, I could picture it. All too well.
  
  I imagined my life as a vampire, I would have all the perks of being one, but, I wouldn't have the person who meant the most to me. The person who kept me grounded the one person who I loved.
  
  Paul.
  
  I shook my head.
  
  "That's a shame." She said. "Of course, I could just turn you, against your will."
  
  She moved a bit closer to me.
  
  "Why don't you want it?" she asked curiously. I looked away. "Oh, it's because of him, isn't it? Your little boyfriend?"
  
  I nodded, feeling a bit nauseous.
  
  "You would give up the chance at being a gorgeous, indestructible being, for some guy?" she asked. I nodded again. "You know, he's a wolf, right?" I nodded again. "Well, one day he's going to imprint on some girl, and you'll be left alone."
  
  "I am his imprint." I said quietly.
  
  Anger flashed through her eyes.
  
  "He's a mutt, Melanie." She said. "You could be so much better then him."
  
  "It would kill him." I said.
  
  "Ah, so you're only thinking about him, I see." She smiled. "What do you want?"
  
  I bit my lip, remembering what Paul had said.
  
  "As long as we're still phasing, we don't age."
  
  "I don't know." I said finally.
  
  She looked at me and sighed. "I had a feeling this would happen. And I wasn't sure if I could bite my own daughter."
  
  I stared at her, not sure what she meant.
  
  She reached into the purse that was slung over her shoulder, and pulled out what looked like a syringe made out of steel.
  
  She handed it to me, and I took it, not sure what she wanted me to do with it.
  
  "That has my venom in it." She said. "If you ever want to be like this, all you have to do is inject yourself with it."
  
  I blinked a bunch of times, trying to clear my head.
  
  "It doesn't matter where you inject yourself," she continued. "Just make sure all the venom is in your system."
  
  I stared at her, shocked all over again.
  
  She turned to leave, then turned back to look at me.
  
  "Are you okay here?" she asked.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "If you ever want something more, you know what you can do." She said quietly, and then she was gone.
  
  I stared at the syringe in my hand, not sure what to do with it.
  
  I decided to hide it somewhere, I went into the bathroom, and hid it in my drawer, hopefully Paul wouldn't look there. I buried it under soap, and shaving cream.
  
  When I went back out to the kitchen, I all of a sudden felt really woozy.
  
  I tried to make it out to the living room, and to the couch, but I fainted before that could happen.
  
  When I woke up, Jared's face was hovering above mine.
  
  "Mel! Are you okay?" he asked.
  
  "My head hurts." I said.
  
  "Come on, let's get you on the couch." He helped me up off the floor, and onto the couch.
  
  "Is there anything I can get you?" he asked.
  
  "A blanket." I said, shivering.
  
  He put his arm around my shoulder. "Why need a blanket when you have a space heater?"
  
  I shivered, and curled into Jared's side.
  
  "You want to tell me what happened?" he asked softly.
  
  "Not really." I said truthfully. It wasn't because it was Jared who I was sitting with, it was because I wasn't ready to talk about it yet.
  
  "I smell vampire..." he said quietly. "Was it the Cullens?"
  
  "Jared, I told you I don't want to talk about it yet." I said quietly.
  
  "I need to know if it was a Cullen, Mel." He said. "If they're back, then we can't go into Forks anymore."
  
  "It wasn't a Cullen." I whispered.
  
  "Okay." He said.
  
  My hands were shaking, and Jared noticed. He covered my hands with his.
  
  "You're okay, now." He said, pulling me tighter into his side. "I'm here, you're safe."
  
  The strangest part was, I felt safer now with Jared, then I did with my own mother.
  
  Did that make me an awful person?
  
  No, she seemed crazy...
  
  But she still seemed perfectly sane?
  
  I sighed quietly.
  
  "Hey," Jared said, pulling my face towards his. "It's okay now. You'll be fine."
  
  I looked into his eyes, and was surprised at how close we were.
  
  I moved away from him, but he pulled me back again.
  
  "Mel..." he said quietly.
  
  "Jared." I said, giving him a warning glance.
  
  But, there was one tiny part of me that really wanted to kiss him. That tiny part of me kept urging me to just grab him and kiss him with everything I had.
  
  But the other, bigger part of me, kept that tiny part under control.
  
  "Mel, I really want to kiss you." He said quietly.
  
  I moved away again, but he pulled me back. Again.
  
  "Jared, please don't." I said quietly.
  
  "Mel, I love you." He said. "Can't you see that?"
  
  I looked away from him.
  
  I could see that he loved me, and it made me feel like a bitch that I didn't return the feelings.
  
  "Jared, I love you too, and we've been through this already, but like a brother." I said.
  
  "But if I had imprinted on you first, you would be with me instead." He pointed out.
  
  I shook my head. "No, I've liked Paul since before he imprinted on me."
  
  Jared sighed, then muttered. "I guess I'll have to settle for being second best."
  
  I looked away, hated that I was hurting him.
  
  "Jared, I don't like hurting you." I said.
  
  He looked at our clasped hands.
  
  I sighed. "I'm sorry."
  
  He nodded.
  
  "Can I ask you for one thing, though?" he asked.
  
  "Jared..."
  
  "Please?" he asked.
  
  I sighed, knowing what it would be. "Fine."
  
  "Mel, will you please kiss me?" he asked. I opened my mouth to object, but he started talking before I could say a word. "Just one kiss."
  
  I looked into his eyes, and they were pleading.
  
  I sighed. "Jared, I'm with Paul..."
  
  "But you want to kiss Me." he grinned. "If you weren't with Paul, you would kiss me."
  
  I opened my mouth again, but before I could say anything, his lips were on mine.
  
  Suddenly I got really confused. I wasn't sure what to do.
  
  I did what felt natural. I kissed him back.
  
  "Mel?" Paul's husky voice came from the front door.
  
  I immediately broke away from Jared, and whirled around to face Paul.
  
  He looked broken. The look on his face shattered me.
  
  He swiveled around and left the apartment again.
  Chapter 18-Doesn't Care Anymore
  
  I burst out of the apartment, yelling for Paul.
  
  I didn't care how crazy I looked; I just needed to find him.
  
  "Mel! Wait!" Jared called.
  
  "I have to find him!" I screeched.
  
  "He's upset right now," Jared tried to reason. "Just come back inside, it's starting to rain."
  
  "Those are both good reasons why I should go find him." I said.
  
  "He probably just wants to be alone."
  
  I looked away. Jared pulled me back inside.
  
  I pulled out my phone and called Paul. No answer.
  
  I called Emily's, and he wasn't there.
  
  I groaned and sat down on the couch, away from Jared.
  
  How could I have been so stupid? How could I have done that to Paul?
  
  "Can you go look for him?" I asked Jared desperately. "I don't want him to be out in the rain all night."
  
  He sighed. "I'm probably the last person he wants to see right now."
  
  Fine. "I'm going to go to sleep."
  
  "Okay." He said. "I'll stay out here in case he comes back."
  
  I nodded and went into the bedroom and closed the door behind me.
  
  I waited a few minutes, then slid out my window. Luckily the fire escape was there.
  
  I climbed down it, and walked around La Push for a bit.
  
  After about twenty minutes it started to pour.
  
  After a while of walking around, my phone rang. I kept my hood up to answer it, without checking who it was.
  
  "Hello?" I asked.
  
  "Mel, where are you?" Paul asked sharply.
  
  "Looking for you." I said.
  
  "I'm at the apartment, come home, please." He said.
  
  "Okay." I said, knowing I would be in trouble.
  
  When I got there, Sam was there with Paul and Jared.
  
  This wasn't good.
  
  Instead of coming to my side, Paul handed me a blanket.
  
  This was bad.
  
  "We obviously need to settle this." Sam said. "My pack is at war with each other, and it is not good."
  
  Paul looked away. Jared looked at the floor. Sam stared at me.
  
  I only nodded.
  
  "Mel, I think it would be best for us if you left." Sam said.
  
  My lip trembled. I looked at Paul, who wouldn't meet my gaze.
  
  "Why?" I asked, hearing my voice shake.
  
  "Because of you, my pack is being torn apart." Sam said. "No matter what they say, they can't help but be jealous and annoyed at the other one. I need a pack that works."
  
  "And with me here, that pack won't work." I said quietly.
  
  Sam nodded.
  
  "And you're okay with this?" I asked Paul.
  
  He still wouldn't look at me. But one word was all I needed. "Yes."
  
  "I'll pack my bags, then." I said, quietly.
  
  I went into the bedroom, and threw my things into my suitcase, tears streaming down my face.
  
  I hated myself, loathed myself for doing this to Paul. I was so stupid.
  
  I heard the bedroom door open.
  
  "Do you need help?" Paul's voice seemed hoarse.
  
  "No, I got it." I said, wiping at my face.
  
  "Why did you kiss him, Mel?" Paul asked.
  
  "I don't know." I said, feeling sick of everything, and I just felt like dirt. "But it was stupid, and wrong. And I deserve what's happening."
  
  "Mel, he's like a brother to me, and we can't let you get in between that."
  
  "I know." I whispered, and pushed past him to go into the bathroom.
  
  I cleared my things out, and stared at the silver syringe that contained my mom's venom.
  
  It would be so easy to leave this life behind...start fresh...
  
  I shoved the syringe in my suitcase.
  
  I left the bathroom and saw Paul leaning against the bedroom doorway.
  
  I looked up at him.
  
  His face was like a mask of bitterness. But under that mask, I saw hurt. Deep in his eyes, I could see the pain. He couldn't hide that.
  
  "I guess this is goodbye." I said, hating how my voice shook.
  
  "Where are you going to go?" he asked without emotion.
  
  "I don't know." I said. "But I guess I better find a place soon, huh?" I asked bitterly.
  
  "Mel, I-"
  
  "Don't." I said. "Please, don't say anything more. It hurts enough to have to leave."
  
  And with that, I pushed past him, and out of the apartment.
  
  I didn't look at Jared or Sam.
  
  I loaded my suitcase in my car, and drove into Forks. Once I was over the border, the tears that were threatening to escape welled over, and made it hard to see the road.
  
  I pulled over, and cried my eyes out.
  
  I was mad, and sad. I was mad at Jared, and I loathed myself.
  
  When my sobs ended, I started driving again.
  
  I had lied to Paul when I told him I didn't know where I was going. I knew exactly where I was going.
  
  Since there was a big house on the river that wasn't being used and Alice had told me I could use it whenever...
  
  I took my things into the bedroom I could call my own at the Cullens place.
  
  It seemed like just yesterday I was spending the night here with Alice.
  
  My heart was broken.
  
  Paul hated me.
  
  And that broke me.
  
  I felt dead.
  
  Without Paul, I had absolutely nothing.
  
  Emily may have said that imprints don't work both ways, but I know exactly how Paul felt about me, because I felt it for him.
  
  Maybe how he had felt for me was stronger, but that didn't seem possible.
  
  My phone rang.
  
  "Yea?" I asked.
  
  "Melanie, I heard." Emily said. "I'm sorry."
  
  "It's okay." I sniffed. "It's not your fault."
  
  "You sound tired." She said. "Get some rest."
  
  "Thanks, Em." I said.
  
  I hung up my phone and unpacked.
  
  That little steel syringe was annoying me. It seemed to be calling out to me.
  
  It seemed to yell for me to just do it and get it over with, just stab myself with it, and push...
  
  I picked it up. The cold steel felt good in my hand. I held it over my arm, I could see a vein clearly enough...just one little jab...
  
  No. I couldn't.
  
  Why not? Asked a voice in my head. It's not like Paul wants you anymore.
  
  The thought stabbed my heart.
  
  I put the syringe down on my nightstand, and curled into a little ball on my bed, and cried my eyes out.
  
  I didn't know how I would be able to go to school tomorrow, but I knew it was late, and I should at least try to sleep. I had already missed a week of school this semester.
  
  I hugged my pillow, missing the warmth I normally had when I slept with Paul.
  
  My phone rang again, and I saw that it was Jared.
  
  What did he want?
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "Mel, where are you?" he asked.
  
  "Why?" I asked.
  
  He sighed. "Are you safe at least?"
  
  "Yes."
  
  He sighed again. "As long as you're safe."
  
  I hung up.
  
  My phone rang again, and it was Paul.
  
  "Hello?" I asked.
  
  "Are you safe?" he asked.
  
  "Yes." I said. "Paul I-"
  
  The line had gone dead.
  
  I sighed, rolled over, and fell asleep.
  Chapter 19-Memories
  
  That morning when I woke up, I felt gross, but I dragged my sorry ass out of bed, and got ready for school.
  
  I got there late, and didn't care when Coach scowled at me. The day went by slowly, and I missed Paul even more than I normally would.
  
  He hated me, and I couldn't get him to change his mind.
  
  I was the worst imprint in history.
  
  At lunch, I noticed Bella.
  
  She looked like a zombie.
  
  Everyone else at our table seemed to be doing a pretty good job of ignoring her, but I couldn't just ignore her. I knew exactly what she was going through.
  
  "Bella?" I asked softly.
  
  She turned slowly to face me.
  
  "Are you okay?" I asked.
  
  She nodded, poking her food.
  
  It made me sad to see her like that. And I hoped she bounced back sooner or later.
  
  It took four months for her.
  
  In those four months, Paul would call me everyday; just to make sure I was safe.
  
  It was January, and it was cold. And I didn't have my heater.
  
  Which made me sad.
  
  At school Bella asked Jessica if she wanted to go to Port Angeles for a movie.
  
  Jessica said that she would go, but only if I went as well.
  
  "No, Jess, I'm really not in the mood for a movie."
  
  "Mel, I know you don't have to work." Jessica said, and then added in a whisper. "And I don't want to be alone with Bella."
  
  I sighed. It wasn't just that I wasn't in the mood to go to Port Angeles with them, I was scared of who I might see there.
  
  "Fine." I groaned.
  
  Bella smiled softly, and it was the first time in a long time I had seen her smile, which was a good sign.
  
  That night we saw Crosshairs, a horror flick. I didn't concentrate on the story line, I kept looking around the theatre, nervous about who may or may not be here.
  
  Bella kept leaving the theatre room when any part with the heroine and her lover together on the screen.
  
  I didn't blame her.
  
  When the movie was over we decided to get something to eat.
  
  I looked over my shoulder and froze. Paul, Jared, and Sam were walking together.
  
  Jessica and Bella had already started walking away, but Bella stopped Jessica.
  
  "Mel?" she asked quietly.
  
  As soon as she said my name, Paul's head snapped up and looked at me.
  
  We stared at each other, and I took a deep breath, not exactly sure what to do.
  
  "Mel, are you coming?" Jess asked me.
  
  I took my eyes off Paul, and caught up with Jess and Bella.
  
  "Yea, let's go get something to eat."
  
  We walked a little farther, when Bella stopped.
  
  I turned. "Bella?"
  
  She was looking at a few guys who were standing outside a bar.
  
  "Bella?" Jessica asked.
  
  "I...I think I know those guys." Bella said.
  
  She walked towards them, and then stopped.
  
  She turned back to us, where we were staring at her; she seemed to clear her head.
  
  "Never mind. Let's go." She said, leading us away.
  
  Jessica shot a glance at me.
  
  I shrugged.
  
  We got some food, and of course, the pack had to come into the restaurant after us.
  
  We sat down at the far end of the little fast food restaurant, farthest away from the wolves.
  
  I kept looking at them, no not at them, at Paul.
  
  He'd glance back at me, and I'd look away automatically.
  
  I missed him so much it hurt, and I had a feeling he was still made about it. But I could tell he missed me too.
  
  They were still in line waiting for their food.
  
  "Mel, who are those guys?" Jessica demanded.
  
  "They live in La Push." I said quietly.
  
  "Isn't one of them your boyfriend?"
  
  I saw Paul's head twitch the teeniest bit in my direction.
  
  I didn't say anything, just looked away.
  
  Jessica seemed to let it drop.
  
  "You said they live in La Push?" Bella asked.
  
  "Yea." I said quietly.
  
  "Do you think they know Jacob Black?" she asked.
  
  I thought about it. "Yea, I think so."
  
  She nodded.
  
  We ate in silence.
  
  "Can I talk to you?" asked a husky voice that made my heart throb.
  
  I turned and saw Paul, feeling myself crumble.
  
  "Okay." I whispered.
  
  We went to a quiet corner of the restaurant, I glanced at Jessica, and her eyes were wide staring at me without shame.
  
  We just stared at each other for a bit.
  
  Finally I broke the silence. "How are you?"
  
  "I'm okay." He said, looking away. "You?"
  
  "I'm okay, I guess." We were quiet again, looking at each other. "Paul, I'm so sorry."
  
  He looked away again. "Sam doesn't want you to come back."
  
  That sent a pang right through my heart, but I didn't let it show.
  
  "I had assumed that." I said.
  
  "Mel, where are you staying?" he asked desperately.
  
  "Why?" I asked. "What does it matter? You don't love me, you don't care about me, and you're only calling me everyday so you know I'm safe because otherwise it would drive you crazy."
  
  I could tell that had hurt him, but it was true. He didn't care. If he did still care about me, he would fight with Sam to let me go back.
  
  I felt tears sting at my eyes.
  
  "Mel?" Jess asked. "Are you ready?"
  
  "Yea." I said, walking away from Paul.
  
  I got that feeling that I always got when I thought of Paul. That feeling that I was broken.
  
  Seeing him felt like someone kicking me when I was down.
  
  Jess drove to Bella's house where I had parked my car.
  
  "Bye guys." I said, and drove to the Cullens' house.
  
  Alice and Rosalie had both sent me letters, Alice was studying who she was before she was turned, and found out her name was Mary Alice Brandon.
  
  And Rosalie told me that they were still in Alaska with the Denali clan and that Laurent had visited them, and had stayed there for a bit.
  
  I sighed. I felt alone.
  
  I hated Jared, I hated myself, and I missed Paul.
  
  Seeing him tonight brought back a whole slew of memories I didn't want to think about.
  
  Somehow I fell asleep, and when I woke up, I felt like dirt.
  
  I woke up feeling like that a lot lately.
  
  Whenever I woke up next to Paul, I felt comfortable, and warm.
  
  Now when I woke up I felt cold and out of place.
  
  I knew I didn't belong at the Cullens house, but I didn't belong in La Push either.
  
  Where did I belong?
  
  No where.
  
  When I got to school, I was actually glad we had health with Coach Clapp. I really wasn't in the mood to play any sports.
  
  The rest of my day went slowly, and I just wanted to go home and sleep.
  
  Then I remembered I had to work.
  
  Once at work and behind my register, I felt worse.
  
  Sam was walking around the store, obviously waiting for me to go on break.
  
  When it was my break time, I avoided him as best I could.
  
  But of course, since he was Sam, he tracked me down.
  
  "You hurt him last night." Sam said.
  
  "Yea, well what else is new?" I asked bitterly.
  
  "What you said about him not caring, hurt him." he continued as if I hadn't said anything.
  
  "Then let me come back and live with him."
  
  "No." Sam said.
  
  "Why?" I asked.
  
  "You pulled my pack apart." He said. "They hated each other because of you."
  
  "Thanks for kicking me when I'm down, Sam." I said. "And do you really think I enjoy the fact that two guys are imprinted on me?"
  
  Sam didn't say anything, so I went on.
  
  "I hate it. I hate the feeling that I'm tearing them apart. And I do not do that on purpose. I tried to make it work, but obviously I can't. Obviously I'm too damn stupid to know what I want."
  
  Sam wasn't sure what to say.
  
  "And it's your fault I'm not allowed to live with the guy I love." I said coldly. "You said I was a part of the pack before, so I guess that means I have to obey alpha's orders, which is what I'm doing." I said. "And FYI, I hate being away from him. It physically hurts."
  
  Sam sighed.
  
  "I have to get back to work." I said, and pushed past him.
  
  The rest of my night went slowly. After my rant to Sam, he left right away.
  
  When my shift was over, I went to my car to see Paul leaning against it.
  
  I didn't look at him, but since he was leaning against the driver's door, I had to wait for him to move.
  
  "Mel..." he said.
  
  "Can you move?" I asked, quietly. "I kind of want to get home, okay?"
  
  "Can't we at least talk?" he asked.
  
  "No." I said. "I've tried for four months to try and fix things with you. But, no matter how hard I try, you push me away. I'm sick of trying. If you want me back, tell me, otherwise move."
  
  "I miss you." He said quietly.
  
  I kept my guard up, not wanting to break down in front of him.
  
  "Sam won't let you come back." he said.
  
  Again, I didn't say anything, and refused to look at him.
  
  "What you did was wrong." He said. "But I can tell you're sorry for it."
  
  I still didn't say anything.
  
  "Mel, please say something." He begged.
  
  "Could you move?" I asked, hating how my voice shook when I said it. I could practically hear the tears in my voice. I knew he would be able to, too. "I...I need to get home."
  
  He moved, and I got in my car and drove away.
  
  Once I got to the Cullens, I broke down and cried. I went into my nightstand drawer, and pulled out the syringe.
  
  I held it above my wrist, bracing myself for the pain.
  
  When my phone rang, I ignored it, but whoever it was was persistent.
  
  "What?" I choked out.
  
  "Jeez! You need to learn how to answer your phone." It was Jared.
  
  "What do you want?" I growled.
  
  "Something's happened...to Paul."
  
  "What?" I asked sharply.
  
  "There was an accident, he tried to reason with Sam about you moving back down here, and he got mad, and Sam hurt him trying to restrain him."
  
  "Oh my god, is he okay?" I asked, jumping out of my bed.
  
  "He's unconscious."
  
  "Where is he?" I asked.
  
  "We got him to the apartment."
  
  "I'll be there soon."
  
  I hung up on Jared and ran to my car, and sped to the apartment.
  
  No, he could not be hurt.
  
  I wiped at my face, annoyed at the tears that were still streaming down my face.
  
  I burst into the apartment to see Jared and Sam kneeled over Paul, who was lying on the couch.
  
  His eyes were closed, and it hurt me to see him hurt.
  
  I pushed past Sam, and sat beside the couch on the floor, grasping his hand.
  
  I could hear Sam and Jared talking, but I didn't pay attention.
  
  Now, I knew exactly where I belonged.
  
  Right here, with my hand in Paul's.
  Chapter 20-Therapy
  
  Jared
  
  After I got off the phone with Mel, I stood by Paul's couch, hoping he'd wake up before she arrived. That way she wouldn't have to see him passed out on the couch looking...well, pale and dead.
  
  I glanced at Sam, who was looking at Paul.
  
  Yea, he had caused this.
  
  No, actually, in a way it was Paul's fault for picking a fight with him in the first place.
  
  My mind switched back to when I had called Mel. She had seemed so scared when I told her that he was hurt.
  
  She probably hated me. Again.
  
  I was still mad at myself for this. She had warned me.
  
  And of course, I went and ruined it.
  
  The connection between her and Paul seemed undeniable. You could practically see it. I hated that because of me, they couldn't be together.
  
  But when I was with her, something inside of me switched, before I was with her I'd tried to think of ways to not be stupid with her, but when I was with her, it's like that part of my brain shut off. I had to use everything I had to not grab her by her face and kiss her...
  
  No. I mentally slapped myself. I had to stop thinking like that.
  
  I thought about something else...
  
  Sam had said it looked like Embry was going to start phasing soon, as well as Jake, and Quil.
  
  I kept thinking about how our pack was going to grow. But why? We only start phasing because there are vampires around, and the Cullens were long gone.
  
  Why...?
  
  My thoughts were interrupted by the apartment door bursting open, and Mel running in.
  
  Her hair was a mess, and even though she didn't look at either Sam or me, I could tell she had been crying.
  
  It took everything I had not to go over to her and comfort her. I planted my feet to the ground, willing myself to stay where I was.
  
  She grabbed Paul's hand, and I could see that she was shaking.
  
  Was she cold? Did she need a blanket? Maybe a big warm wolf...
  
  Stop it.
  
  Why had I imprinted on her? What was it about her that was so special?
  
  Everything.
  
  Those green eyes, black hair, pale skin, strong backbone. Hell, if she could stand up to Sam, she had a backbone.
  
  I groaned inwardly.
  
  Staying here for the whole night would not be fun.
  
  A few hours later Paul's eyes fluttered open.
  
  The first thing he saw when he woke up was Mel's face.
  
  What I would give to be him...
  
  I could practically see his eyes light up. It was like someone had flicked a switch in his brain.
  
  They stared at each other for a bit.
  
  I saw a tear rolling down Mel's cheek, but Paul wiped it away, smiling at her.
  
  "I'm sorry." I heard her whisper.
  
  He shook his head. "It's not your fault."
  
  The emphasis on the your stung a bit, but he was right.
  
  "We have some business to tend to." Sam said formally.
  
  I didn't mistake Mel's sigh.
  
  "What?" she demanded, turning her angry gaze on him.
  
  he sighed. "Are you really going to give me this much trouble?"
  
  "Yes." She said.
  
  I chuckled quietly, and she glared at me.
  
  "Paul obviously wants you to move back down here. but that can't happen?"
  
  "Why?" she asked coldly.
  
  "Because of what happened last time." Sam said. "Jared and Paul are brothers, and right now they hate each other, because of you."
  
  I saw the hurt flash through her eyes.
  
  "Then I guess I'll be leaving." She said, and started to get up.
  
  Paul's hand shot out, and grasped her wrist, stopping her from leaving his side.
  
  "She's not leaving." He said to Sam.
  
  "Excuse me?" Sam asked. "Are you disobeying me?"
  
  "Yes." Paul said. "She is not leaving again."
  
  "You have no right-" Sam started.
  
  "She is my imprint." Paul said through his teeth. "And you can see how badly she wants to be here."
  
  "She isn't only your imprint." Sam said quietly, then all eyes were on me.
  
  I looked from Paul's dark brown eyes, to Mel's green pleading eyes, to Sam's black eyes.
  
  "It's her choice." I said.
  
  now, everyone turned to her.
  
  She bit her lip, and looked away.
  
  "I..." she took a deep breath. "I can't come back."
  
  Paul fell back on the couch, letting out a huge sigh.
  
  "Why?" he asked.
  
  "Like Sam said..." she said. "I've torn you and Jared apart."
  
  "That doesn't matter." Paul growled.
  
  I looked away.
  
  "Yes, it does." She said. "I can't tear you and your brother apart. You may not be biological brothers, but you are pack brothers."
  
  He sighed. "I don't like you alone in Forks."
  
  "Paul, don't be difficult." She said. "I want to come back...but I can't. you and I both know that."
  
  "Mel, you should come back." I said.
  
  "What?" her head swiveled to meet my gaze.
  
  "You should come back and be with him." I said.
  
  she stared at me, and some sort of understanding passed between us.
  
  She looked at the floor.
  
  "Then I guess..." she trailed off, taking a deep breath. "I guess I'll come back."
  
  Paul turned her face to his, and he kissed her.
  
  I left the apartment, not being able to stand to see that.
  
  I leaned over the railing, taking deep breaths.
  
  "Jared?" asked Mel's voice from behind me.
  
  I turned to face her, she looked happy.
  
  "Thank you." She said quietly.
  
  "For?" I asked bitterly.
  
  "For convincing Sam." She said. "It was very nice of you."
  
  I sighed.
  
  "But you're not happy." She noted.
  
  "No, I'm not." I said. "How can I be?"
  
  "Jared..." she said. "you may not believe this, but I do love you...as a brother."
  
  I sighed again. "I guess that's the best I'll ever get, huh?"
  
  "You'll find someone you like." She tried to comfort.
  
  "Yea, but I'll feel like a jerk, always thinking about you when I'm with whoever that person is."
  
  She sighed. "I'm just trying to help."
  
  "I know you are." I said.
  
  she looked away. And I looked down at her.
  
  "I hate this." She said.
  
  "Hate what?" I asked.
  
  "This!" she said, motioning between the two of us. "I hate that we can't make this stupid double imprint work! That we can't just be normal! And I hate that the Cullens are gone, and that Bella has been a zombie for the last four months, and that I kissed you!"
  
  she was shaking with anger, and I was pretty sure this was the first time she had let all that out, the first time she had ranted to anyone about it.
  
  "Mel, it's okay."
  
  "No it's not!" she cried. "Bella is broken! She doesn't even know what to do with herself, and the Cullens are gone, and they'll never come back because of that stupid bronze haired vampire! He left her here, alone, and thinks she'll be fine!"
  
  "Hey, it's okay." I soothed. "She'll get over this."
  
  "No, she won't." she said. "She'll never get over him, no matter how hard she tries."
  
  "Mel, it's okay."
  
  "No it's not." She said helplessly. "It's never going to be okay again."
  
  And with that, she stormed back into the apartment.
  
  My head was spinning.
  
  How had this become a therapy session for Mel to let everything out about those bloodsuckers?
  
  I walked away from Paul's apartment, and went to my own home, and fell asleep.
  Chapter 21-Surprise!
  
  Melanie
  
  "You're coming back." Paul said, smiling at me.
  
  I smiled back. "I know."
  
  "Are you staying here tonight?" he asked.
  
  "No," I said, then saw his face fall. "I still have to bring my stuff, and I'm really tired."
  
  He sighed. "I've missed waking up next to you."
  
  I entwined my fingers with his. "Me too."
  
  He grinned at me.
  
  "I should go." I said quietly.
  
  He sighed. "Okay. See you tomorrow?"
  
  "I'll bring all my things back." I promised.
  
  "I love you." He whispered, and kissed me.
  
  Oh, wow.
  
  It had been far too long since we had kissed.
  
  He grasped my face in his hands, and pulled me even closer to him, I ran my fingers through his hair.
  
  When we broke apart, we were both breathing heavily.
  
  "Can I come with you?" he asked, breathlessly.
  
  "Then you'd find out where my secret lair is!" I scoffed.
  
  "I know where you've been staying." He said.
  
  "Then why did you ask me that night in Port Angeles?" I teased.
  
  "I was just testing you." He retorted.
  
  "Oh yea right." I said, rolling my eyes.
  
  "Please?" he asked, throwing the full force puppy dog eyes on me. "I don't know if I can stand not waking up next to you another night. I'll even drive."
  
  I smiled. "Okay, let's go."
  
  He drove to the Cullens' house looking smug. "I told you I knew where you were hiding."
  
  "Then why didn't you come to me?" I blurted.
  
  His face darkened. "Sam."
  
  I let it drop. "Are you going to be okay sleeping here?"
  
  "They're not here, they haven't been for awhile, and their smell is practically gone."
  
  "How do you know?" I asked.
  
  "I can't smell them on you."
  
  I smiled as we got out of the car, and walked into the Cullens' house hand in hand.
  
  "Where's your room?" he asked once we were inside.
  
  "I'll show you." I said, pulling him up the stairs.
  
  When we got to my room, I heard him gasp quietly.
  
  "You had that huge ass bed all to yourself?" he asked, smiling. "And you didn't let me come over?"
  
  I looked away.
  
  "I thought you hated me, remember?"
  
  "I will never hate you." He said.
  
  He froze in the doorway of my room.
  
  "I smell a vampire."
  
  My stomach dropped.
  
  "What?" I gasped. "Are the Cullens back?"
  
  I didn't wait for him to answer; I raced downstairs, and out the front door.
  
  I tried to not let it disappoint me too much when I didn't see any cars.
  
  I sighed, and turned around, bumping right into something that seemed to be made of granite.
  
  A hand was covering my mouth in a second, and I fought back a scream.
  
  I was staring into ruby red eyes.
  
  How did I never get used to this?
  
  My mother took her hand off my mouth, looking annoyed.
  
  "What are you and your mutt doing here?" she asked.
  
  "What are you doing here?" I gasped. "I have a right to be here." sort-of.
  
  She sighed. "I see you're still human."
  
  I didn't answer.
  
  "You've considered it a bunch of times, haven't you?"
  
  Again, I didn't say anything.
  
  She sighed again.
  
  "You smell like wet dog."
  
  And at that moment, my wet dog came down the stairs.
  
  I heard him growl when he saw my mom.
  
  "Get away from her." He growled.
  
  I was about to open my mouth, but she told him off before I could.
  
  "You cannot expect me to listen to a dog when she is my daughter."
  
  That made Paul freeze in his tracks.
  
  My mom turned back to me.
  
  "Consider it." She said.
  
  I nodded, looking away.
  
  "Consider what?" Paul growled.
  
  "I gave her a syringe full of my venom, in case she ever wanted a...different lifestyle." I wanted to slap her!
  
  "Mel?" Paul asked.
  
  I didn't look at him.
  
  "Bye baby." My mom said, kissing me on the cheek.
  
  Then, she left. She was gone as quick as she had come.
  
  "Mel?" Paul asked, coming over to me.
  
  I still didn't look at him, afraid I would see hurt in his eyes.
  
  "Mel, look at me." he begged.
  
  I couldn't.
  
  "Do you still have the syringe?" he asked quietly.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "I think you should do it." He said.
  
  My head snapped up.
  
  "I'm sorry, what?" I asked.
  
  "I think you should inject yourself..." he said. "With her venom."
  
  "Why?" I gasped.
  
  "I can tell you want it."
  
  "But I'd rather be with you." I said.
  
  "Listen, Mel." He said. "You've said this yourself, I don't age, and you don't want to look like my grandma."
  
  "But, I'd be a monster to you." I gasped. "I'd smell bad!"
  
  "I'd live with it." He promised.
  
  "Paul, I can't." I said.
  
  "Why not?" he asked. "I know you want to. I know you don't want to age while I stay like this."
  
  "Paul, it's just, I...I know you're saying that you wouldn't care, and you'd get used to the smell, 'cause I'm your imprint, but you wouldn't want me like that."
  
  "Mel, I know you." He said. "And I can tell when you're lying to me."
  
  I groaned. "Why can't you believe me?"
  
  "Because I know you're lying."
  
  We were walking up the stairs back to my room.
  
  Paul sat me down on the bed with him.
  
  "The way I see it, is I have a choice." I said. "Choice A, I get to be with you, and I don't become a vampire. Choice B, I become a vampire and I lose you."
  
  "It wouldn't be like that."
  
  "I'm not taking that chance."
  
  "Where is it?" he asked.
  
  My eyes flicked to my nightstand as if it were a gut reaction.
  
  Of course, he noticed. He went into the drawer, and pulled it out.
  
  "I would do it for you." He said quietly.
  
  I shook my head vigorously. "There are no vampires here to help me."
  
  "So?" he asked.
  
  "I can't." I said. "Please, try to understand this."
  
  "I don't want you to not do this, just because you think I'd hate you."
  
  I didn't say anything. Losing him would be way too much to bear. If he hated me, because of this, I would hate myself.
  
  "See?" he asked. "That's exactly my point. You don't want me to hate you, so you're not doing it."
  
  "Paul..." I whispered. "Why do you want me to do this so badly?"
  
  "Because, I can tell it's what you want." He said.
  
  "It's not just about me." I said.
  
  "It's your life."
  
  "And you're the best part of that life." I said. "If I lost you...it would kill me. When I found out you got hurt, you have no idea..."
  
  "Shhh," he soothed, pulling me into his arms. "It's okay."
  
  "No it's not." I said. "You want me to become a vampire, and I want to, too, but you would hate me. And I could never lose you."
  
  "Mel, I will stab you with this thing right now."
  
  I froze. "You wouldn't."
  
  "You obviously don't know me very well."
  
  For some reason I felt tears stinging at my eyes. "If you turned me against my will, I would never talk to you again."
  
  That hurt him. He put the syringe away, and pushed me down onto the bed.
  
  "You should know, though." He said softly. "It's your choice. No matter what happens to you, I'll always love you."
  
  And with that, as if something snapped inside of us, we made love to each other. I didn't care that I had school the next morning, hell; I probably wasn't going to go anyway.
  
  When I woke up the next morning, I smiled lazily at Paul.
  
  "What time is it?" I asked.
  
  "Ten thirty."
  
  I giggled. "Oopsies."
  
  He smiled at me.
  
  "You have no idea how much I love you, do you?"
  
  "Oh, I think I know." I said with a smile.
  
  We lay together for a while. It had been to long since I had woken up next to him.
  
  "Hey," he said. "When's your birthday? You've never told me, and in the year or so we've been together, we've never celebrated."
  
  I felt my face heat. I had wanted to avoid this. "It was in December."
  
  "You celebrated your birthday alone?" he asked.
  
  I sighed. "Yep."
  
  "And Christmas?"
  
  "Well, they're the same day." I said.
  
  He stared at me, then burst out laughing.
  
  "What's so funny?" I asked.
  
  "Oh, I'm just picturing you giving any birthday/Christmas gifts back to the people who got you them."
  
  "Oh, I hate when people do that to me!" I seethed. "They think they can tie a Christmas and a birthday present together as one present? I don't think so."
  
  He laughed some more.
  
  I giggled. Then breathed in his scent.
  
  "I've missed you so much." He said, stroking my hair.
  
  "I know, I've missed you too."
  
  We were quiet for a while.
  
  Then I thought of something that made my blood run cold.
  
  "Paul...can...can you guys have...babies?" I asked.
  
  He was quiet for a minute. "Yes..."
  
  "Oh my god." I whispered. "You mean to tell me I...I could be..." I took a deep breath. "Pregnant?"
  
  I felt him stiffen.
  
  "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." I was freaking out.
  
  "Mel, it's okay. Calm down." He said. "You're freaking me out."
  
  I jumped out of bed, wrapping a blanket around myself, and started pacing the room.
  
  "I can't be pregnant!" I exclaimed. "I'm only eighteen! No, this is not happening."
  
  "Would it be so bad?" he asked quietly.
  
  My eyes widened.
  
  "Are you kidding me?" I demanded. "Of course it would be bad! I'm not ready to be a mother."
  
  He pulled me back into the bed with him. "It wouldn't be that bad."
  
  "Says you!" I exclaimed.
  
  "We don't even know for sure." He murmured.
  
  I stared at him. "Knowing my luck? I'm pregnant."
  
  I looked away from him.
  
  "Mel..." he said softly. "I love you."
  
  I looked up at him. "I love you too."
  
  "For a while now, well, since September, I've been meaning to ask you something..."
  
  I gaped at him.
  
  "Mel, I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He said.
  
  I stared at him, not believing what I was hearing.
  
  "Will you marry me, Melanie?" he asked.
  
  "Yes!" I exclaimed, and kissed him hard.
  
  I could never be happier.
  Chapter 22-Spying
  
  I didn't want to move back to La Push.
  
  The Cullen house was so much closer to the school, and had a lot more space.
  
  And I had been through this multiple times with Paul.
  
  "I've missed you." He pouted.
  
  "I've missed you, too." I said. "But it's much more convenient living here, at least until school finishes."
  
  He sighed. "Fine. Then I'm staying here with you."
  
  "I have no problem with that." I smiled.
  
  He grinned at me, and I hopped into the bathroom.
  
  I stared at myself in the mirror, imagining how I would look with red eyes...
  
  Sadly I could picture it all too easily.
  
  I was still nervous about if I was pregnant or not.
  
  I had refused to buy a pregnancy test, convincing myself I would wait till the month was over and see what would happen.
  
  I sighed quietly, and washed my face. Thankfully, it was the weekend, and I didn't have to work.
  
  In a way, it worried me that Johnny wasn't giving me as many hours lately.
  
  But, I didn't have to pay rent, and I only had to buy food.
  
  Again, I looked at myself in the mirror. My worried green eyes stared back.
  
  Paul had said many times that even if I did turn into a vampire, he would still love me.
  
  I didn't believe him.
  
  He had told me that and imprint won't break no matter what changes happen to the body.
  
  I still didn't believe him.
  
  I mean, there was no possibility that he would still love me.
  
  But it did sound good...
  
  Never aging, having super strength, and super speed...
  
  Being indestructible.
  
  I looked at my left hand, still a bit surprised that I was engaged.
  
  The ring was gorgeous, and I had no idea how he had bought it.
  
  The band was white gold, with tiny diamonds along it. The bigger stone in the middle was light purple. The stone was round cut, it wasn't too big, but it was subtle.
  
  Which is how I liked it.
  
  I went back out to the bedroom, smiling at Paul.
  
  "Won't Sam get mad?" I asked.
  
  "Nah." He said. "Embry phased."
  
  "Oh, really?" I asked. "How's he taking it?"
  
  "Kind-of freaking out." He said. "But that's how it always is."
  
  "So you were freaking out when you first phased?" I giggled.
  
  "Hell yes." He said with a laugh. "Imagine waking up one morning, with a huge headache, and Sam Uley is kneeling over you telling you that the night before you turned into a giant wolf."
  
  I giggled. "You're my giant wolf."
  
  He moved some hair away from my face. "Are you really worried?"
  
  "About what?" I asked, looking away.
  
  "Being pregnant."
  
  I looked up at him. Then, I nodded.
  
  "Mel, it will be okay."
  
  I looked away.
  
  "What if...?" he took a small breath. "What if we turned you, right now?"
  
  "We've been through this already." I sighed. "I want to...get things sorted out first."
  
  "Mel, I know what you're worried about."
  
  "Paul, I'm not afraid of you hating me." that much. "I just...need to know if I am...pregnant before we do anything drastic."
  
  He sighed again.
  
  I smiled at him.
  
  He laughed. "We do have a wedding to plan..."
  
  I stared at him. "No, I do not want anything big."
  
  He chuckled, and entwined his fingers with mine.
  
  "So you want to elope?" he asked.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "I was thinking, maybe we could...go somewhere after we're married." He said.
  
  "Like a honeymoon?" I asked.
  
  "Yea..." he said.
  
  "Where?" I asked.
  
  "I don't know, just somewhere really far away from any distractions."
  
  I smiled. "Distractions, also known as Sam?"
  
  "Yep." He chuckled. "Hey, do you still have that credit card you got from the Cullens?"
  
  "Yep." I said. I hadn't used it that much, seeing as I was slacking at looking after Bella.
  
  "We would probably have to use it..." he said.
  
  "Then I have to watch over Bella more." I said with a sigh. "Ready to go spy on Bella?"
  
  He groaned. "Really?"
  
  "Yep." I said, pushing myself off the bed. I pulled on a sweater, since it was pretty cold out.
  
  "When do you think Jacob's going to turn?" I asked once we were in the car.
  
  "Soon." He said. "At least that's what Sam thinks."
  
  "Okay..." I said.
  
  "What's wrong?" he asked, grasping my hand as he drove.
  
  "It just feels weird to spy on them." I said.
  
  "We'll just go there to see how everything is." He said.
  
  Paul turned into La Push, and parked in front of the Black house.
  
  We got out, and knocked on the front door.
  
  And we waited.
  
  And waited.
  
  I sighed quietly.
  
  "Let's go around to Jake's garage." Paul said quietly.
  
  Paul and I snuck around to Jacob's garage.
  
  "Wait," I whispered. "Why are we here? What's our excuse?"
  
  "That I want to know if Jake can fix something for me."
  
  I nodded and we knocked on the side of the open door.
  
  I glanced in, and Bella just about jumped three feet in the air, Jacob hastily came to greet us.
  
  "Paul." He said, and then smiled at me. "Hey Mel."
  
  "Hey Jake." I said, smiling. I had helped him with his school work a few times in the past.
  
  "Jake, my car hasn't been running too well lately, could you maybe take a look at it?" Paul asked.
  
  "Umm, sure." Jake said. "Bella, you know Mel, right?"
  
  Bella nodded, smiling at me. I smiled back and sat with her.
  
  "How are you?" I asked.
  
  "I'm okay." She said quietly.
  
  I bit my lip. I debated with myself, wondering if I should tell her that I knew what the Cullens were.
  
  Bella and I were quiet for a bit.
  
  "How is it hanging out with Jake?" I asked.
  
  "Good." She said, smiling. "He's helping me a lot."
  
  "I can tell." I said.
  
  "How bad was I?" she asked.
  
  "Not that bad." I lied.
  
  She gave me a look that said, don't lie to me.
  
  I sighed. "It was pretty bad. You wouldn't interact with anybody."
  
  She nodded as if she had known this was the answer I was going to give her.
  
  After a few minutes, Paul and Jacob came back in.
  
  Paul looked amused, Jake looked annoyed.
  
  I fought back a laugh.
  
  "Wait, Mel...is that a ring I see on your finger?" Bella asked.
  
  I felt my face heat.
  
  "Yea, Paul and I are...getting married." I said.
  
  "Congratulations." She smiled, but I could see hurt flash through her eyes.
  
  Paul and I left after that.
  
  "Was that enough spying for today?" he asked with a smile.
  
  I nodded. "I think so."
  
  He barked out a laugh. "Want to get some food?"
  
  "I'd love that."
  Chapter 23-Phased
  
  February passed quickly, and soon it was March. I was so relieved when I got my period, it made me laugh.
  
  We could all tell that Jacob was close to phasing. I had seen him a few times in the store, looking feverish.
  
  Yep, he was close.
  
  I had a feeling that it would be hard on Bella from him to phase, I mean, Paul couldn't hide the fact that he was a giant wolf from me, how could Jake hide it from Bella?
  
  A few days later at school, Bella came to me, asking if I wanted to go to the movies with her and a group of people.
  
  I agreed, and then asked. "Hey, could I bring Paul?"
  
  She smiled softly. "Of course. Jacob is coming, as well as Quil."
  
  "Okay, cool." I said. "Just let me know the date, okay?"
  
  "Okay." She said.
  
  Mike approached me later that day. "We're going Friday night."
  
  I thought about if I had to work or not. "Okay, that sounds good."
  
  He nodded. "You're bringing Paul?"
  
  "Yes." I said. He let it drop. "Who else is coming?"
  
  "Well, I invited Jessica and Lauren, but they're busy, Eric and Katie were invited too, but it's their anniversary. Tyler and Connor are busy, too. Angela and Ben are coming."
  
  I counted on my fingers. That made eight people.
  
  Bella came up to us, and addressed me. "Quil can't come, he's grounded."
  
  I stifled a laugh. "Okay, so I guess that makes seven."
  
  "Yep." She said.
  
  When Friday came around, I wasn't feeling well; I think I had caught some bug from someone.
  
  Paul didn't want to go without me, seeing as he only knew Jacob, and they weren't close at all.
  
  I called Bella and cancelled, telling her I was sorry.
  
  I lay in bed, not wanting to move.
  
  "You okay?" Paul asked quietly.
  
  "Yea, I'm fine." I said.
  
  "I have to go." He said with a sigh. "Embry's still in school, so he can't run during the day anymore."
  
  I nodded.
  
  "You look so pale." He whispered.
  
  "What else is new?" I asked dryly.
  
  He smiled softly. "I'll be home later."
  
  "Bye." I whispered.
  
  I felt awful. I didn't want to move, I didn't want to get up. My body ached. I was shivering and had a cold sweat.
  
  I pulled a blanket on myself, then got hot again. Once I took the blanket off, I was freezing.
  
  I groaned. I settled for having the blanket half on me.
  
  I rolled over, and somehow fell asleep.
  
  I woke up sweating. Paul was lying next to me.
  
  "Can you move?" I groaned. "I'm burning."
  
  "Mel, you're icy cold."
  
  "Please." I whispered.
  
  "Are you hungry?" he asked, moving away.
  
  "Not at all." I said miserably.
  
  He chuckled.
  
  "Aren't you?"
  
  "No, I ate at Emily's."
  
  I nodded. "Can I sleep?"
  
  He chuckled again. "Of course; you don't need my permission."
  
  I smiled at him, then fell back to sleep.
  
  When I woke up again, it was night time, and I was freezing. Paul was lying next to me, snoring quietly.
  
  I moved closer to him, and curled into the curve of his body.
  
  Ahhh that made me much warmer.
  
  He thankfully didn't wake up, which I was glad about. Whenever Paul got the chance to sleep, I knew he needed it.
  
  I couldn't remember when I fell asleep, but when I woke up it was morning.
  
  A blinding stream of sunlight was streaming through my window.
  
  Wait...sunlight? In Forks?
  
  Wow.
  
  That was...rare.
  
  Then I realized I didn't feel sick anymore.
  
  I swear, little fireworks of joy went off in my head.
  
  Paul woke up then, and smiled at me.
  
  "Feeling better?" he asked.
  
  I think my stomach growling answered for me.
  
  "I guess so." He chuckled. "I'll go grab you some muffins."
  
  "Emily?" I asked.
  
  "Yep."
  
  I giggled. "But I don't want you to move."
  
  "I know how you feel." He sighed.
  
  And then, because he's mean, he hopped out of bed.
  
  I grasped at the blankets to cover myself from the freezing outside my blankets. Stupid wolf.
  
  He came back in with two muffins.
  
  Even though I hadn't eaten in a day, I still couldn't get through one.
  
  I tossed it at Paul, and he caught it.
  
  With his mouth.
  
  Paul's phone rang, and he growled softly.
  
  "It's probably Sam." He said, annoyed.
  
  "Pick it up." I said.
  
  He sighed, then answered the phone. His expression changed from annoyed, to shocked, to amused.
  
  "What is it?" I asked once he was off the phone.
  
  "Jake phased last night."
  
  I smiled. "It's about time."
  
  "Come on, let's go see him."
  
  We got out of bed, and drove to Emily's.
  
  Once we got there, Sam, Jared, and Embry were talking to Jake, who looked confused.
  
  Billy was there.
  
  He stared at me. "It's all true?"
  
  I nodded.
  
  "You're kidding." He gasped.
  
  "Nope." I smiled.
  
  "And you're Paul's imprint?" he asked.
  
  I nodded.
  
  He sat down in one of Emily's chairs, still in denial.
  
  I giggled. "Jake, it's okay, you'll get used to it soon enough."
  
  Sam came up to me, looking angry.
  
  "What crawled up your ass?" I asked.
  
  He grabbed my face, and looked at my eyes.
  
  "Hey!" Paul snapped.
  
  Sam ignored him. "Are you wearing contacts?" he demanded.
  
  "What? No!" I said.
  
  He kept staring at me. "Why are people phasing? Embry and Jacob? There must be a vampire in town, and you smell like one."
  
  "I'm not a vampire!" I yelled.
  
  "Then why are they phasing?" he growled.
  
  I glanced at Paul, he looked like he wanted to jump in at any moment, and wrench Sam's hands away from me.
  
  "I don't know!" I yelled.
  
  "Why do you smell like them?" he asked.
  
  "Because I'm currently living in the Cullens' old home." I said.
  
  "Are there any vampires that you know of in town?" he asked.
  
  "No," I said. "Not that I know of."
  
  Okay, so I had lied. I had a feeling my mom was in town, but I couldn't be positive. It had been more than a month since I had seen her.
  
  Sam was growling.
  
  Thankfully, his body hadn't started shaking.
  
  "Get your hands off her." Paul said quietly.
  
  Sam glared at me, and then said softly. "You had better not be lying to me."
  
  "I'm not." I snapped, pulling away from him.
  
  Billy seemed happy that Jake had phased.
  
  "I'm glad it happened." Billy told me.
  
  "Why?" I asked, the slightest bit surprised.
  
  "Because, only three wolves wasn't enough. After Embry phased, I had a feeling Jake would, too."
  
  "Do you think Quil will?" I asked.
  
  Billy got a strange, mysterious look on his face. "Yes, I think he will."
  
  I glanced down at him, not exactly sure what he meant by that.
  
  I sighed, knowing how secretive Billy could be when he wanted.
  
  I went over to Paul, who was eating a hotdog.
  
  "Want one?" he asked mouth full.
  
  I giggled. "No, I'm fine."
  
  He smiled at me, and Emily came over to me.
  
  "Mel, can you help me?" she asked.
  
  I helped her clean the dishes, and helped her cook even more food.
  
  Jeez these boys were pigs!
  
  Jake and Paul were talking, I wasn't really sure what they were talking about, their relationship had always been rocky. Maybe they were settling things.
  
  Good. Maybe Jake wouldn't avoid me now when I was with Paul out in public.
  
  Someone tapped my shoulder, I turned to see Jared.
  
  I didn't say anything. I hadn't spoken to him since the night Paul got hurt, and I wanted to keep it that way. I turned back around.
  
  "Can I talk to you?" he asked.
  
  "Nope." I said curtly.
  
  "Please?" he pleaded.
  
  I didn't turn; I just kept washing the dishes that had already piled up again.
  
  "Mel, please." He begged.
  
  "Why?" I demanded, and whirled around.
  
  "I need to talk to you." He said.
  
  The whole house had gone quiet. I glanced at Paul, who was glaring at Jared. Jake looked a bit nervous, Embry looked amused, and Sam looked annoyed. Emily continued cooking, not wanting to be rude. Billy was staring.
  
  "Fine." I said, and stomped outside.
  
  When we were both outside, he closed the door behind him.
  
  "Can we walk?"
  
  "No." I said coldly, crossing my arms across my chest.
  
  He let out a sigh.
  
  We were quiet. I was really mad.
  
  "Look, are you going to talk or not?" I demanded.
  
  "Mel, I'm so sorry." He said.
  
  "Like you haven't said that before." I said, rolling my eyes.
  
  "I guess I deserve that." He said, looking out at the road.
  
  "You do." I said. "For four months I thought Paul had hated me, all because you made me kiss you."
  
  "Hey, you agreed to kiss me!" he defended.
  
  "Well it was your idea, and you were begging me. I knew you wouldn't shut up if I hadn't."
  
  "What would have happened if Paul hadn't walked in on us?" he asked.
  
  "What are you talking about?" I asked.
  
  "You know exactly what I'm talking about." He said.
  
  "Nothing would have happened, Jared!" I said, annoyed. "It was just one kiss!"
  
  He was quiet. "You don't know how it is."
  
  "Jared, I gave you chances, and you blew all of them." I said.
  
  He nodded, looking upset.
  
  "I can't be with you." I said. He didn't look at me.
  
  "I heard about the engagement." He said quietly.
  
  I looked away.
  
  "Congratulations." He said bitterly, and then walked back into Emily's house, leaving me on the porch alone.
  
  I slumped down on the floor, holding my head in my hands.
  Chapter 25-Emergency
  
  Melanie
  
  Waking up alone is never fun, especially not when you've fallen asleep with your own personal space heater.
  
  I sighed and got ready for school.
  
  Once I got there, I made it through the morning, barely.
  
  At lunch, Bella looked like something was bothering her. She marched up to me.
  
  "Mel, have you seen Jake lately?" she asked. "Billy says he's sick with mono."
  
  I kept my face straight. "No, I haven't. But I'll ask Paul tonight, I'm sure he's fine, just sick."
  
  She sighed. "Yea, I guess you're right."
  
  I smiled at her, trying to make her feel better.
  
  She tried a smile, but I could tell she was really worried.
  
  The rest of the day passed really, really slowly.
  
  I groaned when I remembered I had to work. Today was endless.
  
  Work was dead. There was absolutely nobody in the store.
  
  "Mel, I'm closing up." Johnny said.
  
  Thank god.
  
  "Okay." I said, turning off my register light.
  
  "Here's your check." He said, handing it to me.
  
  "Thanks." I smiled.
  
  "No problem." He grinned.
  
  A few weeks passed, and in those weeks, lots of things happened. Bella found out about the wolves after Paul accidentally phased in front of her, which prompted Jacob to phase as well, trying to protect her.
  
  Quil phased.
  
  The wolves found Laurent in the forest taunting Bella, they killed him.
  
  Paul and I got eloped. Yea, it was weird being married to Paul, but I had gotten used to it. We were still living in the Cullen house.
  
  One day, Bella had a scary near death experience.
  
  I hear all my gossip from Paul and Emily.
  
  Let's start at the beginning...
  
  I was lying in bed with Paul, when his phone rang. It was late afternoon, and we had just been too lazy to get up.
  
  Paul answered it, and his face was clouded with horror.
  
  "We'll be there soon." He said.
  
  Once he was off the phone, he only told me to get dressed as quick as I could, so we could go down to La Push.
  
  I got dressed, and went out to the car, where he was waiting.
  
  "What happened?" I asked, once he had started driving.
  
  "Harry Clearwater had a heart attack.
  
  I gasped.
  
  We drove in silence to the hospital in La Push.
  
  Sue, Seth, and Leah Clearwater were all crowded around Harry's bed; tears were streaming down Sue's face. Seth looked sad, Leah looked detached.
  
  Emily was rubbing Sue's back, murmuring things to her.
  
  Sam was sitting off to the side, with Jared, Jake, Embry, and Quil.
  
  Harry lay on a hospital bed in the middle of the room. He was hooked up to a life support machine that was measuring his heartbeat.
  
  It was slow, and it wasn't steady. I gulped, feeling a bit sick.
  
  Sue was crying, grasping Harry's hand.
  
  His heartbeat was slowing even more now.
  
  And then, there was just one long beep.
  
  Sue sobbed, Seth looked at the floor, and Leah left the hospital room.
  
  Harry was dead. I felt tears spring to my eyes, and I grasped Paul's hand.
  
  Emily was crying Sam was comforting her.
  
  Jared and Embry went out to try and calm down Leah.
  
  Jacob and Quil stood motionless together, both equally shocked.
  
  "I need some air." I whispered to Paul.
  
  He led me out of the hospital room, and Jacob followed.
  
  Paul looked at him, question in his eyes.
  
  "I can't stay in there." He explained quietly.
  
  Paul nodded.
  
  We went out to the beach, and walked along the shore. I happened to glance up at the cliff where the boys would jump off of, right when a small, brunette, female figure jumped off.
  
  I screamed. "That's Bella!"
  
  Jake's head snapped around.
  
  "Awww hell!" he yelled. He pulled his shirt off, and in the water, my eyes caught something flaming red, and there was no way it could've been Bella.
  
  "Victoria is out there!" I shouted over the wind. "Jake, go save Bella!"
  
  Jacob jumped out into the water, and swam for Bella.
  
  "Everyone is probably going to be at Emily's." Paul said quietly.
  
  "I can't go there." I said. "Too much sadness."
  
  He nodded. "Home?"
  
  "Yes please." I said.
  
  He drove us to the Cullens' house. Once inside, I slumped on the couch, and Paul wrapped his arms around me.
  
  "I can't believe he's gone." Paul said quietly.
  
  I nodded, feeling tears spill over my eyelids.
  
  I'm not sure how long after we had got here that the front door clicked open.
  
  I sprang off the couch, and froze.
  
  There she was. Gorgeous face, black hair, black eyes.
  
  "Alice?" I gasped.
  
  She froze when she saw me. "Mel!"
  
  She was in front of me in a second, and hugged me tightly.
  
  "What are you...what are you doing here?" I gasped.
  
  "I thought Bella was going to kill herself, I saw her jumping off a cliff, and I came here as fast as I could to try and stop her." She explained. "But when I get here, I realize Jacob Black pulled her out of the water." She scowled.
  
  "Are you leaving?" I asked, feeling my stomach drop.
  
  "No!" she said with a laugh. "I promised Bella I would stay for a bit."
  
  I sighed happily. "How's...Edward?"
  
  "I wouldn't really know, he only visits once every few months.
  
  "How many of you are here?" Paul asked quietly.
  
  Alice glared at him. "What business is it of yours, mutt?"
  
  I sighed. Here we go again.
  
  "Never mind." Paul said, annoyed.
  
  Paul's phone rang. He picked it up, and I could tell it was Jacob.
  
  "I have to go." He sighed.
  
  "Bye." I said quietly.
  
  "Bye." He smiled at me, and then left.
  
  Alice made a face at him. "What do you see in him?"
  
  I smacked her playfully. "Stop it."
  
  She smiled, then sobered. "Mel, I promise I haven't been watching, but some things slip in..."
  
  I stared at her.
  
  "I've seen you...considering becoming like us..."
  
  I looked away, and then sat down.
  
  "Mel..." she said quietly. "Where in the world did you get the venom?"
  
  "My mom." I said quietly.
  
  Alice stared at me. "And you've been seriously considering it?"
  
  I nodded.
  
  She smiled. "Whatever your decision, I'll be here for you."
  
  "How?" I asked sadly. "You guys left."
  
  She sighed. "I'm going to try and convince Edward to let us come back."
  
  I jumped up and hugged her. "That would be amazing!"
  
  She smiled. "I have to go hunt, but I'll see you soon, I hope."
  
  She flitted up to her room, grabbed a suitcase, and left with it.
  
  I sighed. I was alone again. I idly wondered how Emily was doing.
  
  The events of tonight hit me.
  
  Harry Clearwater was dead.
  
  Alice was back.
  
  I sighed, and leaned back on the couch. Where was Paul when I needed him?
  
  My phone rang, and it was Paul.
  
  "Hey, we have some business to attend to tonight, I'll be home pretty late. Don't wait up."
  
  I sighed. "Okay, I love you."
  
  "I love you too." He said.
  
  "Bye." I said.
  
  "Goodnight, Mel."
  
  I hung up the phone, and went upstairs, and fell asleep.
  
  When I woke up, I had a message on my phone, it was from Alice. Uh oh.
  
  "Mel, I'm on a plane on my way to Italy. Edward found out, from Rosalie, why I came here, he think Bella's dead, and he wants to...die." She said. "I just thought I'd let you know everything is okay, and hopefully we'll be back soon enough."
  
  Oh dear god.
  
  What was Edward thinking?
  
  I groaned and rolled over.
  
  There was no way in hell I was going to school today.
  
  Then I remembered it was Saturday.
  Chapter 26-Safe
  
  I paced my room, nervous and scared. Paul hadn't come back yet, and I hadn't heard anything else from Alice.
  
  Then, I heard people talking in the house. I froze.
  
  I stopped pacing right away. Who would be in the Cullens' house?
  
  Then I thought of something.
  
  I flung the door open, and standing there, frozen in shock was Jasper.
  
  "Jasper?" I gasped, hugging him.
  
  "Mel?" he asked, equally surprised.
  
  We stared at each other in shock, not sure what to say, and then Rosalie came up the stairs.
  
  "Jasper, I told you to get my-" she saw me then. "Mel?"
  
  "Rosalie!" I gasped.
  
  She pushed past Jasper and hugged me.
  
  "What are you doing here?" we asked at the same time.
  
  She smiled. "I'm here because I think we're coming back."
  
  "For good?" I gasped.
  
  She nodded, smiling.
  
  "What are you doing here?" Emmett's joyful, booming voice came from the stairs. I hadn't even noticed he had come up the stairs.
  
  He came up to me, and hugged me, picking me up right off the floor.
  
  "I've...I've been living here..." I said, feeling my face heat.
  
  "Problems down in La Push?" Emmett asked.
  
  "No, not really." I said. "It's just easier to get to school from here."
  
  Rosalie sniffed. "Your dog was here?"
  
  I looked away. "Yea, he's been living here, with me."
  
  "Gross." Rosalie shuddered.
  
  I gave her a look.
  
  She smiled. "It's still so good to see you."
  
  "I know. Is Alice back yet?"
  
  Rosalie's face darkened a touch. "Not yet."
  
  I sighed quietly, and then felt calmness wash over me.
  
  "Thanks Jasper." I laughed.
  
  He grinned. "Everything will be okay. Alice told me that no matter what happens she'll try her best to make it out in one piece. There's no need to worry."
  
  "Jazz, the Volturi are the most powerful vampires in the world. Edward's a fool for trying to mess with them." Rosalie scowled.
  
  Jasper shrugged.
  
  I sighed. "Are Carlisle and Esme here?"
  
  "Not yet, they're coming in my car." Rosalie said.
  
  "What car did you come in?"
  
  "My Jeep." Emmett grinned.
  
  "And no one noticed you guys?" I asked.
  
  "Oh, everyone noticed." Jasper grinned.
  
  Rosalie rolled her eyes.
  
  I couldn't help but grin.
  
  For the first time since they left, everything felt whole again.
  
  "I guess you guys want me to leave, now that you're back." I said.
  
  Rosalie stared at me. "No! Of course not!"
  
  "But you won't want Paul staying here." I said.
  
  "Mel, you'll see him everyday anyway. And you even said it's easier to get to school from here." Jasper reasoned.
  
  I sighed. "You're right."
  
  Rosalie grinned. "Good."
  
  My phone rang, and I was surprised when I saw it was Alice.
  
  "Alice?" I asked, worriedly.
  
  "Mel, the Volturi refused to kill Edward, and now he's planning on revealing himself. He's going to walk out into the sunlight, so the Volturi will have no choice but to kill him. Bella is running to try and save him now. Hopefully, he won't even get out far enough before Bella catches him."
  
  "Where are you?" I asked.
  
  "Keeping to the shadows. I'm trying to get to where Edward and Bella are now."
  
  "Be careful, Alice." I said.
  
  Jasper held his hand out for my phone.
  
  "Hang on, Jasper wants to talk to you." I said, and handed Jasper my phone.
  
  I didn't listen to what he was saying to her. I felt that that was too much of a private moment.
  
  Rosalie pulled me downstairs. "Are you hungry?"
  
  "No." I said. "I'm too worried."
  
  Rosalie sighed. "I'm sure everything will turn out fine."
  
  We didn't hear anything else from them till that night.
  
  Esme was very happy to see me, and she hugged me tight.
  
  Carlisle was happy, but I could tell he was worried.
  
  When my phone rang, I was thankful it was Alice.
  
  "Is everything okay?" I asked.
  
  "Yes." Alice sounded relieved. "The Volturi didn't kill Edward, and now we're just waiting until we can leave. We should be home tomorrow."
  
  "That's great, Alice." I smiled into the phone.
  
  All the vampires in the room were grinning from ear to ear.
  
  "They're okay." Esme gasped quietly. We were all smiling, and we were happy.
  
  The next day, Rosalie dragged me along to the airport to greet Edward, Bella and Alice. Bella was so tired; she didn't even notice I was there.
  
  Alice hugged me.
  
  Edward came up to me, looking strange. The emotions on his face were mixed.
  
  "Thank you, for taking care of her." He said quietly. Giving me a quick hug.
  
  "It wasn't for you." I said quietly. "You don't know..."
  
  "Please." He said, putting his hand up. "I don't want to know what I did to her."
  
  I sighed, but respected his wishes.
  
  "Melanie, we'll take you home." Carlisle smiled.
  
  Where was my home exactly?
  
  "Wait, do you mean to La Push?"
  
  "No, of course not. You've been living at our house, haven't you?"
  
  "Yea. Okay, thank you." I smiled.
  
  He drove to the Cullen house, and I smiled gratefully at him and Esme.
  
  "Thank you, so much." I said.
  
  "It's fine." Esme assured me. "You don't need to thank us."
  
  I smiled. "I'm going to go up to my room."
  
  They both nodded, smiling.
  
  I went up to my room, and looked around.
  
  All of Paul's things were gone.
  Chapter 27-Reunited
  
  I had tried calling Paul a couple times, but he wouldn't pick up his phone.
  
  I sighed quietly.
  
  "Okay, what's wrong?" Alice finally demanded one night when we were doing homework.
  
  "Nothing." I murmured, reading over my notes, then answering a question.
  
  "That's wrong, by the way." She pointed out.
  
  I made a face, and erased my wrong answer.
  
  "Mel, honestly, what's wrong?"
  
  "Nothing is wrong, Alice." I said, re-writing my new answer. I held up my notebook to get her approval.
  
  She nodded, and then went on talking. "I can tell something's wrong."
  
  I played with the two rings on my finger. One was a simple white gold band, and the other was my engagement ring.
  
  "I'm still annoyed that you went and got married without me." She said, when I looked at her, her face was clear of all confusion.
  
  "Get your butt down to La Push right now." She ordered.
  
  "He obviously doesn't want to see me if he hasn't been answering my calls." I said, going back to my homework. "And besides, I have homework to do."
  
  "I'll do it for you." She said.
  
  "Our writing isn't the same." I objected.
  
  "Oh please, I can sign your name in your own writing better than you can." She said, rolling her eyes.
  
  I sighed. "That doesn't change the fact that he doesn't want to see me."
  
  "So what? You're just going to stay here, away from your husband?" she asked.
  
  I sighed, knowing how ridiculous it sounded.
  
  But Paul wouldn't want to see me.
  
  "Go." Alice ordered, pushing me to the garage where the Cullens let me keep my car.
  
  I didn't have any choice but to get in my car, and drive to La Push.
  
  I drove to Paul's apartment, and knocked on the door. I played with a piece of my hair, waiting for the door to open.
  
  I knocked again, and there was still no answer.
  
  I waited for two more minutes, and then got back in my car.
  
  I drove around La Push for a bit, trying to see if I could find him anywhere.
  
  Instead, I found Jared.
  
  "Where's Paul?" I asked, getting out of my car, and slamming the door behind me.
  
  He didn't seem surprised to see me.
  
  "Well I wouldn't know." He said.
  
  "I know you're lying." I said, annoyed already.
  
  He grinned a cocky grin at me.
  
  "Well, let's say I do know where he is." He said. "Why should I tell you?"
  
  I looked away, not having an answer.
  
  "He's on a date."
  
  My head snapped up in his direction.
  
  "What?" I demanded.
  
  "I set him up with a friend of mine."
  
  "Why would you do that, Jared?" I asked.
  
  He laughed. "I'm kidding."
  
  I glared at him.
  
  "Do you know where he is or not?" I demanded, annoyed.
  
  Jared ran a hand through his hair.
  
  "Try Emily's place." Jared advised.
  
  "Thanks." I muttered, still ticked off.
  
  "Hey, can I get a ride?"
  
  I stared at him as if he had just told me one plus one equaled seven.
  
  "Get in." I said, annoyed.
  
  He hopped in my car, and I drove to Emily's.
  
  It was a really quiet ride.
  
  I pulled into Emily's small driveway, and knocked on her front door, Jared trailing behind me like a puppy.
  
  She opened the door, and looked a little surprised to see me.
  
  "Mel," she smiled. "Come in."
  
  "Hey Em," I smiled. "Is Paul here by any chance?"
  
  "Actually, he is." She said with a smile.
  
  I walked into her living room, and there, sitting on the couch was Paul.
  
  My husband.
  
  My breath caught in my throat when I saw him.
  
  He looked at me, and our gazes locked.
  
  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't tear my gaze away from his.
  
  He got up off the couch, and came up to me.
  
  He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him, and he cupped my face in his free hand.
  
  "I've missed you so much." He said quietly.
  
  "Why'd you leave?" I whispered.
  
  "They came back." He said simply. "The treaty..."
  
  Now I understood. "But, I've called you so many times."
  
  "I thought you'd think I was a coward for leaving." He admitted sheepishly.
  
  I smiled. "I will never think that about you."
  
  "Good." He smiled, then kissed me.
  Chapter 28-Disaster
  
  The next few days at school went well.
  
  Bella and Edward were back together, Alice was back, and Bella was talkative again.
  
  Well, as talkative as Bella got.
  
  I was still living at the Cullen house. I'm not sure how Paul felt about that, but it was so much easier to get to school from there.
  
  I saw him every night, even when I was working, he'd come by my register during my shifts, and during my breaks I'd sit outside with him.
  
  I was glad that Paul and I had cleared everything up. I didn't like being away from him. Ever.
  
  Right now, I was on my break sitting with Paul.
  
  I was leaning against him, enjoying that it was warm for once, and it was sunny.
  
  Johnny came out of the store, and smiled at me. "You can go if you want. Everyone's enjoying the weather."
  
  "Okay." I smiled. "Thanks Johnny."
  
  I went over to my car, but Paul stopped me.
  
  "Let's walk, it's too nice out to drive."
  
  "Okay." I said, grasping his hand. "Where are we going?"
  
  "How about the cliffs?" he proposed.
  
  "Where you and the guys jump from all the time?" I asked.
  
  He nodded.
  
  "I'm not jumping." I warned.
  
  He laughed. "I know, I'm not either."
  
  "Good, it freaks me out when you guys jump."
  
  "I know." He laughed.
  
  Once we climbed up onto the cliff, I was overwhelmed by how high it was. This was the first time I had let Paul bring me up here.
  
  I sat down with Paul, shaking a bit.
  
  I was afraid of heights, okay? It was a phobia I had since I was little.
  
  Why had I agreed to this?
  
  "Hey, it's okay." Paul soothed. "I've got you."
  
  I leaned against him.
  
  "I didn't know you were afraid of heights." Paul teased.
  
  "Shut up." I muttered.
  
  "I'm just playing around with you; you'll be fine with me." He promised.
  
  I smiled, relaxing for the first time since I had gotten up here.
  
  Then, something really bad happened.
  
  I don't know how it happened; I guess I was sitting a bit to close to the edge.
  
  Somehow, I slipped and fell off the cliff. I stuck my arm out and somehow grabbed on to a ledge that was jutting out of the side of the cliff, I grabbed it with my other arm, trying to make myself more secure.
  
  "Mel!" Paul yelled.
  
  "Don't!" I screamed. "You'll fall!"
  
  "Mel, I can get you." He said, trying to sound calm, but I could hear the panic in his voice.
  
  "You'll fall!" I screamed again.
  
  He leaned over the edge, and I felt like I was going to throw up. "Stop it Paul! You'll fall."
  
  "Try pulling yourself up." He said.
  
  I tried pulling myself up onto the little ledge, but I couldn't I wasn't strong enough with the wind whipping at my face.
  
  "I can't." I said, close to tears.
  
  "Mel, it's okay." He said. "You'll be okay, I'll pull you up."
  
  "Don't!" I screamed. "I don't want you to fall!"
  
  He slid as far forward on the cliff as he could without falling, and then stretched his hand out to me.
  
  "Mel, you're going to have to try and reach me." He said.
  
  I held on to the cliff as well as I could with one hand, and stretched my other hand upwards.
  
  "I can't reach." I said helplessly, grasping the cliff with both hands again.
  
  I felt my hands slipping off.
  
  "Paul, I love you." I said.
  
  "No!" he yelled.
  
  "Paul, I'm slipping, and I'm going to fall," I said, surprised at how strong my voice was. "I love you so much."
  
  "No!" He growled. "You aren't going to leave me like that, Mel. Hold on!"
  
  "I can't!" I sobbed.
  
  "Mel, please, do not let go." He pleaded.
  
  "I love you Paul." I said, tears streaming steadily down my cheeks, knowing this would be the last time I would ever see him.
  
  "No." he growled.
  
  One of my hands slipped off, and I didn't have the strength left in me to try and pull it back up again.
  
  "Mel, you hold on!" he commanded.
  
  "I can't!" I screamed.
  
  My other hand slipped off the ledge, and a scream ripped through me as I tumbled down into the water.
  
  The water was freezing, and when I plunged in, I tried to take a deep breath, I couldn't help it, it was a gut reaction.
  
  I felt my lungs fill with water, and as I tried to surface I hit my head against something hard.
  
  Then, there was just blackness.
  Chapter 29-Fallen
  
  Paul
  
  I heard when a scream ripped through Mel as she fell down to the water, and plunged in.
  
  I stared into the water, not believing what had happened, filled with grief.
  
  Frantically, I searched in the water, praying I would see her head come up to the surface.
  
  When I couldn't see her at all, I tore my shirt off, and dove into the water.
  
  I frantically swam around looking for her. I resurfaced, to get air, and then dove under again.
  
  Finally, I found her. She was tangled in some seaweed, and her eyes were closed. I frantically swam to her, and pulled her out of the water.
  
  I pulled her onto the beach, and started doing CPR.
  
  It wasn't helping, no matter how hard I tried to save her, I couldn't help her anymore. I could hear her heart beating, but it wasn't strong at all.
  
  I knew what I had to do.
  
  I picked her up, and ran as fast as I could to the Cullen house.
  
  I knocked on the front door, and the blonde female one answered it.
  
  Her teeth came up over her teeth, but I didn't care.
  
  "She's dying." I growled.
  
  For the first time, she looked at who was in my arms.
  
  Her face went from disgusted to shock.
  
  "Bring her in." she said quietly.
  
  I laid her out on her bed. The doc came in, then Alice.
  
  "What happened?" Alice asked in shock.
  
  "She fell off a cliff." I muttered.
  
  The doc checked her pulse, and I heard him mutter. "It's slow."
  
  "I know." I snapped. "She's dying!"
  
  "I don't know what we can do." Doc said quietly.
  
  "Where does she keep the syringe?" I growled at Alice.
  
  "In her nightstand." She said quietly.
  
  I pulled it out of the nightstand drawer, and shoved it to Doc.
  
  "That's what you can do." I said, I could feel Mel dying.
  
  "Are you sure about this?" he asked.
  
  I nodded, getting pissed that it was taking them so long to save her.
  
  "Just do it!" I snarled.
  
  Doc looked at me, sighed, and plunged the syringe into Mel's chest.
  
  I stared at her limp body, not being able to believe what had just happened to her.
  
  She looked dead, yet she was moving.
  
  She was writhing in pain.
  
  Her face was contorted in pain, and I could tell she was fighting the urge to scream.
  
  It pained me to see her like that.
  
  I felt someone's hand on my back, it was Alice.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "I'm sorry." She said quietly. "I..."
  
  "Don't." I said. "Will she be okay?"
  
  "Can't you hear her heartbeat?" the blonde psycho asked.
  
  I glared at her. "Is that normal?"
  
  "Yes." She said, rolling her eyes.
  
  "Are you hungry?" Alice asked quietly.
  
  I shook my head, staring at Mel.
  
  How could I have let this happen to her? I was so close to grabbing her hand on the cliff, if I had just stretched a little farther...
  
  A small whimper came from Mel, but she still wasn't awake.
  
  I grasped her hand; it was freezing against my hot skin.
  
  "How long?" I asked Alice.
  
  "Normally the transformation takes about three days." Doc said quietly.
  
  Three days of watching her writhe in pain because of me.
  
  How could I have let this happen to her?
  Chapter 30-Burning
  
  Melanie
  
  I felt the syringe go through my chest. I had been floating in a nice place, a nice happy place where I wasn't hurt anymore.
  
  Surprisingly, I knew what was happening to me.
  
  With random clearness, I knew I was being turned into a vampire.
  
  Then, I was in pain again. The needle pierced my chest, and I tried not to scream.
  
  I felt the burning then.
  
  At first, it was just warmth, but then it grew to something hotter. It was hotter than being squished between Paul, Sam, Jared, Embry, Jacob, and Quil all at the same time.
  
  I felt a pang in my heart when I thought of Paul.
  
  The heat was too much for me to handle, I tried to move, not sure if I had accomplished, but it wasn't helping at all.
  
  A scream escaped my lungs, which were on fire.
  
  I grasped something. I had no idea what it was, but it was underneath me.
  
  After that, I succumbed to the heat and the darkness.
  
  I'm not sure how long it was after that, but something changed.
  
  I was still burning, but my head was clearing a bit.
  
  I could concentrate a bit more.
  
  I could hear someone talking, I wasn't sure who, and I tried to concentrate on the words.
  
  "How much longer?" asked a broken, detached voice. Whoa! I could hear everything now!
  
  Paul? He was still here?
  
  "Not long." A tinkling voice answered. Alice. "I can see her much easier now."
  
  That made me feel better, that meant there wasn't much longer to bear this hell.
  
  Finally, I felt the burning stop.
  
  It started fading where it had started, at my heart. It was fading through my whole body, and it sent tingles through it, right to the tips of my fingers.
  
  I flexed my fingers, keeping my eyes closed.
  
  I flexed the joints in my arms, my wrists, my elbows, I rolled my shoulders.
  
  "Mel?" Paul asked quietly.
  
  I kept my eyes closed; not wanting to open them just yet.
  
  I loved the feeling of my muscles moving, and my joints moving. It felt good to not be burning anymore.
  
  I realized the whole time I had been moving my joints, I hadn't been breathing. I realized I didn't need air, but when I finally took a breath, it felt good, natural.
  
  I could smell everything, too!
  
  I knew I was in a room, but I could smell nature-like smells.
  
  Finally, I opened my eyes, and stared around me in shock.
  Chapter 31-Reborn
  
  I couldn't believe how clear everything was. I could see absolutely everything. Sitting in a chair to my left, was Paul, looking worriedly at me.
  
  "What happened?" I asked. But, as soon as the words escaped my mouth, two things happened.
  
  First, I snapped my mouth shut, because my voice sounded completely different. It sounded like bells, but softer somehow.
  
  Second, I remembered exactly what had happened. I could remember everything that had happened in my life. And, I remembered the last moments of my human life.
  
  I had been with Paul on a cliff; I fell, and hit my head.
  
  After that, it was dark, but I remembered the needle being pushed into my chest, and the pain after that.
  
  I stared at Paul. He had let this happen to me, it was his fault I was like this.
  
  No, I didn't blame him because I died. That wasn't it.
  
  I was a vampire because of him. The Cullens never would've known I had died if not for him.
  
  His eyes were sad, and I looked away from him, not believing that he of all people would do this to me.
  
  Alice was smiling at me. How could she be smiling?
  
  "How are you?" she asked. Ahh, I had almost forgotten. Alice almost always had a smile on her face...no matter what.
  
  "I'm okay." I said. Ouch, my throat was burning. "My throat hurts."
  
  She laughed. "You're thirsty."
  
  Paul cleared his throat. Alice glared at him. "I'll give you two some privacy."
  
  Alice left the room, and I shifted my weight on the bed.
  
  "Mel?" he asked quietly.
  
  I played with the blanket covering me.
  
  After a few minutes of quiet, he spoke again.
  
  "Say something." He begged.
  
  "Like what?" I asked.
  
  "Like you don't hate me." He said.
  
  I looked away from him and the blanket.
  
  I heard him sigh.
  
  "You hate me." He said. It wasn't a question.
  
  I didn't say anything. I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about him.
  
  He stood up, and took a deep breath.
  
  "I tried to save you." He said.
  
  "You shouldn't have." I whispered.
  
  I heard him walk up to me, and he turned my face to his. I met his eyes evenly.
  
  "Don't ever say that." He growled.
  
  His fingers felt hot on my face, and I could smell him. Now I finally knew why the Cullens hated him and the wolves so much. But, I could handle the smell, I still loved him.
  
  Sort-of.
  
  "Why not?" I asked coldly.
  
  "It was either you be like this, or you die." He growled. "And I wouldn't have let you die."
  
  "Maybe you should've." I snapped.
  
  I saw the hurt in his eyes. "Why would you say that?"
  
  "Because now you'll hate me." I said.
  
  "Mel, I could never hate you." He said, grasping my hand.
  
  "Why did you do this?" I asked, really mad now. "I didn't want to be like this yet!"
  
  he stared at me. "Would you really rather be dead right now."
  
  "I'd rather not be like this." I snapped. "Now, to you, I'm a monster! Don't you dare try and tell me any different, Paul. Because I know how you all feel about vampires. So now, you, Sam, Jared, Jake, Embry, Quil, maybe even Emily, will hate me!"
  
  "We won't hate you." He tried to soothe.
  
  "Yes you will." I said.
  
  I heard his phone ring, but he ignored it.
  
  "You better answer that." I sneered. "It might be Sam calling you to run an errand."
  
  He stared at me, then answered his phone.
  
  I didn't listen to what he was saying. I took a deep breath, and was amazed, yet again, at everything I could smell. I looked around, and was surprised, yet again, at how clear everything was.
  
  "I have to go." Paul said quietly.
  
  I nodded, looking at him.
  
  "Mel, I love you." He said.
  
  My breath caught in my throat. I wasn't sure what to say.
  
  He looked down. "I guess you don't return the feeling."
  
  I closed my eyes tight. "Paul, I..."
  
  "It's okay." He said quietly, and got up.
  
  I jumped out of bed. And almost screamed when I realized how fast I had done it. "No! I...I love you too!"
  
  A smile lit his face, and it made my no longer beating heart squeeze.
  
  He pulled me into a hug that lifted me off the ground. I giggled and wrapped my arms around him.
  
  He kissed me, and his lips were warm against mine, but it was a nice warmth.
  
  "I'm sorry..." I said, once we broke apart.
  
  He shook his head. "I understand."
  
  I smiled. "You better go before Sam comes and tried to beat me up."
  
  "Yea, I'm pretty sure you're stronger than him now." He laughed.
  
  "Good." I grinned wickedly.
  
  He laughed, then left.
  
  Alice came back in, then.
  
  "How do you like your outfit?" she asked.
  
  "Huh?" I said. Oh, I was so smart.
  
  I looked down, and gasped. I was in a deep purple dress that went down to my knees. It was tight around the bodice, and flowed out at my hips.
  
  "Holy crap, Alice!" I gasped.
  
  She grinned. "Let's go hunting."
  Epilogue: Chapter 32-Powers
  
  Alice pulled me to the window.
  
  I looked down. "You want me to jump?"
  
  She giggled, and nodded.
  
  It looked high.
  
  She sighed. "I'll show you."
  
  She stepped out onto the window sill, and stepped forward. She smiled softly as she landed softly on the ground.
  
  I looked down at my feet, and saw the shoes she put me in.
  
  They were worse than the ones from prom.
  
  I reached down, and took them off, then threw them at Alice.
  
  She laughed.
  
  I took a deep breath, and then stepped off the window sill.
  
  I felt my hair fly above me, loving the feeling of the wind blowing through it.
  
  It was over far too quickly.
  
  Alice was smiling. "That was pretty graceful."
  
  I rolled my eyes, feeling my throat burning.
  
  Alice grinned. "Thirsty?"
  
  I nodded.
  
  She led me into the forest, breaking into a run. I was surprised at how fast I could run.
  
  I followed her into a clearing, and she stopped in front of me.
  
  "What do you smell?" she asked, grinning.
  
  I closed my eyes, and breathed in through my nose. I wanted to tell her I could smell everything.
  
  The sweet scent of the earth, soil, trees, plants. I could smell water, not just rain water, but it was as if the river had a specific scent. I could smell the air. It had its own significant scent, which was strange. Somewhere, I could smell some scent that reminded me of a fire. It was a warm smell, but I knew nothing was burning. There was another scent, that I couldn't quite place, but it was seemed spiritual somehow.
  
  Most of all, though, I smelled blood.
  
  I listened closely, and I could hear hooves pounding on the forest ground.
  
  "That way?" I asked, eyes still closed, pointing west.
  
  "Yep." Alice said I could hear the smile in her voice.
  
  She grabbed my hand, and my eyes flew open. We were running again.
  
  I let my nose and ears guide me through the forest.
  
  We burst into a clearing.
  
  I latched onto a deer, and started drinking.
  
  The blood soothed my throat like you wouldn't believe.
  
  When I was finished, I threw the carcass to the side, and looked at Alice.
  
  "Are you still thirsty?" she asked.
  
  "It was a big deer." I smiled. "I'm okay now."
  
  "Good." She grinned. "I have some things for you back at the house. Want to race?"
  
  I grinned. "You're on."
  
  We ran back to the house, at the same time, I beat her there, but not by much.
  
  She looked at me. "You should race Edward."
  
  I laughed.
  
  "And you should arm wrestle Emmett, or actually wrestle him. You're stronger than any of us right now, so you'd beat him in no time. Maybe it would shut him up."
  
  I giggled as we walked back into the house.
  
  Alice led me up to my room, at an inhuman speed. It was still strange to think of it as my own comfortable speed now.
  
  She pushed me down onto my bed, with some difficulty. I smiled. I was stronger than Alice.
  
  For the first time, I noticed a big black bag sitting on a chair near my bed. Had that been there since I had woken up?
  
  Alice reached in, and pulled out a little white box.
  
  "These are contacts." She explained. "They're as close to your eye colour as I could find. They're almost exact; no one will be able to tell the difference."
  
  "So, are my eyes really red?" I asked, knowing the answer.
  
  "Yes." She sighed. "But, if you drink animal blood everyday, soon enough your eyes will be golden. Now, these contacts will only last about three hours before the venom in your eyes starts to dissolve them. There are lots of boxes in this bag. They'll last you awhile. I know how annoying they are."
  
  I nodded.
  
  Next, she pulled out a handheld mirror, and showed me my reflection.
  
  I gasped.
  
  Holy crap! I was gorgeous! I touched my cheek, not believing that it was my face. My eyes shocked me, they were bright red, but hypnotic. They seemed bigger somehow, and my eyelashes seemed darker. Everything about my face was perfect. All the little imperfections I had had from when I was a human were gone.
  
  "Do you remember your human life?" Alice asked.
  
  I nodded. I remembered it very clearly. All of my memories were still in my head.
  
  Alice looked surprised. "You remember everything?"
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Wow." She breathed. "I guess that's your power."
  
  "My power?" I asked.
  
  "Yes, you know how I can see the future, how Edward can read minds, how Jasper can control and feel people's emotions..."
  
  Oh! "So perfect memory of my human life is my power?" I asked.
  
  She nodded. "You're lucky."
  
  I smiled softly. The only thing I could do was remember being a human?
  
  Really?
  
  That seemed a bit like a cop-out.
  
  Whatever, at least I remembered everything, and hadn't lost that part of myself.
  
  "So where did your wolf go?" Alice asked.
  
  "He had some wolfy business to attend to." I said, smiling.
  
  She laughed. "How can you stand the smell?"
  
  "It's just not that bad for me." I shrugged.
  
  Alice smiled.
  
  I thought back to the forest.
  
  "Alice, what could you smell in the forest earlier?" I asked.
  
  "Flowers." She said thoughtfully.
  
  "Anything else?" I asked, surprised.
  
  "Not really." She said. "I could smell the blood, of course. And I could smell that it had just rained."
  
  "Was it normal that I could smell everything?" I asked. "I mean, I could smell the air. It was like the air had its own smell. And I could smell something that reminded me of fire, but nothing was burning."
  
  Alice stared at me, smiling. "What else?"
  
  "The river." I said. "The earth...Oh, and something else. I wasn't sure what it was, but it smelled clean and spiritual somehow."
  
  Alice was grinning.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "Mel, you're power isn't just your memory." She said.
  
  I stared at her.
  
  "You have an affinity for the elements!" she squealed.
  Imprinted: Eclipse
  
  Chapter 1: Adjusting
  
  I was lying in bed with Paul. Of course, he was asleep. It was really weird not sleeping anymore. It was strange. You just never got tired and never needed to sleep.
  
  Which was weird.
  
  I was still getting used to being a vampire.
  
  Which even thinking about actually being a vampire was weird.
  
  It felt like I was in a strange dream, and was going to wake up at any moment.
  
  I thought about fire, and then snapped my fingers, and a little ball of fire appeared at my fingers.
  
  I rolled the little ball of fire around in my hands, enjoying the heat that came from it.
  
  Paul was still snoring as usual. I smiled as I rolled around the little flaming ball.
  
  Finally, I grew tired of it, and blew it out.
  
  Everything about this life so far was strange.
  
  I sighed quietly, and then got out of bed.
  
  I had convinced Paul to sleep at the Cullens tonight with me. It was nicer to hug a nice hot wolf while he was sleeping.
  
  I went downstairs, where Alice was playing the piano. I went and sat next to her.
  
  Emmett and Jasper were playing chess; Rosalie and Esme were watching television together on the couch. Carlisle wasn't home. Edward was with Bella, of course.
  
  Alice smiled at me. I knew she wasn't serious about playing piano, Edward was the musician. Alice just did it as a hobby.
  
  Emmett glanced up at me, and grinned.
  
  "Hey Mel." He laughed.
  
  Jasper turned, and rolled his eyes.
  
  "Hey Emmett." I said warily.
  
  "I want to wrestle someone." He whined.
  
  I groaned. I had turned down his offer more than a couple times. I didn't want to crush his ego.
  
  "So go wrestle Jasper." I said.
  
  He laughed. "I want it to be fair. To Jasper at least."
  
  "You just don't want me to tell him what you're going to do." Alice said, rolling her eyes.
  
  "And I don't want to crush what little ego you have." I retorted.
  
  Alice burst out laughing. I heard Rosalie snort on the couch. Jasper was grinning. Esme was smiling. She didn't like violence or fights.
  
  "Come on!" he whined.
  
  "No." I said.
  
  "Please?" he begged.
  
  Jeez, he was such a nag.
  
  "Fine!" I said, annoyed. "If I win, will you stop annoying me?"
  
  "Yes!" he said, panting like a dog. If he had a tail it would be wagging.
  
  "Fine." I growled.
  
  Emmett led me outside, cracking his knuckles.
  
  "You're going down chica." He grinned.
  
  "Yea right." I said, rolling my eyes.
  
  Alice, Rosalie, and Jasper had come out of the house to watch. Esme hadn't joined them.
  
  I sighed.
  
  Emmett came at me, and I didn't flinch. I just grabbed his arm and twisted.
  
  His face contorted in pain, and he fell to the ground.
  
  "Are you done now?" I asked, ticked off.
  
  He gasped. "Yes."
  
  "Good." I said, and then let go and started walking back to the house, slowly. I had a feeling he wasn't giving up that easily.
  
  I heard him get up, and then heard him run at me. I twisted around, and kicked him. Hard. He fell to the ground again.
  
  "That's what you get for trying to sneak up on me." I said.
  
  Alice and Jasper were laughing, Rosalie was grinning.
  
  I rolled my eyes at Emmett, and walked back into the house.
  
  It was annoying to have to wear contacts for school. I could see the little specks of film in them. I tried to keep the contacts out of my eyes for as long as possible before and after I took them out. I waited till we were in the parking lot of the school every morning until I put them in, and at the end of the day, as soon as we were in the car, I took them out.
  
  Everyday I checked my eye colour. Alice had said that even when my eyes were fully golden, I would have to wear the contacts until the end of the school year, so know one would be suspicious. It had only been about a week since I had been turned, and already my eyes had a slightly golden tint to them.
  
  Paul wouldn't admit it, he probably never would, but I knew he slept better here at the Cullens. He still wasn't awake, and I had to leave for school.
  
  I sighed quietly, and grabbed my bag. I knew I could make it through the day with two pairs of contacts.
  
  I was glad I had beaten Emmett. Maybe, just maybe, now he would shut up.
  
  I highly doubted it.
  
  When I went back downstairs, Emmett and Jasper had returned to their chess games. They played on multiple boards at the same time.
  
  I glanced at Emmett, and grinned. He was rubbing his arm where I had twisted it. Good. He deserved it.
  
  "Is Alice already in the car?" I asked.
  
  "Yes." Jasper answered, concentrating on the chess game. Emmett grimaced in my direction.
  
  "What's wrong, Emmett?" I grinned.
  
  "Nothing." He grumbled.
  
  As I walked out to the garage, Alice was in Edward's Volvo.
  
  "He doesn't have it?" I asked, surprised when I was in the passenger seat.
  
  "No, he's driving Bella's truck today." She said.
  
  "Oh." I said.
  
  "He's going to buy me a Porsche!" she sang.
  
  I grinned. "I know. Yellow, right?"
  
  "Yep!" she sang, bouncing in her seat.
  
  I laughed
  
  Alice pulled into the parking lot, and I pulled down the visor that had the mirror in it. I popped my contacts in, hating the film that obscured my vision.
  
  "Do they look okay?" I asked Alice.
  
  "They look fine." She assured me.
  
  I sighed, and got out of the car.
  
  People turned to look at us, as they always did, when Alice and I got out of the car. I hated it.
  
  Bella knew I had been turned. She figured out a few days after it had happened. Damn her blood smelled good! It was really hard for me to be in the same room as her.
  
  So far, I had been dealing with my control pretty well. But, Alice had switched all her classes to the same as mine, and when she couldn't switch her gym class, she got Edward to, so he could watch me.
  
  And so I'd have a gym partner I could actually compete with. I still wasn't in full control of my strength. One flick of my wrist would send a birdie flying across the gym.
  
  Yes that had happened more than a couple times.
  
  Anyway, Bella was shocked when she found out I knew about the Cullens, let alone was like them. I was surprised, though, when she was surprised that Paul had imprinted on me. Hadn't Jake told her that? And I mean, wasn't it sort-of obvious?
  
  After a while she had gotten over the shock, and had learned to live with it. All I could do was try to deal with her scent.
  
  Not the easiest thing to do.
  
  I went into the change room, and started changing.
  
  I could feel eyes on me.
  
  I turned to see Lauren staring at me.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  She wasn't hiding her stare.
  
  "What?" I repeated, agitated.
  
  "Nothing, you've just...changed." She said.
  
  I turned away, and shrugged.
  
  After I was finished changing, I noticed Edward lounging on a bench.
  
  Of course, he had weaseled his way out of changing for gym.
  
  Jerk.
  
  When Coach announced that we needed partners, Edward grasped my arm.
  
  I fought the urge to roll my eyes. We were playing badminton.
  
  Again.
  
  Edward and I went to a net in the corner, and started playing. I hit the birdie a bit too hard, and it whacked him in the chest.
  
  I grinned at him, and he rolled his eyes.
  
  "I heard you beat Emmett in a fight this morning." He murmured.
  
  I kicked his ass. I said mentally. Why talk and risk people hearing me, when I could communicate with Edward like this?
  
  He laughed, and I grinned.
  
  The day went by pretty quickly, thankfully.
  
  Once back at the Cullens place, I sat down on the couch next to Rosalie. She smiled at me.
  
  "How was your day?" she asked.
  
  "Good." I said. "Yours?"
  
  "Good." She smiled. "I fixed my car."
  
  "It wasn't working?" I asked, shocked.
  
  She grinned wickedly at me. "I made it faster."
  
  I stared at her. Was that even possible?
  
  She laughed, and we spent the rest of the night trying to find something to watch on the television.
  Chapter 2- Fired
  
  The next day, I had to work. I was sort-of nervous about going in, since it had been the first time since I had been turned that I was working.
  
  Once I pulled into the parking lot, I popped my contacts in and sighed.
  
  I got out of my car, and went inside.
  
  Johnny was sitting in his office, and I tried to sneak past him, but he turned as soon as I was about to get by.
  
  "What, no hello?" he asked.
  
  I didn't turn. "Hey Johnny."
  
  "How have you been?" he asked.
  
  "Pretty good." I said. "You?"
  
  "Good." He said. "You sound different."
  
  "Really?" I asked.
  
  "Yea." He said.
  
  I shrugged. "I should get working."
  
  I heard him stand up, but what I didn't hear was him come up behind me, and spin me around. He caught me off-guard, and succeeded.
  
  He stared at me in shock.
  
  "What happened to you?" he asked.
  
  "Nothing." I said.
  
  "What did they do to you?" he practically snarled.
  
  "Who?" I asked.
  
  "You know exactly what I'm talking about." He said. "I know about them, and I know about the wolves. I'm related to the Clearwaters, and Sue told me."
  
  I gaped at him. "You know?"
  
  "Yes."
  
  I sighed. "I was dying...nothing else could have saved me."
  
  "I'm going to have to fire you."
  
  "Why?" I gasped.
  
  "Because, people down here believe in those legends. If they see you, they'll know." He explained. "I don't want to fire you, but I have to."
  
  I sighed. I knew he was right, and I would go quietly.
  
  "Thanks Johnny." I said.
  
  "Here's your paycheck from last time you worked." He said.
  
  My last paycheck.
  
  "Thanks Johnny." I said again.
  
  "I really am sorry." He said, looking away.
  
  "I know you are." I said.
  
  I sighed, and left the store. I knew he had been sorry about firing me, and I understood why he had to do it.
  
  I still didn't particularly like the fact that I had just been tired, but still...
  
  That was when I walked right into Sam, who was leaning against my car door.
  
  "Hello Melanie." He said.
  
  "Hey Sam." I said.
  
  "So what Paul told us is true." He noted.
  
  "Yes." I said coldly.
  
  "Then we have a small problem, don't we?" he said.
  
  "What problem might that be?" I asked.
  
  "That you are a vampire. And there is a treaty between the pack and the Cullens." He explained. "You are living there, aren't you?"
  
  "Yes, I am." I said. He opened his mouth to say something else, but I began talking before he did. "But I am not a Cullen. And I am an imprint. Do the rules still apply to me?"
  
  He didn't say anything. I looked at him curiously.
  
  "Why do you hate me, Sam?" I asked.
  
  "Nothing." He grunted.
  
  I rolled my eyes. "You obviously have a problem with me."
  
  "You tore apart my pack." He said. "I can never forget that."
  
  "That wasn't my fault." I growled.
  
  "I'll be watching." He warned.
  
  I snorted.
  
  "I could crush you, you know." He said.
  
  "You obviously underestimate the strength of a newborn vampire." I snarled.
  
  "I'll be watching." He repeated.
  
  I rolled my eyes again as he ran into the forest.
  
  I got into my car, and drove back to the Cullens' place.
  
  I went inside to see Alice looking upset, holding a newspaper in her hand. No one else was home for some reason.
  
  "Hey Alice." I said. "What's wrong?"
  
  She flung the paper at me. The headline read:
  
  DEATH TOLL ON THE RISE,
  
  POLICE FEAR GANG ACTIVITY
  
  I skimmed the article. People in Seattle were being killed, and the police thought it was gangs.
  
  "Okay..." I said. "What does this have to do with anything?"
  
  "Have you been in Seattle?" she demanded.
  
  I gaped at her. "You think...you think I caused this?"
  
  "Edward does." She said. "He says there's a good chance it could've been you."
  
  "Alice!" I said, exasperated. "You are always with me! And you'd see if I was going to Seattle, and he'd be able to read my mind!"
  
  Her face cleared, and I could almost see the relief flooding into her.
  
  "He's so stupid." She smiled.
  
  "Do you know what is causing this?" I asked.
  
  "We think a vampire." She said. "Edward has a feeling it's a bunch of newborns. That's how the idea of you popped into his head." She rolled her eyes.
  
  "Just a whole bunch of newborns on the loose?" I asked. "That sounds...chaotic."
  
  "No, someone must be controlling them." she said.
  
  That cleared a lot up.
  
  "So, what can we do?" I asked.
  
  "Well, we'll see what happens. As long as it's just a group moving through and feeding, they'll be gone before long, but, if they keep killing, we'll have to step in." she explained.
  
  "Is there anything I can do?" I asked.
  
  "You need to learn how to fight." She said. "But you do have an advantage over all of us. You have the power of the elements. I've heard that using soul, you can turn yourself invisible."
  
  "I definitely have to learn how to do that." I said.
  
  "I've heard of a girl, who's a vampire, a different kind of vampire than us, but she can also evoke the elements." Alice said thoughtfully. "She may be able to help."
  
  "What do you mean by 'a different kind of vampire'?" I asked. "Is she dangerous?"
  
  "No," Alice said. "She goes to the House of Night. A school for vampires."
  
  "Why don't we go there?" I couldn't help but asking.
  
  "Because, technically she isn't a vampire yet. She's a fledging. She was marked with a crescent moon on her forehead; it's the symbol of their goddess, Nyx." Alice explained. "This girl, her name is Zoey Redbird, is special. Nyx gifted her with the power to evoke the elements, and instead of just having the crescent moon tattoo outline, she has tattoos, down her face, and on her whole body."
  
  "Where's the House of Night?" I asked.
  
  "In Tulsa, Oklahoma." She said.
  
  "Tulsa?" I gasped. "Alice! I have school!"
  
  "Hey, you are not going without me!" she said. "And trust me; you can afford to miss school. You don't need to worry about that."
  
  "Okay, when are we leaving?" I asked.
  
  "As soon as possible." She said. "But, you'll also need training to fight. Jasper will help you out with that."
  
  Alice froze, and I recognized the blank, far-away look in her eyes. She was having a vision.
  
  "Alice, what do you see?" I asked.
  
  She stood frozen for a few more seconds, and then she blinked back into reality.
  
  "Alice?" I asked.
  
  "It's Victoria." She whispered. "She's coming back, for Bella."
  
  I stared at Alice. "We have to get her safe."
  
  "Do plane tickets expire?" Alice's head snapped up.
  
  "I think so." I said.
  
  "Dammit!" she whipped out her phone, and called Edward.
  
  "Edward, you're at Bella's, right?" she demanded.
  
  "I'm driving there now." I heard him answer.
  
  "Good, you need to find out when her plane tickets expire." She said urgently.
  
  "What's wrong?" he asked.
  
  "There's no time for that now!" she snapped. "I'll tell you when you get home. If the plane tickets haven't expired, you need to convince Charlie to let her use them this weekend, okay?"
  
  "Okay." He said.
  
  Alice snapped the phone shut.
  
  "Guess what." She said.
  
  "What?" I asked wearily.
  
  "We're going to Tulsa." She said. "Tonight."
  Chapter 3-The House Of Night
  
  Alice was talented when it came to finding plane tickets. I packed a few extra sets of clothes, and a bunch of boxes of contacts, and we sat around the house waiting until we had to be at the airport, which was in a few hours.
  
  Edward and Bella came in a while later.
  
  Bella smiled at me, and Alice hugged her.
  
  Edward and Alice played chess. I laughed a lot. The game only lasted about three minutes.
  
  Well, the physical part of it anyway. They just played with their minds. They had moved two pawns before Alice flicked her king over in surrender.
  
  When Jasper played against Bella, he beat her in all of four minutes.
  
  Rosalie was out in the garage, where she normally retreated to when Bella came over, Emmett and Esme were arguing over what to watch TV. Carlisle was at the hospital, which wasn't surprising.
  
  I could tell something was bothering Edward, when he offered to play me in chess. I'm guessing during the game of chess between him and Alice, he had seen what she had.
  
  I giggled and agreed to play against him.
  
  He was beating me, so I got annoyed. I summoned water, and squirted him in the eyes with the water that sprang out of my fingers.
  
  Bella laughed, and Edward wiped vigorously at his eyes.
  
  "There's more where that came from." I warned lightly.
  
  I was glad I didn't have to wear my contacts when I was around Bella. It made things so much easier.
  
  Edward won the game of chess, and I squirted him again, just for fun. He rolled his eyes at me, and took Bella home.
  
  Alice had told Jasper where we were going tomorrow morning, and why. I let myself out of the house, and into the garage. Rosalie was working on Emmett's Jeep. Apparently it had broken down on the road, and he wasn't happy.
  
  I waved at her, and smiled. She smiled back, and I hopped in my car and drove down to La Push.
  
  It was sort-of late, so I hoped Paul would be home. I pulled into the parking lot of his apartment building, and I let myself in his apartment.
  
  He was at the stove, eating something, and I snuck up behind him. I wrapped my arms around his waist, holding my breath.
  
  "Hey Mel." I could hear the smile in his voice.
  
  "Hey Paul." I said quietly.
  
  He turned around so he was facing me. He must have seen something in my eyes, because his expression turned from glad to see me, to worry.
  
  "What's wrong?" he asked, touching my cheek.
  
  "I have to go to Tulsa tomorrow." I said.
  
  "Why?" he asked. I hated the way his face fell.
  
  "There's a vampire there, who can control the elements, who can help me, she can train me." I said.
  
  "What do you need training for?" he asked.
  
  "You know those killings in Seattle?" he nodded. "Well, they're newborn vampires. And Alice found out that it's that red-headed vampire who tried to kill Bella who's controlling them."
  
  "Are they coming here?" he growled.
  
  I shrugged. "Probably. That's why I need to train."
  
  He sighed. "Tell them we'll patrol the border and try to catch her. But remind them that they can't come over the border. You are the only one allowed."
  
  I nodded.
  
  "I don't like it when you're away from me." He said.
  
  I smiled. "I know how you feel."
  
  "I don't want you getting hurt." He whispered.
  
  "I'm not half as breakable now." I smiled.
  
  He looked down at me. "I did this to you."
  
  "Stop it." I said.
  
  He sighed. "I know, I know."
  
  "What are you eating?" I asked.
  
  "Steak." He smiled.
  
  I giggled. "Why don't you sit at the table to eat?"
  
  He laughed. "I wanted to be surprised when you came to see me."
  
  "You knew I'd come?" I asked.
  
  "Mel, we see each other every night. Since I'm not at the Cullens' with you, you'd obviously come to see me." He explained.
  
  I rolled my eyes. "You're good."
  
  He grinned, and bent down to kiss me. His lips felt like fire against mine.
  
  He broke off. "Uhhh...Mel?"
  
  "Hmmm?" I asked.
  
  "You lit my shirt on fire." He said.
  
  "Oh!" I said, drenching his shirt with water to put out the fire.
  
  He laughed. "Nice."
  
  I grinned, and then summoned wind to dry his shirt.
  
  He smiled. "Thanks."
  
  "Anytime." I said.
  
  He laughed, and finished his steak.
  
  "Are you packed?" he asked, once he was finished and we were curled up together on the couch.
  
  I nodded.
  
  He sighed. "I'll miss you."
  
  "I'll miss you too." I said.
  
  He smiled at me. "You know I love you, right?"
  
  I grinned. "Of course I do."
  
  He smiled. "Good."
  
  "You know what?" I said, randomly. "I miss sleeping."
  
  He laughed. "You're funny."
  
  I smiled. "I know I am."
  
  "I'm actually really tired." He said.
  
  "Oh rub it in." I grumbled. "Need an ice pack to keep you cool?"
  
  "Naw, but I'll keep you here."
  
  I giggled. "I like feeling your heat. It soothes me, and makes me feel...human."
  
  "Glad I can help." He grinned.
  
  I rolled my eyes.
  
  We cuddled together, on the couch, until Paul fell asleep.
  
  I smiled. I should've tried to move him, but I didn't want to risk dropping him and waking him up.
  
  But it was a funny picture to paint in my head...
  
  I slid out from under his arm, without making him stir.
  
  That was a perk!
  
  I left the apartment stealthily. I was enjoying sneaking away from Paul without waking him up. I turned and locked the apartment behind me, and when I turned back around, I walked right into Jared.
  
  He stared at me.
  
  "I couldn't believe it till I saw it." He whispered.
  
  I looked away.
  
  "It's true." He gasped.
  
  I nodded.
  
  Neither of us said anything, so I pushed past him and got in my car, and drove back to the Cullens' house.
  
  Once there, Alice was bouncing with excitement.
  
  "Are you ready?" she asked, dancing over to me.
  
  "Yep." I said.
  
  "Good, let's go."
  
  On the way to the airport, I got nervous. Alice had made me a fake passport since my face had changed since I had been turned.
  
  I really hoped they let me on the plane.
  
  We got through the gates, and got on the plane just fine. I was nervous that before take off they'd come onto the plane and call me off, finding out that I wasn't using a real passport.
  
  None of that happened. The plane took off just fine, and we landed just fine.
  
  Alice and I raced through the airport, and drove through the streets of Tulsa.
  
  I didn't ask where she found the car.
  
  "Do you know where the House of Night is?" I asked.
  
  "Yes." She said. "Edward looked up the directions, and told them to me."
  
  "So, if there's a school here for vampires, humans know about them, right?" I asked.
  
  "Yes." She said. "But, it's dangerous for them. And humans only know about that kind of vampire, oh and there's one other kind. These vampires we're visiting are only sensitive to the sun, but there are others who will burn in the sun."
  
  "Wow." I said. "I never knew."
  
  Alice nodded.
  
  We pulled up to the House of Night. I hoped someone would be awake, it was pretty late.
  
  It was a beautiful building. It reminded me of a church for some reason.
  
  We knocked on the front door, and I realized my worries were in vain.
  
  A gorgeous, auburn haired woman, with the most piercing green eyes you could imagine opened the door, scowling.
  
  "Yes?" she asked.
  
  "Hi, my name is Alice Cullen, and I was wondering if we could see Zoey Redbird?" Alice asked, formally.
  
  "Why do you want to speak with her?" she demanded. "She's in class right now, and she cannot be interrupted."
  
  "Okay, maybe after class we could speak to her? It's very important." Alice said.
  
  "Why?" the woman demanded.
  
  "Because," I said, speaking for the first time. "I have an affinity for the elements, as well as Zoey, and I need her help showing me how to control them."
  
  "Are you a vampire?" she asked, staring from Alice to me.
  
  "Alice, take out my contacts." I said.
  
  Alice took out my contacts, and tossed them in the garbage can beside us. I turned to look at the woman, showing off my reddish-amber eyes.
  
  She stared at me. "Where's your tattoo?"
  
  "I don't have one." I said. "We aren't that kind of vampire."
  
  "Come in." she said.
  
  We entered the House of Night, and followed her through the halls.
  
  "My name is Neferet, and I'm the head mistress here." She said. "Now, you'll have to wait until Zoey's classes are over. She's in her last class for the night right now."
  
  "Thank you." Alice and I said.
  
  Neferet smiled. "You're welcome."
  
  Neferet led us to what she called the "meeting room" where we had to wait for Zoey.
  Bonus Chapter!
  
  Zoey
  
  I left Dragon's fencing class feeling sweaty and nasty. I couldn't wait to get back to my dorm and curling up into a little ball and dying.
  
  I walked outside, enjoying the cool night air on my face. Erik, my boyfriend (sort-of) was waiting for me.
  
  "Hey." I smiled.
  
  "Hey." He grinned. "How were your classes?"
  
  "Meh. Same old." I said. "You?"
  
  "Same." He laughed, entwining his fingers with mine. "Can I walk you to your dorm?"
  
  "Ah hell." I said. "Can you tell that I feel nasty?"
  
  He laughed. "Yep."
  
  I rolled my eyes, and punched him playfully.
  
  He walked me to the girls' dorm, and stood outside with me.
  
  I looked up into his superman blue eyes, and felt myself leaning towards him. He put his hand on the small of my back to pull me even closer.
  
  He kissed me, and it felt good, so I deepened the kiss.
  
  I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat, and I jumped away from Erik to see Neferet there.
  
  "Zoey." She smiled. "You have visitors."
  
  Visitors? Who would be visiting me?
  
  I had no choice but to follow Neferet to the meeting room.
  
  Once there, Neferet abandoned me. I turned to look for her, but she had vanished.
  
  Now, normally, I would've walked away, if I didn't have visitors.
  
  Could it be my mother? The woman who seemed to always choose her new husband over me?
  
  Or, was it grandma? I always loved a visit from her. She always made me feel better about everything.
  
  I opened the door and walked in, bracing myself for the worst.
  
  I gasped when I saw the two females in the room.
  
  They were absolutely gorgeous.
  
  One of them was tiny. She had a pixie like face, short, black, spiked out hair, and golden eyes.
  
  The other one was taller, she had long, black hair, this amazing reddish amber colour eyes.
  
  It was overwhelming to be in the same room as two people so beautiful.
  
  They seemed to be as shocked as I was. I saw their eyes move around my face, examining the tattoos that lined it.
  
  The small, pixie like one smiled at me.
  
  "Sit." She said, softly. It wasn't a command; it was more of a suggestion. "We have some questions for you."
  
  Ah hell.
  Chapter 4-Explanations
  
  Melanie
  
  The door of the meeting room opened, and in came a girl with long, black hair, and hazel eyes.
  
  What was most surprising about her was the intricate blue spirals that bordered her face.
  
  Alice smiled at her. "Sit."
  
  Zoey seemed shocked looking at us; it was obvious we weren't the guests she had been expecting.
  
  "We have some questions for you." Alice said with a smile.
  
  Zoey sat down, still staring at us with her jaw hanging open.
  
  I smiled at her. "My name is Mel, and this is Alice."
  
  She nodded at us, still in shock.
  
  "I heard you have an affinity for the elements?" I asked.
  
  She nodded.
  
  "Well, so do I." I said.
  
  "You...you're vampires?" she asked.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Where are your tattoos?" she gasped.
  
  "We're a different kind of vampire." Alice explained. "We aren't known to the public like you are."
  
  Zoey gaped at us, obviously having no idea whatsoever to say or believe. She stared from Alice to me in awe.
  
  I could practically see Zoey recollect herself, and compose herself better. She tried to smile, but was still too shocked.
  
  "Zoey," I began. "Well, like I said, I have an affinity for the elements, and I was wondering if you could help me...control them more."
  
  "Oh, it's really easy." She said, smiling. "You just have to keep them under your command, and make sure you don't let them out. Like, if you think about fire, make sure fire doesn't come to you right away, unless of course you need it that way. You just need to sort-of...tell it not to come."
  
  I smiled. "Thank you, very much."
  
  "No problem." She said. "So, you all have powers?"
  
  "Well, both of us do, but not everyone does. Most vampires do, but not all of them." Alice explained.
  
  "What's your power?" Zoey asked, and then blushed furiously. "I mean, I didn't-if you don't wanna tell me..."
  
  Alice held up a hand, smiling, making Zoey trail off. "I have visions of the future."
  
  "Excuse me a second." Zoey said, pulling out her phone.
  
  "Hey, Aphrodite?" Zoey said into her phone, she rolled her eyes. "Yes, it's Zoey. Yes, everything is okay. Can you just come to the meeting room?" she sighed in frustration. "Because there's someone here who can help you!" she sighed again. "Can you just get your butt over here? I don't care if I don't cuss!" she shoved the phone in her pocket, exasperated.
  
  She smiled a sorry smile at us. "Sorry, she's a little crazy. But, she could definitely use your help." She pointed to Alice. "She has visions of the future, and afterwards she has really a really bad appearance..."
  
  "Are you talking about me?" snapped a blonde girl with blue eyes from the door, I looked for her tattoo, but the outline of a blue crescent was faint, even for my eyes.
  
  Zoey rolled her eyes. "Alice, Mel, this is Aphrodite."
  
  Alice and I smiled at her, and she seemed as stunned as Zoey had been. She recovered much quicker than Zoey had, though.
  
  "Okay, so why am I here?" she asked.
  
  "Well, I heard you have visions of the future." Alice began.
  
  "How did you find that out?" Aphrodite snapped.
  
  Zoey rolled her eyes. "Fairies told her."
  
  Aphrodite rolled her eyes at Zoey.
  
  "Well," Alice continued. "I also have visions of the future, and Zoey told me I could maybe help you?"
  
  "You're a vampire?" Aphrodite asked.
  
  Alice and I nodded.
  
  "Whoa." She breathed. "There are other kinds of vampires?"
  
  We nodded again.
  
  "And you can see the future?" she asked Alice.
  
  "Yes, I can." Alice said. "Now, describe to me what happens when you have a vision."
  
  "Well, it's like I'm there, in the situation." Aphrodite explained. "And when it's done, I have to pull myself out of it, and I'm crying blood."
  
  Alice pursed her lips, and I knew she wasn't going to be able to help Aphrodite that much; Alice's visions weren't much like that.
  
  "Well, all I can really tell you is that you should try as hard as you can to pull yourself out when it gets too bad."
  
  Aphrodite nodded. "Thank you."
  
  Alice smiled at her.
  
  "It's almost dawn." Zoey noted quietly. "We need to sleep."
  
  "Well I don't." Aphrodite scoffed. "I would rather sleep during the night like humans, well, like me."
  
  "You're not a vampire?" Alice asked.
  
  "No." Aphrodite said, making a face. "Not anymore."
  
  Alice and I didn't know what to say. It seemed as if something had been stripped from this girl's life.
  
  "Well, like I said, it's dawn." Zoey said, obviously feeling the tension in the room. "And Aphrodite you have to sleep too, we both have school tomorrow night."
  
  Aphrodite sighed dramatically. "Fine."
  
  "It was very nice meeting you two." I said smiling. "And Zoey, thank you for helping me out."
  
  She smiled. "It was my pleasure."
  
  I smiled at her, then moved to get up.
  
  "Wait, can we exchange numbers? If you ever need anything..." I offered.
  
  "Okay." She grinned. We exchanged numbers, and even after that I could tell Zoey was really tired.
  
  I smiled. "We'll leave now, so you can go to sleep."
  
  Zoey and Aphrodite both smiled gratefully at us.
  
  They walked us out to the door, and we were off.
  
  "Mel, we have to get to Forks as soon as possible." Alice said.
  
  "What's wrong?" I asked tensely.
  
  "Edward thought he saw...something." She said.
  
  "Something?" I repeated.
  
  "Victoria...maybe." She said.
  
  "When are Edward and Bella leaving?" I asked as we broke into a run.
  
  "Tomorrow." Alice muttered. "Well, technically today. It's Friday now."
  
  "Good, Bella needs to be safe." I said.
  
  Alice nodded.
  
  "What did you think of the House of Night?" I asked.
  
  "It was gorgeous." Alice said.
  
  "It really was." I agreed.
  
  We ran in silence for a while.
  
  "Where are we?" I asked.
  
  "Idaho." Alice answered.
  
  Wow, we had run fast. It had only seemed like three minutes.
  
  "Do you think Victoria will really do anything to hurt Bella?" I asked.
  
  "She'll try." Alice said. "But we won't let her."
  
  I nodded. Bella could be considered one of the safest people on the planet.
  
  Funny, I remember Jared telling me the same thing back when I was still human.
  
  After a while we arrived back at the Cullen house. We had decided not to take a plane this time, since it was a bit too last minute, and we had had no idea when we would've left Tulsa.
  
  Once we got into the Cullen home, everyone, except Emmett, was looking nervous.
  
  Of course, Emmett looked excited.
  
  I rolled my eyes at him.
  
  "I haven't hunted anything challenging in awhile." He said, cracking his knuckles.
  
  Edward rolled his eyes, and flitted upstairs.
  
  "What are we even looking for?" Rosalie asked. "We have no idea who it could be at this moment in time."
  
  "I thought it might be Victoria." Alice said quietly.
  
  "Alice, it's just a possibility." Rosalie said.
  
  "But, it's the only possibility we have right now." She snapped. Alice rarely took her voice to that tone.
  
  I sighed quietly. "Right now all we know is that we have to hunt for a vampire. Alice saw Victoria, and I'm guessing we should go with that until we know anything more."
  
  Carlisle was nodding. "Yes, that's a good idea."
  
  Rosalie scowled. "More protection for Bella."
  
  "Shut up, Rose!" Edward muttered up in his room.
  
  Jasper smiled. "I can just feel the love."
  
  Alice and I broke out into fits of laughter.
  
  Rosalie scowled at us, while Emmett and Jasper chuckled.
  
  Edward came down the stairs then, holding a black duffel bag.
  
  "Is that what you're taking on the plane?" Alice gasped.
  
  "Yep, I already packed." He grinned.
  
  "Mel, hold him down." She growled.
  
  I rose to my feet, and sprang at Edward, tackling him to the ground. It was so sudden he couldn't have read my mind to know what was happening.
  
  I grinned at him.
  
  He rolled his eyes as Alice grabbed his bag.
  
  "Mel, come help me repack everything." She said.
  
  I giggled and went upstairs with Alice.
  
  "He is such a fool to think he'll leave the house with this." She shuddered in mock horror, and began to tear apart the duffel bag.
  
  "What if it's Bella's?" I asked.
  
  "No, Bella's is green." She said, as she shredded the last pieces.
  
  Edward came up then, and he stared at the pieces of his bag in horror.
  
  Alice grinned at him. "Oops."
  
  "I liked that bag." He whined.
  
  "Oh, suck it up." Alice muttered. "I was not going to let you leave the state with that thing."
  
  Edward rolled his eyes yet again as Alice and I piled his belongings into a smaller, sleeker, dark blue suitcase.
  
  "This is better." Alice grinned.
  
  Again, Edward rolled his eyes at us.
  
  I laughed.
  
  "Now you're already to go." Alice grinned. "But, why did you pack toiletries? It's not like you need them."
  
  "In case Renee decides to snoop." Edward explained.
  
  I nodded. "Makes sense."
  
  Edward laughed. "You guys had better be careful when you go hunting for anyone."
  
  "Of course!" Alice and I said at the same time.
  
  "Speaking of which, Mel, Jasper and I should teach you some things." Alice said, grinning wickedly.
  
  I stared at her, feeling horror creep onto my face as she led me outside.
  Chapter 5-Help
  
  As it turned out, going outside with Alice and Jasper wasn't that bad.
  
  They taught me how to fight, and the correct way to hunt for someone, or anything rather.
  
  Which would come in handy.
  
  Then, we went hunting together.
  
  It was strange, I had never hunted with Jasper before, his technique was odd, and he would spring right at the last possible second before our game took off.
  
  Suddenly, Alice cocked her head to the side.
  
  "What is it?" Jasper asked.
  
  "I see something." She said, expression going blank.
  
  Jasper held onto her while she stared into space.
  
  She blinked back into reality and stared at me, open mouthed.
  
  "What is it?" I asked.
  
  Her eyes lingered on me for a moment, then moved to somewhere behind me.
  
  I turned to see my mother coming out of the forest.
  
  I gaped at her, and she grinned at me.
  
  "So, you finally gave in." she said. "You finally chose the better life."
  
  "I didn't choose this." I said.
  
  "I highly doubt that." She smirked.
  
  "I was drowning...I was too far past saving. This was my last option."
  
  "And how did you drown?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.
  
  "I fell off a cliff." I said.
  
  "How did you fall?" she asked.
  
  "I don't know." I confessed. "I have no idea how I ended up falling."
  
  She smirked. "Then I don't think it was an accident."
  
  I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her.
  
  "What do you want?" I demanded.
  
  "I'm here with someone." She said, grinning wickedly.
  
  "Who?" Alice asked.
  
  My mom smirked. "Like I would tell you. But, you'll have a lot of fun chasing after us this weekend."
  
  And she took off.
  
  I shared a look with Alice and Jasper, and we took off after her.
  
  I ran after her, following the slightly familiar scent she had from when she was human.
  
  At one point, Alice and Jasper stopped. I stopped and turned to look at them, question clear on my face.
  
  "We can't go any farther." Alice explained. "If we take even two more steps we'll be in La Push."
  
  I looked at them, and then took off again. They may not be allowed in La Push, but I was.
  
  I followed her scent, until I got to the cliffs, where she was waiting for me.
  
  I stared at her, not exactly sure what to say.
  
  "Oh Melanie." She sighed. "You're one of those vegan vamps now?"
  
  I nodded.
  
  She rolled her eyes. "Human blood is so much better."
  
  I didn't say anything.
  
  "Have you slipped up yet?" she asked.
  
  "Nope." I said. "Not once."
  
  She giggled. "You will. Everyone makes mistakes."
  
  "You're wrong." I said. "I know a vampire who's never drank human blood. She killed the humans who practically killed her, but she didn't drink from them."
  
  She laughed. "Then you don't know what you're missing."
  
  "Good." I said. "I'd rather drink animal blood. I'd rather not kill people who I've grown up with."
  
  "You care too much." She sneered.
  
  "You don't care enough." I retorted.
  
  She rolled her eyes. "You make a beautiful vampire."
  
  "Thanks." I muttered.
  
  She smiled. "Something big is coming, and if I were you, I wouldn't get involved in it. I wouldn't want to accidentally hurt my baby."
  
  "What's coming?" I asked.
  
  She giggled. "You'll have to wait and see."
  
  She looked like she was about to take off, so I made roots spring out of the ground and tie her down.
  
  "What's coming?" I growled.
  
  "You'll have to hunt her soon." She said. "You'll look and look for her, but you'll never get her. Not even with the seven of you, and those dogs."
  
  "Who?" I asked.
  
  She snorted. "Like I would tell you."
  
  She broke away from the roots, which I had thought was impossible until I realized I had forgotten to pay attention to them.
  
  She grinned at me wickedly, and then ran off. I was too shocked to move. It was until heard I something behind me that I whirled around, face-to-face with a huge, brown wolf.
  
  I sighed in relief. It was only Jared.
  
  He bared his teeth at me, and growled.
  
  "Jared, it's only me." I said. "It's Mel."
  
  His growling was cut short, and I could almost see the understanding come into his eyes.
  
  I smiled at him, and then ran back into Forks.
  
  Alice and Jasper were waiting for me.
  
  "Did you find her?" Jasper asked.
  
  I nodded. "She told me that something big is coming and that we're going to have to hunt someone soon."
  
  "Did she say who?" Alice asked.
  
  "No, but I'm pretty sure it was a woman. She talked about how we would never get her."
  
  "Victoria?" Jasper asked.
  
  "Maybe." Alice said quietly.
  
  "We'll just have to keep our guard up." I said.
  
  Jasper and Alice agreed.
  
  "Want to race back to the house?" Alice grinned.
  
  Jasper looked at her.
  
  "I'm serious." She confirmed.
  
  "Can't you just see who will win?" I asked.
  
  "Fine." She said. "It will be a race between you and Jasper."
  
  I grinned at him. "You're going down."
  
  "In your dreams." He muttered.
  
  Alice took off, and then a few moments later she called to us, "Okay, go!"
  
  Jasper and I took off.
  
  He was in front of me right when we started, so I pushed myself harder, and I laughed as I shot past him.
  
  I reached Alice seconds before Jasper shot out of the forest.
  
  I grinned at him. "I win!"
  
  He laughed. "This time."
  
  I rolled my eyes, and walked back into the house with Alice and Jasper.
  
  Edward was there, waiting expectantly.
  
  "What happened?" he asked, staring at me.
  
  Crap! I had forgotten he could read my mind.
  
  "I know you had!" he growled. "Did you forget to say something?"
  
  I glared at him. I didn't want them to think I would abandon them at the last minute. What would the point of worrying them be?
  
  "You left out something that could've been drastic." He growled.
  
  But it's not! So just shut up about it!
  
  He glared at me.
  
  "What are you two going on about?" Emmett demanded.
  
  "None of your beeswax." I said, keeping my eyes on Edward. If you tell any of them, I'll rip you apart.
  
  He gave me a look that said, Bring it on.
  
  I rolled my eyes at him.
  
  "You're lucky that Bella and I have to on a plane in a few hours." Edward said.
  
  "No, you're lucky that you and Bella have to be on a plane in a few hours." I shot back.
  
  Suddenly, Alice, Jasper, and Emmett burst into laughter, and Edward and I couldn't help but join in.
  
  Later on that day, Edward left to pick up Bella, and we were on the lookout for anything in the woods.
  
  Alice sat on her bed, trying to look into the future to see if Victoria would try anything.
  
  I knocked on her door, and she opened one of her eyes at me.
  
  "Hey." She smiled.
  
  "Something's been bothering me." I said, biting my lip.
  
  "What is it?" she asked, opening both her eyes again.
  
  "Well, you said the Volturi wanted Bella turned, right?"
  
  "Right..." she said.
  
  "Well, what if it's them, checking on Bella?" I asked.
  
  "I've been watching Aro closely." Alice said.
  
  "But what if he didn't decide to come? What if he just sort-of came out of the blue? You've been looking out for Bella, and we've been to Tulsa..." I said. "You've been distracted."
  
  Alice pursed her lips. "I'll watch him closely tonight."
  
  I nodded. "Good idea."
  
  She smiled. "Thanks. Tomorrow we're going to go running looking for anything, okay?"
  
  "Okay." I smiled. "Wait-shouldn't we be at school?"
  
  "Mel, have you looked outside since last night?"
  
  "No..." I said, looking out the window. It was sunny, for once.
  
  I smiled sheepishly at her.
  
  She grinned, and closed her eyes again.
  
  I let myself out of her room, and went into mine. I called Paul.
  
  "Hey." He said, I could practically hear the smile in his voice.
  
  "Hey." I said.
  
  "Is everything okay?" he asked.
  
  "Yea...we're going to be running through the forest tomorrow, looking for...things."
  
  "We'll be guarding our side." He promised. "But remember, you're the only one allowed on our side, Mel. If any of them cross over-"
  
  "I know." I said, cutting him off. "They know. Oh, and I guess I'd better remind you..." I mimicked his voice. "If any of you cross over..."
  
  He barked out a laugh. "Yes, I know."
  
  I grinned like an idiot into the phone.
  
  "Are you coming over tonight?" he asked.
  
  I sighed quietly. "I don't know."
  
  "Please?" he begged. "I haven't seen you since the night you left for Tulsa."
  
  "Are you running at all today?" I asked.
  
  "No, Sam gave me the day off. He's got Jake, Embry, Quil, and Leah running."
  
  "Oh, I'm sure she's just pleased about that." I laughed.
  
  "Yea, she loves to hear about Jacob's constant babble about how much he misses Bella, and how much time she spends with those leeches." He laughed.
  
  I didn't say anything.
  
  After a few moments of a very awkward silence, Paul cursed under his breath.
  
  "Mel, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." He said.
  
  "It's okay." I said quietly. "I get it."
  
  "Mel I..." he trailed off.
  
  "Paul, it's okay." I said again.
  
  But it wasn't okay. He had called me a leech.
  
  He sighed, and I could practically see him running his hand through his hair.
  
  "Promise you'll come today?" he begged.
  
  "I promise." I said.
  
  "Mel, really I'm sorry." He said. "I wasn't thinking."
  
  "I know." I said quietly. "It's hard for you, you can read their thoughts when you're wolves, some things would unintentionally rub off on you."
  
  He sighed. "Please hurry and come here? I miss you."
  
  "I'll come as soon as I can." I promised.
  
  Five minutes later, I was at Paul's apartment, in his arms.
  
  He was playing with my hair. "Really, about what I said earlier..."
  
  "Stop apologizing." I said. "I'm not mad, honest."
  
  But, it still bugged me...I mean...he had called me a leech. A leech. I know he hadn't meant it for me, and it was towards the Cullens...but he had pretty much made fun of who I was.
  
  I held on to him. I had missed moments like these when it was just him and me.
  
  "Does the smell bother you that much?" I asked.
  
  "No, for some reason it's not as bad on you." He said. "What about you?"
  
  "I can hold my breath." I grinned.
  
  He rolled his eyes. "You're impossible."
  
  "I know!" I giggled.
  
  He held on to me, and kissed the top of my head. "Be careful tomorrow. I don't want you getting hurt."
  
  I snorted. "I don't want you getting hurt."
  
  I couldn't see his face, but I knew he had rolled his eyes.
  
  "You may think I can get hurt easily, but I can't." I said. "I'm not breakable, and I have badass skills."
  
  He broke out into a fit of laughter that made my body rock.
  
  "So, what's new?" he asked.
  
  "Nothing...Edward's taking Bella to Jacksonville for a few days." I said with a shrug.
  
  "How long?" Paul growled.
  
  "Ummm...three days, I think." I said.
  
  "Three days?" he growled.
  
  "Yea, why?" I asked.
  
  He didn't answer me, all I could hear were growls erupting from his chest. I felt a tremor run through him.
  
  "Paul." I said, looking into his eyes.
  
  He didn't meet my eyes.
  
  "Paul." I said again. Another tremor rolled through him.
  
  I put my hands on his chest. "Stop it."
  
  He didn't say anything. He took a deep breath.
  
  The tremors didn't stop. I jumped out of bed, and dragged his shaking body outside, and into the forest, with much difficulty.
  
  I plopped him down on the forest floor and stared at him.
  
  He was taking deep breaths, trying to calm down.
  
  "They've gone away...for three days." I said slowly. "To visit Bella's mother."
  
  He stared at me. "To visit her mother?"
  
  "Yes." I said.
  
  He sighed. "If he had bit her, it would've been bad."
  
  I sat on the ground with him. "I know."
  
  He looked at me, and smiled. "You dragged me out here?"
  
  "Badass super newborn strength." I grinned.
  
  He laughed, then held his arms out for me.
  
  I jumped over to him, and cuddled with him on the forest ground.
  Chapter 6-Run
  
  The next night, we were all pumped. We were excited to finally get to run after something.
  
  It was hard to go out running with Edward around. He was always so cautious about Bella being anywhere near the forests.
  
  The Cullens and I were outside their house. Alice had her eyes closed, concentrating on the future.
  
  "That way!" she said, eyes springing open. Automatically we all broke into a run in the direction Alice had pointed.
  
  I followed the scent that was no doubt a vampire. I looked to my right, and saw a flash of red. I changed my course and bolted that way.
  
  I was right behind her; I was so close to catching up. I pushed myself farther. I could almost grab her; I reached my hand out, and was so close to grabbing her back when I heard something along the lines of boulders crashing into each other to my left. I stopped in my tracks and whirled around to see Paul and Emmett on the ground, snarling at each other.
  
  I ran over to them, and stood in between them.
  
  "What is going on?" I demanded.
  
  "He was on our side!" Paul growled. "You knew the rules, Mel. You know you're the only one allowed here, and so do they!"
  
  "It was a mistake." Emmett growled. "But me breaking your arm won't be."
  
  "Bring it on." Paul growled, getting up.
  
  Emmett rose to his feet, and I stood between them, putting my hands on each of their chests.
  
  "Stop it!" I said, looking at Paul.
  
  He didn't meet my eyes, just kept glaring at Emmett.
  
  I looked at Emmett and saw the same thunderous look in his eyes.
  
  I rolled my eyes, and pushed them apart.
  
  "I'll have you know, if not for your meaningless drama, I would've had her." I said, annoyed.
  
  Emmett gaped at me. "You almost had her?"
  
  "Yes I almost had her!" I shot back.
  
  "Why'd you stop?" he complained.
  
  "Well, I didn't want you to try and throw my husband off a cliff, and I didn't want him to take a snap at you!" I said.
  
  Emmett and Paul both rolled their eyes at the same time.
  
  "You guys are so...ugh!" I said, exasperated.
  
  "Mel, nothing would've happened." Paul said, smirking. "You think he can take me down?"
  
  Something inside of me snapped. Without warning, I tackled Paul.
  
  "No, I don't think Emmett can, but I know I can." I said.
  
  He rolled his eyes, and tossed me off of him.
  
  "Okay, I don't mean to sound like Edward here, but we've got a vampire to catch." Emmett grumbled.
  
  I rolled my eyes, and sprang to my feet.
  
  "Where should we go?" I asked.
  
  "Well, I can't come to where you are." Emmett grumbled.
  
  I rolled my eyes.
  
  "Are you two going to behave?" I asked.
  
  "I'll run with you, Mel." Paul said. I noticed that he didn't answer.
  
  I giggled. "Okay. Emmett, stay on your side!"
  
  "Shut up, Mel!" he grumbled, and then took off.
  
  I grinned at Paul. "Shall we?"
  
  "We shall." He said.
  
  Paul and I took off; of course I was ahead of him. I rolled my eyes, but then stopped short when he disappeared.
  
  I turned around, looking for him.
  
  What had happened? Could Victoria...
  
  Before I could finish that train of thought, a huge grey wolf soared past me.
  
  I laughed, and took off after him.
  
  Somehow, our little hunt turned into a game. It was a game of tag between Paul and me.
  
  He tackled me from behind, and I went down. He put his paws on my chest, and seemed to be grinning at me.
  
  I giggled, then froze.
  
  I could smell her.
  
  Not Victoria, but my mother.
  
  I sprang to my feet, and followed the scent of my mother, racing through the forest.
  
  I didn't know where Paul was, didn't care at the moment.
  
  I had to find her.
  
  I burst into a clearing, where she was standing there with Victoria.
  
  I was surprised to see both of them there.
  
  My mom smiled at me, and Victoria stared at me, obviously surprised.
  
  "Well, hello Melanie." My mom smiled.
  
  I didn't say anything.
  
  "Come to join us?" she asked.
  
  "Nope." I said.
  
  "Oh, that's a shame." She said.
  
  "I guess I'll have to kill you now." Victoria grinned wickedly.
  
  I snorted. "No chance in hell."
  
  Victoria came at me, but I had been expecting it. With a flick of my wrist, roots sprung out and tied her to the ground.
  
  She was surprised at what had happened, I could see it all over her face.
  
  "Talissa." She said. The tone of her voice told me it was a command.
  
  My mom crouched into a spring behind where Victoria was.
  
  "Mom." I said, pleading at her with my eyes.
  
  She stared at me for a long moment.
  
  "Mom, you could have such a better life." I said.
  
  "And be one of those golden-eyes freaks." Victoria snarled, struggling at the roots. I made the roots even stronger so she wouldn't escape.
  
  "Mom," I said again. "Please, stop this. Leave her. You could get hurt."
  
  "I know." She growled.
  
  She lunged at me, and I sprang away from her. Since I had lost my concentration, Victoria got free from the roots, and sprinted off.
  
  "Wow mom." I said. "You just attacked your own daughter."
  
  I was surprised at the look on her face. She was shocked. She looked at me once, then sprinted away after Victoria.
  
  I slumped down on the ground, and was mildly surprised that I was doing something so...
  
  Human.
  
  I looked around me. I had her. I could've had her. Instead I was so distracted by my mom there.
  
  I was frustrated with myself. Now we knew it was Victoria doing all these things, and I could've put an end to it.
  
  I pulled myself up off the ground, and ran back to the Cullen house.
  Chapter 7-Spy
  
  We were sitting in the Cullens massive living room.
  
  I could almost taste the tension in the room.
  
  "What are we going to do?" Emmett asked. "None of us got her."
  
  "I almost had her." I said bitterly.
  
  Alice put her hand on my back, trying to soothe me. "Seeing your mom there shocked you."
  
  "No, Alice." I said. "I had her! She was tied down with roots."
  
  "Mel, you did what any vampire would do." Rosalie said. "Your mother lunged at you, and you needed to protect yourself. Don't feel bad."
  
  I sighed. I was mad at myself.
  
  "We obviously need a new plan." Carlisle said quietly.
  
  "Well, we need to learn more about the newborns." Jasper said.
  
  "We need to know how they live." Alice said, nodding.
  
  "We need a spy." Rosalie said, smiling wickedly.
  
  Everyone turned to stare at me.
  
  "What you want me to be a spy?" I asked.
  
  They all nodded.
  
  "But my mom...Victoria...they know my face." I said.
  
  "You don't need to spy on them!" Alice said. "Just the babies!"
  
  I laughed. "Fine, I'll do it."
  
  That night, Alice said goodbye to me.
  
  "Mel, please be careful." She said quietly. "If I could come with you, I would. But, we have no idea how long you'll be gone, and if Edward and Bella come back, and I'm not here, Bella will know something's wrong."
  
  I nodded. "I know, it's okay."
  
  "So, I suppose you're going to see your wolf now?" she asked, obviously trying not to make a face.
  
  I looked into the massive Cullen house. I had already said goodbye to them. I was dreading telling Paul I was leaving.
  
  Again.
  
  "Yea." I said. "I have to."
  
  "You don't have to." She said.
  
  "He'll go crazy wondering where I am." I said. "If I just leave without saying goodbye, he'll storm down here, demanding to find out where I am."
  
  Alice sighed. "You're right. He'd think we were kidnapping you or something."
  
  "See?" I said.
  
  Alice hugged me. "Promise you'll be careful?"
  
  "I promise." I smiled weakly. "Hey, Alice?"
  
  "Yea?" she asked.
  
  "What hurts us?"
  
  She thought about it. "Pure silver."
  
  I nodded. "Thanks."
  
  "No problem." She said, smiling.
  
  After that, I took off to La Push.
  
  Sam was waiting for me out in the parking lot of the apartment.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "A Cullen was on our side." He said.
  
  "That was an accident, Sam." I said, feeling anger build up in my stomach.
  
  "That doesn't matter!" Sam snapped.
  
  My lips came up over my teeth. "Don't get me mad, Sam."
  
  He made himself look bigger. "Or what?"
  
  "You obviously underestimate the power of a newborn vampire." I growled.
  
  Sam sighed, and ran his hand through his hair.
  
  "I don't want to fight with you."
  
  "Yea right." I muttered.
  
  He took a deep breath. "What do you have against me?"
  
  My eyes widened. "You're kidding right?"
  
  He stared at me. "No, I'm not."
  
  "You made me leave Paul!" I yelled. "You made me move out! It's not my fault that two of your pack is imprinted on me!"
  
  "But you did kiss one of them." he pointed out. "They hated each other. And it was your fault."
  
  I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, Sam. Please, don't remind me of how stupid I was. I really don't need that."
  
  I pushed past Sam, and went up to the apartment.
  
  Paul was sitting on the couch, watching something on TV.
  
  He smiled and pulled me into his arms.
  
  "What's wrong?" he asked quietly.
  
  "I have to go away again." I said sadly.
  
  "Why?" he asked, I felt his arms tighten around me.
  
  "Because, I'm a spy." I said.
  
  "Mel, I don't want you to go." He growled.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "You could get hurt." He said.
  
  "So could you!" I said. "You almost did tonight!"
  
  "That's different." He growled.
  
  "How?" I asked, moving away from him.
  
  "You're a-"
  
  "Don't you dare say that it's because I'm a girl!" I yelled.
  
  He didn't say anything, just looked away.
  
  "I can't believe you!" I said. "How could you be so...so...sexist?"
  
  he didn't answer.
  
  "I better go." I said, getting up. I was at the door before he grabbed me.
  
  He didn't say anything, just kissed me with all the force he had in him.
  
  He broke away from me.
  
  "I don't want you to go, because I love you too much. If you got hurt..."
  
  I put my finger over his lips.
  
  "I won't get hurt." I said, smiling.
  
  "How can I be sure?" he asked. "Do you have any idea how worried I'll be?"
  
  "Yes, I know exactly how worried you'll be." I assured him. "But, you'll know that I'm safe."
  
  He sighed, and looked away.
  
  I turned his face back to mine. "I'll miss you, and I love you."
  
  "I love you too." He murmured.
  
  I smiled and kissed him again, then I slipped out of the apartment.
  
  I was walking through the parking lot, getting ready to run to Seattle, when I walked into someone tall.
  
  "Sorry." I muttered, and tried to move around the person.
  
  The person moved with me.
  
  I looked up at them, and gasped. I didn't get a good look at his face, but I knew it was a man.
  
  In a second, a bag was over my head. Something on my neck was burning, like, melting into my skin.
  
  I let out a scream, and then, all I remember was being picked up, and flying through the air.
  
  Was it possible for vampires to black out?
  
  Because that is definitely what happened to me.
  Chapter 8-Kidnapped
  
  Paul
  
  As soon as Mel was out of the apartment, sadness washed over me. I hated being away from her.
  
  Not long after she had left, I heard a scream rip through the parking lot. I knew it was her.
  
  I burst out of the apartment to see a really tall, blonde guy struggling with her.
  
  Somehow, I thought I saw smoke coming from near where they were.
  
  I ran to her, but was a second too late.
  
  He had run off with her.
  
  "Mel!" I yelled.
  
  I didn't hear anything. I tore at my clothes, and started to break into a run, when a figure stepped in front of me.
  
  I knew it was Sam. And it pissed me off that he was stopping me.
  
  "What?" I growled.
  
  "You aren't going anywhere." He said gruffly.
  
  "Excuse me?" I asked, blinking wildly at him.
  
  "She'll know what to do." He said. "She's a vampire. And we need you here. A war could be starting, and we need all of our pack."
  
  I bared my teeth at him. "I need to help her."
  
  "No, you think you need to help her, but you don't. She's strong, and obviously doesn't need anything."
  
  I looked out to where her and that man had disappeared.
  
  "She screamed." I whispered.
  
  Sam didn't say anything. He sniffed the air.
  
  "It's not the same kind of vampire." Sam said quietly.
  
  "What?" I growled.
  
  "It doesn't smell icy." Sam said. "It doesn't smell like anything."
  
  "Then obviously we're dealing with something we don't know about. Mel probably doesn't know anything about it either." I said. "Which is exactly why we should go try to find her."
  
  "That's the exact reason why she shouldn't go and find her!" Sam argued. "We know nothing about this vampire, who knows what it could be capable of?"
  
  "The Cullens." I growled, and pushed past Sam.
  
  I ran to Forks, where the Cullen house was.
  
  I banged on the front door.
  
  No one answered. I knew they could hear me.
  
  "Open up!" I yelled. "Something's happened!"
  
  The little one, Alice, opened the door for me.
  
  "What?" she asked, making a face.
  
  "Mel was kidnapped." I said.
  
  "Kidnapped?" she repeated in a shock.
  
  "Yes, kidnapped." I growled.
  
  "Oh my god." She whispered, covering her mouth with her tiny hand.
  
  "Have you heard anything from her?" I asked.
  
  She shook her head.
  
  "It was obviously a vampire who took her. It moved to fast to be human." I said.
  
  "What did it smell like?" she asked.
  
  "Nothing." I said, thinking back to what Sam had said. "It didn't smell like anything.
  
  She pursed her lips, and looked up at me.
  
  "I honestly don't know what happened to her."
  
  I stared at her. "What do we do?"
  
  "I don't know."
  
  "Do you know of any other kinds of vampires...?" I asked.
  
  She thought about it. "Yes, there are the ones from Tulsa, but I know Zoey would never do anything like that. What did this one look like?"
  
  "It was a guy. He was tall, and blonde."
  
  She gasped. "There is another kind that are all over the place. I've never interacted with them, but I've heard that they're dangerous."
  
  "And they might have Mel?" I growled.
  
  She nodded sadly.
  
  "Aw hell!" I moaned.
  Chapter 9-Helpful
  
  Melanie
  
  I was in a dark room. I wasn't sure where I actually was, but it was dark. There was a figure looming over me.
  
  He was tall, blonde, had bright blue eyes, and he was wearing leather gloves.
  
  The scary part about him was that he had fangs.
  
  Something was burning. I touched my neck, and it felt hot. There was a chain wrapped around my neck.
  
  I stared up at him.
  
  "What are you doing to me?" I asked, surprised that my voice was hoarse.
  
  He didn't say anything, just looked at me curiously.
  
  I stared at him; he had a hypnotic look somehow.
  
  "What are you?" he whispered.
  
  "What?" I asked. I was confused all of a sudden.
  
  "What are you?" he repeated.
  
  "I'm a vampire." I said.
  
  He laughed. "No you're not."
  
  "How would you know?" I asked.
  
  "Because I'm a vampire." He said.
  
  "Well so am I." I said, annoyed. "You're just a different kind of vampire."
  
  He laughed again. "There aren't other kinds of vampires."
  
  "Obviously there are!" I argued. "There's the House of Night in Tulsa. They're vampire fledgings. They get marked, and have to complete the change to become a full vampire."
  
  He seemed to consider this. I touched the chains around my neck, and tried tugging at them. Right away I felt the silver scald my fingers.
  
  "I wouldn't touch that if I were you." He cautioned.
  
  "Thanks for the warning." I muttered sarcastically.
  
  He laughed, and pulled out a dark red bottle. On the label it said Tru Blood.
  
  He popped it open, and muttered, "God I hate this stuff." And then took a swig out of it.
  
  "Want some?" he asked.
  
  "Nope." I said.
  
  He sat down in front of me.
  
  "What happens to you in the sun?" he asked.
  
  "I...sparkle." I said.
  
  He burst out laughing. "Sparkle?"
  
  "Yes." I said. "I look like I'm made out of diamonds. What happens to you?"
  
  "I burn to a crisp and die." He growled.
  
  I stared at him.
  
  "Why did you kidnap me?" I asked. "And what's your name?"
  
  "Because, a vampire in my area has gone missing. And I want her back." He said. "My name is Eric Northman."
  
  "I'm sorry," I said. "I have no idea who might've taken her. And, what's so special about me? I mean, you didn't know I was a vampire."
  
  "You were alone, and I've been questioning as many people as I could. And I could tell there was something...different about you." He explained.
  
  I nodded. "Again, I'm really sorry I wasn't much help..."
  
  "Sookie." He growled.
  
  I looked around.
  
  Emerging from the doorway was a girl, maybe about 5'6'', and she looked about twenty-six years old. She was blonde, with blue eyes. You're typical southern-looking girl. But, she had some sort-of wisdom to her look, like she was older beyond her years.
  
  Could she have been a vampire?
  
  No, I could smell her blood. There was something exotic about it, something different, and something that I couldn't put my finger on...
  
  "I need your help." Eric growled.
  
  "With what?" she asked warily.
  
  "I need you to read this person's mind." Eric said.
  
  "Eric!" she scolded in a southern twang. "Look at what you've done to her! You've got her chained with silver!"
  
  She looked at me. "You won't hurt me, will you?"
  
  I shook my head. "No, of course not."
  
  "Good." She smiled. She unwrapped the chains from around my neck.
  
  "Thank you so much." I said. I touched my neck, and felt the scars.
  
  "Do you need to drink some of my blood?" she asked. "It sure helps Eric here feel better when he's been hurt."
  
  "No, thank you." I said. "I...I don't feed on humans."
  
  "Oh, so you want a Tru Blood!" she said. "Eric, get her one!"
  
  "No," I said. "I feed on animals. I'm not the same kind of vampire as him."
  
  She stared at me. "There are more than one type of vampire?"
  
  "Apparently." Eric muttered.
  
  "Oh my goodness!" she said. "I had no idea!"
  
  "Neither did he." I said, motioning to Eric.
  
  She smiled softly. "Well, it's always good when someone surprises him with something."
  
  I smiled at her. Obviously, she wasn't going to cause me any harm.
  
  "So, Eric here wants me to read your mind." She warned softly. "I'm goin' to have to touch your face to get a better connection."
  
  "My skin is very cold." I warned. "And hard."
  
  She smiled. "I'm used to it."
  
  She touched my face, and looked deep into my eyes.
  
  "Do you know anything about vampires going missing?" she asked. "You don't have to answer out loud, I want to try something."
  
  No, I know absolutely nothing about any vampires going missing.
  
  She pursed her lips, and closed her eyes.
  
  I thought about it harder, trying to help her out.
  
  "Nothing." She whispered.
  
  Eric said something in another language.
  
  Sookie obviously didn't understand, since she ignored him.
  
  "Answer out loud this time." She whispered.
  
  "No, I know absolutely nothing about any vampires going missing." I said serenly.
  
  "She's tellin' the truth, Eric."
  
  He said something in another language again. I guessed he was swearing.
  
  "I'll let you go." She said quietly.
  
  "No!" Eric yelled.
  
  Sookie jumped, and I didn't blame her, his yell practically shook the room we were in.
  
  "She can't leave yet." He growled.
  
  "Why not?" Sookie asked.
  
  "Because, she may be important." He said.
  
  Sookie rolled her eyes. "So while the queen of Louisiana is missing somewhere, you're going to put this poor girl through god knows what?"
  
  Eric sighed. Obviously Sookie had some sort of impression on him.
  
  He shot forward at me, and I did the first thing that popped into my head to defend myself. I summoned fire, and used it as a shield around me.
  
  He gasped, and sprang backwards.
  
  "Whoa." Sookie whispered.
  
  I let go of my concentration, and watched the shield dessapear.
  
  "How did you do that?" Eric growled.
  
  I smiled. "I have badass powers."
  
  Sookie burst out laughing.
  
  "You may leave." Eric told me.
  
  I stood up, then thought of something.
  
  "Hey, I helped you out," sort-of. "I need to ask you something."
  
  "What?" he asked.
  
  "Do you know anything about the killings going on in Seattle?"
  
  "Yes," he said thoughtfully. "I know where to find those vampires. I thought they might've had our queen, so I was going to attack. But now, I'm thinking otherwise."
  
  "Can you take me to them?" I asked.
  
  "Yes." He said. "I can."
  Chapter 10-Shadow
  
  I followed Eric and Sookie outside. I looked back at the building we had been in. In bright red handwritten neon letters, it said Fangtasia, Vampire Bar.
  
  I glanced around me, and was surprised that I had no idea where we were.
  
  "Where are we?" I gasped.
  
  "Bon Temps, Louisiana." Sookie answered.
  
  "Louisiana?" I screeched.
  
  "Yep." She answered.
  
  I stared at them. They had stopped to look at me.
  
  "I...how..." I was at a loss for words.
  
  "I go fast." Eric grinned.
  
  "Really?" I asked. "Want to race back to Washington?"
  
  "You're on." He laughed.
  
  "Umm Eric, can you race with me on your back?" Sookie asked.
  
  "I can." I grinned.
  
  "You'll lose." Eric said.
  
  "Oh really?" I asked sarcastically. "You underestimate the strength and speed of a newborn vampire." I was saying that to a lot of people these days...
  
  "And you obviously underestimate my power." He said.
  
  "We'll see." I said, grinning. "Hop on, Sookie."
  
  She looked unsure for a second, but then seemed to think screw it and she hopped on my back.
  
  "On your mark..." Eric muttered.
  
  "Get set..." I said, smiling viciously.
  
  "Go!" Sookie screamed, looking behind us.
  
  I froze. I smelled something animalistic. Eric didn't move either. We both turned and looked behind us.
  
  There was a wolf baring its teeth at us.
  
  It was huge and it was russet coloured.
  
  "Sookie, get down." I said quietly.
  
  "Leave, now." Eric growled at the wolf that I knew was Jacob. "Or you'll be sorry."
  
  Behind Jacob, a huge grey wolf appeared.
  
  Paul.
  
  He bared his teeth at Eric, and growled.
  
  Behind Paul, a huge chocolate brown wolf appeared.
  
  Jared.
  
  I touched my neck; the burns were almost totally healed. I hoped they would completely heal before Paul noticed.
  
  I walked towards them, but Eric grabbed my wrists, and pulled me back.
  
  "It's dangerous for you!" he shouted.
  
  "I know them!" I argued.
  
  He stared at me, then let go.
  
  I raced over to Paul, and pet his head.
  
  "I'm okay." I whispered. "They thought I knew something about a vampire who's gone missing here. How did you find me?"
  
  He sniffed the ground, telling me he just followed the scent. I smiled at him.
  
  "I love you so much."
  
  He licked my face, and I laughed, but then sobered.
  
  "But you have to go." I said. "I need to find the newborns, and find out about them."
  
  He looked down, then back up giving me full force puppy dog eyes.
  
  "I'm sorry, but it isn't safe for you. If you come, they'll smell you." I said, scratching his ears.
  
  He pointed at Sookie and Eric, growling softly.
  
  "We're taking her there." Eric explained to Paul. "They won't smell me and Sookie...Sookie could be bait..."
  
  "Bait?" she yelled, wheeling around to face Eric.
  
  "No harm will come to you, Sookie." He promised. "Melanie and I will be there, you'll be very safe."
  
  She sighed. "I have done worse."
  
  Eric smiled. "Are you coming, Melanie?"
  
  "In a minute." I said quietly. I turned back to Paul, he was whimpering. "I'll be back before you know it. I promise."
  
  He licked my neck, telling me that he noticed the burn marks, and then ran off with Jacob.
  
  I sighed quietly, and then went back to Sookie and Eric, pulled Sookie onto my back, and raced Eric to Seattle.
  
  I won.
  
  Sookie had fallen asleep on my back, and I didn't blame her. It was pretty late.
  
  Once in Seattle, Eric motioned for us to be quiet. Sookie was walking behind Eric, and I was walking behind her. Eric stopped suddenly, and Sookie walked right into him.
  
  "They're here." He whispered.
  
  I pushed past Sookie and Eric to get a better look. I saw a house that looked like it was falling apart.
  
  "That's where they are?" I asked quietly.
  
  "Yes." Eric said, sounding tired.
  
  "Eric, it's almost dawn." Sookie said quietly. "You need to sleep."
  
  "No, I can't. Not yet." He said.
  
  "Eric, the sun is coming up!" I said.
  
  He sighed. "Don't do anything until tonight when I'm awake." He warned. "Sookie, you'll need to get some food. And Mel, keep to the shadows."
  
  I rolled my eyes. "I know."
  
  Sookie and I walked away from Eric, and found a hotel. I didn't really want to stay there; I would've been more comfortable going back to Forks, but Sookie wouldn't have been.
  
  We checked into the room, and went up to it. It was nice. It was a place Alice would like.
  
  "Mel, if you don't mind, I'm goin' to head to bed." Sookie said.
  
  "No problem." I smiled.
  
  "Thank you so much for payin' for all this." She said.
  
  "It was my pleasure." I smiled. "Hey, what size clothes are you?"
  
  "About a six." She said. "Why?"
  
  "No reason." I smiled.
  
  "Okay..." she said. "See you later."
  
  "See you." I said.
  
  I waited for a few minutes until I heard her very quiet snores. Nothing like the wolf pack's snores.
  
  I slipped out of the hotel room, and found a mall.
  
  Sookie didn't have any bags with her, meaning she didn't have any clothes.
  
  And living with Alice made you annoying about always having clothes.
  
  So, I went on a shopping spree for Sookie. I bought a lot more than necessary, but I didn't mind. I also bought myself a couple outfits. Sookie wasn't the only one without clothes.
  
  I also bought her toiletry items; I hoped she wasn't allergic to mint or anything.
  
  I thought about buying Eric things, but I wasn't sure of his size, and what he'd want.
  
  Once back at the hotel, I was surprised that Sookie was still asleep. I silently slipped into her room, and put the bags on the floor at the end of her bed. I went back out of her bedroom, changed my clothes, and sat on the couch, fidgeting and watching TV.
  
  I wasn't nervous-I was practicing. Humans tend to get the slightest bit freaked out when we stood completely still.
  
  Although, Sookie seemed to be used to it, being around vampires and all.
  
  A while later, Sookie emerged from the bedroom, holding up a shirt I had bought her.
  
  "What's all this, Mel?" she asked.
  
  "Well, I saw that you didn't have any bags with you, and figured you would need some stuff."
  
  "Have you seen the price tags on these?" she asked.
  
  "Yes." I said.
  
  "You didn't have to do this." She said. "I can't take these things."
  
  "Sookie, its fine. Take it all. If I minded, I wouldn't have bought it all for you." I said.
  
  She sighed. "Thank you."
  
  "Now, I would've ordered you room service, but I wasn't sure what you'd like..." I said.
  
  "Could we go to a restaurant instead?" she asked. "I can't stay cooped up in this hotel room waitin' 'round all day for Eric to wake up."
  
  "Sure." I smiled. "Just get changed first. Your hair is a mess."
  
  She smiled. "Thank you again."
  
  "It's really no problem." I assured her.
  
  She went back into the bedroom, and came out a few minutes later looking a lot more cleaned up.
  
  I smiled. "Let's go."
  
  We went to a small restaurant, and Sookie ordered what she wanted.
  
  I didn't pay attention to what it was; I was trying not to breathe.
  
  "Do you want anything?" our waitress asked.
  
  "No thank you." I smiled.
  
  Sookie ate her food, and we left the restaurant after paying. Thankfully, it wasn't sunny, so we walked around town.
  
  Later on, close to sunset, we went back to the forest where Eric was. When the sun went down, Eric climbed out of the ground.
  
  Sookie smiled at him.
  
  "Are we ready?" Eric asked.
  
  "What do I have to do?" Sookie asked.
  
  "Well, since your blood smells so good, because you're part fairy, these vampires won't be able to resist you."
  
  Ahhh so that was why Sookie's blood smelled so exotic. My throat was burning thinking about it.
  
  Crap! I needed to hunt.
  
  "Eric, we can't do anything yet." I said.
  
  "Why?" he asked.
  
  "I need to hunt." I said.
  
  "Oh, that's no problem." Sookie smiled. "You can have some of my blood, I really don't mind."
  
  "No, thank you Sookie, but I can't. I don't hunt humans. I only drink from animals. I've never touched human blood before."
  
  Eric looked surprised, but then shrugged.
  
  "If I were you guys, I would leave the forest." I advised. "I don't want to accidentally try to hunt Sookie. When I get hunting, I tend to just let my senses take over."
  
  They nodded and left the forest.
  
  I stood alone in the clearing, and closed my eyes. I took a deep breathing, enjoying the smell of all the elements that rushed through me.
  
  I listened for the sound of anything running through the forest.
  
  I heard a rabbit burrowing into the ground. I shot towards it, and sank my teeth into it.
  
  I was pretty sure the rabbit would satisfy me, but just in case, I found a squirrel, and drank from that as well.
  
  I found Sookie and Eric waiting just outside the forest for me.
  
  "Are you good now?" Sookie asked.
  
  "Yep." I smiled.
  
  "Good, let's go." Eric said.
  
  The sun wasn't completely down yet, but Eric seemed to be doing completely fine.
  
  "I wonder if they know what happens to them in the sun." I mused. "I mean, they haven't been out all day."
  
  Eric seemed to consider this. "We'll wait for the sun to completely set."
  
  "Are you okay?" Sookie asked him.
  
  "I'm fine." He assured her. "If it wasn't safe for me, I wouldn't be awake."
  
  She nodded.
  
  We went back into the forest, where we could watch the house better.
  
  "So Sookie, what you have to do is walk out there," Eric said, pointing to the road. "And wait for one of them to come along."
  
  Sookie sighed. "Okay."
  
  She got up, and went out to the road. Eric watched her intently.
  
  "You love her." I said. It wasn't a question. It was obvious by the way he gazed at her, and how protective of her he got.
  
  "What?" he asked, looking at me.
  
  I didn't meet his gaze; I just kept looking at the house.
  
  "You love Sookie." I said.
  
  "No, I don't." he said.
  
  "Yesterday, you were drinking one of those Tru Bloods." I said. "You told me you hated them. Today, you were surprised I had never drunk any human blood. You obviously feed on humans. If you hate Tru Blood so much, why were drinking it?"
  
  He didn't say anything, so I went on.
  
  "Obviously, Sookie asked you to drink it since she was at your bar." I said.
  
  Again, he didn't say anything.
  
  I smirked a little.
  
  "I am not in love with Bill Compton's human." He muttered.
  
  "Who's Bill Compton?" I asked.
  
  "You heard that?" he asked, I nodded. "He's Sookie's...mate."
  
  "And where is he?" I asked.
  
  "I don't know." Eric said gruffly. "I needed her help at the bar, asking about our queen going missing. Bill agreed to let her stay at Fangtasia for a few nights."
  
  "Oh." I said. No matter what Eric said, it was obvious he loved Sookie. The way he looked at her reminded me of how Edward looked at Bella, or how Jasper looked at Alice.
  
  Or how Paul looked at me.
  
  Or even how Jared used to look at me.
  
  Every since I had been turned, when he saw me he looked disgusted.
  
  I didn't know how I felt about that. I mean, I should be glad he didn't love me anymore, but for him to all of a sudden hate me because of what had happened was lame of him.
  
  Was it selfish of me that when he was in love with me, I didn't like it, and now that he didn't seem to love me anymore, I wanted him to love me?
  
  What was wrong with me? Why did I need to be noticed by Jared all of a sudden?
  
  Eric cleared his throat, and motioned to the house.
  
  People were coming out. From here, I could see the grin on a girl as she saw Sookie standing on the road.
  
  Eric and I snuck as close to the road as we could without them seeing or smelling us.
  
  The girl raced out to the road, and I could see the vicious, thirsty look on her face.
  
  She was small. It surprised me that she was a vampire. She was probably no older than sixteen.
  
  She had dark hair, and bright red eyes.
  
  She stopped right in front of Sookie, and Eric crouched, ready to spring the moment something happened.
  
  I put my hand on his arm, telling him to wait.
  
  The girl smiled at Sookie, then put her hand on Sookie's neck.
  
  That was when Eric and I both sprang out of the forest. I went for the newborn, Eric went for Sookie.
  
  I wrenched the newborn's hand away from Sookie, and covered her mouth.
  
  "Don't scream, or I'll snap your neck." I whispered.
  
  She struggled against my grip, but I was holding her far too tight.
  
  Eric was making sure Sookie was okay.
  
  I dragged the newborn into the forest, and Eric and Sookie followed.
  
  I made roots spring out of a tree and tie her down, so I could let go of her. I kept my hand on her mouth.
  
  "Are you going to scream?" I growled.
  
  She shook her head.
  
  I took my hand off of her mouth, and she didn't scream. She looked scared of me. I could tell there was some sort of innocence in her.
  
  "What's your name?" I asked softly, crouching in front of her. I had been so rough with her; I had forgotten she was only a teenager.
  
  "Bree." She said quietly.
  
  "Bree, what's going on here?" I asked.
  
  "What do you mean?" she asked, struggling against the roots.
  
  "It'll be easier for you if you just tell me what's going on, and not struggle." I advised. "I can help you."
  
  "How?" she spat. I didn't say anything, just kept looking at her. She sighed. "Well, my friend and I just found out last night that we're a...an army."
  
  "An army?" Eric growled from behind me.
  
  "What for?" I asked softly.
  
  "There's...something in Forks, Washington." She said. "Another coven. They have yellow eyes."
  
  "The Cullens." I whispered. Now it was all making sense. Victoria wanted Bella dead. She would do anything to get Bella dead. Even if that meant taking out the Cullens with her.
  
  "Riley told us that whoever got to her first, got to have her."
  
  "Who?" I asked in horror, knowing the answer.
  
  "A girl. A pet of this coven's." she said. "He brought a red sweater that was hers so we could get her scent." She took a deep shaky breath. "My throat is burning just thinking about it."
  
  "Bella." I whispered.
  
  "He didn't tell us her name." Bree said, exasperated. "All I know is that I want her."
  
  "You can have a better life." I said quietly.
  
  "What?" she hissed.
  
  "You don't need to kill people." I said. "There's another option, a better option. You're young; it's not too late for you."
  
  "I can't." she said. "She'll kill me if she finds out."
  
  "Who?" Sookie blurted.
  
  "We don't know who she is. But we hear she's mean, and she's the one who commands Riley."
  
  I sighed quietly. "She'd never have to know that you came back to Forks with me. We could protect you."
  
  She seemed to consider this.
  
  "I can't." she said sadly.
  
  "You want to." I noted.
  
  "Yes, I do." She sighed. "But I can't."
  
  "Bree?" called a male voice.
  
  Eric pulled Sookie down to the ground, and crouched with her.
  
  "Who is that?" I hissed.
  
  "Diego." She whispered.
  
  "Is he safe?" I asked.
  
  She nodded.
  
  We were quiet for a few moments, until a big guy with long, curly brown hair appeared.
  
  He reminded me of Emmett.
  
  "Bree?" he asked, staring from her tied down, to me. Then, he crouched into a defensive crouch.
  
  "They're okay." She assured him.
  
  He stood up straight again, and sniffed the air.
  
  "You're one of us," he pointed to me. "You're human." He pointed to Sookie. "You're...dead." He pointed to Eric.
  
  "Yes, you're right on two things." I said. "But he's a vampire."
  
  Diego didn't seem phased by any of what I said.
  
  "What are you doing to her?" he asked, motioning to Bree.
  
  "Just asking me questions." Bree said.
  
  I was surprised that she didn't say anything about how I had offered her a better life.
  
  "Why are you tied down?" he asked.
  
  "So they new I wouldn't take a snap at her." She said, motioning to Sookie.
  
  I looked at Diego, and saw something change in his face. He was staring at Sookie.
  
  I recognized the crazy, wild, hungry look in his eyes.
  
  He sprang a second earlier than I had anticipated.
  Chapter 11-Saved
  
  I shot forward, trying to stop Diego from getting to Sookie, but when I stretched my arms out to grab him, I was too late.
  
  Eric was holding him by his neck.
  
  Sookie looked scared, I looked at Bree. She was stunned. This obviously wasn't normal behaviour for Diego.
  
  "Sookie, give me your chain." Eric said.
  
  Sookie reached into her pocket and pulled out a silver chain. She handed it to Eric. I noticed him flinch as the chain touched his hand, but he didn't make a scene of it.
  
  He quickly wrapped the chain around Diego's neck. Diego fell to the ground, smoke rising from his neck.
  
  I glanced at Bree; it looked like it was hurting her to see him like that.
  
  "You do not touch her!" Eric growled.
  
  "She smells so good!" Diego moaned hoarsely.
  
  "I don't care how good she smells!" Eric snapped. "You do not touch her!"
  
  Diego looked from Sookie, to Eric, to me, and finally to Bree.
  
  "What are you doing here?" he demanded Bree.
  
  "I was just answering questions." She answered quietly.
  
  "Why?" he asked. "That wasn't very smart of you."
  
  "They would've killed me." She whispered.
  
  He made an animalistic sound.
  
  "If they had killed you, they wouldn't be alive right now." He said.
  
  "Oh be quiet." I snapped. "I wouldn't have killed her. She's a child for god's sakes!"
  
  He was quiet.
  
  "Bree, please, come with us." I said, turning back to him. "Our life is so much better than this. He can come as well."
  
  She bit her lip, considering.
  
  "Diego?" she asked.
  
  He didn't meet her eyes.
  
  "I can't leave Riley." He said, looking ahead, gritting his teeth against the burn of the silver.
  
  She took a deep breath.
  
  "I want to go." She said.
  
  "So go." He said. The look on my face told me he hated the thought of it.
  
  "Come with us." She begged. "Who cares about Riley? They can protect us! They won't hurt us!"
  
  "I can't." he said through gritted teeth.
  
  "Please." She begged.
  
  He took a deep, unneeded breath.
  
  He looked at me. "Will you really help us?"
  
  I nodded.
  
  He stared at Bree. "I don't know."
  
  "I'm part of the coven you're hunting." I said.
  
  Diego stared at me. "You really want to help us?"
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Diego!" barked an unfamiliar voice.
  
  Diego and Bree looked at each other in horror.
  
  "Riley." She whispered.
  
  I went over to Diego, and took the chains off of him.
  
  They burned my fingers, but it wasn't so bad, and I didn't make contact with them for too long.
  
  "You guys go ahead, leave me a trail." He said, touching his neck and wincing.
  
  "Okay." Bree whispered.
  
  I dropped the roots, letting her free.
  
  "Be careful." She said to Diego.
  
  He smiled. "I will." He brushed his lips against hers.
  
  I looked away. This moment was so private for them, I felt like I was intruding.
  
  "Diego? Where are you?" called Riley again.
  
  Bree and Diego both looked to where the voice had come from.
  
  Diego sighed and ran off.
  
  That was our queue to leave.
  
  "Eric, you know the way to Forks?" I asked, looking to where Diego had disappeared.
  
  He nodded.
  
  "Take Sookie and Bree there." I said. "I'll go make sure Diego is safe."
  
  Eric nodded.
  
  All at once, Eric hurled Sookie onto his back, and broke into a run.
  
  Bree followed quickly behind them.
  
  I quietly walked over to where Diego had disappeared to, and hid behind a tree.
  
  "Where were you?" asked the voice I now knew was Riley's.
  
  "I was going hunting." Diego answered quietly.
  
  "You were told to wait for me." Riley growled.
  
  "I was really thirsty." He said.
  
  "I don't care!" Riley snapped.
  
  "I'm sorry." Diego said.
  
  "Sorry isn't good enough." Riley growled.
  
  Neither of them said anything for a few minutes.
  
  Finally, Riley broke the silence.
  
  "Where were you last night?" he asked.
  
  "I was hunting, with the girl, Bree." He said.
  
  "I smelled you somewhere you shouldn't have been." Riley said in a menacing voice.
  
  "I don't know what you're talking about." Diego said.
  
  "I know you do." Riley growled. "Don't lie to me."
  
  Diego didn't say anything. I peered around the tree.
  
  Diego was looking at the floor, and Riley, tall blonde and gorgeous, was staring at him intensely.
  
  "How much do you know, Diego?" Riley whispered.
  
  "I know enough to know you've been lying to us." Diego answered strongly.
  
  "I think it's time for you to meet someone." Riley said with a crazed smile.
  
  I swore silently as Riley and Diego took off further into the forest.
  
  Quickly, I followed their trail that I was sure Diego had deliberately left for me.
  
  It surprised me to know he had known I was watching.
  
  With a burst of intuition I remembered using the element of spirit I could make myself invisible.
  
  I summoned spirit, and made myself invisible. I prayed it worked.
  
  I was glad I had done it, because where Diego and Riley had stopped had no hiding places whatsoever.
  
  I sighed silently, and crouched as well as I could in the grass, in case I wasn't invisible.
  
  They were in a clearing, and I almost gasped in shock and horror when I took in the scene.
  
  Victoria and my mother were standing together next to a fire.
  
  I'm not sure what emotion ran through me when I saw my mom.
  
  Anger, of course
  
  My mom's head twitched in my direction, but when I met her eyes, it was obvious she couldn't see me. She seemed to have heard something, but wasn't sure what.
  
  I thanked whatever god I had to thank for these powers.
  
  "Hello, Victoria." Riley said, smiling at her.
  
  He loved her. It was easy to see.
  
  "Hello Riley." She smiled. It wasn't hard to see how fake her love for him was.
  
  "Talissa." Riley greeted formally.
  
  "Riley." She said, coldly.
  
  Obviously they didn't have a very good relationship.
  
  Well, good. I hoped Diego put her through hell.
  
  Diego looked down at the fire. I noticed lavender coloured smoke was rising from it. Which was odd.
  
  "Who was that?" Diego asked quietly.
  
  "Allison." My mom said without emotion. I noticed Diego flinch slightly.
  
  "Now," Victoria said. "What did you hear last night?"
  
  "Nothing." Diego said. "None of it made sense to me."
  
  "What did you see?" my mom hissed.
  
  "I saw four people, in dark cloaks that came to talk to you. They said something about a coven, and five days. That's all I could really understand."
  
  Victoria and my mom obviously weren't happy.
  
  "I don't trust him." My mom muttered.
  
  Victoria looked like she agreed.
  
  "Burn him." She said without emotion.
  
  I put my hand over my mouth to stop the shriek that threatened to escape.
  
  Riley and my mom were both surprised.
  
  "What?" Riley asked.
  
  Diego didn't look at anybody. He had a pained look on his face.
  
  He was mouthing something out.
  
  At first I thought he was praying, which was stupid of him, but then I noticed that he was repeating words over and over again.
  
  Tell Bree that I love her, and I'm sorry.
  
  It broke my non-beating heart to see that.
  
  "Rip him apart, and burn the pieces." Victoria snapped. "He obviously can't be trusted if he's spying on us."
  
  Diego kept his head down. He had known this would happen, but he had wanted to save us.
  
  Riley and my mom shared a long look, sighed, and then ripped apart Diego.
  
  I had to clamp my hand over my mouth even harder to stop from crying out and begging them to stop.
  
  They threw the pieces into the fire with no remorse at all.
  
  I stared at the fire, unsure of what to do.
  
  Victoria and Riley left, my mom stayed behind, watching the flames.
  
  "I know you're there." She said softly.
  
  I was frozen, rooted to the spot.
  
  "You thought you could hide from your own mother." She giggled. "Victoria couldn't see through it, but I could."
  
  I let spirit drain out of me, making myself visible again.
  
  "Ahh hello Melanie." She smiled.
  
  "You attacked me." I said.
  
  Her brow furrowed. "Oh, you're still on that?"
  
  "Yes I am." I said. "You're my mother, and you tried to kill me!"
  
  She rolled her eyes. "That's all in the past."
  
  "Yea, and so is my life with you." I said bitterly.
  
  She flinched slightly.
  
  "You are my daughter." She said.
  
  I shook my head bitterly. "Not anymore."
  
  "No matter what happens, I'm still your mother." She said softly.
  
  "Listen, now you're a stranger to me." I said. "You can't blame the fact that you're a vampire, because I'm not like you, and I know other vampires who aren't like you. So that is no excuse for you to be like this."
  
  She didn't say anything, just looked away.
  
  Without another glanced at her, I turned on my heel, and raced as quickly as I could back to Forks.
  Chapter 12-Senses
  
  I raced through the forest, scared that I was being followed by Victoria, Riley, or my mom.
  
  Finally, I got back to Forks, where Sookie, Eric, and Bree were waiting for me in a clearing.
  
  I looked around. Automatically I knew where we were. We were at the border between Forks and La Push. If I took just three steps to my left, I would be near Paul.
  
  "Where's Diego?" Bree asked.
  
  I didn't say anything, just looked at the ground.
  
  "No." she whispered in horror.
  
  Sookie went over to Bree, and put her arms around her shoulders, trying to soothe her.
  
  "He saved us." She whispered.
  
  "He loved you Bree." I said softly. "He cared for you so much, and in the end, he saved us all. Without him, none of us would be here."
  
  And without me going to Seattle I would be the only one in Forks right now.
  
  Or, I would be curled up with Paul.
  
  I played with my wedding ring, realizing just how much I missed him.
  
  I was lost in thought thinking of Paul, so when Eric stepped in front of me, I barely noticed until he cleared his throat.
  
  "We have some things to talk about." He said.
  
  I looked up at him wearily. "Like what?"
  
  "Like the fact that a human was in danger, and it was your fault." He said.
  
  I groaned. "Eric, it was your idea."
  
  He looked down at me. "It was your idea to go to Seattle."
  
  "But you're idea to use Sookie as bait." I snapped. "I did you a favour, you did me a favour. We're even."
  
  "You owe me." He growled.
  
  I sighed. "Fine. Whatever."
  
  Nobody said anything for a bit. Everyone seemed to be waiting for me to make a decision.
  
  At first I thought that was stupid, but then I remembered we were on my turf.
  
  "We should go to the Cullens' place." I said.
  
  I began walking, enjoying the feeling of the cold night air on my face. After everything that had happened these past few days, I was glad to be home.
  
  "Why don't we run?" Eric asked.
  
  "You can if you like." I said. "But hopefully you'd get lost." I heard him sigh.
  
  After about twenty minutes, we got to the Cullens' home.
  
  I smiled at the coziness of it.
  
  One thing made me nervous.
  
  I could hear two heartbeats. I listened harder, neither of them was human.
  
  I felt my heart squeeze.
  
  Paul was here.
  
  I sprinted to the house, flung the door open, and raced inside.
  
  Eric, Sookie and Bree were close behind me. Sookie was being pulled along by Eric.
  
  There he was, dozing on the couch.
  
  I raced over to him, and flung my arms around him.
  
  "Mel!" Four voices at the same time called.
  
  I looked around; Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, and Jared were staring at me.
  
  I grinned at them all.
  
  Paul opened his eyes, and stared at me, seemingly at a loss for words.
  
  "You're back." He whispered.
  
  I nodded, happier than I had been in days.
  
  "Mel, who's in our house?" Rosalie asked.
  
  "Ok, jeez! Sorry, I forgot to introduce everyone." I said sheepishly. I made a move to stand up, but Paul held me tight.
  
  I motioned to Bree. "That's Bree, she's one of the newborns." Automatically Rosalie and Alice crouched, ready to spring. "No, she's okay. She decided she wanted to get away from Victoria." I motioned to Eric. "He's a vampire from Louisiana, and next to him is Sookie, who's a human, who's a telepath."
  
  Alice was shocked.
  
  Which made me laugh; Alice rarely got shocked.
  
  "Are Edward and Bella back yet?" I asked.
  
  "Yes, we are." Edward's voice came from the front door.
  
  "Where's Bella?" I asked sharply, remembering how Bree was.
  
  "In the car." Edward said. "She wanted to come in to thank Esme and Carlisle for the plane tickets."
  
  "Don't let her come in." I warned.
  
  "Why?" Edward asked.
  
  "Because there's a newborn here, who's unstable at the moment." I snapped.
  
  He left the house quickly, and I heard the car start.
  
  "Edward, I want to thank Carlisle and Esme." Bella said tiredly.
  
  "You need some sleep; you've had a long day. And Carlisle's at the hospital." Edward lied. Carlisle was standing in the same room.
  
  All the Cullens were here, staring from me, to Sookie, to Eric, and finally to Bree.
  
  "Jasper, Bree surrendered." I explained. "She wants our life."
  
  He nodded. "Alice and I will take her hunting."
  
  Before Alice could walk past my, I grasped her arm, and pulled her close to me.
  
  "Someone very close to her was murdered." I murmured so Bree wouldn't hear. "Tell Jasper to take it easy on her."
  
  Alice nodded, and then whispered. "I'm glad you're back."
  
  I nodded. "Me too."
  
  Paul stared into my eyes. "I missed you so much."
  
  I leaned into him. "Me too."
  
  "You're safe." He smiled.
  
  I smiled. "Surprising, isn't it."
  
  Carlisle was talking to Eric and Sookie. I didn't pay much attention to what they were talking about.
  
  I think Carlisle offered to let them stay the night.
  
  I didn't care.
  
  I was with Paul, curled up on the Cullens' couch.
  
  Sookie came over to me, smiling softly.
  
  "It was so nice meetin' you Mel." She said.
  
  "You're not staying tonight?" I asked.
  
  "No, Eric wants to get back as soon as we can."
  
  I nodded. "It really was nice meeting you, Sookie."
  
  "Same to you." She grinned.
  
  She hugged me, but it was awkward because Paul wouldn't let go of me.
  
  She smiled, and left with Eric.
  
  I sighed quietly. One day I would visit Eric and Sookie.
  
  Paul turned my face to his.
  
  I smiled. Looking into his brown eyes, I realized how much strain it was to be away from him.
  
  He kissed me lightly on my lips.
  
  I closed my eyes, enjoying just sitting here with him.
  
  "Should you be here?" I asked softly.
  
  He shrugged. "They haven't said anything."
  
  Jared was pacing, I could hear him.
  
  "What, Jared?" I finally asked.
  
  "Can I talk to you, please?" he asked.
  
  I sighed. "Sure."
  
  "In private." He begged.
  
  I groaned, and detached myself from Paul. The look on Paul's face told me he wasn't happy about whatever Jared wanted to talk to me about.
  
  Jared led me out onto the front porch.
  
  Neither of us said anything.
  
  I had no idea what he would want to talk to me about.
  
  "Mel," he said softly. "I love you."
  
  I looked down. "We've been over this."
  
  "I know, but I can't help my feelings for you." He said, and moved a bit closer to me.
  
  "Jared, please." I said, putting my hand on his chest. "We've been down this road before. And a lot of people ended up getting hurt."
  
  He kept moving towards me.
  
  "Mel, please." He whispered.
  
  "Jared stop." I said firmly.
  
  "Paul knows why we came out here." Jared said. "I deserve time with you. Time alone with you."
  
  I sighed. He was right. "What do you want to do?"
  
  He grinned. "Tomorrow we'll do something. It's late now."
  
  I sighed, knowing I would regret this.
  
  I made a move to go back inside, but Jared pulled me back and brushed his lips against mine.
  
  I glared at him, and went back inside.
  
  I dragged Paul up to my room with me. I knew he was uncomfortable with the Cullens watching him.
  
  We curled up in my bed, smiling.
  
  "I was so scared you had been hurt." He said, running a hand through my hair.
  
  I closed my eyes, feeling a need to cry, even though I couldn't. "I know."
  
  He smiled sleepily at me.
  
  "Go to sleep." I whispered, and kissed him.
  
  He smiled one last time, and fell right to sleep.
  
  I smiled at him, and touched his face. He wasn't perfect to other people, but to me, there was no way he could be better.
  
  The night passed slowly, but I was content with lying with Paul, and watching him sleep.
  
  In the morning, I had to leave for school before Paul was even awake.
  
  I detached myself from him sadly. I didn't want to leave him again.
  
  Luckily after school I would be back here with him.
  
  Then I remembered I had my little play date with Jared.
  
  Great.
  
  I smiled at Alice as we got into Edward's Volvo.
  
  "Where is he?" I asked.
  
  "Coming." She said. "He told me I could drive today."
  
  My brows went up in shock.
  
  "I know, normally he wants to drive when he's here." She laughed.
  
  I smiled as Edward got in the back seat, scowling.
  
  "What crawled up your ass?" I asked.
  
  "There's a newborn vampire, and a wolf in my house." He said through his teeth. "How do you think I am?"
  
  "Stressed?" I giggled.
  
  He rolled his eyes at me.
  
  Alice giggled, and drove to school.
  
  "So why aren't you with Bella today?" Alice asked.
  
  "She wanted to drive herself this morning." He explained. "And, I had some things to sort out at home."
  
  I smiled to myself. Was it wrong of me to enjoy stressing Edward out?
  
  Alice pulled into the parking lot, and I popped my contacts in.
  
  I squinted against the film that slightly blurred my vision.
  
  I sighed. I couldn't wait for school to finish.
  
  "Mel, do you have your grad dress yet?" Alice asked me, once we were outside, leaning against the Volvo waiting for Bella.
  
  "No." I said, furrowing my brow. "When is grad, anyway?"
  
  Alice stared at me, mouth hanging open.
  
  "Mel, its next week."
  
  "What?" I screeched.
  
  "You're as clueless as Bella!" she complained.
  
  "Grad is next week?" I asked, shocked.
  
  "Next Wednesday." She said.
  
  I stared at her in shock.
  
  "Crap crap crap!" I moaned.
  
  Alice sighed.
  
  "Good thing I sent out all your invitations."
  
  "What?" I asked. "Who did you invite?"
  
  "Your aunt, a couple uncles, a few cousins." Alice said thoughtfully.
  
  "Alice!" I moaned. "There's a newborn living n our house, and there's a newborn army on the loose in Seattle! It's not safe for my family."
  
  "Mel, its fine. It's just for one day."
  
  I didn't know what to say.
  
  "I need to go shopping!" I exclaimed.
  
  Alice grinned. "Great, we'll go after school."
  
  I was about to agree, but then remembered Jared. "Not tonight. I have to go out with Jared."
  
  Alice rolled her eyes. "Your other imprint?"
  
  "Yea." I said with a shrug. "He told me he deserved a bit of time with me, and he's right."
  
  Alice sighed. "Are you sure that's smart?"
  
  "Yes," I said thoughtfully. "He knows if he tries anything I'll rip his head off."
  
  Alice laughed. "Let me in on that!"
  
  I giggled and elbowed her.
  
  In the distance I could hear the roar of Bella's engine.
  
  "Bella's coming." I said.
  
  "You can hear her?" she asked.
  
  "Yea, her truck." I said. "It's probably because of my power, and that I'm young. Heightened senses."
  
   Chapter 13-Indecisive
  
  When I left school, Jared was leaning against a motorcycle, grinning at me.
  
  "Where'd you get the bike?" I asked, after he had hugged me.
  
  "Borrowed it from Jake." He said.
  
  I turned around; Bella was staring at me, disappointment clear on her face. She had thought it was Jake, I could tell by the look on her face.
  
  I smiled apologetically, and then motioned to behind her.
  
  Edward was glaring in my direction.
  
  I rolled my eyes at him.
  
  I was glad he was going on a hunting trip with Emmett this weekend, maybe that way Bella could live.
  
  "Hop on." Jared said.
  
  I hopped on the motorcycle.
  
  "Put your hands around my stomach." He said.
  
  I sighed, and did as I was told. Even though it was unnecessary for me to have to hold on to him, I knew he wouldn't leave until I did it.
  
  People were staring at us.
  
  I hated attention.
  
  "Drive. Please." I said quietly.
  
  Jared barked out a laugh, and drove off.
  
  "Where are we going?" I asked over the wind whipping at my face.
  
  "You'll see." He said, speeding up.
  
  I sighed quietly.
  
  Even though Jared was right, I didn't want to be here. I didn't want my arms around his firm stomach, and I didn't want to hear his triumphant laughter as he drove over the border between Forks and La Push.
  
  I stared at my wedding band, thinking for the millionth time that marrying Paul so soon had been a mistake.
  
  I hated even letting the thought enter my mind, but it was true. Maybe Paul and I had rushed into things. I loved him with all my heart, but the feeling of being married to someone seemed so surreal.
  
  I obviously had to think things over with myself.
  
  Jared stopped the motorcycle, and I didn't know where were at first.
  
  "Where are we?" I asked, looking around. We were in an open space that was the only way I could really describe it. There was no grass, no trees, just...sand.
  
  Jared turned me around, and I saw the ocean.
  
  We were at First Beach.
  
  I felt pretty stupid.
  
  I crossed my arms over my chest. "What are we going to be doing here?" I asked.
  
  "Well, I was thinking we could just...talk." He said.
  
  I sighed quietly.
  
  Jared sat down, and motioned for me to follow his example.
  
  I sighed and sat beside him.
  
  We were quiet for a bit, looking out at the ocean.
  
  This was the first time in a long time that I was alone with Jared.
  
  He sighed. "Mel, I'm sorry."
  
  I looked down at the sand, not wanting to meet his gaze.
  
  He sighed again. "I know you'll never forgive me."
  
  "How can I?" I whispered. "Jared, what happened between us never should have happened. I made a mistake, and I kissed you. I shouldn't have. I was away from Paul for four months because of that, and now...now I'm like this. As soon as something good happened again in my life, it was ruined because I fell off a cliff and almost died."
  
  He didn't say anything for a bit.
  
  "Do you..." he cleared his throat. "Do you blame me for what happened to you?"
  
  "No." I said. "I blame you for kissing you. You guys all have puppy dog eyes that are impossible to say no to."
  
  He chuckled. "All of us?"
  
  "Especially Seth!" I complained. "He knows the look to give me when he wants something. You guys are so frustrating!"
  
  He barked out a laugh, and I couldn't help but smile.
  
  "See, this is want I want with you." I said. "I don't want it to be awkward, and always worrying about you trying something stupid with me."
  
  "Mel, when I'm with you it's like something in my brain shuts off, making me want to kiss you with everything I have in me." He ran a hand through his short hair. "I...it's so confusing! Because of me, you and Paul were broken apart, and I couldn't do anything to try and fix it."
  
  I sighed. "I just...I feel bad, you know? I mean, you and Paul both love me, and it's killing me. I hate the thought that I'm tearing you two apart, because you're brothers. I can't stand doing that to you."
  
  Jared pulled me into his arms, and I'm sure I felt like an ice cube to him, but he didn't seem to care.
  
  "I know how you feel about me, Mel." He whispered.
  
  I looked out at the water. I wasn't even sure how I felt about him.
  
  "You love me." He said simply. I opened my mouth, but he cut me off. "You don't just love me as a brother, Mel. Even Jake can see it."
  
  I groaned. "So our little 'love triangle' isn't just between the three of us?"
  
  He laughed. "Nope."
  
  I groaned. "Lovely."
  
  Jared laughed. "Leah just adores it."
  
  "I could only imagine." I giggled. "Why is she always so...so...?"
  
  "Bitter?" asked a female voice.
  
  I turned and saw Leah standing there, scowling at Jared and me.
  
  "Hey Leah." Jared said.
  
  "Shut up." She scowled at him, and then turned her acidic glare on me. "Why are you talking about me?"
  
  I opened my mouth, but didn't know what to say.
  
  "Lay off, Leah." Jared snapped.
  
  She rolled her eyes. "Sam wants you." she pointed to me, and then ran off.
  
  I groaned. What did he want?
  
  I got up, and Jared followed.
  
  "Where is he?" I asked.
  
  "Em's." Jared said, pulling me to the motorcycle. We got on, and rode off to Emily's.
  
  "What do you want?" I groaned when I saw Sam waiting out on Emily's porch for me.
  
  "Why are you with him?" Sam asked.
  
  "He deserves time with his imprint." I muttered.
  
  Sam sighed. "Its things like this that pull my pack apart!"
  
  "What did I do now?" I demanded. "I've tried as hard as I could to make things work! That's it! I'm done with you, Sam. And I'm done with everything! I can't believe you! Anything I do isn't good enough for you! I'm not trying to please you here!"
  
  And with that, I turned on my heel, and ran back to Forks.
  
  I burst into the Cullen house, seething.
  
  Bella looked scared when I came in, but I didn't pay much attention.
  
  I had forgotten that she was sleeping over this weekend because Edward was on a hunting trip.
  
  "Rough time in La Push?" Alice asked.
  
  "If Paul comes here looking for me, tell him I'm not here." I said. "No, scratch that, if any of those...those...mutts come here looking for me, tell them I'm not here."
  
  Alice nodded.
  
  With ice in my heart, I stared at my engagement and wedding rings. I was so sick of the wolves, I couldn't even think about any of them.
  
  I pulled my rings off, and put them on the table by the front door.
  
  "If they come..." I said. "Can you give them these?"
  
  Alice nodded.
  
  I went up to my room, heart heavy.
  
  I was so sick of trying to please everyone, but just ending up ruining everything.
  
  Paul was obviously better off without me, and so was Jared. Sam obviously didn't like me around anymore, especially now that I was a vampire.
  
  Five minutes after I had stomped up to my room, I heard a knock on the front door.
  
  I heard Alice's light footsteps walking to the door, and opening it.
  
  "Where is she?" Paul growled.
  
  "Not here." Alice said coldly. "But, she came back here, and wanted me to give you these, if you came by for her."
  
  I could practically see her handing him the rings, him clenching his fist around them, and running his free hand through his hair.
  
  I heard him sniff. "She's here."
  
  "No, she isn't." Alice said.
  
  "I know her scent." Paul growled.
  
  The door to my room opened, I was relieved to see it was Bree.
  
  "Hey." I said quietly so Paul wouldn't hear. "How are you?"
  
  "I'm...okay." She murmured. "The human is here."
  
  I nodded. "I know it's hard."
  
  "Can I stay in here?" she asked. "I need someone to watch me."
  
  "Of course." I said.
  
  "Mel!" Paul roared. "I know you're here!"
  
  "If I were you, I would leave." Alice threatened.
  
  I closed my eyes, hoping Alice wouldn't let him past her.
  
  "If I were you, I'd let me see my wife." He snapped.
  
  I heard her sigh.
  
  Bree stared at me. "That's your husband?"
  
  I nodded.
  
  "He's hot!"
  
  I gave her a look that told her she was not helping.
  
  I heard Paul bounding up the stairs.
  
  He burst into my room, and I saw hurt in his eyes. I looked away before I would let it hit home.
  
  "What did Jared say to you?" he asked.
  
  "Nothing." I whispered.
  
  "Are you..." he cleared his throat. "Are you breaking up with me?"
  
  "I...I don't know." I said honestly.
  
  I had no idea what I wanted.
  
  "Well, I guess you better let me know when you figure it out." He spat.
  
  I flinched. Paul never took that tone with me, and I know he saw the flinch.
  
  "Mel..." he said softly.
  
  "You made it clear you don't want to be here." I whispered, heart throbbing.
  
  "Mel, come on." He said.
  
  I stayed planted where I was, on my bed.
  
  "I'll give you two some privacy." Bree said, slipping out of my room.
  
  Bree leaving us alone was the last thing I wanted.
  
  Paul stayed in my doorway, not saying anything.
  
  I played with the blanket on my bed.
  
  "Mel...what happened today?" he asked softly, finally breaking the silence that hung over us like a storm cloud.
  
  "Nothing." I said quietly. "Nothing happened."
  
  "You're lying, I can tell." He said.
  
  "Paul...I...I need some time...alone." I said.
  
  "Why?" he whispered in horror.
  
  "I'm confused, and I'm frustrated. Sam doesn't understand what it's like to...to have two guys imprinted on me. He doesn't understand what I have to deal with."
  
  "He might understand better than anyone." Paul whispered. "He and Leah used to date, but then he met Emily and imprinted on her. It broke Leah."
  
  "I knew that already." I said quietly. "But this is different. Emily and Leah weren't close, and don't try to tell me any different, Emily's told me. Emily and Leah may have been cousins, but they were never close. You and Jared were close, and now because of this, no because of me, you guys aren't anymore."
  
  "Mel, that doesn't matter."
  
  "Yes it does." I said. "You two are brothers."
  
  He sighed. "I have to go."
  
  I nodded. "I know. You shouldn't be over here."
  
  "Whenever you decide, I'll be waiting. No matter what, I'll be there for you."
  
  I nodded. "I know."
  
  I barely heard him leave.
  
  I had an urge to just break down and cry. I wanted to cry, I wanted to sleep, and I wanted to eat.
  
  Those were the things I missed about being human. In some ways I loved being a vampire, but in other ways, I wanted more than anything to be human again.
  
  I lay back on my bed, stressing out.
  
  There was so much on my plate right now; guy trouble wasn't high on my list.
  
  I sighed quietly. With the newborns, and Victoria, and my mom...and graduation coming up, everything was crazy.
  
  The door to my room opened, and I was about to open my mouth to tell Emmett to get out, when I saw it was Bella.
  
  "Hey Bella." I smiled.
  
  "Are you okay?" she asked.
  
  "Yea, I'm okay." I said, then offered. "Sit."
  
  She smiled and sat on my bed.
  
  She bit her lip.
  
  "What do you want to ask me?" I asked.
  
  "What's it like...being a newborn?" she asked.
  
  "Well, for me, it wasn't bad. I wasn't crazy with the thirst for blood." I said carefully, adding emphasis on the 'for me' part. "Alice told me how surprised she was that I wasn't like a regular newborn. But I think it was my power to control the elements that gave me the strength to have that self-control. I mean, my throat does sting a bit to be in the same room as you, but that's how it is for everyone."
  
  Bella nodded. "What do you miss about being human?"
  
  "I miss sleeping." I admitted. "And eating."
  
  She smiled.
  
  "Can I ask you something?" I asked softly.
  
  She nodded.
  
  "Why do you want to be like this?" I asked.
  
  She bit her lip. "I love Edward more than anything. And I want to be with him forever. I don't want to look like his grandma."
  
  "He wouldn't care if you looked older than him." I said softly.
  
  "But I do." She insisted. "And the Volturi wasn't me turned because I know about the vampires."
  
  I nodded. "I see."
  
  She bit her lip again. "Has...has Jacob asked about me?"
  
  I looked away from her pleading brown eyes. "You are a...very touchy subject with him."
  
  She didn't say anything for a bit.
  
  I checked my watch.
  
  "Whoa Bella, it's close to midnight. You do have school tomorrow." I said, looking at her.
  
  She nodded. "Thanks."
  
  I smiled. "No problem."
  
  She smiled, and then left my room.
  
  I sighed quietly. It was times like these that I would've tried to roll over and pass out until morning.
  
  I closed my eyes, wishing I could forget all my worries for one night.
  Chapter 14-Drama
  
  The next day we had school.
  
  The day passed slower than I ever thought possible.
  
  At lunch, I was talking to Alice, when we both happened to glance into the parking lot.
  
  Bella was mounting Jake's motorcycle, and he drove off.
  
  Alice scowled.
  
  "Edward's going to take away my Porsche." She said.
  
  I pulled her along to the cafeteria.
  
  The rest of the day went by slow, especially with Alice grumbling about her Porsche.
  
  Honestly, I didn't listen to half of what she was saying.
  
  With what had happened with Paul last night, I was too upset.
  
  "Mel?" Alice asked with a smile, snapping me out of my reverie. I was driving back home.
  
  "Yea?" I asked.
  
  "You got into two colleges." She grinned.
  
  "What?" I asked. When had I even applied?
  
  "Yea, two colleges sent their acceptance letters today." She said.
  
  "I applied to colleges?" I asked.
  
  "Well, you didn't write the applications, but I did." She said smugly.
  
  ""Wow, thanks Alice." I said. To tell you the truth, I wasn't even planning on going to university or college. I planned to stay in Forks with Paul.
  
  Or...did I? Was it over between Paul and me?
  
  "I see what you're planning." Alice said. "And it won't work."
  
  "Why?" I asked.
  
  "Because people will get suspicious." She said. "You can't stay in Forks for much longer."
  
  I sighed. She was right.
  
  "Where have I been accepted?" I asked.
  
  "Dartmouth and Juilliard." She said.
  
  "Wow." I whispered. "Don't I need to audition for Juilliard, though?"
  
  "I sent them a tape." She said.
  
  "You what?" I asked.
  
  "From drama." She said. "Your teacher and I set it up. She had you do a performance, and I taped it. Juilliard understood that you couldn't go to New York, because you had a lot on your plate at the time. There were...complications."
  
  "And I got in?" I asked in shock.
  
  "Yep." She grinned. "And I can see where you want to go."
  
  "I guess I'm going to New York." I smiled.
  
  "I guess you are." She grinned. "And I'm coming with you!"
  
  "You are?" I asked.
  
  She nodded. "I got accepted, too! For visual arts. And music."
  
  "That's great, Alice." I grinned.
  
  I didn't let the thought enter my mind that I wouldn't go. I wanted to stay in Forks. Even though I knew that was impossible.
  
  I pulled into the garage, and hauled my bag to the living room, where Alice and I got started on our homework.
  
  There wasn't much, what with graduation and all.
  
  I sighed. I missed Paul.
  
  No. I didn't. I couldn't deal with that. Not now.
  
  I didn't need any of that drama.
  
  I sighed again. This was too complicated.
  
  Bree came into the living room. "What are you guys doing?"
  
  I could tell she was bored.
  
  "Homework." I said, writing out an answer.
  
  "Where's...Bella?" she asked.
  
  "She ran off to La Push." Alice grumbled.
  
  And at that exact moment, Edward burst through the front door.
  
  "Where is she?" he demanded.
  
  "La Push." I said warily.
  
  "Why?" he growled, getting all up in my face.
  
  "Hey, back off." I growled. "I don't control your girlfriend, okay?"
  
  "Go down there, and make sure she's safe." He growled.
  
  "No." I said.
  
  "What, you don't want to go see your wolf?" he sneered.
  
  I looked away, not wanting to talk about him, especially not to Edward.
  
  Edward didn't say anything. He obviously understood.
  
  "I'll go drive to the border." He said.
  
  "Edward there's no use." Alice said. "You need to feed, and I can see that she's going to come back tonight. Go back with Jazz and Emmett, they're mad."
  
  Edward scowled, but agreed. He left, and slammed the door behind him. I didn't care that he was in a bad mood. Let him be.
  
  I slumped on the floor, feeling detached. I shoved my homework away.
  
  Bree sat down with Alice and me. I could feel the awkwardness in the room.
  
  "I'm going to go running." I said.
  
  Alice nodded.
  
  "Can I come?" Bree asked.
  
  "I need some time alone." I said apologetically. "Alice could take you hunting...later."
  
  Bree nodded.
  
  I left the house, and broke into a run. I felt exhilarated running through the forest.
  
  I loved the feeling of air around my face, the droplets of water dripping on me, the earth beneath my feet, the feeling of spirit that always had its place around me, and the warm tingling feeling of fire.
  
  I could never get sick of this. Running through the forest like this.
  
  I stopped in a clearing. I didn't necessarily need to hunt, but it was still good to take that precaution. Bella would be back tonight, which meant Bree would be even more on edge than normal. I needed to be as full as possible.
  
  I hunted a few deer, a couple rabbits, and even threw in a squirrel for good luck.
  
  I smiled.
  
  The familiar tug of my lips was inexplicable. I wasn't sure why I was smiling.
  
  I looked around. I was in La Push.
  
  Well, that explained it.
  
  I froze. I could smell my mother.
  
  I raced through the forest, following her scent.
  
  There she was, waiting for me on a cliff. At first I wasn't sure where we were, but then with a burst of intuition I realized we were at the cliff I fell off of.
  
  "Hello Melanie." She smiled.
  
  "What do you want now?" I asked.
  
  "You have one of our newborns. We want her back." She said.
  
  "She doesn't want to go back to you." I said. "She wants our lifestyle."
  
  She sighed. "Why don't you take a look over the cliff here?"
  
  I looked at her, and then went to the edge of the cliff. If she pushed me over I wouldn't be hurt. Having an affinity for the elements, and being indestructible was always a plus.
  
  Tied to the edge of the cliff was Paul. He was just hanging there. There was no way for him to get free without dying in the process, and I knew the ropes wouldn't budge if he tried undoing them.
  
  "Mel..." he whispered. "Don't listen to her."
  
  I stared at him.
  
  "If you don't bring our newborn back, I'll kill him." My mom said.
  
  "You wouldn't." I gasped.
  
  "I would." She growled. "Just give us Bree back, and it will all be okay."
  
  "No." I said. "No, she doesn't want that. Take me instead."
  
  "What?" Paul snapped.
  
  "Mom, take me instead. Please, just don't hurt Paul."
  
  "Will you fight against the Cullen clan?" she asked.
  
  "Yes." I lied.
  
  She bought it.
  
  "Fine." She snapped.
  
  She went over to the cliff, and untied Paul. He fell into the ocean.
  
  I screamed, and frantically searched the water, making sure he rose to the surface.
  
  When he finally surfaced, I sighed in relief.
  
  My mom grabbed me and dragged me away.
  
  I had to decide what to do fast.
  
  I summoned spirit, and made myself invisible. I detached myself from my mother, and ran off.
  
  I knew she would try to follow me, but if I could get to water, she'd have no chance at finding me. I could blend in well with seaweed if I tried hard enough.
  
  "Melanie come back here!" she snarled.
  
  I got to the cliff, and gracefully dove into the water, barely making a splash.
  
  I swam to the bottom, and sat in some seaweed.
  
  My phone wouldn't be damaged, hell; when I got out of the water I probably wouldn't even be wet.
  
  I looked up, still invisible, and hoped she wouldn't jump in the water.
  
  I stared up at the surface, waiting for the moment when she would dive in.
  
  After awhile I figured I had waited long enough, and swam back to the beach.
  
  Paul was waiting there, head in his hands.
  
  I went over to him, and sat beside him.
  
  At first he didn't notice. I guessed he had thought it was one of the Cullens at first sniff.
  
  Then, slowly, he looked up at me.
  
  "Hey." I whispered, looking into his eyes.
  
  "Mel..."he said slowly, touching my face.
  
  I didn't say anything.
  
  He pulled me closer to him.
  
  "I thought you were gone." He whispered.
  
  I looked out at the ocean, not sure what to say.
  
  "Is it over between us?" he asked in a broken whisper.
  
  I shrugged. "I have no idea what's even going on right now."
  
  "What did Sam say to you?" he asked.
  
  "Shouldn't you know?" I asked.
  
  "He's been blocking us." He sighed. "He won't let us in his mind when we're running, he'll only ask us direct questions, and barely answers ours."
  
  "And that's because of me." I sighed.
  
  Paul didn't say anything. He knew as well as I did that that was right.
  
  I sighed. "We need to sort this thing out."
  
  "I know." Paul sighed.
  
  "I don't know how we can make it so everyone's happy." I said.
  
  Neither of us said anything, we just sat together, staring out at the ocean.
  Chapter 15
  
  When I got back to the house, Bella was there sleeping.
  
  Bree was hovering outside her bedroom.
  
  I pulled her into my room, and sat her on the bed.
  
  "Thanks." She muttered. "How do you do it?"
  
  "I think it's the elements that help me." I answered.
  
  Bree nodded. "Well, I guess that would help."
  
  I smiled. "Yea."
  
  We were quiet for a bit. I wasn't sure what to say.
  
  "Alice took me hunting." Bree said.
  
  I nodded. "Good."
  
  "No." Bree said. "When I smell Bella the venom just pools in my mouth, and makes my throat burn like crazy."
  
  I sighed. "It's like that for most of our kind. You just have to find a way to deal with it."
  
  "Can I stay in here tonight with you?" she pleaded.
  
  "Of course." I said, smiling.
  
  She smiled gratefully at me. I could tell how much Bella being here was stressing her out.
  
  We didn't say anything for a while. My thoughts were lost thinking about Paul.
  
  Bree and I both seemed a bit lost in our thoughts. She was probably thinking about Diego, while I was thinking about Paul.
  
  And Jared.
  
  I couldn't help but think about him. I was convinced imprints worked both ways. Maybe not for everyone, maybe it was because I was a vampire.
  
  It was obvious that Jasper and Alice were soul mates. As well as Rosalie and Emmett, Carlisle and Esme, and Bella and Edward.
  
  The decision we had made was simple. I wouldn't be 'involved' with either Paul or Jared. I didn't like it, but it was fair. I wished we could just break this whole imprint.
  
  I knew that couldn't happen.
  
  But it was okay to hope, wasn't it?
  
  I loved Paul, but as Sam had told me on numerous occasions, I had ripped apart their pack. I knew Jared had said he was okay with it, but I knew he wasn't.
  
  Alice slipped in my bedroom.
  
  "We have a party to plan." She grinned.
  
  I sighed. This would be a long weekend.
  
  Bree groaned. "I'm not even coming to this party!"
  
  "Why not?" Alice pouted.
  
  "Me, in a room full of humans?" she laughed. "Not the best idea."
  
  "Where are you going to be that night?" Alice asked.
  
  "Carlisle and Esme are going to take me hunting." She said. "We're going to hunt a lot."
  
  Alice pulled invitations out, and made us right them all out, and stuff them into envelopes.
  
  It was tedious work.
  
  "Alice, what members of my family did you invite to grad?" I asked.
  
  "Your aunt Mary, your uncle Mike, your other uncle Alex, and your grandma." She said. "I think that's it."
  
  "You invited my grandma?" I asked in horror. I loved her, but a newborn army was coming here. She would be defenseless against raging newborns.
  
  "She'll be fine. She wants to stay with you for a few days. She can stay here." Alice promised. "Your other relatives won't be able to stay the night. They'll come for the ceremony, then leave."
  
  "What about the party?" I asked. "My grandma won't want to come to that." I couldn't imagine her mingling with a bunch of teens.
  
  "We'll figure that out later." Alice said, smiling wistfully.
  
  I sighed. "I don't want her getting hurt."
  
  "She won't." Alice assured me. "She'll be fine. She'll be safer than Bella. Hey, if it makes you feel better we can send her down to La Push for a while that night."
  
  "No!" I said, staring at Alice. "No! I can't allow that!"
  
  Alice grinned. "Good."
  
  I rolled my eyes. I couldn't imagine how that meeting would go between Paul and my little old grandma.
  
  Finally, we were done preparing the invitations. Alice left the house, and put the invites in the mailbox. She was back within seconds.
  
  "Now that that's done," she grinned. "Let's plan our decorations!"
  Chapter 16-Graduation
  
  Graduation was a scary thought. I stood outside of the auditorium in shock. Unable to believe that I was graduating.
  
  I was sad that my parents weren't here to see this. Well, I was sadder that my dad wasn't here to see it, not so much my mom.
  
  It was worse that Paul wasn't even here.
  
  I hadn't seen any of my family yet, but I was sure it would be...special.
  
  I stood in the long lineup of nasty yellow graduation gowns.
  
  It's not that the gowns themselves were nasty; it was the colour that turned me off. Underneath the gown, I was wearing a gorgeous little black dress Alice had bought and put on my bed while I was hunting.
  
  I rubbed at my eyes. The contacts were irritating me.
  
  When they called my name, I went up, shook hands, and got my diploma.
  
  I looked out into the audience to see my family clapping for me. But, behind them was a very surprising sight.
  
  There was Billy and Jacob Black...but standing near them was Paul. I stood frozen on the stage, making a complete fool of myself, but I couldn't help it.
  
  Someone cleared their throat and I snapped out of my reverie, and left the stage.
  
  I was shocked Paul had shown up. I hadn't been expecting him at all.
  
  I turned in my seat to try and find him again, but there were too many heads in my way.
  
  Somehow, Edward ended up sitting beside me.
  
  "Get those wolves out of our territory." He whispered.
  
  "Shut up." I whispered back. "I can't control them anymore than you can."
  
  Edward sighed. "They're tempting a war here."
  
  "Edward, please. Can you just enjoy your millionth graduation?"
  
  He chuckled. "I haven't graduated one million times."
  
  I didn't say anything. I watched as Bella stumbled along the stage.
  
  "She'll be so much better once she's turned." I muttered.
  
  Edward glared at me.
  
  "I don't mean she'll be more beautiful." I muttered. "I mean she won't be as much as a threat to herself in the clumsy department."
  
  He sighed. "I know."
  
  I smiled. I think this was the first time Edward had actually admitted, out loud, that Bella being turned would be a good thing.
  
  "I heard you and Alice got into Juilliard." He said.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Congratulations." He said.
  
  "Thanks." I breathed. "I hadn't told Paul yet, and now he probably knows."
  
  "Why didn't you tell him?" Edward asked, I could hear the confusion in his voice.
  
  "There just hasn't been the right moment." I sighed.
  
  He didn't say anything else.
  
  After all the grads had finished receiving their diplomas, and the valedictorian had done her speech, we got to greet our families.
  
  I stood up, and was pulled into a hug from my grandma.
  
  "Melanie, you've grown so much, and you're so beautiful!" she exclaimed in her thick Italian accent.
  
  "Thanks Nona." I smiled. "Umm, I'll talk to you in a minute, I just have to go and see someone real quick."
  
  She nodded, and I took off, pushing through the crowd trying to find Paul.
  
  I could smell him, but I couldn't see him.
  
  I walked right into Jacob.
  
  "Congrats, Mel." He grinned.
  
  "Thanks Jake." I said. "Where did Paul go?"
  
  "He's just out there." Jake said, pointing out of the auditorium.
  
  "Thanks." I said, and left. Out in the front foyer of the school, Paul was waiting.
  
  "You got into Juilliard?" he asked.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Are you going to go?" he asked.
  
  I bit my lip. "I'm thinking about it."
  
  He ran his hands through his hair.
  
  "You really want to go to New York?" he demanded.
  
  I shrugged. "I don't know."
  
  He looked like he was about to punch a wall.
  
  I went over to him, and put my hand on his arm.
  
  "It's okay." I whispered. "I'll call you everyday, if I go, and visit as often as possible."
  
  "Mel, you'll be gone for most of the year." He said quietly.
  
  "Separation will be good for us." I said. "We both know us in a relationship wasn't working for the pack."
  
  He sighed. "I know."
  
  "I have to get back in there, and mingle with my family." I said.
  
  "Bye Mel."
  
  "Bye Paul." I said, and went back inside to face the crowd.
  Chapter 17- Fight. Party. Alliance.
  
  I found my aunt and uncles in the thick crowd. They smiled at me and congratulated me.
  
  "We're all going out for dinner." My aunt Mary said, towing me out to my own car. She had insisted on driving since it was 'my special day'.
  
  I sighed. How would I get out of eating?
  
  Mary made sure my uncles were following us, and that my grandma had her seatbelt on.
  
  "So, Mel, who was that hunk who just about ran up on stage to hug you when you got your diploma?" Mary asked, looking at my in her rearview mirror.
  
  "My..." I paused. How could I describe my relationship with Paul to someone who didn't understand everything supernatural? "He's a really close friend of mine."
  
  "He looks like he wanted to be more than friends." She winked.
  
  I didn't say anything. I didn't want to talk about Paul.
  
  "Where do you want to eat?" my grandma asked.
  
  "I don't really care." I shrugged. I wouldn't be eating much anyway.
  
  "Come on, it's your graduation day, pick a place." Mary said.
  
  "I know Uncle Mike likes the Lodge." I shrugged. "Let's just go there."
  
  Mary sighed. "Are you sure?"
  
  "Yep." I said.
  
  Mary drove to the Lodge, and we all piled inside.
  
  I didn't want to order something. But my aunt was staring me down.
  
  When the waiter came, I ordered a chicken Caesar salad.
  
  I moved the salad around my plate, and stuffed the pieces in my napkin when no one was looking. The restaurant was crowded, and people were talking to their booth neighbours more than anything. Bella and Charlie were here as well. They were four booths away from us. I smiled at Charlie, since Alice and I were friendly with him.
  
  "Mel, why aren't you eating?" Mary asked.
  
  "There was a big graduation breakfast this morning." I lied. "I stuffed my face."
  
  She pursed her lips. "Okay."
  
  She obviously didn't believe me, but that was okay. I'd rather have my aunt think I had some sort of eating disorder than know the real truth.
  
  "So, how was your last year of high school?" uncle Mike asked.
  
  "It was...interesting." I said.
  
  My uncle Alex laughed. "It always is."
  
  Mary didn't say anything.
  
  My grandma was poking at her food. Being Italian, she didn't like eating in restaurants. It was a weird thing my Italian grandparents had. They only liked to eat what they cooked themselves.
  
  Yea, it was strange. But that's how they lived.
  
  I sighed quietly. Smelling this salad was nauseating. I couldn't hold my breath because I needed to make conversation with my family.
  
  "So, Mel, where are you going for college?" Mary asked.
  
  "Actually, I got into Juilliard." I said.
  
  She stared at me. "Juilliard? In New York?"
  
  I nodded.
  
  "That's...amazing!" she said.
  
  I smiled. "Yea, it is."
  
  "Are you sure you want to go all the way to New York though?" Mike asked.
  
  "Yea." I nodded. "My friend Alice is coming too, so I won't be alone."
  
  He nodded. "Good."
  
  "Congratulations." Nona smiled.
  
  "Thanks." I said.
  
  "What are your plans for tonight?" Mary asked.
  
  "Actually, there's a graduation party at...at the house I'm living in." I said.
  
  "The house you're living in?" Mary repeated.
  
  "Yea, when...when dad...you know...I couldn't be alone anymore, so the Cullens' took me in." I explained. "You remember them, right? From last time you visited?"
  
  She nodded. "They're nice?"
  
  I nodded. "Very friendly, once you get to know them."
  
  After they were done eating, my aunt and uncles left.
  
  "Where am I staying?" Nona asked me, once we were in my car.
  
  "Well, you probably don't want to be at the Cullens tonight, since there's going to be a party going on, right?" I asked.
  
  "No." she said. "I'll never get to sleep."
  
  I bit my lip. "Okay, I think I know who to call."
  
  Ten minutes later I was driving down to La Push. I was so thankful Emily had agreed to let my grandma spend the night. It was crazy how nice Emily was.
  
  I pulled into her driveway, and turned to my grandma.
  
  "Nona, please don't stare or comment on her, okay? It bugs her husband." I said.
  
  "Why what's wrong with her?" she asked.
  
  "She has scars on her face." I said. "She was attacked by an animal...on vacation."
  
  She nodded.
  
  I went to Emily's front door, and knocked. Nona was following close behind.
  
  As soon as Emily opened the door, she grinned and pulled me into a hug.
  
  "Oh, it's been so long since you've visited!" she said.
  
  "Way too long." I grinned.
  
  "Does she know about...?" she asked, motioning to Nona.
  
  I shook my head. "Nope."
  
  She nodded. "Okay."
  
  "Nona, this is my friend Emily." I said. "You'll be staying here with her tonight."
  
  "Nice to meet you." Emily smiled.
  
  "You too." Nona grinned.
  
  "I'll be back tomorrow morning to pick you up." I promised.
  
  "Okay." She nodded.
  
  "Thank you so much Em." I said.
  
  "It's my pleasure, really." She smiled.
  
  I grinned.
  
  "Bye Nona." I smiled.
  
  "Bye Melanie." She said.
  
  I turned and went to my car, but stopped when I saw someone leaning against it.
  
  "Hey." He said.
  
  "Hey." I said quietly.
  
  "Are you sure you want to go to New York?" Paul asked.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Why?" he demanded. "What's wrong with Forks? What's wrong with Washington?"
  
  "It's Juilliard, Paul." I said. "One of the top art schools in the country. And I got accepted."
  
  "Why do you even want to go to college?" he asked angrily. "You have everything you could ever want or need right here."
  
  "I want new experiences." I said. "Human experiences I missed out on."
  
  "Mel...I can't let you go." He said.
  
  "Excuse me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
  
  "I can't let you be in another state for most of the year. I can't be away from you that long. It'll drive me crazy."
  
  "This isn't just your life, Paul!" I yelled. "You can't control me! I'm the boss of myself, okay? Just because you've imprinted on me, doesn't mean you control what I do! It's my life!"
  
  "And you're the best part of my life!" he argued.
  
  "Don't you dare try and give me the guilt trip." I growled. "I want to go. I have to do this."
  
  "You don't have to do anything." He said.
  
  "I had to be away from you for 4 months. I had to agree not be involved romantically with you or Jared. I had to be turned into a vampire." I spat.
  
  He didn't move.
  
  "Mel, I need you here safe in this state."
  
  "Oh, so now you don't think I can take care of myself?" I asked coldly. "I'm a vampire, in case you forgot that minor detail."
  
  "It's not that I don't think you can't take care of yourself." He said. "It's that I don't know what's happening to you halfway across the country!"
  
  "No matter what happens I can take care of myself." I said. "I can't believe you're saying this. An hour ago you were fine with it!"
  
  "Well I'm not!" he yelled.
  
  "Then you should've told me that before!" I shot back. "Maybe I would've reconsidered. But now I've told my family. And I'm not changing my mind."
  
  A tremor rolled through him.
  
  He took a deep breath. "Stay in Washington."
  
  It wasn't a request. The tone of his voice told me it was a command.
  
  "You don't control me, Paul." I said, pissed.
  
  "I want you to stay here." He growled.
  
  "You can't make me." I said, raising an eyebrow, challenging him to try and fight with me on this.
  
  Another tremor rolled through him.
  
  I looked into Emily's house. I could see my grandma and her talking.
  
  I could also see Sam looking through the curtains at us.
  
  Probably making sure Paul didn't phase here.
  
  "I have to go." I said. "I have a party I need to help throw."
  
  I pushed him away from my car, and drove to the massive house on the river.
  
  I could hear the music blaring. The party had started.
  
  I pushed my way through the crowd trying to find Alice. Red and purple lights were pulsing, and the music was louder than ever.
  
  Instead, I found Bella, looking confused.
  
  "Where's Alice?" we asked each other at the same time.
  
  We both burst into a fit of laughter.
  
  "I'll go look for her, enjoy the party." I said.
  
  "No, let me go." She said.
  
  "Bella, I'll find her a lot quicker than you will, trust me." I smiled.
  
  She smiled, and then nodded.
  
  I pushed my way threw the thick crowd, and pushed people out of my way.
  
  Jessica ambushed me with a hug.
  
  "We graduated!" she yelled.
  
  "I know!" I exclaimed, looking around.
  
  She smiled, and then ambushed someone else. Mike tried to kiss me on my cheek, but I slapped him away.
  
  Finally, I found Alice, standing in the kitchen doorway, gripping the doorframe as if she needed that support or she would fall over, expression blank. I barely noticed her changed clothes. She was wearing a sequined tank top and red leather pants. I looked down at my black dress. Yep, I would be fine to party in this.
  
  Suddenly, a red light danced across her top, and the reflection hit her face for a little bit.
  
  "Bella's coming." Edward's head snapped up, and he disappeared.
  
  I kneeled in front of Alice, trying to see some sign that she was going to pop back into reality soon enough.
  
  A few moments later, Bella got to the kitchen doorway.
  
  "Has she said anything?" she asked in desperation.
  
  I shook my head, staring into Alice's eyes.
  
  "What, Alice, what? What did you see?" Bella asked, hands clutched in front of her like she was begging for something.
  
  Alice's eyes flicked up to somewhere above my head.
  
  I saw her catch Edward's eye, who abruptly turned and disappeared into the darkness under the stairs.
  
  The doorbell rang, which it hadn't rung in a while. I had been the last one to arrive. Alice and I both looked up in surprise. At first her expression was confused, and then it quickly turned to disgust.
  
  "Who invited the werewolf?" she asked, looking between Bella and me.
  
  Bella scowled. "Guilty."
  
  "Well, you go take care of it, then. I have to go talk to Carlisle. Mel, go with her, I don't trust them."
  
  "Fill me in later." I said at the same time Bella said, "No, Alice wait!" and she tried to reach for Alice's arm, but she only grabbed empty air.
  
  "Damn it!" she grumbled.
  
  "Come on." I said pulling her along to the door.
  
  Bella ignored the doorbell. I sighed and waited. As Jacob held the doorbell down so it would keep ringing, she turned her back to the door, looking for Alice.
  
  "You're not going to find her." I murmured.
  
  She started trying to push her way to the stairs.
  
  "Hey, Bella!" Jacob's deep voice called.
  
  Bella made a face at the three werewolves crowded at the door. Jacob, Quil and Embry were flanking him.
  
  I was relieved Paul wasn't with them.
  
  Quil and Embry looked scared, I knew they didn't like being anywhere near vampires. They had sometimes had a problem with me!
  
  Jacob was waving at Bella. Much more at ease than either of the two chickens flanking him.
  
  I wanted to tell him he should've brought someone tougher. Like Paul...or Jared...
  
  I stopped thoughts of both of them short. I concentrated on the task at hand.
  
  Bella waved to Jake, and pushed her way through the crowd.
  
  Jake sighed, and pulled her back to the shadow of the kitchen. I kept my distance while I could still watch over her to make sure nothing happened.
  
  "Friendly reception." Jake noted. I snorted.
  
  "What are you doing here?" Bella scowled.
  
  "You invited me, remember." I snorted again. He was trying way too hard to get her attention.
  
  "In case my right hook was too subtle for you, let me translate: that was me uninviting you."
  
  I had a feeling Edward would be reading my mind to know how this conversation was going. I know you're in here Edward!
  
  "Don't be a poor sport. I brought you a graduation present and everything."
  
  Bella crossed her arms over her chest. She leaned around Jacob to look for Alice. Again.
  
  "Take it back to the store, Jake. I've got to do something..."
  
  He stepped right in front of her. "I can't take it back. I didn't get it from the store-I made it myself. Took a really long time too."
  
  Bella leaned around him again.
  
  "Bella, let him talk." I said loud enough so she'd hear me.
  
  "Oh c'mon, Bell. Don't pretend like I'm not here!"
  
  "I'm not." She was still looking for Alice and Edward. "Look, Jake, I've got a lot on my mind right now."
  
  He put his hand under her chin, making her meet his eyes.
  
  "Jake..." I growled softly.
  
  He ignored me. "Could I please have just a few seconds of your undivided attention, Miss Swan?"
  
  She jerked away from him. "Keep your hands to yourself Jacob!"
  
  "Sorry!" he said, putting his hands up. Then, he apologized for kissing her the other day. Told her he had deluded himself into thinking she wanted him. Damn right.
  
  "Be nice. You could accept my apology." He said.
  
  "Fine. Apology accepted. Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment..."
  
  "Bella..." I warned.
  
  Bella stopped looking for Alice and looked hard at Jacob. I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he was giving a puppy dog face.
  
  "I guess you'd rather be with your real friends. I get it."
  
  I rolled my eyes.
  
  "Aw, Jake, you know that's not fair!" Bella groaned.
  
  "Do I?" he asked evenly. Again, I rolled my eyes.
  
  I didn't like listening in to conversations, but Edward would have my head on a platter if I stopped listening.
  
  "You should." Bella said. She leaned forward, trying to look into his eyes. "Jake?" he looked away.
  
  She feigned enthusiasm for the gift he had brought her. She held her hand open in front of her, waiting.
  
  He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a bag of very, very loose woven bag of multi coloured fabric.
  
  I laughed as Bella thanked him for the bag.
  
  He sighed and explained that the present was inside the bag.
  
  She had trouble opening the bag, which made me want to do it for her, but before I could Jake took it from her and opened it for her.
  
  He turned the bag over in her hand, and a small silver chain fell out. On it was a tiny wooden carving of a tiny wolf.
  
  Bella made him put it on her left wrist, which with his big hands you'd think he would have trouble, but he did it almost perfectly.
  
  "Why are you so distracted?" he finally asked.
  
  I let out a laugh at her attempt to lie to him. And he called her out on it.
  
  He knew something big was going on, and he knew Alice had seen something. Bella promised to tell him when she knew what was going on. Jake looked around the room, and caught Quil and Embry's eyes, who automatically came to his sides.
  
  They towered over Bella, and I moved closer to her so I was flanking her. I cocked an eyebrow at the wolves, giving them a clear warning.
  
  "Now. Explain." He demanded.
  
  "I don't like your tone." I growled.
  
  Poor Embry and Quil. They looked so confused.
  
  "Jake, I don't know everything." She said. She looked around. I put my hand on her shoulder, letting her know I was here.
  
  "What do you know, then?" he asked.
  
  "Don't talk to her like that." I snapped.
  
  Embry gave me a weird look, but his expression cleared when he obviously remembered what had happened.
  
  "Alice!" Bella squeaked.
  
  My head whipped around, and Alice met Bella's eyes. Her eyes lingered on me, and then to the wolves looming over us. Her eyes narrowed at them. Alice skipped over to us.
  
  Automatically the wolves leaned away from her, and slightly closer to me. I rolled my eyes. Asses. She put her arm around Bella's waist.
  
  "I need to talk to both of you." she murmured, catching my eye.
  
  "Er...Jake I'll see you later." Bella said, as we tried to leave.
  
  Before we could go, Jacob threw his arm out, blocking our way.
  
  "Hey, not so fast."
  
  "Excuse me?" Alice asked incredulously.
  
  "Tell us what's going on." He growled.
  
  Out of no where, Jasper appeared on the other side of Jacob's arm. The look on his face was even scaring me. Slowly, Jacob pulled his arm away from the wall.
  
  "We have a right to know." He said, looking from Alice to me.
  
  Jasper stepped between Alice and the wolves.
  
  Bella tried to lighten the mood, but it wouldn't work.
  
  Jasper and I were both poised to attack. I don't know how I begun to crouch but I had.
  
  I glanced at Alice, she looked thoughtful.
  
  "It's okay, Jazz...he actually has a point." Alice said. Jasper didn't move an inch.
  
  Finally, Bella asked, "What did you see, Alice?"
  
  I had been curious about this too. Alice glanced at Jake, and then turned to Bella. I was shocked that she was letting the wolves hear.
  
  "The decision's been made." She said.
  
  I gasped.
  
  "You're going to Seattle?" Bella asked.
  
  I was already shaking my head, knowing the truth.
  
  "No..." Alice said, and then glanced at me.
  
  "They're coming here." I whispered.
  
  Bella was shocked. "They're...they're coming here?" she choked out.
  
  Alice nodded somberly.
  
  "To Forks?" Bella whispered.
  
  Alice nodded again.
  
  "For?" the way Bella had asked it, I knew she already knew the answer.
  
  Alice nodded again, understanding that Bella had already known the answer. "One carried your red shirt."
  
  "We can't let them get that far. There aren't enough of us to protect the town." Jacob said.
  
  "I know." Alice said. "But it doesn't matter where we stop them. There won't be enough of us, and some of them will come here to search."
  
  "No!" Bella and I both whispered.
  
  "Alice," Bella whispered. "I have to go; I have to get away from here."
  
  "That won't help." I said, already putting the pieces together. "They'll still come here."
  
  "Then I have to go meet them!" Bella said. "If they find what they're looking for, maybe they'll go away and not hurt anyone else!"
  
  "That's stupid, Bella!" I said.
  
  "Hold it." Jacob said. "What is coming?"
  
  Alice gave him an icy look. "Our kind. Lots of them."
  
  "Why?"
  
  "For Bella." I said.
  
  "There are too many for you?" he asked.
  
  Jasper rolled his eyes. "We have a few advantages, dog. It will be an even fight."
  
  "No." Jacob said, grinning like an idiot. "It won't be even."
  
  Alice grinned. "Excellent!"
  
  Everything clicked. The wolves and the vampires were going to work together. It was an impossible possibility, but it would work.
  
  Bella was trying to get the wolves out of it. Alice tried to calm her down.
  
  The wolves, Jasper, Alice, and I were getting excited, and began ignoring Bella's protests.
  
  We made a deal to meet the wolves later tonight for a strategic meeting. Jasper was going to help train them, and us.
  
  "This will be odd." Jasper said thoughtfully. "I never considered working together. This will be a first."
  
  I grinned at Alice.
  
  Three a.m., that was when we were meeting. The wolves turned to leave, and for the last time Bella tried talking Jake out of it.
  
  He rolled his eyes and told her not to worry.
  
  The wolves left and the party went on as if our confrontation had never happened.
  Chapter 18-Training
  
  Alice and I cleaned up after everyone left at about two o'clock. It was funny how edgy Bella was. Alice tried to soothe her, and then made sure Jasper was calming her down.
  
  "Bella, its fine." I said. "We'll be fine. You have absolutely nothing to worry about."
  
  She sighed, and Edward took her home.
  
  I was so thankful Jacob had come up with his plan. It made the fight look a whole lot better for us. We had an amazing chance at winning this thing.
  
  It dawned on me suddenly. We could win, without any of us getting too hurt in the process.
  
  With the wolves helping us, we would win this fight.
  
  "Alice, this is going to work." I breathed.
  
  She grinned. "I know.
  
  Emmett was bouncing with excitement.
  
  "We have two newborns on our side, going through training." He grinned.
  
  "Bree isn't fighting." I snapped.
  
  "What?" he and Alice both asked.
  
  "If they see her, they'll take her and rip her apart. She's staying away from the fight."
  
  "She's right." Bree said, coming into view. "If any of them see me, they'll kill me. I'm staying here that night."
  
  Esme nodded. "You'll be okay?"
  
  She nodded, and smiled. "I know where everything is."
  
  "Good." Alice said. "Are you coming with us this morning?"
  
  "Will Bella be there?" she asked hesitantly.
  
  We nodded.
  
  "No, I won't come then." She decided. "I don't need to think about her while we're training."
  
  At about two-thirty we headed out to the field. It was the big field we would occasionally play baseball in.
  
  We stood together, talking casually. We weren't antsy, this wasn't the fight. This was Jasper's training session.
  
  A while later, Edward and Bella arrived.
  
  Bella looked nervous, either that or she was in deep concentration.
  
  Edward and Bella stood off to the side, separating themselves from the group.
  
  I didn't listen to what they were talking about, instead I wrestled Emmett.
  
  Of course, I won.
  
  I glanced at Alice. She didn't look as excited as the rest.
  
  She was watching Jasper stretch. I poked him.
  
  "What's wrong with her?" I asked.
  
  "She can't see anything now that the wolves have interfered."
  
  I nodded. "Makes sense. She's probably annoyed."
  
  He laughed. "Oh, she is."
  
  Edward and Bella came closer to us.
  
  "Prepare yourselves-they've been holding out on us." Edward warned.
  
  "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Alice demanded.
  
  "Shh." Was all he said.
  
  Poor Alice.
  
  Our loose little circle turned into a line.
  
  I looked into the forest and gasped.
  
  There were ten of them. Last I had known there were eight. Who else had joined?
  
  I guess I was out of the loop now.
  
  I scanned the massive figures in the forest. Automatically I found Paul. He was as far away from Jared as he could be. I sighed. Would they ever stop?
  
  Carlisle stepped forward. "Welcome."
  
  "Thank you." Edward responded, mirroring Sam's voice perfectly. "We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self control."
  
  Paul was staring at me. I could feel his eyes on me, but I kept my gaze straight ahead to Sam and Carlisle.
  
  "That is more than enough. My son, Jasper has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, and how they are to be defeated. I'm sure you can apply this to your own hunting style."
  
  "They are different from you?" Edward asked in Sam's voice.
  
  Carlisle nodded. "They are all very new-only months old to this life. Children, in away. Like Melanie was when she was first turned." Carlisle motioned to me. "They will have no skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty." I glanced at Alice, who cleared her throat. "Sorry, nineteen. We have one who has surrendered under our care at the moment. Anyway, it shouldn't be too difficult. The numbers may go down even more. The new ones enjoy fighting amongst themselves."
  
  An enthusiastic rumble rolled through the line of wolves. They were excited.
  
  "We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary." Edward translated.
  
  "We'll see how it plays out." Carlisle promised.
  
  "Do you know when and how they'll arrive?"
  
  "They'll come across the mountains in four days, in the late morning. As they approach, Alice here will help us intercept their path."
  
  "Thank you for the information. We will now watch." Edward said.
  
  The wolves lowered themselves to the ground.
  
  Jasper took a silent step into the empty space between the vampires and the wolves. From where I was standing, I could see the faint scars that stood out on his skin.
  
  He looked at us. He was ignoring the wolves, as I was.
  
  "Carlisle's right. They'll fight like children. The two most important things you'll need to remember are that you can't let them get their arms around you, and don't go for the obvious kill. That's all they'll be prepared for. As long as you come at them from the side and keep moving, they'll be too confused to respond effectively. Mel?"
  
  I stepped forward, smiling at Jasper.
  
  I heard a low growl from a certain grey wolf.
  
  "I wanted to go first!" Emmett whined.
  
  "Mel should go first; she's the youngest one here." Jasper explained. "Although Emmett would be the best example of a newborn attack, Mel actually is a newborn in a way. And, for whichever of you are imprinted on her, you'll see she can fight."
  
  I grinned at Jasper, and he began backing up.
  
  "First, I want you to attack like a newborn. Think about blood, and the blood you want is in my hand. Then, I would like you to use your powers against me to show that you can fight."
  
  Jasper stopped backing up, and motioned for me to charge.
  
  I ran at him as fast as I could. I reached for him, but he vanished.
  
  I turned, and ran at him again. He disappeared again.
  
  How Jasper was faster than me was totally over my head.
  
  My head snapped around. This time, I was going to get him. I ran at him with all my speed, and grasped his wrist.
  
  Jasper did some fancy ass movement, and he was behind me, twisting my wrist around behind my back, teeth inches from my neck.
  
  I swore. "You win."
  
  I heard a growl erupt from the forest.
  
  "Let go." I whispered. "Or you'll have a wolf trying to eat you."
  
  Jasper released me. "Now, use the power of the elements against me."
  
  I grinned. "With pleasure."
  
  I closed my eyes, and summoned the power of all the elements. I let their presence fill me.
  
  First, I turned myself invisible. Jasper looked confused for a second, which made me grin even more.
  
  I used wind to distract him, and wet him a bit to confuse him. I made the grass tie him down (I made it a lot stronger), and finally, I went behind him, grasped his arm, and lit a little fire on it. It wouldn't do any damage, I knew that much.
  
  He laughed. "Okay, you win."
  
  I released the elements, and felt slightly empty when they weren't with me full force anymore.
  
  Next, it was Emmett's turn.
  
  His was a lot like mine. Except Emmett never got a hold of Jasper.
  
  "Again." Emmett insisted.
  
  "It's my turn." Edward whined.
  
  "In a minute." Jasper said with a grin. "I want to show Bella something."
  
  Bella stared as Jasper waved Alice forward.
  
  "I know how much you worry about her." He explained. "I want to show you why that's not necessary.
  
  It was hard for me to watch as he sank into a crouch and faced her. I knew he would never let anything happen to her, but it would be like me having to fight Paul. It wouldn't happen.
  
  Alice closed her eyes, and Jasper stalked towards her.
  
  Suddenly, he sprang. He was a blur as he landed on the other side of Alice.
  
  It was so simple what she was doing, just taking a small step forward right before he would have hit her.
  
  They began moving faster, and it became somewhat of a dance between them.
  
  Finally, Alice giggled. She was perched on Jasper's back.
  
  "Gotcha." She said, and pecked his neck.
  
  "You truly are one frightening little monster." Jasper chuckled.
  
  "My turn." Edward said.
  
  I stood beside Bella, and Alice took Edward's place.
  
  "Cool, huh?" Alice asked, grinning.
  
  "Very." Bella said, keeping her eyes on Edward.
  
  "I've got my eye on you Bella." Alice warned in a low voice. "I'll warn him if your plans get any more defined. It doesn't help anything for you to put yourself in danger. Do you think either of them would give up if you died? They'd still fight, we all would. You can't change anything, so just be good, okay?"
  
  Bella grimaced.
  
  "Mel and I will both be watching." Alice growled.
  
  Bella was watching Edward and Jasper fight worriedly. Jasper's experience and Edward's mind-reading made it the first really fair fight. Finally, Carlisle cleared his throat. They're little fight had gone on long enough.
  
  "Back to work." Jasper smiled. "We'll call it a draw."
  
  Everyone took turns. Watching Jasper attack Esme was hard. She was so innocent, and would never hurt a fly. But, she did have a fire in there that rarely showed itself.
  
  Soon, our training session was over.
  
  "We'll be doing this again tomorrow. Please feel free to come observe again." Jasper said.
  
  "Yes, we'll be here." Edward said in Sam's voice.
  
  Edward sighed quietly. "The pack thinks it would be helpful to be familiar with each of our scents-so they don't make mistakes later. If we could hold very still, it will make it easier for them."
  
  "Certainly," Carlisle said, looking at Sam. "Whatever you need."
  
  The wolf pack rose to their feet. They knew my scent...they wouldn't need to sniff me. Right?
  
  Right?
  
  Turns out, I was wrong.
  
  The wolves lined up, Sam at the front, followed by Jake, Paul, Jared, Embry, Quil, Seth, leah, and the two new wolves coming up behind. One was light grey, and one was sandy coloured.
  
  Sam sniffed Carlisle, and moved on to Jasper.
  
  Sam made his way through us, and stopped at me.
  
  "You know my scent." I said. He sniffed me anyway, and gave me an annoyed look.
  
  Jake had made his way over to Bella. He hadn't gone through the line of vampires.
  
  Next, it was Paul's turn.
  
  I looked away, and held my hand out for him.
  
  I know he knew my scent, and he didn't need to sniff me.
  
  He kept himself planted in front of me.
  
  I didn't look at him.
  
  He whined softly.
  
  A couple growls erupted from the wolves behind him.
  
  "You're holding up the line." I said quietly.
  
  He still wouldn't move.
  
  Jared snapped behind him, and shoved Paul away. Paul bared his teeth at him, and snarled.
  
  "Stop!" I yelled, glaring at him. "Go with Sam."
  
  He looked at me, seeming angry, then stormed away.
  
  I looked at Jared.
  
  "You know my scent." I snapped, annoyed at their behaviour.
  
  Jared rolled his eyes and went to where Sam and Jared were waiting in the forest.
  
  The Cullens were trying not to stare, but Alice kept throwing worried glances at me the whole time the wolves were sniffing us.
  
  After a few minutes, the wolves left. Jacob stayed behind, looking at Bella.
  
  Edward was talking to Bella and Jacob. I didn't pay attention. I could still see a grey wolf lingering in the woods, watching me. I turned away, looking for Alice.
  
  I found her, smacking Emmett playfully.
  
  "Are you okay?" she asked me.
  
  "Yea, I'm fine. Stupid wolves." I muttered.
  
  She smiled, and put her hand on my shoulder.
  
  "It's okay. He's being an idiot about you leaving. I know." She soothed. "You'll be fine."
  
  "Yea I know." I said. "I'd just feel weird about leaving without clearing everything up with him." I said sadly.
  
  "For him, clearing everything up would be you staying here. He's not going to be happy unless you stay." Alice said.
  
  I sighed. "I know."
  
  "Jasper?" Edward called.
  
  Jasper and Alice went over to Edward.
  
  I stared as Jacob held his arms out in front of him. Jake had to carry Bella to see if we could confuse the scent to hide Bella's trail.
  
  Finally, Jacob got frustrated, and picked her up. He walked into the forest with her.
  
  Alice waved me over to her.
  
  I was at her side in a second.
  
  "Can you smell Bella?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.
  
  "No, all I can smell is dog." I said, wrinkling my own nose in distaste. Paul's smell was really the only one I could deal with.
  
  "Well?" Bella asked, once at Edward's side again.
  
  "As long as you don't touch anything, Bella, I can't imagine anyone sticking their nose close enough to that trail to catch your scent. It was almost completely obscured."
  
  "A definite success." Alice said.
  
  "And it gave me an idea." Jasper smiled.
  
  "Which will work." Alice grinned.
  
  "Clever." Edward agreed.
  
  The plan was simple. Bella would leave a false trail to the clearing, and the newborns would come right where we needed them.
  
  Again, I felt very confident in our plan.
  
  We would win this thing.
  
  Alice had seen it would work.
  Chapter 19-Oh Brother
  
  The next morning, I went down to La Push to pick up my grandma. Waiting outside Emily's house was Paul.
  
  I ignored him, and went to Emily's front porch.
  
  "Hey! I want to talk to you!" he yelled over the ever-constant rain. I ignored him, and knocked on the door.
  
  "Aw come on, Mel! Don't pretend I'm not here!" he pleaded.
  
  I knocked on Emily's door again. I could hear a shower running inside.
  
  I swore under my breath. Great.
  
  "Please, Mel." Paul pleaded. "I need to talk to you."
  
  "No." I said icily. "I don't care anymore. I told you I can take care of myself, and you know that."
  
  "If you love me you'll stay." He whispered. I recoiled as if he had slapped me.
  
  I whirled around to face him.
  
  "How dare you say that?" I demanded.
  
  "Because I want you here." He said.
  
  "Well, you can't have me here." I snapped. "Paul, get this through your head, you don't control me."
  
  "Please stay." He whispered.
  
  "No." I said coldly. "If you loved me you would let me go."
  
  He flinched. "Don't say that like I don't love you."
  
  "Don't pretend I don't love you, then!" I yelled.
  
  He looked into the forest.
  
  "I didn't mean it like that." He whispered.
  
  "Well that's how it sounded to me." I said.
  
  He didn't say anything.
  
  "I truly didn't mean it that way." He said.
  
  "Stop." I said, waving him away. "We are barely supposed to see each other. And I just want to pick up my grandma, and leave."
  
  The comfort I used to feel in La Push seemed to have been lost when Paul and I broke up. I was edgy being here now, especially with Paul's eyes boring into my back.
  
  I knocked on the door again. "Emily!"
  
  I heard Paul move behind me. I was hoping he was leaving.
  
  He turned me around, looked into my eyes, and wrapped his arms around me.
  
  "Mel, please." He said, pleading with his eyes. "Please stay here with me. Four months away from you was too much for me, how can I survive longer than that?"
  
  In that moment, I wanted to tell him that I would stay. Assure him that I would never leave his side again. Promise to move back done here with him. Promise that I wouldn't ever leave him again.
  
  But I didn't. I couldn't. I had already told Juilliard I was coming, and I had my schedule.
  
  "I can't." I whispered.
  
  "You can." He growled. "You want to."
  
  I shook my head, and squeezed my eyes shut.
  
  "I can't, Paul." I said.
  
  Paul was leaning towards me, his face inches from mine.
  
  I found myself leaning towards him, wanting to kiss him with everything in me.
  
  I hadn't noticed when Emily's front door opened until someone cleared their throat.
  
  I sprang away from Paul, and then froze, nervous I had just done something no human should see me do.
  
  I looked at the door, and saw Sam glaring at us, hair dripping wet.
  
  "You just can't keep your hands off her, can you?" he growled.
  
  Paul didn't say anything.
  
  "Your grandmother is waiting for you." Sam said, turning his glare on me.
  
  "Maybe if you didn't take such long showers I would be in there by now." I muttered, totally embarrassed he had witnessed that almost kiss.
  
  I pushed past Sam and went inside Emily's homey house.
  
  My grandma surprised me. She was sitting in Em's kitchen eating a pancake.
  
  "Nona, you're actually eating?" I asked in shock.
  
  She nodded. "Emily is a very good cook."
  
  I laughed. "I know."
  
  "Eat something." She urged.
  
  "No, I'm not hungry." I said. "Breakfast makes me sick."
  
  Emily bit back a laugh. If only Nona knew just how true that was.
  
  I could hear Sam and Paul conversing. I didn't listen, but I did pick up that they were running. Someone named Collin couldn't go.
  
  As Nona finished her pancake, I grabbed her little suitcase she had brought with her.
  
  "Are you ready, Nona?" I asked.
  
  "Yes." She nodded. "Thank you so much, Emily."
  
  Emily smiled. "It was really my pleasure."
  
  "Thanks, Em." I whispered, hugging her.
  
  "You should really visit more." She whispered back. "Don't worry about who might be here. You are always welcome here."
  
  I smiled. "Thanks."
  
  Nona and I got into my car quickly. I didn't want any of the wolves leaving the forest with Nona right outside.
  
  "What are we doing today, Nona?" I asked, beginning the drive back to Forks.
  
  She shrugged. "I don't know. Where am I staying tonight?"
  
  "At the Cullens' place." I said. "Well, my place, too."
  
  She nodded. "Okay."
  
  "How long are you staying?" I asked.
  
  "I'm leaving Friday." She said.
  
  Today was Wednesday. I only had about two days of avoiding meals.
  
  "Melanie..." she said, biting her lip. "I have something to tell you."
  
  "What is it?" I asked, glancing nervously at her. She sounded really serious.
  
  She looked upset, but then looked into my eyes, and looked shocked.
  
  "Melanie, what happened to your eyes?" she asked.
  
  I looked away from her automatically, blinking severely. I had forgotten my contacts this morning.
  
  "Nothing, Nona, my eyes change colour." I said, looking ahead at the road.
  
  "In all the years I've known you, your eyes have always been green." She said. "Never once have they gone that brownish gold colour, Melanie."
  
  "It's nothing." I said.
  
  "What happened to you?" she suddenly asked a fire in her voice I had never heard before.
  
  "Nothing." I said.
  
  "Melanie, I know what's going on." She said.
  
  I stomped on the brake.
  
  "You what?" I repeated.
  
  "You aren't eating; don't think I didn't notice that yesterday and today. This was what I wanted to tell you about." She said. "But, right now you're in the middle of traffic. Pull over right away."
  
  I pulled over, in shock. Nona knew?
  
  "How?" I gasped.
  
  "Well, that's what I needed to talk to you about." She said. "This is going to be a little bit of a shock to you." she bit her lip. "You have a brother."
  
  "A brother?" I asked, raising a brow.
  
  She nodded. "He's your twin; your parents couldn't handle more than one child at the time. It was right when they first got married that you and him were born."
  
  "So, what? They just...put him up for adoption?" I asked.
  
  She nodded.
  
  "Why didn't they ever tell me?" I asked, horrified.
  
  "They never wanted you to know." She said.
  
  "How did you find him?" I asked.
  
  "He found me." She said. "But Melanie, he is like you."
  
  "Like me?" I asked. "Well, Nona, he is my...my twin brother." I said.
  
  "No, no, no." she said, shaking her head. "Melanie, I know what you are. You are a vampire. He is like you."
  
  "Nona, how do you know all this?" I asked.
  
  "He told me." She explained.
  
  "Can I meet him?" I asked.
  
  She nodded. "He wants to meet you, too."
  
  "What's his name?" I asked.
  
  "Seth." She answered, smiling. "He's very nice."
  
  "What does he hunt?" I asked suddenly.
  
  "Animals." Nona answered.
  
  I nodded. "Good. Where is he?"
  
  "I have to call him and tell him to come." She said.
  
  "Please, call him." I said, handing her my cell. I was anxious to meet this mystery brother.
  
  I started driving to the Cullen house. Nona talked to Seth the whole way there.
  
  He was going to meet us at the Cullen house. He would smell Nona there.
  
  Her eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw the house.
  
  "This is where you're staying?" she gasped.
  
  I nodded. "Come in and meet the family."
  
  I carried Nona's suitcase into the house, with her following quietly behind me, looking around in shock.
  
  I walked into the front door, and every Cullen in the house looked up at me in surprise. My eyes trailed around the room. Surprisingly, Carlisle was here. I looked at the clock. Edward was with Bella.
  
  "Nona, this is Alice." I said, motioning to the tiny girl. "And this is her husband Jasper."
  
  "Pleasure to meet you." Alice smiled.
  
  Jasper smiled at her.
  
  "This is Esme, Nona." I said.
  
  "Oh it's lovely to meet you." Esme said in her care giving way.
  
  "This is her husband Carlisle." I said.
  
  Carlisle shook Nona's hand. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
  
  "On the couch over there is Rosalie and Emmett." I explained.
  
  Emmett grinned.
  
  "And they are all like you?" Nona asked me, wide-eyed.
  
  The Cullens stared at me.
  
  "She knows?" Alice whispered.
  
  "Yea, I have to talk to you, ASAP." I said.
  
  "Okay." Alice said, nodding in understanding. "You don't need to tell me. I saw what you were going to say."
  
  The Cullens in the house looked warily between Alice and I.
  
  "Are you okay?" she asked me.
  
  I nodded. "Just really, really surprised."
  
  "I would think." She whispered.
  
  "Can someone please explain to me what's going on?" Emmett asked, annoyed.
  
  "Shut up, Emmett." I muttered.
  
  He didn't say anything, just turned back to the TV. He was watching baseball, Toronto Blue Jays against New York Yankees.
  
  "Are you hungry?" Esme asked.
  
  "No, I'm fine." Nona said.
  
  Alice sighed.
  
  "We don't need any more stress." Alice whispered.
  
  "I know." I whispered back. "She's leaving Friday. Maybe we can use him in the fight or something."
  
  Alice pursed her lips.
  
  "Maybe." She said. "When is he coming?"
  
  I shrugged. "He said he'd follow her scent here."
  
  I took Nona's bags up to my room. I wasn't using it, and there was a perfectly good bed up there for her.
  
  When I went back downstairs, there was a stranger in the front foyer area.
  
  I was face to face with the brother I never knew I had.
  Chapter 20-Bonding
  
  I stared at him. It was obvious we were siblings. He had the same colour hair as me. That was really the only similarity, seeing as we were both perfect, frozen in time beings.
  
  I knew if his eyes weren't a beautiful golden colour, they would've been the same colour green mine used to be.
  
  "You're Seth?" I asked.
  
  He nodded, biting his lip.
  
  This must have been one of the most awkward conversations in history.
  
  Finally, Emmett broke our awkward silence.
  
  "Hey, Seth?" he called. Seth's eyes never left my face. "Do you like baseball?"
  
  "Yes, I do." Seth said, seemingly mesmerized by me, as I was mesmerized by him.
  
  "Jays versus Yankees." Emmett said.
  
  "Who's winning?" Seth asked, but his mind was obviously not concerned.
  
  "Jays. Seven nothing." Emmett said.
  
  "Good." Seth muttered.
  
  Emmett shrugged.
  
  I stared at my brother. The jet black hair, insanely pale skin, golden eyes, perfect face.
  
  He had the face of a model.
  
  I glanced at Alice. "Can we go somewhere else? Somewhere private?"
  
  Alice nodded. "Dining room? Kitchen? Bedrooms? Attic?"
  
  "Is the attic okay with you?" I asked Seth.
  
  He nodded. "Lead the way."
  
  I led him up to the attic, and he was looking around in awe.
  
  I had barely ever been in the attic, but, like the rest of the house, it was perfect. Esme had redecorated it, and so it was like a little loft on it's own up here.
  
  The Cullens kept lots of room for any guests that might show up.
  
  Seth looked around the attic.
  
  "Is everything in this house perfect?" he muttered.
  
  I chuckled. "Pretty much."
  
  "So, we're twins." He said.
  
  I took a deep, unnecessary breath. "Yep."
  
  "Did they ever tell you...?" he asked, trailing off. Knowing I'd understand.
  
  "Never." I said, shaking my head. "They never told me about you."
  
  He nodded.
  
  "Did you know you were adopted?" I asked.
  
  He scratched his head. "I don't think so. I can't remember my human life as well. There are pieces I remember, but some of the things just slip through."
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Do you remember your human life?" he asked.
  
  I nodded again.
  
  "How?" he gasped.
  
  "It might be something 'special' with me." I said. "I can control the elements, they help me with my self control, and probably how I remember my human life."
  
  "Who turned you?" he asked.
  
  "Well...it depends on how you look at it..." I said.
  
  He looked at me curiously.
  
  "That blonde male vampire downstairs? His name is Carlisle?" I asked. Seth nodded, having been introduced already. "He injected me with a syringe of our mother's venom. I had fallen off a cliff and my...my husband at the time took me to him, asking him to save me."
  
  "Our mother?" he asked.
  
  "Yea, she's a vampire." I sighed. "She left for conferences, and met a vampire. He turned her, and has been torturing me ever since."
  
  "What does she look like?" he asked.
  
  "She has dark hair. It's long, and most of the time has curls in it. She isn't like us, us vegetarian vamps, she feeds off of humans. She has red eyes. She looks a bit like me...or I guess I look like her...whatever." I sighed. "We look more like our dad, but I do have a bit of her in me. More than you do anyway. We have her nose."
  
  Jeez, I was rambling.
  
  "Do you remember who turned you?" I asked.
  
  "The woman you just described turned me." He said softly.
  
  "Lovely." I muttered. "You obviously didn't want 'her lifestyle', as she had told me once."
  
  "She offered me everything." He whispered. "And then she bit me. She wanted me to travel with her; she said something about you, actually. And a woman named Victoria. She wanted me to join them. I told her no, that I didn't know her, and she got mad. She tried to fight me, but I was much stronger and faster than her. I got away from her, and she hasn't tried to find me since then. Ever since, I've been hunting animals."
  
  "Thank god you didn't go with her." I said. "I would hate to have to fight my own brother who I never knew."
  
  He smiled. "I know what you mean."
  
  "How did you find Nona?" I asked.
  
  "I wanted to find out who my family was." He explained. "My real family. So I did some research. I found Nona, and she told me about you. Our father is dead?"
  
  I nodded. "A vampire killed him. A vampire who almost killed me killed him."
  
  "Wow." Seth breathed. "You get yourself into a whole bunch of crap, don't you?"
  
  I chuckled. "Danger's my middle name."
  
  He laughed.
  
  I was glad this wasn't as awkward as it had been downstairs.
  
  "Mel, why does our grandmother smell like a wet dog?" he asked suddenly.
  
  I burst out laughing.
  
  "She spent the night with some people down on La Push reservation." I explained. "There's a pack of wolves down there. One of which is married to the woman who she stayed with last night."
  
  Seth took this in. "You let her stay with a pack of dogs?"
  
  Suddenly, I felt defensive. The skepticism in his voice was clear, and I didn't like it.
  
  "They aren't dangerous." I growled. "Emily, the woman she stayed with, is the nicest person on the planet. She's married to a wolf because he's imprinted on her."
  
  "Someone's imprinted on you." he said. It wasn't a question, he knew.
  
  I nodded. "Two of them are, actually."
  
  "And you're married to one of them?" he asked.
  
  "Not anymore." I said, looking away. My phone vibrated in my pocket, but I ignored it.
  
  Seth let it drop. He seemed to understand these things. Twin thing?
  
  "Have you had any fight training?" I asked.
  
  "None." He said.
  
  "Tonight, we're going to have a training session to fight against an army of newborn vampires, you should sit in with us." I said. "We could use all the help we can get."
  
  "Sure." He said.
  
  I smiled. It was strange to think I had a brother. As a little girl I had always wished for a sibling, even as a teenager I had wanted that brother-sister relationship with Jared.
  
  "How long have you been a vampire?" I asked.
  
  "She turned me on our birthday." He muttered. "What about you?"
  
  "It was in March." I said. "How long did it take for your eyes?"
  
  "Six months." He said. Three more months until my eyes were golden. I sighed.
  
  "Do you need to hunt?" I asked.
  
  "No, I hunted on the way here." He said.
  
  I nodded. "Okay."
  
  "Mel! Your wolf is her!" Alice called, annoyed.
  
  I groaned. "Tell him I'm not here."
  
  "With pleasure." I heard her mutter. I could almost see the grin on her face.
  
  "Go away, she's not home." I heard Alice say.
  
  "Why...?" Seth muttered.
  
  I held my finger up to my lips, warning him not to say anything. I knew Paul would come storming up here.
  
  "I know she's here, leech." He snarled.
  
  "She went hunting, mutt." Alice retorted. This wouldn't end pretty. "You know, we may have agreed to work together, but that gives you no excuse to call me names."
  
  "I want to see Mel." He growled.
  
  "And I've told you already that she isn't here." Alice said. "Now, if you do not leave, I'll remove you."
  
  "Bring it on." He snapped.
  
  "Don't tempt me, dog." She said dangerously. "Don't underestimate me."
  
  "She may be little, but she's tough." Emmett said.
  
  "There are two more vampires here." Paul said. "I can smell them."
  
  "They are of no concern to you." Alice said.
  
  "Are they newborns?" he asked through his teeth. Ahh, so this was why he was here. Sam had sent him to get the dirt.
  
  "One is, one was part of the army. She has surrendered. Mel wanted to help her." Alice explained.
  
  "And the other?"
  
  I glanced at Seth. He was looking away.
  
  "I think Mel should tell you that. When she returns." Alice growled.
  
  "I know she's here." Paul growled.
  
  "I think I know if she's here or not." Alice said, annoyed.
  
  "Who's that?" he asked.
  
  "That's Mel's grandmother." Alice said.
  
  "Oh she is definitely here, then." Paul said.
  
  I could hear him push past Alice.
  
  I sighed. Here we go again.
  
  "Mel, where are you?" Paul called.
  
  I didn't answer. I was still annoyed at him for the scene he had caused last night. And his trying to force me out of going to New York.
  
  "Come on, Mel!" he whined. "I want to talk to you!"
  
  I didn't answer him.
  
  He climbed up the stairs to the attack. I swore under my breath.
  
  "I can sniff you out where ever you are." He grinned.
  
  I rolled my eyes.
  
  "Who's this?" he asked, motioning to Seth.
  
  "This is Seth." I said. "He's my brother."
  
  "Your brother?" he repeated.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Did you know about this brother when we were together?" he asked.
  
  I shook my head. "Nope."
  
  "Your mom?" he asked.
  
  I nodded, flinching slightly. It still stung to know she had kept Seth from me.
  
  "Mel, are you okay?" he asked softly.
  
  I nodded. "You should go run along to Sam. He'll be wondering if we ate you."
  
  "Don't be like that." He said.
  
  "Just go." I said.
  
  Paul scowled, and left me alone with Seth.
  
  "Are you okay?" he asked softly.
  
  I nodded. "I'm fine, don't worry about me."
  
  He pursed his lips. "He's your ex?"
  
  I nodded.
  
  "May I ask why?"
  
  "Things got complicated between us." I said. "We agreed not to be involved with each other. It was too complicated with two of them imprinted on me. So we broke up. And now we've gotten into this huge, meaningless fight because I'm going to Juilliard in New York next semester."
  
  "And he's upset with your decision to go." Seth said.
  
  I nodded. "He wants me to stay here."
  
  "You shouldn't."
  
  I looked at Seth.
  
  "I'm not going to."
  
  "Good, you shouldn't let him control you." he said, smiling.
  
  "He knows I won't let him do that." I smiled.
  
  For the rest of the day, Seth and I bonded. We learned more about each other. We each had eighteen years to talk about that had been lost between us.
  
  I had offered to take him to our father's grave, but he said no. he didn't want to go see something that practically meant nothing to him, seeing as he had never knew our father.
  
  I understood completely.
  
  That night, we trained. Seth looked the slightest bit nervous when Jasper attacked me, but was impressed at my skills.
  
  Seth asked if he could fight, seeing as he would need to know this stuff too.
  
  Jasper sprang at Seth, but he deflected the attack easily.
  
  In the end, Seth would've won the fight, had it been for real.
  
  Yep, he would be fine in the newborn battle.
  
  I was slightly annoyed at Bella. She had asked Edward to sit out.
  
  Why couldn't she understand that we would be fine, and he would be as well? She didn't need to make him sit out. Hell, if it was Paul, and I was still human, and we were still together, I would want him fighting to save the towns' lives.
  
  Alice was sour because of it, too. She knew that we would fine without him, since I was there, and Seth was going to be there now, too. She knew how we would do, but it would've been nice to have him there.
  
  Rose was absolutely pissed, and she didn't try to hide it.
  
  "Who does she think she is?" she ranted. "She asks Edward to sit out. Edward who wanted to be here more than most of us. And she makes him sit out with her. What is her problem?"
  
  Emmett had to pull her away so she wouldn't go for Bella's neck.
  
  In a way, Rose was right. We all knew how much Edward had wanted to join the fight.
  
  Bella was being selfish, and she knew it. Was it that she didn't care? As long as Edward was safe, was she happy? Did she not care about the rest of the townspeople? One man away from us could be disastrous. Did she not see that?
  
  I glanced at Edward, and he scowled at me.
  
  Oh shut the hell up, you know I'm right.
  
  He rolled his eyes.
  
  Yep, he knew I was right. As long as Bella was happy, who cared, right?
  
  It's not that I didn't like Bella, no that wasn't it at all.
  
  I was quite fond of Bella, actually.
  
  I was just annoyed at her that she had made Edward sit out. As Rosalie had said, what gave her the right to even ask him that?
  
  I sighed as Jasper called me up to fight against both him and Edward, in case two newborns ever tried something with me.
  
  I had Edward on the ground in seconds, and had Jasper tied to the ground with roots.
  
  I would be just fine.
  
  Edward looked sour that after my little mind rant, I had beaten him. I grinned at him.
  
  The night went on much like that. Only three wolves had joined us tonight. Jake, Embry, and Quil.
  
  I thanked whatever god was to blame for Paul not being here.
  
  Why was I always fighting with one, or both, of my imprints?
  Chapter 21-Hunting
  
  Bella would be staying here tonight. I was glad we were all going hunting. Even Bree.
  
  Seth was coming with us. I was grateful to Alice for letting him tag along. Edward still wasn't comfortable with Bree around, but I didn't care. We were helping her, and if he didn't like it, he could just keep his big mouth shut.
  
  He was worried about Bella. He was always so afraid she would get hurt...why didn't he just give in and turn her? We could all see how badly she wanted it. Couldn't Edward?
  
  Alice was tempted to just turn Bella herself. Edward would have a field day if that happened. I smiled wryly to myself, imagining Edward pissed off at Alice.
  
  I raced through the huge, glorious forest, looking for something to eat.
  
  Alice caught up to me.
  
  "Where's Seth?" I asked her.
  
  "Wrestling Emmett." Alice rolled her eyes. "Emmett is such a baby."
  
  I laughed. "Oh I know he is."
  
  "Have you eaten anything yet?" she asked as we ran.
  
  "Not yet. I haven't found anything." I said.
  
  Turns out, it took three elk, and a mountain lion to get my mind off things.
  
  "Are you full yet?" Emmett smirked.
  
  "Shut up or I'll snap your wrist." I muttered.
  
  "Oh, touchy, touchy." He muttered, grin plastered on his face.
  
  "Emmett, I swear to god I will snap your wrist right off if you don't shut up." I growled.
  
  "Like you could." Emmett scoffed.
  
  I went to spring at him, but Seth held me back.
  
  "He's not worth it. He's a sore loser. He's just trying to egg you on after I kicked his ass earlier." He whispered.
  
  I sighed. Seth was right. Emmett wasn't worth it.
  
  Nona was back at Emily's. She had decided to stay for a few more days, to spend some more time with her grandchildren. And since tonight would be Edward and Bella's...private time, I had assumed she wouldn't want to be there for that.
  
  I had tried to get her to leave, but she wouldn't. I told her she had to stay at Emily's all weekend, then. I couldn't tell her why; it would scare her to know we would be fighting.
  
  Nona wouldn't know about the fight at all. Emily had been gracious enough to let her stay there, understanding the importance that Nona was no where near Forks during the fight.
  
  Not only because an army of newborns were coming. If it were that simple I would make Nona stay at the giant house on the river. But, Bree would be there. I trusted Bree, just not alone around an innocent old woman who wouldn't be able to defend herself.
  
  Speaking of which, here she came now. She looked happy and full.
  
  I looked at her eyes. I could see the slightly golden tinge to them. She was doing really well on her vegetarian diet.
  
  I was proud of her. She had been so scared when she first came to live with us.
  
  Now, she was perfectly comfortable with us.
  
  She still got a bit edgy when Bella or Paul was around. But, Paul was barely ever around anyway.
  
  Emmett wanted to wrestle me, and I kindly told him no.
  
  When he kept persisting, I 'kindly' told him to go to hell.
  
  I was not in the mood for Emmett right now.
  
  "Are you okay?" Alice whispered, appearing at my elbow.
  
  I nodded. "I'm okay, still in a bit of shock over the fact that I have a brother."
  
  "I couldn't even begin to try and imagine it." She whispered.
  
  I smiled warmly at Alice. "You're the only person I can really talk to."
  
  She grinned. "That's what I'm here for."
  
  The next day we went back to Forks. Alice was in a bad mood all day.
  
  "What's wrong?" I asked, running up beside her.
  
  "I can't see anything!" she groaned. "With the wolves interfering, it's very difficult for me to see what's going to happen around Edward and Bella during the fight! Why couldn't she have just gone to La Push with her father today? Why, Mel, why?"
  
  "Because this is Edward we're talking about." I said with a quick smile. "Overprotective monster, remember?"
  
  She sighed. "I know."
  
  She went to go find Edward and Bella once back at the house. She wanted to tell them what she thought they would need for their 'camping trip'.
  
  I was in the garage talking quietly to Rosalie. She was sour being in the same room as Bella, I was trying to lighten her mood.
  
  Alice hopped up on the hood of her Porsche.
  
  "Bella?" she asked, voice sad.
  
  "What's wrong, Alice?" Bella asked.
  
  "Don't you love me?"
  
  I turned and gave Alice a weird look.
  
  "Of course I do. You know that." Bella said.
  
  "Then why do I see you sneaking off to Vegas to get married without inviting me?" Alice asked sadly.
  
  "Oh..." Bella muttered. "You know how I hate to make a big deal out of things. It was Edward's idea anyways."
  
  I snorted. Bella had made a big deal about Edward sitting out of the newborn battle, hadn't she?
  
  "I don't care whose idea it was! How could you do this to me? I expect this kind of thing from Edward, but not from you. I love you like you were my own sister!" she complained.
  
  "To me, Alice, you are my sister."
  
  "Words!" she growled.
  
  "Fine. You can come. There won't be much to see, though."
  
  Alice made a face, and I bit back a laugh. I knew what was coming.
  
  "What?" Bella demanded.
  
  "How much do you love me, Bella?" Alice asked, wicked grin lighting her face.
  
  "Why?" Bella asked, confused.
  
  Alice's eyes were pleading with Bella.
  
  "Please, please, please," Alice whispered. "Please, Bella, if you really love me...Please let me do your wedding."
  
  "Aw, Alice! No! Don't do this to me!" Bella groaned.
  
  In the end, of course, Alice won the battle.
  
  "Mel! We need to plan a wedding." Alice sang. Bella grimaced.
  
  I smiled. "We have bigger things on our plate right now."
  
  "True." Alice said, pursing her lips. "We'll begin planning after tomorrow."
  
  I smiled. "It's a date."
  
  Bella and Edward left to leave a fake trail for the newborns, and when they were done, Jake would carry her to their camping spot.
  
  I sighed. And tomorrow we would be at war.
  
  It was a scary thought. Fighting against my own kind, maybe even my own mother.
  
  Fighting against my mother would be hard and easy at the same time. She had tried to kill me before, and had tried to kill Paul.
  
  And had kept my brother from me.
  
  What. A. Bitch.
  Chapter 22-Fight
  
  I sat in my bedroom, looking out at the snow peacefully falling to the ground.
  
  It was June; there was no reason for snow. But here, it looked gorgeous.
  
  Alice came into my room, pouting.
  
  "What's wrong?" I asked, turning back to the window.
  
  "I can't see them." she said. "It's so frustrating with Jacob Black there. All I know is that there's a storm up there, and the snow isn't half as lovely as it is here."
  
  "Do you know if Bella's okay?" I asked.
  
  Alice shrugged, sitting beside me. "I can't see."
  
  "It's two a.m.," I said. "She must be fine. If she's lasted this long..."
  
  "You're right." Alice sighed. "Maybe I should call Edward."
  
  I nodded. "Good idea."
  
  Alice whipped her phone out, and swiftly dialed Edward's number.
  
  I turned my attention back to the snow.
  
  It looked pretty. I had never been a fan of snow, but tonight it seemed to have an eerily pretty glow.
  
  Alice sighed. "He's not picking up."
  
  "His phone is probably dead, or off, or they're too far out to get any reception." I tried to calm her down. "They're fine."
  
  "I don't like not being able to see." She whispered. "It puts me off. When you first started dating...Paul," she took a deep breath, obviously annoyed at the thought. "It scared me when your future would just disappear on me. It took everything in me not to run down to La Push and save you before something happened. That was before I knew that those mutts made me blind." She sighed. "I have no idea what the outcome tomorrow will be, or who's going to get hurt, or when it's going to start."
  
  "It's okay." I soothed. "Everyone will be fine. We have the wolves on our side."
  
  "I know." She said. "It still sets me off. It throws me all out of whack not to know these things."
  
  "Don't let it interfere with the fight, though." I warned. "Don't get all hung up on not knowing the future. You need to concentrate on the fight more than anyone, so Jasper won't go insane trying to protect you."
  
  She nodded. "I know. I'll be fine." She bit her lip. "Don't get mad at me, okay?"
  
  Warning bells went off in my head.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "Well..." she bit her lip again before continuing. "Don't get too hung up on your mom...if she's there, I don't want you getting distracted by her. That would probably be Victoria's plan. She'd bring your mom there to distract you. Or it would be your mom's idea."
  
  "Don't worry." I said. "If I see her..." I trailed off. "If she attacks me...I'll take care of her."
  
  Alice nodded, understanding.
  
  "After this we need a shopping trip." She muttered. "Bridesmaid dresses, bridal gown." She sighed. "There's so much to do."
  
  I smiled. "I'll help in anyway I can."
  
  "Thank you." Alice smiled gratefully.
  
  I smiled at her.
  
  We were both quiet for a few moments, just staring out at the serenity of the falling snow.
  
  It had surprised me that Bella and Edward had gone to the camp ground tonight. Why not just go today? Why risk Bella freezing to death? Suddenly, I felt the urge to go to the campground myself to make sure they were okay.
  
  I knew I was just being silly. Edward wouldn't let anything bad happen to Bella. He would probably even drag Jake in there to keep her warm if it got he got desperate enough.
  
  Alice was sitting stock-still. I hadn't realized until a few minutes later that she was having a vision.
  
  "Alice?" I asked, rubbing her arm. "What do you see?"
  
  Her expression was blank. She wouldn't be coming back to reality anytime soon.
  
  I sighed, and waited for her to come back.
  
  Moments later, she returned.
  
  "What did you see?" I asked.
  
  She blinked rapidly. "I don't know."
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "It was confusing; there were just a bunch of flashes. Random things; Edward and Bella in a tent, Victoria, a blonde vampire." She shook her head. "It was confusing, and there were dark spots, because of the wolves."
  
  I sighed. "It's okay."
  
  "No, it's not. I have no idea what it meant!" she groaned.
  
  "Alice, everything will be fine." I soothed. My attention suddenly switched to something else, something more urgent. "Where's Bree?" I asked sharply.
  
  "Up in the attic, getting comfortable." Alice said. "She'll be fine."
  
  "Where's Seth?" I asked.
  
  "Downstairs with the guys." She said. "Guys night." She rolled her eyes.
  
  "Which means we should have a girls night." Rosalie said, appearing with Esme in the doorway of my bedroom, holding a box of cosmetics.
  
  "It's morning." I pointed out.
  
  "So?" Rosalie asked, grinning.
  
  "We need a night to relax." Esme said. "We can't be worked up tomorrow. That would be bad."
  
  Alice sighed.
  
  "Sure." She said, halfheartedly. She obviously wasn't in the mood tonight.
  
  Rosalie and Esme came to sit with us. Rosalie grabbed my hand, and began painting my nails a deep red colour. Esme did the same to Alice.
  
  I rolled my eyes.
  
  "This is ridiculous! Our nails are going to chip tomorrow!"
  
  A wicked grin lit Rosalie's face. "Then we'll just have to re-do them after the fight!"
  
  Alice and I groaned.
  
  Lovely.
  
  They wanted to give us facials, which was really dumb seeing as we obviously didn't need that.
  
  Other than having cosmetics thrown at us, the night went quite well. No matter what Rosalie and Esme tried, we were all a bit antsy about the fight.
  
  Hours later, it was time.
  
  We went out to the clearing, all equally nervous and excited.
  
  I could feel the fight in the pit of my stomach.
  
  I could literally feel it brewing. It was exciting.
  
  I could faintly hear the soft rumblings of the wolves hiding.
  
  We were scattered in the clearing. We were in two groups or four.
  
  My group was Seth, Alice, Jasper, and me.
  
  Esme, Carlisle, Rosalie, and Emmett were on the other side of the clearing. The trail would lead them right where we needed them.
  
  We were at the north and south points of the clearing, they were coming in from the west.
  
  I heard the soft, loping steps of Jacob hiding in the giant mass of wolves. I knew that Paul was behind me. I could feel him there. Somehow, I knew it was him.
  
  I refused to let myself look at him, but I knew he was there.
  
  The newborns were going to split into two groups, as we were.
  
  I heard a low whistle. It was probably Sam taking a group of the wolves to ambush.
  
  The first group of newborns entered the forest, and we attacked.
  
  I grabbed one vampire, and pulled him apart.
  
  My gaze flicked over to the other side of the clearing.
  
  A newborn was trying to sneak away. I went to spring at him, but Leah took him down in a second. I was proud of her.
  
  I whirled around, just in time to catch a female newborn by her neck.
  
  I snapped it, and went on.
  
  Paul and Jake took one of them down, I tried not to notice Paul's wolfy grin in my direction.
  
  The second group of newborns entered the clearing, and we rook care of them.
  
  I looked around, surprised. Neither Victoria nor my mother was here.
  
  The thought of this scared me a little bit.
  
  Could they have...?
  
  I cursed under my breath.
  
  I raced over to Alice.
  
  "Alice!" I whispered urgently, helping her fight against a newborn. "I have to go find my mother. I know she's here, but she's not here. She must be with Victoria."
  
  "Go!" Alice said urgently.
  
  I shot into the forest, and after a few seconds, I realized I wasn't alone.
  
  Seth was running beside me.
  
  "Let's go find our mother." He muttered.
  
  I smiled wickedly, and sniffed the air.
  
  "That way." I said, pointing.
  
  We ran to where I pointed, and before long, there was a huge grey wolf following us too.
  
  I felt safe, running through the woods with my brother and...imprint guy.
  
  We slowed down, and found Edward and Bella's campground.
  
  There they were, Victoria, my mother, and a blonde boy, no older than me.
  
  We crouched in the woods.
  
  I looked at Edward, his eyes caught mine for a split second, but not long enough to make anyone suspicious.
  
  "Riley." Edward said softly.
  
  Seth, Paul and I tensed to spring.
  
  "She's lying to you, Riley. Listen to me. She's lying to you just like she lied to the others who are dying now in the clearing. You know that she's lied to them, that she had you lie to them, that neither of you were ever going to help them. is it so hard to believe that she's lied to you, too?" Edward asked softly.
  
  I was watching my mother intently. She was inching closer and closer to Bella.
  
  I let a soft growl out of my mouth.
  
  i saw her head twitch in my direction. Automatically, I glanced at Victoria, making sure she didn't notice.
  
  She didn't.
  
  My mother, however, knew it was me.
  
  "That's our mother?" Seth breathed so quiet only I would hear.
  
  I nodded, not wanting to risk any of the vampires hear me.
  
  She was still inching closer to Bella.
  
  I couldn't take it anymore, I sprang out of the forest, and grabbed my mother by the throat. Victoria snarled at my sudden appearance, while Bella, Edward and Riley looked shocked.
  
  "Get him, Riley!" Victoria snarled.
  
  Seth sprang out of the forest, and grabbed Riley.
  
  Victoria looked between us in shock and anger.
  
  We had just helped Edward a lot. Victoria's plan was obviously to distract Edward with Riley, and she would attack Bella with the help of my mom.
  
  My mom was clawing at my hand around her neck. I tightened my grip.
  
  "If you don't stop, I will rip your head off." I growled.
  
  "No you won't." she snapped.
  
  And with that, she twisted, around, and got a hold on my neck. She pushed my up against a tree.
  
  I fought against her, but her hold was tight.
  
  Suddenly, a huge grey wolf shot out of the forest, and took my mother down.
  
  "Victoria!" she screamed from under Paul.
  
  Victoria paid no attention to her.
  
  Paul was on top of her, snarling.
  
  She screamed Victoria's name again.
  
  "Riley," Victoria began. "Don't listen to him. I love you."
  
  "She was in love with someone named James!" I said. "She wants to kill Bella to get revenge. Don't listen to her Riley!"
  
  My brother let go of Riley, seeing as he wasn't fighting any more.
  
  Riley began moving towards Edward again, a new fire in his eyes.
  
  Seth Clearwater came from out of nowhere and took him down.
  
  "Victoria!" he yelled.
  
  Her eyes were on Bella. She ignored Riley as Seth Clearwater ripped him apart.
  
  I looked at Paul; he had done the same to my mother.
  
  I looked away quickly, not sure how to react to my mother being dead.
  
  In a way, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
  
  But, in another way, she was my mother.
  
  My gaze switched back to Victoria. She hadn't even glanced at Riley. She had looked the slightest bit sad at the loss of my mother, but there were bigger things for her to take care of now.
  
  Edward stood between Victoria and Bella. Snarls were erupting from the psycho red-head.
  
  I glanced at Bella, she had inched away from Edward, and was moving towards some rocks. She bent down, not taking her eyes off Victoria, while the two vampires started circling around each other.
  
  Edward was always between Bella and Victoria.
  
  Victoria tried to weave through the forest, I inched my way closer to her, while Edward told her not to leave since she wouldn't ever get another chance at Bella like this.
  
  Edward and Victoria were back to their little dance, while I watched Bella intently.
  
  She had grasped a sharp piece of rock in her hand, and was holding it up to her arm. I was about to lurch out and grab her, when I was knocked away by Seth Clearwater. He had tried to get Victoria, but she was moving too fast for him to see. I heard a small growl from Paul, warning Seth against trying it again.
  
  I was sure the wolves couldn't tell what was going on between Victoria and Edward, but my brother and I could.
  
  Suddenly, Victoria stopped, just for a second, as Bella gasped.
  
  My gaze snapped over to Bella, and blood was trickling down her arm. I froze as the scent of her blood hit me like a wrecking ball.
  
  I felt my throat burn, venom pooling into my mouth.
  
  Her blood smelled so good. I growled quietly, wanting to spring at her.
  
  What was she thinking? She could turn this into a bloodbath in mere seconds.
  
  All I could think about was her blood flowing down my aching throat. The seductive little trickles rolling down her arm was too much for me.
  
  I crouched, unable to control myself, and was about to spring, when my brother held me back.
  
  "I know how tempting it is." He whispered. "But, you can't hurt her. Control yourself."
  
  I tried to fight against him, instincts taking over.
  
  I wanted Bella's blood.
  
  I was a vampire, shouldn't I go over there and drain her right away?
  
  No. And oddly clear voice in my head murmured. You can't kill Bella, you don't live that way. Stop thinking this way, now.
  
  "Was that you?" I snarled at my brother.
  
  "Yes." He said. "I can push thoughts into people's heads. That's my power."
  
  "Can you read my minds?" I growled, eyes never leaving Bella's arm.
  
  "No. But I get vibes from you." he said. "You are my sister."
  
  I wasn't paying attention to Edward and Victoria. My mind was blank. All I could think about was Bella's blood. I wanted to spring and drink from her, maybe even turn her, and I probably would've if not for Seth's marble hands around my arms.
  
  I saw Victoria's head bounce away from her body, and roll to the trees.
  
  My throat still ached for Bella's blood.
  
  After Edward had got to work tearing apart all the dead vampires in the clearing and burning them, he appeared in front of me.
  
  "Get those thoughts about Bella out of your head now." He growled.
  
  "I can't help it." I snapped. "How can you stand it?"
  
  "Summon one of your elements to help you." Seth murmured in my ear. "Let it fill you."
  
  I took a deep breath, and summoned earth. The smell of the earth filled my lungs, and the sweet scent of Bella's blood was pushed out of my mind.
  
  Edward tended to Bella, and made her put down the sharp rock she was grasping.
  
  I didn't pay any attention to her, I concentrated on the earth.
  Chapter 23-Volturi
  
  We were in a clearing, with the rest of the Cullens. Bella had passed out when she found out Jake was hurt. Carlisle was examining her.
  
  "Carlisle, it's been five minutes." Edward said anxiously.
  
  "She'll come around when she's ready, Edward." Carlisle said calmly. "She's had too much to deal with today. Let her mind protect itself."
  
  "Alice, how long do we have?" Edward demanded. I was nervous. He wasn't talking about Bella. He was talking about the Volturi.
  
  The vampire police.
  
  The people who didn't know about me, and couldn't know about Bree.
  
  Edward had warned me about one of them, Aro, who could read minds with just one touch; he would know everyone of my thoughts with a single second of physical contact.
  
  I didn't want him to come.
  
  If he made physical contact with me, he would find out about Bree.
  
  Which would not be good at all.
  
  Bella was awake now, and asking about Jacob.
  
  I couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of resentment towards her. Here she had Edward who could give her whatever she wanted in the world, and more than that (not just material things) and she was also 'in love' with Jacob? Paul had told me how Jake was about her. He really cared for her, and Bella couldn't see that.
  
  Okay, maybe it was because of my connection to the pack, but lately, Jake just seemed so sad.
  
  I sighed quietly, and looked at Jasper. He was rubbing his left forearm. He had been bitten during the fight.
  
  Seth was standing still beside me.
  
  "What's wrong?" I asked.
  
  "This doesn't feel right." He whispered. "The Volturi shouldn't come, not for this."
  
  I shrugged. "I don't have any experience with them."
  
  "Be careful, okay?" he whispered. "One of them, Jane, can make you think you're in pain, her twin, Alec can cut off all your senses. They're a deadly pair."
  
  I didn't look at Seth, I could hear people approaching.
  
  "Alice." I said urgently.
  
  "They're here." Alice breathed.
  
  "Hmm." A dead voice murmured from the forest.
  
  "Welcome, Jane." Edward said.
  
  I saw four grey hooded figures in the forest, behind a tiny girl, smaller than Alice, in a dark cloak.
  
  "Who is this?" she asked, turning her eyes on me. She was so tiny, with a porcelain face, and angelic features. Her pale blonde hair was only showing slightly under her hood.
  
  "Her name is Melanie." Carlisle explained. "She drowned and was turned into one of us. She has chosen our lifestyle. She helped us."
  
  "And there is Seth." Jane said, looking at my brother. "She's your sister, isn't she?"
  
  He nodded.
  
  "Are you sure you wouldn't like to join us?" she asked.
  
  "Positive." He muttered.
  
  "Your talent is very special." She cooed.
  
  "No thank you." he said.
  
  She sighed. "What's so special about Melanie?"
  
  She moved forward, and began walking around me. I didn't like her close to me.
  
  "Is she immune to my talent?" she murmured.
  
  Use one of the elements to keep you strong. It won't hurt as much. Seth's voice rang through my head clear as a bell.
  
  I summoned water to me, taking deep breaths of the salty air that flowed through me.
  
  I did feel the piercing pain course through my body, though. I grit my teeth against it, and concentrated on water. I didn't let it show that she was hurting me.
  
  Finally, I felt the pain stop. I exhaled in relief.
  
  Jane pursed her lips. "She isn't immune to it, but she can channel some sort of energy so it doesn't hurt as much...interesting. How do you do it?"
  
  "I can control the elements." I said. "I summoned water and concentrated on that while you did your thing."
  
  She nodded. "You and your brother are quite exquisite. Do you know of his power?"
  
  "Yes." I said.
  
  She smiled. "Would you like to join us?"
  
  "No thank you." I said shortly.
  
  "What a shame." She pursed her lips. "We could use you and your brother."
  
  I didn't answer her.
  
  "Melanie and Seth helped you?" she asked.
  
  Carlisle nodded.
  
  Jane pursed her lips.
  
  "Were there any newborns that may have gotten away?" she asked.
  
  Carlisle shook his head. "No."
  
  "What about the ones who split apart from the main group?" she demanded.
  
  "We split up too." Carlisle smiled.
  
  Jane sighed, and looked at Bella. "Caius will be so interested to hear that you're still human, Bella. Perhaps he'll visit."
  
  "The date has been set." Alice assured her. "If Edward won't do it, I will. Perhaps we'll visit you in a few months."
  
  Jane's smile faded, but her eyes never went to Alice. I could tell the tiny blonde girl had problems with the tiny dark haired girl.
  
  Jane's eyes lingered on me. "Are you sure she's safe?"
  
  "Yes." Carlisle said. "I am absolutely certain Melanie is safe."
  
  Jane sighed. "I want to go home."
  
  She was still looking at me.
  
  I met her gaze evenly, determined to keep my guard up. If she tried to hurt me again, water was waiting for her to even try.
  
  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't break away from her piercing gaze.
  
  The corners of her mouth twitched upwards.
  
  "You have a very special power." She murmured. "We could use you and your brother."
  
  I didn't say anything.
  
  She sighed again.
  
  "Come." Her eyes were still on me.
  
  I was about to step forward, when her and the four bigger figures turned away and disappeared into the forest.
  Chapter 24-Okay
  
  I was sitting in Alice's bathroom, where she was taking care of Bella. The counter was covered with thousands of beauty products, and Alice was combing Bella's hair.
  
  "Alice, that's enough!" Bella complained. "I want to go to La Push."
  
  This was probably the hundredth time she had said this.
  
  I sighed. "Jacob is unconscious. Paul told me. There's no use going now, you'll just watch him sleep."
  
  Bella scowled.
  
  "And Charlie saw Carlisle and Edward at the Black house; he's bound to get suspicious when you get home." Alice said.
  
  "I don't care. I want to be there when Jacob wakes up." She said stubbornly.
  
  "You need to think of Charlie now. You've had a long day-sorry, I know that doesn't begin to cover it-but that doesn't mean you can shirk your responsibilities." Alice chided. "It's more important now than ever that Charlie stays safely in the dark. Play your role first, Bella, and then you can do what you want second. Part of being a Cullen is being meticulously responsible."
  
  Bella sighed; I knew she wanted nothing more than to go to La Push this second. Just like I wanted to. I wanted to see Paul to make sure he was okay.
  
  Until I remembered he had killed my mother.
  
  I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about that.
  
  In a way, I knew I should be pissed, angry, and hate him for what he did.
  
  But in a whole other way, I was completely relieved that he had done it and not me.
  
  I knew she would have to be killed sooner or later, I was glad the burden wasn't on me anymore.
  
  "Go home." Alice ordered. "Talk to Charlie. Flesh out your alibi. Keep him safe."
  
  Bella stood up.
  
  "That dress looks adorable on you." I said.
  
  "Huh? Oh. Er-thanks again for the clothes you guys." Bella mumbled.
  
  "You need the evidence." Alice said. "What's a shopping trip without a new outfit? It's very flattering, if I do say so myself."
  
  Bella blinked.
  
  Alice sighed.
  
  "Jacob is fine, Bella." I assured her. "There's no hurry, if you had any idea how much extra morphine Carlisle gave him...you would know that he's going to be out for a while."
  
  Bella sighed again.
  
  "Is there anything you want to talk about before you leave?" Alice asked. "You must be more than a little traumatized."
  
  Bella pursed her lips. "No, but Mel, will you drive me home?"
  
  I nodded. "Of course."
  
  I got into Bella's driver's seat.
  
  She got into the passenger seat, biting her lip.
  
  "What's wrong?" I asked, starting the car.
  
  "Will I be like Bree?" she asked. "The newborn at the Cullens' house."
  
  "It's different for everyone...but something like that for the first few months." I said.
  
  "But you're so in control." She said.
  
  "It's the elements that help me, they keep me grounded." I explained.
  
  She nodded. "Would you be able to drive me to La Push after I deal with Charlie?"
  
  I bit my lip. "I don't know..."
  
  "You aren't on the treaty, right?" she asked.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Please, Mel." She begged. "I don't think I can drive myself."
  
  "Okay." I sighed. I had to go get my grandma from Emily's anyway.
  
  "Thank you." she smiled as I pulled into her driveway. "Come in."
  
  I went in with Bella. Charlie looked suspicious.
  
  "Hey Bella, hey Mel, how was your shopping trip?" his arms were crossed tightly over his chest, eyes on Bella.
  
  "Long." Bella said. "We just got back."
  
  "I guess you already heard about Jake, then?" he asked.
  
  "Yes, the rest of the Cullens beat us home. Esme told us where Carlisle and Edward were."
  
  "Are you okay?" Charlie asked.
  
  "Worried about Jake. As soon as I make dinner, I'm going down to La Push."
  
  "I told you those motorcycles were dangerous. I hope this makes you realize that I wasn't kidding around."
  
  Bella nodded as she began pulling things out of their fridge. I leaned against the door frame in the kitchen.
  
  "I don't think you need to worry about Jake too much, Bells. Anyone who can cuss with that kind of energy is going to recover."
  
  Bella whirled around, almost dropping the ingredients in her arms. "Jake was awake when you saw him?"
  
  "Oh, yea, he was awake. You should've heard him...actually, it's better you didn't. I don't think there was anyone in La Push who couldn't hear him. I don't know where he picked up that vocabulary, but I hope he hasn't been using that kind of language around you."
  
  "He had a pretty good excuse today." I smirked. "How did he look?"
  
  "Messed up. His friends carried him in." this was where I couldn't help but listen a bit more intently. "Good thing they're big boys, 'cause that kid's an armful. Carlisle said that his right leg is broken, and his right arm. Pretty much the whole right side of his body got crushed when he wrecked the damn bike. If I ever hear of you riding again, Bella..."
  
  "No problem there, dad. You won't, I swear. Do you really think Jake's okay?"
  
  "Sure Bells don't worry. He was himself enough to tease me."
  
  "Tease you?" she repeated.
  
  "Yea, in between cussing out the entire reservation, he said, 'bet you're glad she loves Cullen instead of me today, huh, Charlie?'"
  
  Bella turned back to the fridge.
  
  Charlie went on about how much more Edward was than Jake, and how he hoped the wolf problem wouldn't start up again.
  
  I listened intently to Charlie's tale of how it seemed like there were wolves outside the Black house. I fought back laughter when Charlie complained about how cramped Sam's house could get.
  
  Bella put Charlie's dinner by his elbow, and headed for the door with me.
  
  "Er, Bella? Could you wait just a second?"
  
  Bella sighed, and I went to wait out in her car.
  
  A few minutes later she got in the passenger seat, and I sped to La Push.
  
  Well, I did floor it there, but Bella's truck can't go fast at all.
  
  Carlisle's car wasn't in front of the Black house.
  
  Bella made a move to get out, but I stopped her.
  
  "I might not be here when you get back." I said. "I have to go to Emily's to pick up my grandma. Just wait here for me; I probably will be back before you."
  
  She took a deep breath, and nodded.
  
  I waited until Bella got into the Black house before driving to Emily's.
  
  Of course, sitting outside were Paul, Embry, Quil, and Jared.
  
  I sighed, and put my hood up. I didn't want my hair ruined in the rain.
  
  Paul was looking at me. I knew he could tell it was me.
  
  I slammed the truck door closed.
  
  I took a deep breath, summoning some sort of courage to walk right past the boys.
  
  I went to Emily's front door, ignoring the four guys staring at my back. I knocked on her door.
  
  Come on, Em, answer, please, please, please!
  
  "Mel." Paul said from behind me. "Can I talk to you?"
  
  "No, I need to get my grandma, and then go get Bella from Jake's." I said.
  
  "Please." He said.
  
  I took a deep breath. "Okay."
  
  Paul pulled me away from the other three boys.
  
  "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.
  
  I nodded. "Are you? You didn't get hurt, did you?"
  
  "No, I'm fine." He said. "I mean, are you okay...about your mom..."
  
  I looked away. "I'm...I'm okay."
  
  "Mel, I'm sorry." He said.
  
  I couldn't meet his gaze, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't look at him.
  
  He sounded so vulnerable, so sad that he had 'hurt' me.
  
  I wanted to tell him that I was okay, that I wasn't upset, that I was thankful for what he had done.
  
  But, I couldn't make my stupid voice work.
  
  Paul sighed.
  
  "You hate me, don't you?"
  
  I closed my eyes.
  
  "I could never hate you." I said. That was good; talking with my eyes closed seemed easier. "And I'm not mad at you; I'm sort-of...thankful I guess."
  
  "Thankful?" he repeated in shock.
  
  I nodded. "She's off my back now. I don't have to worry about her torturing me anymore."
  
  Paul put his hand on my face, and I leaned into it. It felt so warm.
  
  "Mel, look at me." He whispered.
  
  I could feel the eyes of the other three boys boring into my back.
  
  I still didn't open my eyes, this moment was so...so right between us, and I didn't want anything to ruin it.
  
  "Look at me." He urged softly.
  
  I opened my eyes, and looked up at him.
  
  He pulled me close to him, and bent his head down to mine.
  
  He chuckled.
  
  "You feel like an ice cube.'
  
  I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Way to ruin a moment."
  
  He laughed, but then sobered. "I miss you."
  
  I sighed. "I miss you too."
  
  "I have a present for you." he said quietly. "But I don't have it with me."
  
  "You didn't need to get me anything." I said.
  
  "You graduated." He said with a smile. "I couldn't miss out on an opportunity to buy you something...and maybe it will help you remember me...in New York."
  
  He said that last part with a scowl.
  
  I smiled. "You really didn't have to get me anything."
  
  "But I did." He whispered.
  
  He pulled me even closer to him.
  
  "I've missed you so much." He breathed into my hair.
  
  "Paul, we aren't alone out here." I reminded him.
  
  He sighed. "I know."
  
  "Melanie!" Nona's cheerful voice came from Emily's front door.
  
  I turned and smiled at her.
  
  "Hey, Nona." I said, and went to the front door. "How was your weekend?"
  
  "Lovely, Emily is a wonderful cook!" she cooed.
  
  I smiled. "Glad you actually ate something."
  
  She grinned at me.
  
  "Come on, let's go home." I said. "Thank you again, Em!" I called into her house.
  
  "It was my pleasure!" she called back; I peeked in the kitchen to see her stirring something in a bowl.
  
  "Where's your car?" Nona asked.
  
  "Oh, I drove a friend down to La Push today, with her car, and then I came here to get you." I explained as we got into Bella's truck.
  
  I started the engine, and Nona jumped.
  
  "It's so loud!" she exclaimed.
  
  "I know." I smiled. "And it doesn't go very fast either."
  
  I drove to the Black house, where Bella was waiting outside. She looked shaky, and unstable on her feet. Her eyes were a bit puffy as if she had been crying. I made a move to get out and help her, but she was already walking to the truck.
  
  "Nona, don't say anything." I whispered. I didn't want Bella to be even more upset.
  
  She got into her back seat, looking out the window. I kept looking at her through the rearview mirror, waiting for the tears in her eyes to spill over.
  
  It didn't take very long, and soon she slumped over in her seat and bawled her eyes out.
  
  I heard the door creak open, and knew Edward was here, comforting Bella.
  
  I drove slowly to Bella's house. I knew she should go there sooner or later. The look on Edward's face told me he would rather I go faster, but I didn't care. Bella needed time to get over the crying.
  
  I pulled into her driveway, and in the time it took me to get there, her sobs had quieted.
  
  Her and Edward got out of the car, and Edward climbed up to her window while she went to the front door.
  
  I glanced at Nona. How would I get her to the Cullens' house?
  
  I looked outside. It wasn't raining as hard anymore. We could walk.
  
  I didn't want to traumatize my grandmother any more than she already was.
  
  I decided against walking, and took out my phone, swiftly dialing Alice's number.
  
  In less than five minutes she was here, in her yellow Porsche.
  
  "Come on, Nona. Our ride is here." I smiled.
  
  We got into Alice's Porsche. She grinned at me.
  
  "I love this car!" she squealed.
  
  I smiled. "It is awesome."
  
  "How is Seth?" Nona asked me.
  
  "He's fine." I said. "A little shocked, but so am I."
  
  "I'm glad you two got to meet." She said.
  
  Alice winked at me.
  
  Back at the Cullen house, Nona, Seth, and I talked.
  
  Seth got to learn about our parents, but he and I didn't tell Nona where our mother, her daughter, was now. We didn't want her to have to deal with that.
  
  "Mel, I have something to show you!" Alice said, grinning wickedly.
  
  I followed Alice up to her room.
  
  She went into her closet, and pulled out long, white garment bag.
  
  She unzipped it, and Bella's wedding dress was revealed.
  
  "Wow." I breathed. "That's...that's amazing, Alice!"
  
  She grinned. "I know! I even designed some of it! Do you think Bella will like it?"
  
  "She would be a fool not to like it!" I exclaimed.
  
  "Good!" Alice grinned.
  
  I smiled at her.
  
  I went back downstairs and looked at Nona and Seth. I slipped out the front door, and ran to La Push.
  
  I had to see Paul again. Seeing him today switched something off in me. Our moment together was so personal, I needed to see him, and curl up in his arms. I needed his warmth again. I didn't care about what Sam or Jared thought about it.
  
  I needed Paul.
  
  I ran straight to his apartment, somehow I knew he would be there.
  
  I stuck my hand in my pocket, praying I had remembered my key.
  
  Yes, I was so much of a stalker that I hadn't returned my key.
  
  Success! I pulled my key out of my pocket, and opened the apartment. I could hear his snores.
  
  I ran into the bedroom, feeling elated.
  
  He was asleep, and I couldn't help but melt.
  
  I climbed into the bed, and curled up next to him, watching him sleep.
  
  It felt nice to be warm beside Paul. It made me feel human again.
  
  I sighed softly.
  
  I would give anything in the world to be human again.
  
  It's not like being a vampire was horrible, it was nice, but I missed all my human emotions. In a way, I missed crying.
  
  I especially missed sleeping.
  
  And eating.
  
  Whenever I used to get bored, I would eat.
  
  Now when I got bored, what was there to do? Stand around and look out a window?
  
  I knew the wolves were nervous being around me, well, Paul wasn't; and Jared probably wasn't either.
  
  But, I missed the other guys being comfortable around me. It made me sad to think they wouldn't ever be comfortable with me again.
  
  I wondered if there was any way to reverse the transformation.
  
  I would ask Carlisle later.
  
  I touched Paul's face, and automatically his eyes flickered open.
  
  My brow furrowed.
  
  "Hey Mel." He smiled. "You're like an ice pack."
  
  I sighed. "I woke you up, didn't I?"
  
  He shrugged. "You're here. I'd rather be awake with you, than have you watch me snore."
  
  "But that's the thing." I said quietly. "All I did was touch your face, and you woke up!"
  
  "What's wrong?" he whispered, touching my face. "Talk to me."
  
  "I wish I were human again." I said. "I hate you guys being repelled by me! I can't stand the fact that with one touch I woke you up!"
  
  "Shhhh." He soothed. "It's okay. Why do you care what they think?"
  
  "Because, they aren't comfortable with me." I said. "I can't hang out with everyone anymore, because they all lean away from me."
  
  "It's okay." He soothed. "I'm okay with you. who cares about them?"
  
  "It just makes me sad." I sighed. "I hate being away from you."
  
  he shook his head. "That will never happen again."
  
  I sighed again. "I'm going to New York, remember?"
  
  "Please, don't talk about that." He said.
  
  "See?" I said. "No matter what I decide, no one's happy!"
  
  Paul sighed. "I don't want you to leave, but I can see that you want to. It will kill me, but it's what's best for you."
  
  I groaned. "But you're not happy."
  
  "Can we change the subject?" he asked, looking away. "I'll give you your present now."
  
  I sighed as he got out of bed and went to his dresser.
  
  He rummaged through his drawer for a bit, and finally found what he was looking for.
  
  He hopped back into bed, holding a long jewelry box.
  
  He handed it to me, rubbing my arm.
  
  I opened it, and gasped.
  
  In the box was a white gold, heart shaped locket on a white gold chain.
  
  "I was careful not to get silver." He whispered.
  
  I smiled, and opened the locket.
  
  Inside was a picture of Paul and I from a few months ago.
  
  I smiled. "I love it."
  
  "It's just something to remember me by, you know."
  
  "I'll wear it everyday." I whispered, putting it on.
  
  "I'm glad you like it." He said.
  
  "I absolutely love it." I said.
  
  He grinned, and kissed me.
  
  Oh wow.
  
  It had been way too long since we had kissed. In that instant I remembered why we had 'broken up', but I also remembered why we loved each other.
  
  I never wanted to leave Paul's side, but I could clearly see our separation again. I didn't want to think about it, but I couldn't help it.
  
  Paul must have felt something change with me, because he broke off the kiss.
  
  "What's wrong?" he asked, turning my face to his.
  
  "I can't stop thinking about leaving you." I said. "The more I think about it, the more I don't want to go."
  
  He looked like he was going to say something, but he didn't.
  
  "I want to go, but I don't want to leave you." I sighed. "It was different before, when I thought you hated me. It would've been easier to leave without knowing you loved me. It would've saved me the hardest goodbye of all."
  
  He pulled me tight against his chest.
  
  "It's okay, Mel." He soothed. "I'll visit you as often as I can."
  
  I smiled. "I'd like that."
  
  He kissed me again.
  
  I knew we were going to be okay.
  Chapter 25-Insulted
  
  The next day, Bella saw her wedding dress.
  
  I tried not to laugh as she stared at it in shock.
  
  She shook her head, to clear it, and looked at Alice.
  
  "Can I see your dress?" she asked Alice. "Yours and Mel's."
  
  Alice and I stared at her.
  
  "Didn't you order bridesmaid dresses at the same time?" she asked.
  
  I was shocked. Bella wanted me as her bridesmaid?
  
  Bella pulled me into a hug.
  
  "Really?" I asked in shock.
  
  She nodded. "You were the nicest person to me when I first moved here."
  
  I smiled.
  
  "I've got so much to do!" she squealed. "Go play with Edward. I have to get to work."
  
  She pulled me out of the room, calling for Esme.
  
  The rest of the day was spent planning Edward and Bella's wedding.
  
  I was shocked that Alice had already sent out the invitations this morning.
  
  After a while, I couldn't stand being cooped up inside anymore.
  
  "Alice, you don't mind if I go for a run, do you?" I asked.
  
  "Go ahead." She muttered, flipping through a book of napkin designs.
  
  On my way out of the house, I ran into Bree.
  
  She smiled, and went into the living room with Rosalie.
  
  I was actually surprised at how well they got along.
  
  "Where are you going?" Seth asked; he was sitting out on the front porch.
  
  "For a run." I answered.
  
  "Want some company?" he asked.
  
  I thought about it for a second. "No, I kind-of want to be alone."
  
  He nodded. "Okay."
  
  "Where's Nona?" I asked.
  
  "Grocery shopping." He chuckled. "Apparently vampires don't know what she wants."
  
  I laughed. "Yea, that sounds like Nona."
  
  "See you later, Mel." He smiled.
  
  "Bye." I said, and ran into the forest.
  
  The sweet scents of everything around me filled me. It felt so good to not worry about anything anymore.
  
  I knew where I was going the moment I had stepped foot in the forest, by the time I was in La Push territory, I was heading for Paul's apartment, when I saw I figure running past me.
  
  "Jake?" I called.
  
  He whirled around to face me.
  
  "What?" he demanded.
  
  "Where are you going?" I asked.
  
  "I'm leaving." He growled. "I can't take it anymore! Damn bloodsucker sucking the life out of the girl I love!"
  
  I flinched.
  
  "Sorry." He muttered. "I didn't mean it to you."
  
  "It's okay." I whispered. "Please don't leave."
  
  "I can't stay here, Mel." He said. "I can't stand it."
  
  "Please stay." I begged. "Don't leave, Jake."
  
  "Why?" he demanded.
  
  "What's Billy going to do?" I asked. "And Emily? You're part of her family too."
  
  "Don't give me the guilt trip." He said. "Don't try that with me, Mel. I'm leaving."
  
  And with that, he pushed past me, and started running again.
  
  I knew there would be no way to stop him.
  
  I sighed and slowly went to Paul's apartment. Unfortunately, he wasn't there.
  
  I went to Emily's house, taking a short-cut I knew. It would lead me to her backyard, but that didn't matter. It wasn't hard to walk to the front door.
  
  I got there quickly, and went around the side of the house.
  
  I could hear the heartbeats of the guys lounging on Emily's front porch, and could hear them talking.
  
  "Hey Paul," Embry said. "What's it like kissing a leech?"
  
  "Yea," Quil laughed. "What's it like kissing a dead girl?"
  
  I stopped dead in my tracks.
  
  Paul didn't say anything.
  
  "Come on, Paul." Embry laughed. "What's your problem?"
  
  I heard a loud thud.
  
  "Don't you ever talk about her like that again." He growled.
  
  I couldn't move. I couldn't believe they talked about me like this. It stung to hear that.
  
  "Put him down, Paul." Sam ordered.
  
  I heard Paul drop Embry, and stomp down Emily's front steps.
  
  I didn't look up, but I knew he had come around the side of the house and stopped.
  
  He said something in another language.
  
  "Oh crap." I heard someone whisper.
  
  "Mel?" Paul asked quietly.
  
  I didn't look at him.
  
  "Mel, please don't be mad at me."
  
  "Mad at you?" I whispered. "Why should I be mad at you?"
  
  "That was out of line." Sam said to Embry and Quil. "Apologize."
  
  "Mel, we're sorry." Quil said.
  
  I couldn't look at him. Paul had pulled me close to him. But I couldn't take my eyes off the floor.
  
  "Yea Mel, we're sorry." Quil said.
  
  I felt myself being pulled along somewhere. I hoped we were going somewhere where we could be alone.
  
  Somehow, we ended up at Paul's apartment.
  
  He plopped me down on the couch with him.
  
  "Is that what they think of me?" I whispered. "A bloodsucker...a dead girl?"
  
  "They were just being idiots." He said.
  
  "But they still said it." I whispered, not looking at him.
  
  "Don't worry about them." he said.
  
  "Have they said anything else about me?" I asked.
  
  "Jared has, of course, but nothing like that." Paul said. "They were just hyped up from the fight yesterday, and Jake leaving."
  
  I sighed, a thought entered my head.
  
  "Have you ever said anything like that about me?"
  
  "Never." He promised. "I would never say something like that about you."
  
  I smiled, and finally looked up at him.
  
  He looked surprised.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "Mel..." he whispered. "Are you crying?"
  Chapter 26-Risks
  
  "There may be some rare glitch in your system." Carlisle murmured. "I've never heard of anything like this happening before. A vampire, crying? Unheard of."
  
  "But does this mean I could be a human again?" I asked hopefully. As soon as Paul had noticed my tears, I came straight for the Cullen house.
  
  "The change wouldn't happen on its own." He explained. "You wouldn't just be able to wait it out, there would have to be some sort of surgery done. Some sort of transplants maybe."
  
  "But is it possible?" I asked.
  
  "It might be." He said. "But I don't know how safe it would be."
  
  "What would you have to do?" I asked.
  
  "I would have to get all the venom out of your system." He said. "Then I would have to get human blood inside of you. And we would have to get your heart beating again."
  
  "Would it work for all vampires?" Rosalie asked.
  
  Carlisle shook his head. "I think Melanie would be the only exception."
  
  I took a deep breath. "I want to do it."
  
  "What?" he asked obviously surprised.
  
  "I want to do it." I said. "I don't care about how painful it will be, I don't care if it doesn't work. At least we tried."
  
  Carlisle sighed. "Are you sure?"
  
  I nodded. "I'm positive."
  
  "Okay. Do you want Paul with you while we do it?"
  
  I bit my lip. "Yes."
  
  "When do you want to do it?" he asked.
  
  "As soon as you can." I said.
  
  "I'll go to the hospital and get supplies." Carlisle said, and left.
  
  "Mel, are you sure you want to do this?" Alice asked, putting her hand on my arm.
  
  I nodded. "I've never been sure of anything else in my life."
  
  She nodded. "Okay, call your wolf."
  
  I pulled out my phone and told Paul to come to the Cullens' house right away.
  
  He arrived ten minutes later, and I explained what was happening.
  
  "Mel are you sure?"
  
  I nodded. "Yes."
  
  "What if it hurts?" he asked.
  
  "I'll live with that." I shrugged.
  
  He sighed. "If you're sure."
  
  I nodded. "I am. And I want you here; I'll need you here when I wake up."
  
  He nodded. "Let me call Sam."
  
  He got up, and called him. He argued. And he wasn't letting up, not with this. Not when I needed him.
  
  Paul sat next to me again, and held my hands.
  
  "Are you positive about this?" he asked.
  
  I nodded. "I have to do this."
  
  "Why?" he whispered. "You know I love you just how you are."
  
  "But Paul, I'm not happy like this. If there's a chance that I can be human again, I'll take it. No matter what."
  
  He sighed. "I don't want to lose you."
  
  "You won't." I said. "I trust Carlisle. You should too."
  
  "What if something goes wrong?" he asked.
  
  I shrugged. "I'll live with that. If it doesn't work, it's okay, at least we tried, right?"
  
  He sighed. "You know I love you how you are, right? If this is about me, or the other guys, don't worry about that. It's a stupid reason to try this."
  
  "It's not about that, Paul." I said quietly. "It's not that I hate being like this, but in the long run, I'd much rather be human again. And here, I'm being handed a chance."
  
  "Okay." He whispered just as Carlisle came back with the supplies.
  
  "Mel, you should send your grandmother home today." Alice said.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Nona?" I asked, when I found her on the couch.
  
  "Yes, Melanie?" she asked, smiling.
  
  "Do you think you should go home now?" I asked, I tried not to sound rude.
  
  She nodded. "Yes, I think so."
  
  "Okay, Alice here has a plane ticket all ready for you." I smiled. "And she packed your bags for you."
  
  "Thank you." she smiled at Alice.
  
  She got up, and gave me a hug. She hugged Seth as well.
  
  I watched as Seth drove her away, knowing it very well could be the last time I would ever see her.
  
  "Are you ready?" Alice asked.
  
  I nodded.
  
  I was led upstairs to an unused bedroom. The bed in there had been switched to a hospital bed.
  
  "Now, Mel, I have to get all the blood out of your system, and all the venom out. Then, I have to put human blood inside of you. Hopefully your body will use the human blood as humans use it, instead of how vampires would. And someone will have to perform CPR on you."
  
  I nodded. "Is that it?"
  
  "I hope so." He said. "I'm going to give you anesthetic, but it will only work if you're human. That's how we'll know if the procedure worked or not."
  
  "Okay." I said, hopping onto the hospital bed, and grasping Paul's hand.
  
  Carlisle sighed. "I don't know if this will work."
  
  "I know." I said. "But I have to at least try."
  
  He hooked me up to a heart rate monitor, but of course there was no beat. He also hooked me up to a life support machine, just in case.
  
  Carlisle put an anesthetic mask over my mouth and nose.
  
  I breathed in the anesthetic, but nothing happened. I sighed quietly.
  
  I closed my eyes, not wanting to see what was happening.
  
  I felt sharp jabs all over my body. Something inside of me seemed to be burning dully.
  
  Suddenly there was a harder jab, and I could literally feel something go inside me.
  
  The blood rushed through me, and I felt someone pushing down on my chest. Up, down, up, down, up, down...
  
  Through the haze I heard something. I could hear a tiny beep. Seconds later, I heard later I heard another one. I could feel the blood rushing through veins.
  
  I took a deep breath, and felt drowsy.
  
  My mind went black.
  Chapter 27-Perspective
  
  Paul
  
  I was glad Mel didn't seem to be in any pain.
  
  Her heart was beating again steadily.
  
  I smiled in spite of myself; she was going to be okay.
  
  There was one thing that scared me. She seemed to be getting skinnier by the second.
  
  Doc had explained to me that because she hadn't eaten anything that would provide her body with nutrients for a few months, this was normal.
  
  She looked frail, it was scary.
  
  She was asleep, and she was breathing, and her heart was beating. She would live.
  
  The Cullens were shocked. They couldn't believe it had actually worked. Carlisle even took a sample of her blood to make sure it didn't have any venom in it.
  
  It was clean.
  
  I could almost see the wheels turning in the psycho blonde's head.
  
  "Carlisle, are you sure that it wouldn't work for any other vampires?" she demanded. "The procedure was simple!"
  
  "Melanie must have been an exception, Rosalie." Doc said. "In the hundreds of years that I've been like this there's never been a vampire who's produced tears. Melanie must be the only one who this procedure could've happened to."
  
  She pursed her lips. "How can you be sure?"
  
  "I can't be one hundred percent sure," he began. "But I do know that this was very rare. Rosalie, I'm sorry, but I don't think it would work on you."
  
  She stormed out of the room, obviously pissed off.
  
  I grasped Mel's hand, and was ecstatic when it was warm.
  
  Rosalie
  
  How could Carlisle be sure that the procedure wouldn't work on me? How could he say that it wouldn't work when he had never even heard of something like this happening before?
  
  Why couldn't he just try?
  
  I went out to the garage, wanting to break something.
  
  I stormed back and forth.
  
  I was glad Mel got what she had wanted, but I wanted the same thing. It was selfish of Carlisle to not even want to try it on me. He was willing to risk Mel's life, completely unsure if it would work, but wouldn't risk my life when I was completely willing.
  
  No, not just willing, enthusiastic about trying it.
  
  Carlisle had even admitted that he wasn't one hundred percent sure it wouldn't work! It had worked for Mel, hadn't it?
  
  Again, I wanted to break something.
  
  I looked around the garage. There was nothing to break that I wouldn't regret later.
  
  I could always break Edward's Volvo...
  
  No, I wasn't that mad.
  
  I angrily left the garage to hunt.
  
  Alice
  
  I was shocked that the procedure had actually worked. I could see that Mel was going to be fine. She would wake up sometime this week, I wasn't sure what day.
  
  It would take her long to recover. I could see that much. She wouldn't be very steady on her feet for the first few weeks, and getting back into the swing of being human would take time for her.
  
  But she would be okay.
  
  Her wolf was here, which through some things out of whack for me, but there were some key things that I could be sure of.
  
  It was miraculous that the procedure had actually worked. I knew Rosalie was upset that Mel got the one thing that Rosalie would kill for.
  
  I wished Edward were here, so he could tell me what was going through Mel's mind.
  
  Unfortunately, he was with Bella.
  
  I sat next to Mel's wolf, and perfected wedding plans.
  
  Edward
  
  I was fully aware of Mel's transformation.
  
  Even from the meadow I could hear what was happening in my family's mind.
  
  She was turning back into a human.
  
  I hadn't known that was even possible.
  
  I didn't let it show on my face, so I wouldn't worry Bella. If she found out Mel was in danger she would want me to take her home immediately. I savored these precious alone moments with her.
  
  I rooted around the house for Mel's mind, but it was just blackness.
  
  Jared
  
  Something was wrong with Mel. Something was changing with her.
  
  "Em, where's Paul and Mel?" I asked.
  
  "At the Cullen house." Sam answered.
  
  "Why?" I demanded. Why would both of them need to be there? Was something wrong?
  
  "Mel is...undergoing a procedure." Sam said.
  
  "A procedure?" I repeated.
  
  Sam nodded. "They think they may be able to turn her back into a human."
  
  Sam didn't know it, but with that little sentence he made my world come together again.
  
  "They can do that?" I whispered.
  
  "Yes, apparently something's different in her and they think they may be able to change her back."
  
  I was so relieved to hear that, it was unbelievable.
  Epilogue: Chapter 28: Choice
  
  Melanie
  
  When my eyes flickered open I was slightly confused.
  
  But then, my head cleared.
  
  "Mel?" Paul's soft, husky, warm voice asked.
  
  Slowly, I turned my head to him.
  
  "Did it work?" I whispered, throat hoarse.
  
  He smiled. "Yea, it worked."
  
  I smiled, it was a small smile, but that was all I could muster.
  
  "I'm human again?" I whispered.
  
  He nodded.
  
  I sighed in relief. I had made it. I was human again.
  
  "Mel!" Alice squealed running into the room. "You're okay!"
  
  "I know I am." I whispered, trying another smile.
  
  "I'll go get you some water!" she said as she danced out of the room.
  
  Seconds later she returned, holding a tall glass of water.
  
  She handed it to me, and I drank it greedily. My throat was so dry. As I lowered the glass, I saw my wrist.
  
  I stared at in shock.
  
  "Why am I just skin and bone?" I whispered in shock.
  
  "You haven't had any food in your system for months." Alice explained. Your body doesn't have the nutrients in it to be healthy. Don't worry, you'll get back to a normal weight soon enough."
  
  I nodded, and looked at Paul and my entwined hands.
  
  "How long was I out?" I asked.
  
  "Four days." Paul murmured.
  
  "Four days?" I gasped.
  
  He nodded.
  
  "Wow." I breathed. "And everything worked fine?"
  
  Alice nodded, grinning.
  
  "I think Carlisle just needs to exam you, to make sure." Alice said.
  
  My stomach growled.
  
  "I'll get you something to eat." Alice said, skipping out of the room.
  
  "You're back." Paul whispered happily.
  
  I smiled. "I'm glad to be me again."
  
  "Me too." He said.
  
  He leaned forward, and brushed his lips against mine. I smiled at him.
  
  Alice came back in the room, holding a plate of pasta.
  
  I ate it all gratefully. It tasted so good, and it had been so long since I had eaten anything other than blood.
  
  "Thanks Alice." I said. I looked at Paul. "I want to walk around."
  
  Paul helped me out of bed. I was shaking a lot, and I couldn't stand on my own. Paul let go of me for a second to test how steady I was, and almost collapsed on the floor.
  
  "It's okay." He whispered, holding onto me. "I've got you."
  
  I nodded, and he helped me move through the Cullen house.
  
  It felt good to move after four days of sleeping.
  
  Even though I was unsteady, it felt good to move my joints.
  
  "Mel, you're up." Esme smiled. "I'm glad to see you moving around."
  
  I nodded, smiling. "Thank you."
  
  "Carlisle needs to see you, but he's at the hospital." She said.
  
  "Okay." I said.
  
  "Where do you want to go?" Paul asked.
  
  I thought about it. "Outside."
  
  Paul helped me outside onto the porch.
  
  I looked up at the sky. For the first time in along time, it was nice out. The sun was actually out.
  
  I smiled up at the sky. Today was one of the best days. Ever.
  
  Paul put his arm around my thin shoulders.
  
  "You're so skinny." He whispered. "You look like you're going to break."
  
  I looked at him. "Thank you."
  
  "For what?" he asked.
  
  "For staying with me." I said.
  
  He smiled. "That's what imprints are for."
  
  "Where's Bree?" I asked, suddenly remembering the newborn girl.
  
  "She...left." He said.
  
  "What?" I asked in shock.
  
  "Apparently there was too much blood for her to handle. She just ran off."
  
  "Just like Jake." I whispered.
  
  Paul's mouth went into a tight line. "Yea. Jake."
  
  That was all he said. I could tell he wanted to drop the subject, so I looked up at the sky again.
  
  Paul and I sat outside like that for a while. I wasn't sure how long it was before his phone rang.
  
  He sighed and answered it.
  
  I didn't pay attention to who he was talking to, or what he was talking about.
  
  "Emily wants to see you." he said. "Are you up for a visit?"
  
  I nodded. "Sure."
  
  Paul scooped me up in his arms, and started running through the forest.
  
  The rocking of his body was soothing. It actually kind of made me feel sleepy.
  
  I tried to get closer to Paul, but that was next to impossible seeing as how tight he was holding me.
  
  As we neared Emily's house, Paul slowed down.
  
  He sighed.
  
  "What's wrong?" I asked, looking at his face.
  
  "They're throwing me a birthday party." He groaned.
  
  I furrowed my brow. "Today's your birthday?"
  
  He nodded.
  
  "Why haven't we ever celebrated?" I asked. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"
  
  He shrugged. "It's never been a big deal to me."
  
  "You're older than me." I pouted.
  
  He laughed. "Yep. Nineteen today."
  
  I sighed.
  
  "God, I'm so stupid." He said. "Of course Emily would try to play this off as you coming over for a visit."
  
  "It won't be bad." I said, poking his arm.
  
  He sighed.
  
  I struggled to get out of his arms. I wanted to walk.
  
  He didn't want to let me go, and I was too weak to fight against him. And I wanted to save my energy to try and walk by myself.
  
  "Please?" I whispered.
  
  He looked at me, and sighed. He lightly helped me stand on my feet.
  
  I took a small, shaky step forward, legs feeling like jelly. I felt like a child learning to walk for the first time.
  
  Paul's strong arms never left my thin ones.
  
  Slowly, I made my way to Emily's front door.
  
  I knocked on the door, but it was just a light tapping.
  
  Paul rolled his eyes, and opened the door.
  
  Inside, the entire wolf pack, with the exception of Jacob were gathered in Emily's living room. Sue Clearwater and Billy Black had even come to join in on the fun.
  
  Everyone was smiling. A party was definitely what was needed after Jacob's departure.
  
  "Happy birthday, Paul!" Emily grinned, hugging him. His arms left me for a second to hug her back, and I wobbled a bit on my feet.
  
  "Mel!" she grinned, and pulled me into a hug. "How are you?"
  
  "I'm okay. A bit unsteady, but okay." I smiled.
  
  She led me to the couch, while the guys whacked Paul nineteen times each.
  
  I smiled.
  
  Billy wheeled up beside me.
  
  "Are you okay?" he asked.
  
  I nodded. "I'm okay."
  
  "I was nervous we would've lost you." he said.
  
  "Why were you nervous?" I blurted. "Sorry-that was rude."
  
  He smiled. "Don't worry about it. If we had lost you, it would've been bad for Paul and Jared. Very bad."
  
  I looked down at my hands. "Oh."
  
  "Don't worry." He said. "We're all okay."
  
  I nodded, throat feeling tight.
  
  There was a warm presence beside me. I didn't look up. That was normal in this house.
  
  "Mel?" Jared asked.
  
  I looked up at him.
  
  "Are you okay?" he asked.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Did it hurt?"
  
  "No." I said, shaking my head. "It burned a little...but it didn't hurt."
  
  He smiled. "You're back."
  
  I nodded. "I'm sure you're relieved."
  
  "Will you kill me if I say yes?"
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Then no, I'm not relieved."
  
  I smiled in spite of myself. "You're a dork."
  
  He touched my arm. "You're warm."
  
  I nodded.
  
  "I have to talk to you, later." He said. "After the party."
  
  My brow furrowed. "Why?"
  
  "We'll talk later." He said, and disappeared.
  
  I sighed. Lovely.
  
  Next, there were two warm presences beside me.
  
  "Hey Quil, Embry." I said.
  
  "Hey Mel." Embry said. "Are you okay?"
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Listen, we wanted to apologize for what we said, before." Quil said.
  
  I waved off the apology. "It's okay."
  
  They both sighed.
  
  "Honestly, it's okay." I said. "No hard feelings, I promise."
  
  "Thanks, Mel." Embry said.
  
  "No problem." I said.
  
  "You should get something to eat." Quil advised. "You look too skinny."
  
  "Shut up." I advised, smiling.
  
  They grinned.
  
  They got up from the couch, and wandered around Emily's house. Paul came and sat next to me, a plate of food in his hand.
  
  "Here." He said, handing it to me.
  
  "This is all for me?" I asked.
  
  "Yep." He said.
  
  "I won't be able to it all!" I complained.
  
  "Eat as much as you can-I'll finish the rest, deal?"
  
  "Deal." I smiled.
  
  I ate as much as I could, which was only about half the plate, and shoved it at Paul.
  
  He grinned. "I've missed you."
  
  I smiled. "I've missed me too."
  
  He rolled his eyes. "You're impossible."
  
  I giggled. "Good."
  
  He pulled me closer to his side.
  
  Emily danced over, grinning holding a box wrapped with colourful paper.
  
  "Em, I said no presents." He complained.
  
  "This is from all of us." She chided. "Don't complain."
  
  He sighed, and unwrapped it.
  
  Inside, was a small digital camera, with a case, memory card, and string to wrap around your wrist.
  
  He sighed. "Thanks guys."
  
  "Sound a little more enthused." Sam said, rolling his eyes.
  
  "I don't like people spending money on me." He muttered.
  
  Emily rolled her eyes. "You're stubborn."
  
  "Yep." He laughed.
  
  The rest of the night went well. Jared didn't approach me again, but by the time seven rolled around, I felt my eyelids get heavy.
  
  Paul noticed, and took me home. This time, the rocking of his body did lull me to sleep.
  
  The next morning someone was sitting in my room.
  
  It was Jared.
  
  "Hey sleepy head." He smiled. "You ran off last night before I could talk to you.
  
  I shrugged. "I was tired."
  
  He sighed softly.
  
  "Paul doesn't know I'm here." He said.
  
  I rubbed my eyes. "Where is Paul?"
  
  "Out patrolling. Sam got pissed he hadn't done anything in almost a week." He explained.
  
  "Oh." I said.
  
  Jared knelt down beside my bed.
  
  "Mel," he whispered. "I want to be with you."
  
  I scooted away from him. "Please don't do this to me."
  
  He grasped my hands. "I want you to choose me instead of him."
  
  I shook my head.
  
  "Mel, imagine life with me." He whispered. "It would be so easy to be with me. You know it as well as Paul does. Sometimes he even wonders if I would be better for you. I have better control over my temper, we all know that. It's dangerous for you to be with him."
  
  My throat felt tight. I knew he was right. In some ways, Jared was better for me.
  
  "But I don't want to be with you." I whispered, trying not to offend him.
  
  He didn't let the 'insult' faze him.
  
  "Jared, please stop this." I said. "I can't deal with this...not now."
  
  "Mel, if I don't talk to you now, I never will." He said. "Please, I love you so much."
  
  "Jared...I...I..." I didn't know what to say.
  
  "You know you love me. And not just as a brother. You should admit that to yourself." He said.
  
  I sighed. "I do love you, Jared."
  
  "I know." He whispered, touching my face.
  
  I leaned into his hand, unable to restrain myself. I was too weak to fight against his charm. And the saddest part was, he was right.
  
  I hated to admit it, even to myself. But I did love Jared.
  
  I closed my eyes. I could feel tears coming soon. I didn't want anyone to see me this way. Especially not Jared.
  
  "Mel, don't lie to yourself." He whispered, caressing my cheek.
  
  "Jared, please don't make me choose between you two." I whispered.
  
  "It's too late for that." He said. "You have to choose, Mel."
  
  "Don't do this to me." I whispered. "Please don't do this to me."
  
  "I would be the better choice for you." he said. "Mel, please choose me. There would never be a scare of me losing my temper with you."
  
  "No, Jared." I whispered. "No. I'm not going to choose you."
  
  "Why not?" he demanded.
  
  "Because I love Paul." I said.
  
  "You love me too." He said angrily. "Don't you dare say you don't, because we all know you do."
  
  I had no idea what to say, and before I knew what was happening, his lips were on mine.
  
  In his sudden burst of anger he had grasped my face in his hand and kissed me with more force than necessary.
  
  In that instant I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to tangle my hands in his hair and tell him I loved him.
  
  But, he was crushing me.
  
  "Jared." I said against his lips. "Jared stop, you're hurting me."
  
  Immediately his grip loosened, and his mouth came away from mine.
  
  "Mel, I'm sorry, I hadn't realized..." he said. "What?" he asked, noticing my stare.
  
  "Jared..." I said.
  
  Gently, his hands came back to my face. He pulled me towards him slowly, not wanting to hurt me again.
  
  This time when his lips came to mine, he was gentle. As I kissed him back, tears rolled down my cheeks.
  
  During our kiss I had some sort of vision. I could see my life with him. And he was right. It would be as easy as breathing. It would be simple, pure. Wonderful.
  
  Being with Paul was easy, but not as easy as it could be with Jared.
  
  Jared broke away from me.
  
  "Now tell me you didn't feel anything there." He whispered.
  
  I bit my lip. I didn't want to say anything.
  
  "Exactly." He said.
  
  He wiped away the tears that had rolled down my face.
  
  "I'll always be here for you." he whispered.
  
  And then, he loped out of the Cullen house.
  
  I laid in my bed, confused and heartbroken.
  
  I let the tears fall freely, and the sobs erupt from my chest.
  Breaking Dawn
  
  Chapter One- Tears
  
  I sat on the hospital bed, feeling horrible. I knew how right Jared had been. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I loved Jared.
  
  I hated this. I didn't want to have to choose. I didn't want to have to tear them apart.
  
  Again.
  
  No matter what, they would hate each other. If I fell off the face of the planet they would blame each other.
  
  I sighed. In a way, I was glad I was going to New York in a couple months.
  
  But I would miss both of them.
  
  I didn't want to face Paul. Not yet. I couldn't let him see my like this; couldn't let him know what I had done.
  
  I knew he would find out eventually, but we would cross that bridge when we got to it.
  
  I felt awful. I rolled onto my side with great effort. Eventually the tears had stopped, which was good.
  
  It was hard to get back into the swing of being human. I was so used to not having to eat anything.
  
  Right now, the last thing I wanted to do was eat.
  
  I stared out the window, watching the rain drops roll down the glass.
  
  "Hello, Melanie." Said a high pitched girl's voice from the doorway.
  
  My brow furrowed. It couldn't have been Alice.
  
  I rolled over again to see Jane standing in my doorway. Petite, blonde, and evil.
  
  "What are you doing here?" I whispered. I was scared now. I was human and I knew about vampires.
  
  "Nobody knows I'm here." She smiled. "The Cullens know I'm here. They were quite startled by my visit."
  
  "Why are you here?" I whispered.
  
  "To check on you." she said sweetly. "Alice," she scowled as she said her name. "isn't the only one keeping tabs."
  
  I swallowed nervously.
  
  "I wonder if you can still deflect some of the pain I cause you..." she whispered.
  
  "Please don't." I whispered. "Please, I'm...I'm too weak."
  
  Behind her, Carlisle and Alice appeared in the doorway.
  
  Alice had a thunderous look on her face. I had never seen that amount of anger on the petite dark haired girl's face.
  
  Carlisle looked worried.
  
  "So, how did this end up happening?" Jane asked, turning to Carlisle.
  
  "Melanie came to me one day, when she was still a vampire, and her," Carlisle glanced at me. "boyfriend had noticed that she was crying. So, I took a look at her, and came to the conclusion that maybe there was some sort of glitch in her system that could reverse the change."
  
  "And it worked?" Jane asked, eyeing me.
  
  "Yes. Melanie is one hundred percent human again. I examined her myself. The only thing is, she won't ever be able to have children. The venom killed that part of her when she was turned."
  
  "How do you know it wouldn't work for other vampires?" she demanded.
  
  "As I said before, it must have been a rare glitch in Melanie's system."
  
  "I guess my work here is done." Jane said, pursing her lips. "Well...we'll just try it, shall we?"
  
  "No!" Alice yelled, but pain shot through me. A scream ripped through me.
  
  I couldn't see, couldn't hear; could only feel the pain.
  
  Suddenly, the pain ceased.
  
  Jane smiled, and left.
  
  "Are you okay?" Alice asked, appearing at my side and putting her hand on my back.
  
  I nodded. "Yea, I'm...I'm fine."
  
  "Are you hungry?" she asked.
  
  "No, not at all." I said.
  
  "Mel, you have to eat." Carlisle said quietly.
  
  "I know, but I feel...I feel really bad right now." I whispered. "I'll eat later."
  
  "Are you sick?" Carlisle asked.
  
  Sick in the head, maybe. "No, I just feel...I'm just not hungry."
  
  Alice and Carlisle shared a glance.
  
  "I'm fine, really." I assured them. "There was a lot of food at Emily's last night."
  
  "I can see that you're going to eat later." Alice sighed.
  
  I nodded. "Thank you."
  
  Alice's eyes flickered to the doorway, and her nose crinkled.
  
  I followed her gaze to see Paul standing there.
  
  "We'll give you two some privacy." Carlisle said softly.
  
  He and Alice left the bedroom. I wanted to pull Alice back; I didn't want to be alone with Paul yet.
  
  "Mel." He whispered.
  
  I closed my eyes; squeezed them shut.
  
  "Mel...you..." he took a deep breath. I was expecting him to scream at me, to yell at me. "You should be with him."
  
  My eyes flew open and stared at him in shock.
  
  "What?" I gasped.
  
  "You should be with Jared." He said.
  
  I stared at him, mouth hanging open.
  
  "I saw the way you looked at him...when you...when you kissed him." He sighed. "It's obvious I'm not the right one for you."
  
  "Paul I-"
  
  "Mel, please just make this easy. For once don't put up a fight with me." He begged. "I don't want this any harder than it already is."
  
  "Paul...I..." I had no idea what to say.
  
  "He told you that you had to choose between us, right?" he asked. I nodded. "Well, I'm making this choice easy for you. Choose him."
  
  I felt like I couldn't breathe. My head was spinning.
  
  "Who says I want him?" I whispered, feeling my lip tremble.
  
  "That kiss sure cleared some things up." He said bitterly.
  
  My stomach lurched. Of course Paul would know every detail of Jared and my conversation. Jared had probably phased as soon as he left here to go rub it in.
  
  "Paul, I'm so sorry."
  
  "Stop apologizing." He said coldly. "You have Jared now, and everyone in the world is happy, oh except me. But who cares about me?"
  
  "I do!" I yelled.
  
  "You obviously don't." he spat.
  
  "I made a mistake." I said, feeling my heart rip in two. "People make mistakes!"
  
  "You've made this mistake before, Melanie!" he growled.
  
  "I know!" I said, feeling tears sting at my eyes. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for me? I hate both of you being imprinted on me. I hate the thought that things like this are going to happen. I hate that you could end up hating your pack brother!"
  
  He didn't say anything.
  
  I wanted to break something. I wanted to show Paul that I cared about him. I wanted him to believe me.
  
  But he wouldn't, because he was pissed.
  
  I crossed my arms, and glared at him.
  
  He took one look at my expression, and left the house.
  
  I let the tears fall freely again.
  Chapter 2-Broken
  
  I had broken Paul's heart.
  
  I was the worst imprint in history.
  
  Why couldn't I have just done what was right, and not kiss Jared?
  
  How do you know that wasn't the right thing to do? Asked a voice in my head.
  
  It wasn't Seth, I knew that. It was my inner voice of annoyance.
  
  Now you know that you love Jared. Now you know that have to make a choice.
  
  I ignored it.
  
  I stared up at the ceiling feeling awful.
  
  I don't know how long I stayed like that before there was a really warm presence in the room.
  
  "Mel?" Jared asked.
  
  I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see anyone right now.
  
  "Mel, come on." He said.
  
  I kept my eyes closed, and didn't turn.
  
  I heard him move towards me. Before I really knew what was happening, my hand was in his.
  
  "Mel, look at me." he whispered.
  
  I kept my eyes shut tight.
  
  "I know what Paul said to you..." he said.
  
  I didn't open my eyes; I could almost feel the tears coming at the memory of my talk with Paul.
  
  "I know what he told you...and I know how he felt. He's mad. Really mad." Jared sighed. "And he's sad. He knows he hurt you."
  
  I opened my eyes and rolled onto my side to look at Jared.
  
  "Does he hate me?" I whispered.
  
  A couple emotions played across Jared's face. There were too quick for me to know exactly what they were.
  
  "Don't sugarcoat it for me, Jared." I whispered, lip trembling. "Does he hate me?"
  
  Jared nodded, looking disgusted.
  
  I closed my eyes again.
  
  Paul hated me.
  
  My world felt like it was crumbling apart.
  
  "Mel, it's okay." Jared whispered.
  
  He pulled me out of the bed, into his arms, trying to soothe me.
  
  "It's not okay!" I sobbed into his chest. "Paul hates me! How can it be okay?"
  
  "It'll be okay." He soothed. "You'll be okay."
  
  I cried into Jared's chest.
  
  He rubbed my back, trying to soothe me.
  
  He tried to calm me down by telling me it would be okay, but I knew it wouldn't. Paul hated me. That was all there was to it. He hated me, and I couldn't do anything to change that. He probably didn't ever want to see me again.
  
  The only thing he didn't understand was that I loved him. He didn't understand how hard it could be for me to deal with both him and Jared imprinted on me.
  
  I've said this countless times before, but I'm positive that imprints do work both ways. Once your wolf imprints on you, you can't help but feel drawn to him or her.
  
  Well, that was how it was for me with both Paul and Jared. I was drawn to both of them. I was helpless.
  
  I wanted to scream, I wanted to try and find Paul. I wanted to leave. I wanted to leave Forks. I needed to get out of here.
  
  But another part of me was completely content sitting here in Jared's warm, strong arms.
  
  I sighed quietly. The tears and sobs had stopped.
  
  Jared stroked my hair.
  
  "You'll be okay." He said.
  
  "No, I don't think I will." I whispered.
  
  Jared held me tight against his chest.
  
  "No matter what happens, I'll be here for you." Jared murmured.
  
  The promise in his voice made me want to burst out in tears all over again. But no tears came. I had a feeling I had cried so much today that I had no tears left.
  
  I snuggled closer to Jared, shivering. I was cold now.
  
  Or was I shivering because of the events of today?
  
  "You're okay." Jared whispered. "I'm here, you're okay."
  
  I leaned against his shoulder.
  
  "Thank you, Jared." I whispered.
  
  "No problem." He murmured, rubbing my back.
  
  I stayed cradled in Jared's arms for a long time. I hadn't realized when tears started falling again.
  
  Jared wiped my tears away, and tried to make me feel better, but I still felt awful.
  
  With Paul hating me, there really wasn't much I could be happy about. Paul was who I wanted.
  
  But, I also loved Jared.
  
  One evil little part of me wanted Jared more than anything.
  
  But there was a whole other part that wanted Paul.
  
  I wanted to just rip myself in half and give each of them a piece.
  
  I was broken already anyway.
  Chapter 3- Apologies
  
  Eventually Jared had gotten me to eat something. I'm sure Alice was annoyed that she was blind because he was with me, but somehow she still knew when to bring in a plate of food.
  
  I didn't even know what I was eating. I ate it mechanically. I didn't taste it; didn't care.
  
  I was back in the hospital bed, but now I was sitting up, not laying down staring up at the ceiling again.
  
  But that was what I wanted to be doing.
  
  I didn't want to function, I just wanted to curl up in a little ball and die.
  
  Jared's hand never left mine. It was sweet to know that he was here for me.
  
  I felt my eyelids get heavy, but I fought against the urge to fall asleep. I was winning the battle. So far.
  
  "Mel, you're tired." Jared whispered. "Go to sleep."
  
  I shook my head, trying to hold on for as long as possible. I wasn't exactly sure why I didn't want to fall asleep, but I fought as hard as I could against it.
  
  "I'll be here when you wake up." He said. "I promise."
  
  Still, I fought against sleep.
  
  I glanced at the door to see Paul standing there, glaring at my hand in Jared's.
  
  None of us said anything. It was the mother of all awkward silences.
  
  I wasn't exactly sure what Paul wanted to say, and I wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to me or to Jared.
  
  I looked down at my blanket. I could tell Paul hadn't moved from the doorway yet.
  
  I was wide awake now, earlier drowsiness forgotten.
  
  I wished for a distraction. For once I wanted Emmett to come in and annoy the crap out of me. I wanted Alice or Rosalie to come save me and take me somewhere. Hell, I wouldn't mind Edward, even.
  
  But, unfortunately Edward wasn't home, and no one in the house could read my mind.
  
  I wished I could somehow send Alice a message, but her 'sight' would be gone because of the wolves in here.
  
  "Someone say something." I demanded, looking up at Paul.
  
  "You left some of your stuff at my apartment." Paul said quietly.
  
  I nodded. I had meant to go there as soon as I could walk on my own.
  
  "I brought it for you." he said, motioning to a box beside him.
  
  "Thanks." I whispered, throat feeling tight.
  
  He nodded, and then looked at Jared. "Sam wants you."
  
  Jared sighed and stood. He looked at me once more, and then ran out of the house.
  
  "Hey." I whispered.
  
  "Hey." Paul said. His voice was bitter.
  
  "I know you hate me." I whispered, feeling my lip tremble. I could only manage a whisper. If I tried to speak any louder he'd hear my voice shake.
  
  His face was a cold mask of bitterness, and his expression stayed the same.
  
  "Yea." He said, looking away from me.
  
  I struggled to get out of bed.
  
  "Paul, come here." I whispered.
  
  He didn't move.
  
  I got up off the bed, and wobbled my way over to him. I almost fell a couple times, but eventually I made it.
  
  I reached my hands up to pull his face closer to mine, so he would have no choice but to look into my eyes when I told him this.
  
  "No matter what you may think, I do care about you, Paul." I said seriously. "There's only been a handful of people in my life that I've cared about. And even less that I've actually let in. You're one of those people no matter how you feel about me. No matter what I will always care about you and I will always love you. I made a mistake, and I've decided I'm not going to beg for forgiveness from you again. I know what you've decided. You've decided to stay away from me and 'let' Jared have me. But I'll have you know that you'll always have a special place in my heart, and I know how cheesy that sounds, but it's completely true."
  
  He didn't say anything, but I couldn't help but notice his face soften in the slightest bit.
  
  "You don't want to admit it, but you have to care about me." I whispered. "You can't help it, because you've imprinted on me. And I'm sorry for that."
  
  "Don't be sorry." He whispered. "I'm sorry I've done this to you."
  
  He turned on his heel, and quickly left the Cullen house.
  
  I wobbled back to my bed, confused.
  
  Why would Paul be sorry? What had he done?
  
  Imprinted on you, made you think you were pregnant, asked you to marry you when you obviously weren't ready, turned you into a vampire, let you change back, almost killed you...
  
  Shut up.
  
  Was I going crazy? Stupid voice in my head.
  
  I sighed, frustrated. What was wrong with me? Why was all this happening to me? What was so special about me?
  
  There was a small sound at my door, the sound of someone clearing their throat. I turned to see Bella looking worriedly at me.
  
  "Is this a bad time?" she asked.
  
  I shook my head. "No, come in."
  
  She came in and sat on the chair next to my bed.
  
  "Are you okay?" she asked, eyeing my thin frame.
  
  I nodded. "I'm okay. A bit shaky still, but otherwise I'm fine."
  
  "Did it hurt?" she asked. "Changing back, I mean."
  
  "No, it didn't hurt." I said. "It burned a little, but not as much as when I was turned into a vampire."
  
  "Oh." She said softly. "Has, um, has either Jared or Paul said anything about...about Jake?"
  
  I shook my head. "They haven't said anything, and I haven't asked."
  
  She nodded. "I had expected that."
  
  We were quiet for a bit, lost in our own thoughts.
  
  "Mel, I just wanted to let you know, I'm okay if you can't handle being a bridesmaid. I mean, I can see how weak you are. If you're too tired, or not well enough by the time the wedding rolls around, I'm okay with it, and I completely understand. No hard feelings, I promise." She said.
  
  I nodded, smiling. "Thank you, Bella."
  
  She smiled. "Don't worry about it."
  
  I smiled back at her.
  
  "You should get some sleep." She said softly. "You look really tired."
  
  I nodded. "I will."
  
  She smiled again and left my room.
  
  I followed Bella's advice and went to sleep.
  
  I dreamt that Paul and Jared were physically fighting each other for me. I tried to get between them, but I ended up getting hurt in the process. Neither of them noticed, and didn't make any move to try and help me.
  
  I woke up trembling. That was worse than the dreams I had about me turning into a vampire.
  
  Thousands of times worse.
  
  Alice danced into my room, smiling. "You look healthier already. You look a lot less tired."
  
  I smiled. "Good."
  
  She handed me a plate of fruit, and I munched on it. I was starving.
  
  "I got your dress!" Alice sang.
  
  I stared at her, mouth full of pineapple.
  
  "Your bridesmaid dress." She said, rolling her eyes. "It's purple."
  
  "What colour is yours?" I asked, chewing a strawberry.
  
  "A greenish colour." She smiled. "I decided that we don't need matching dresses. I think that will look much better. You can try it on later on."
  
  I smiled. "You're the boss."
  
  "I just hope you're back to your regular size by then." She murmured. "And that you can at least stand on your own..."
  
  "I'll do my best." I sighed, eating a piece of cantaloupe.
  
  She grinned at me. "You're the best, Mel."
  
  I smiled. "I know I am."
  
  Alice bit her lip.
  
  "What?" I asked, stuffing my face some more.
  
  "Well..." she sighed. "I couldn't help but overhear what happened before...with...Paul."
  
  I bit my lip and looked away.
  
  "What you did was really strong." Alice said. "Telling him how much you cared about him, but you didn't want to fight with him anymore. That was so strong of you."
  
  "Thanks." I whispered.
  
  "Mel, if you ever need someone to talk to, you know I'm here for you."
  
  I nodded, smiling. "I know."
  
  She skipped out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
  
  Which was never really a good thing.
  
  I idly wondered when I was supposed to go to New York. I would probably have to go a few weeks earlier than school to get a feel for the city, and get moved in.
  
  I wished that I could go now. Just leave Forks behind.
  
  But I couldn't do that. Which sucked.
  
  I sighed again. It surprised me a bit that Seth hadn't come in to see me yet. He was my brother and all...maybe he was scared to see me like this.
  
  I groaned, rolled over, and went back to sleep.
  
  Again, I dreamed that Paul and Jared were fighting over me, but this time when I got in the way, Alice picked me up off the ground and took me back to the Cullen house.
  
  I woke up trembling again. I needed to settle this fast.
  
  But Paul didn't want to look at me, let alone talk to me, and Jared was content pretending everything was good while it wasn't.
  
  Jared knew everything wasn't okay, and I wasn't sure if he was trying to make me feel better, or trying to make himself feel better.
  
  I sighed. I hated this. I couldn't believe that I had caused this whole thing to happen.
  
  They probably hated each other. I had torn them apart. Again.
  
  I felt awful because of that.
  
  Why did I have to keep doing this to them? Why couldn't Paul understand that I couldn't help it?
  
  I mean, I knew how awful it was for me to just kiss Jared like that, but I was drawn to him. I couldn't help myself when I was around him.
  
  I sighed again. This was annoying.
  
  Jared came back to my room. He came and sat beside me.
  
  "Are you okay?" he asked.
  
  I nodded. "Yea, I'm okay."
  
  He grasped my hand. "He's just mad with himself, he'll get over this."
  
  "Will he?" I asked softly. "You know what he said. He hates me."
  
  "Mel, he cares about you more than anything." He said quietly. "He wants you to be happy. Right now, he doesn't care if he's not happy. All he cares about is you. Trust me; I have a direct line into his head."
  
  I nodded. "Thank you, Jared."
  
  He smiled. "That's what I'm here for."
  Chapter 4-Wedding Bells
  
  In the following weeks the Cullen house became a frenzy of wedding plans and decorations.
  
  I wasn't as skinny or shaky anymore, and Alice had made me try on my dress.
  
  Of course it fit perfectly. Alice knew everything, with or without her sight.
  
  The wedding was in two days, and I was nervous about walking in heels. Alice wouldn't allow me to wear flats.
  
  Bella seemed happy with Alice's choice for my dress, which was good.
  
  Jared visited me everyday, and stayed with me for a good couple of hours.
  
  Paul hadn't come in once. I hadn't seen him since his last visit when I spilled my heart out to him.
  
  Right now I was with Jared. He was helping me walk in my heels.
  
  I had got it down pretty much, but I was breaking them in, and making sure I was okay to walk in them.
  
  I was pretty confident in them now.
  
  Jared sighed. "I have to go. Sam wants me."
  
  I nodded. "Go. I don't want you in trouble with him."
  
  He nodded and left the Cullen house.
  
  I was grateful to Alice for letting him come over the border to see me. Without him I would probably be lost.
  
  I took off my heels, and went downstairs. I was proud I had conquered that all by myself last week.
  
  Esme smiled warmly at me. "Glad to see you walking around. You're looking much healthier."
  
  I grinned. "Thanks, Esme."
  
  Alice grinned at me.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "I'm glad you can walk on your own, Mel!" she sang.
  
  I rolled my eyes.
  
  "You're hiding something." I accused.
  
  She gave me an innocent look. "Me? Hide something? From you? That's insane!"
  
  I sighed. "I'll find out eventually."
  
  She grinned. "Yes you will."
  
  I rolled my eyes.
  
  "So, Mel." She said. "After the wedding, you should go to New York, to get a feel for the city."
  
  "You're not coming?" I asked, panicked.
  
  "I'll come when school starts." She promised. "I just think you should get settled before the semester begins."
  
  "But, why can't you come?" I asked. "When I go to get a feel for the city, I mean."
  
  "Because..." she bit her lip, trying to find a way to explain whatever was happening in that mind of hers. "I've already been to New York; I know my way around pretty well. And there might be some things here that need to be taken care of."
  
  I nodded. "Okay. When should I leave?"
  
  "I booked a flight for you the day after the wedding." She smiled.
  
  "Oh god Alice!" I groaned. "I have to pack!"
  
  "Already done." She grinned.
  
  "Where do I go once I'm there?" I sighed.
  
  "I'll write out the address of our apartment." She smiled. "I'll put it in your carry-on."
  
  I sighed. "Okay."
  
  She grinned at me.
  
  I smiled, and went to the fridge. I found something to eat, and sat at the kitchen table.
  
  Alice was putting together a seating plan for the wedding. I was surprised at how many people were attending.
  
  Alice would be Alice.
  
  My brother came into the house then, and smiled at me. He was obviously glad to see me up and about.
  
  I smiled back at him.
  
  Idly, I wondered if he would have the same 'glitch' in his system that I had that turned me back into a human.
  
  But he did seem content being a vampire.
  
  I munched on my food. Alice was leaning over her seating plans, Esme was folding napkins, and Rosalie was playing piano.
  
  I wasn't sure where the guys were. I knew Emmett and Jasper were throwing Edward a bachelor party tomorrow night. I was pretty sure Seth would be joining that party.
  
  As far as I knew there wasn't a party for Bella.
  
  Unless I had missed it, which was unlikely given Alice's love for big parties.
  
  I kept eating my food. I was glad I was getting back to my normal size. It was a huge sigh of relief to know I would be me again soon enough.
  
  The thought made me smile. I would be myself again in no time.
  
  Alice noticed my smile and winked at me.
  
  I was sure she could see the exact date I would be me again. But I didn't want to ask her. I wanted it to be a 'surprise' in a way.
  
  "Is everything ready for the wedding?" I asked.
  
  "Yep." Alice grinned. "Just doing some final touches."
  
  "Good." I smiled. "I'm sure Bella will be embarrassed."
  
  "Good!" Alice grinned.
  
  I burst out laughing. Only Alice.
  
  The next day was hectic. Bella was nervous, and everyone else was excited.
  
  The backyard of the Cullen house was decorated beautifully. Everything would be perfect. Bella was shaking with nerves. She didn't even want to step outside to see what the backyard looked like.
  
  Alice assured her everything would be fine, but Bella was far too nervous to listen.
  
  The next day was the day of the wedding. My morning was full of my hair being done, and my make-up being perfect. Bella was shaking.
  
  "You'll be fine." I assured her, smiling.
  
  She nodded looking nervous.
  
  Alice got me into my dress, and then rushed off to finish perfecting Bella.
  
  I was ready to be a bridesmaid.
  
  The heels weren't giving me problems at all, which was good. My dress a silvery purple colour. Somehow the colour reminded me of something Lady Gaga would wear.
  
  Of course the style of the dress was far too plain for Ms. Gaga herself.
  
  I wasn't exactly sure who was walking me down the aisle; I was pretty sure it would be Emmett though. Charlie was sure to walk Bella down the aisle, and Jasper would probably walk Alice, right? Rosalie wasn't a bridesmaid; she was playing the piano all night.
  
  I knew it wouldn't take long for Alice to get ready. She could pull together any outfit in seconds flat if the need arose.
  
  Rosalie and I stood side by side. She looked absolutely breathtaking in her long silver gown; and perfect golden hair on top of her head.
  
  She smiled at me. "You look gorgeous, Mel."
  
  "So do you!" I said, grinning.
  
  She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
  
  "What's wrong?" I asked.
  
  "I can't help but be a bit bitter." She said. "Today is one of Bella's last human days. She doesn't know the mistake she's making. She doesn't understand that she has a whole life ahead of her that she's just throwing away. I would kill to get a second chance, that's why I fought with Carlisle so hard to make him try the procedure on me. But he wouldn't. I don't care about beautiful anymore. I care about moving forward. But that won't ever happen. I can't move forward because my time for moving forward has ended. Sometimes I wish she would choose that wolf over my brother. That way she would remain human."
  
  "Edward is who she wants." I said softly.
  
  "But he's going to end her life." She said quietly. "I have no aversion to Bella as my sister. It's nothing like that. I'm so insanely jealous that she has a choice. I didn't have a choice, none of us did. We were all turned against our will. But she won't be. It's horrible to think that someone would actually choose to become this way. I don't know why anyone would want it. I would give anything to be human again. Anything in the world. Her life is being wasted; all because she thinks she knows what she does and doesn't want. Apparently she doesn't want kids, yet she wants to become a vampire. She's making a mistake."
  
  I wasn't sure what to say.
  
  "Mel, promise me something." She said. "Promise me that if you are ever presented with this choice, you will choose right. You won't choose to become like us. Promise me that, please."
  
  I nodded. "I promise. Being a vampire had its perks, but I wasn't me. I was something completely different."
  
  She nodded. "I know what you mean."
  
  "Maybe Carlisle will find some way to reverse the change on you." I tried. "I mean, if it worked for me, maybe he'll find another way to turn all vampires back."
  
  She sighed. "I don't think he will."
  
  "Stay optimistic." I said. "You never know what could happen."
  
  She smiled. "Thanks, Mel."
  
  "Anytime." I grinned.
  
  Alice came out of her bathroom, and went into her room quickly. Seconds later she darted back out. I only saw a flash of silvery green fabric before she was back in her bathroom adjusting Bella.
  
  "We should go downstairs." Rosalie said. "I have to get playing the piano, and you need to get ready to walk down the aisle with Emmett."
  
  I nodded. "Want to make sure I don't fall down the stairs? I don't want to steal Bella's thunder by breaking a bone."
  
  "I would carry you, but Bella's parents are down there." She whispered, smirking.
  
  I giggled. "That's okay."
  
  Rosalie held my arm as I walked down the stairs. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, but I didn't notice. I concentrated on walking down the giant staircase.
  
  Rosalie stood me next to Emmett, and went outside to begin playing piano.
  
  Emmett grinned at me.
  
  "You better not let me fall." I hissed.
  
  He laughed quietly. "I wouldn't do that to you."
  
  I rolled my eyes. Only Emmett.
  
  I looked outside where everyone was already seated. Edward was already there. Carlisle and Esme were in front of Emmett and I. Jasper was behind us, and I was sure Alice would join him any second.
  
  As Wagner's March began to play, Carlisle and Esme walked down the aisle. I took a deep breath. My turn.
  
  Emmett led me along the aisle. I hated the fact that everyone was staring at us.
  
  But, Emmett did make it better. He was cracking jokes quietly to me the whole way.
  
  Next, Alice and Jasper made their way down the aisle.
  
  Finally, Bella and Charlie made their way down.
  
  Bella looked absolutely stunning. She looked slightly embarrassed, and her cheeks were flushed a little bit, but otherwise, she only had eyes for Edward.
  
  Angela's dad was conducting the ceremony.
  
  Everything went perfect. Bella was crying her eyes out, and I couldn't help but get a little teary myself. Alice nudged me and grinned.
  
  As Edward kissed his bride, the crowd erupted into applause. Bella's mother hugged her, and Bella was pushed through the crowd, embracing family member after family member.
  
  I was shocked to see that Seth Clearwater had attended.
  
  I made my way over to him.
  
  "Seth!" I squealed, hugging him.
  
  "Mel!" he laughed, hugging me tight. "How are you? You look lots better."
  
  "I'm great." I grinned. "Thanks, I'm a whole lot better now."
  
  "That's great." He grinned. "Oh, Jared wanted me to let you know that he's going to drive you to the airport tomorrow."
  
  "Thanks." I said, and then cleared my throat. "How's...um...how's Paul?"
  
  Seth looked away. "He's okay."
  
  I looked at the ground. That was all the answer I needed.
  
  "Thanks." I said, not being able to look at him.
  
  "He'll get over this." He promised.
  
  I nodded. "I know."
  
  The reception was remarkable. I was surprised the ceremony had flowed into the reception so well. Alice was amazing at planning parties.
  
  There were people everywhere. Mostly humans, but I couldn't mistake the coven of vampires here.
  
  They were gorgeous of course, and I was pretty sure they were the Denali coven.
  
  After Edward and Bella had greeted their guests, cut their cake, and Edward had removed Bella's garter-with his teeth-the music started, and the happy couple shared their first dance as husband and wife.
  
  Bella danced with everyone. I was sure her feet were killing her.
  
  I danced once or twice with Jasper, and Emmett twirled me around the dance floor a couple of times.
  
  I glanced toward Seth Clearwater's direction. His head had perked up, and he was looking toward the forest.
  
  I saw Edward leading Bella there, and knew something was up.
  
  "Alice." I said softly, hoping she would hear from wherever she was.
  
  She appeared beside me.
  
  "What is it?" she asked.
  
  "Where's Edward taking Bella?" I whispered.
  
  She held up her finger, and her face scrunched up.
  
  "Bella's future suddenly disappeared, and all I can see in Edward's is him dancing with Rosalie."
  
  I felt my heart rate increase. Jacob was back.
  
  About ten minutes later, Bella emerged from the forest with Edward. She looked shaken and upset.
  
  I sat with my brother.
  
  "Did you hear the scene in the forest?" I asked.
  
  He nodded.
  
  "Care to explain?" I asked.
  
  "It started out fine. Just Bella and Jacob talking. But then, Bella let it slip that she was having a 'real' honeymoon with Edward, and Jacob flipped."
  
  I rolled my eyes. "Silly Jacob."
  
  Seth laughed. "You're too funny."
  
  I rolled my eyes again, smiling.
  
  The reception flew by. Soon, Bella was in another dress. A deep blue one, and her and Edward were getting into a car and zooming off to the airport where they would enjoy their honeymoon.
  
  I thought about how I would be on a plane tomorrow heading to New York. I was sleepy, and Alice noticed. She led me up to my room and helped me into my pajamas.
  
  "Thanks." I whispered, crawling into bed.
  
  "Don't worry about anything, Mel." She said. "You're all packed, and one of your wolves will be here to pick you up tomorrow."
  
  I nodded sleepily. "Okay."
  
  Alice smiled, and darted out of the room.
  
  Seconds later, I was out like a light.
  
  I opened my eyes to find Paul in my room scowling.
  
  Well, this would be interesting.
  
  "Come on, I have to take you to the airport." He said.
  
  "What about Jared?" I asked. I was positive Seth Clearwater had told me that it was Jared who would be taking me today.
  
  "He had to go patrolling." Paul said. "Don't ask why, he just did."
  
  I sighed. "Let me just get ready."
  
  I got ready, and sorted through my carry-on bag to make sure I had all my papers.
  
  Of course, because Alice had packed everything, it was all in perfect order.
  
  "Okay, I'm ready." I said, as I struggled to carry my suitcases.
  
  Paul rolled his eyes, and took the suitcases from me.
  
  He carried them out to Sam's truck. Idly, I wondered why he hadn't just used his own car.
  
  I got in the passenger side, knowing this would be an awkward car ride.
  
  He got in the driver's seat and began driving to the airport.
  
  I looked down at my hands, unsure of what to say.
  
  "Do you at least have someone there to help you when you land?" he asked, breaking the silence. "You can't carry your luggage alone."
  
  I nodded. "Alice arranged for someone to pick me up and help me with my luggage."
  
  He nodded. "Good."
  
  I sighed again. Silence took over the truck again.
  
  I played with my hands. I couldn't bring myself to look at him, knowing I'd see that bitter mask that had seemed to take over him.
  
  Finally, after the longest car ride I had ever experienced we were at the airport.
  
  Paul carried my bags in, while I looked around. I couldn't see any sign for my flight.
  
  I found the giant board that told me which check-in desk to go to, and saw that my flight had been cancelled.
  
  In fact, every flight from Washington to New York was cancelled.
  
  I found a worker for the airport.
  
  "Excuse me, when is the next flight to New York?" I asked her.
  
  "I don't know; the computers in the airports in New York crashed." She said apologetically.
  
  I groaned. "Great."
  
  "Mel," Paul started, bit his lip, and started talking again. "I'll drive you."
  
  "What?" I asked, whirling around to face him.
  
  "I'll drive you to New York." He said.
  
  "Oh, Paul, you don't have to do that. I can wait."
  
  "No, I'll take you now." He said, taking my luggage back out to the truck.
  
  Well, now this would be interesting.
  Chapter 5-Wrong
  
  Paul and I had been driving for a couple of hours when I made him pull into a rest station.
  
  When I had called Alice to tell her what had happened with the flight she was pissed.
  
  "They didn't even notify us?" she growled.
  
  "Nope." I sighed.
  
  She sighed. "As long as you're on your way now."
  
  I nodded into the phone. "We're just at a rest station in Idaho."
  
  "Make sure you stop for the night somewhere, and call me when you get there." She said.
  
  "I will." I promised, and hung up.
  
  I left the woman's washroom to find Paul waiting for me with a fast food bag in his hand.
  
  "Thought you might be hungry." He said, handing it to me.
  
  "Thanks." I mumbled. "You didn't have to do that though."
  
  He shrugged. "It's fine."
  
  "Did you get anything for yourself?" I asked, peeking in the bag.
  
  "Yea, I got a burger." He said, running his hand through his hair.
  
  "Can this not be awkward?" I demanded.
  
  He sighed, not meeting my eyes.
  
  "Why'd you even offer to drive me, Paul?" I demanded. "You apparently hate me, and yet you're willing to spend a few days with me, alone? Why didn't you just take me back to Forks and wait for Jared or Alice to take me?"
  
  "Can we get in the truck to have this conversation?" he hissed. "People are afraid I'm going to attack you."
  
  I looked around and saw people watching the scene nervously.
  
  I followed Paul out to Sam's truck, and got in the passenger seat.
  
  "I offered to drive you because that way you wouldn't be in Forks any longer than necessary." He said.
  
  "You're lying." I said. "One extra day of me in Forks wouldn't have killed you. It probably only would've been a few hours anyway. Now, you're spending a few days with just me. Alone. In car, and tonight and tomorrow night in a hotel room."
  
  He sighed, and started the car.
  
  I stared at him, raising an eyebrow, waiting for an answer.
  
  "I knew it would make you happy to go." He whispered, pulling out of the parking lot. "I didn't want you to have to wait any longer to get there."
  
  My throat felt a bit tight.
  
  "That's um, very nice of you." I whispered. Suddenly I felt guilty for my outburst.
  
  He didn't say anything just kept driving.
  
  "Paul," I cleared my throat. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you."
  
  He didn't say anything; just kept his eyes on the road.
  
  "Paul, you and I both know that I made a huge mistake." I said. "And like I said before, I'm not even going to ask you to forgive me. I don't deserve your forgiveness. Hell, I don't even deserve you."
  
  His face softened. I was making progress.
  
  He glanced at me, and I could tell he wasn't sure what to say.
  
  I sighed, and stared out the window. He wasn't going to talk.
  
  That night, I was shivering as we pulled into a hotel parking lot.
  
  We went inside the lobby to the front desk.
  
  "Do you have any vacancies?" I asked.
  
  "No, I'm sorry. There's a festival in town." The clerk said, smiling apologetically.
  
  "Okay, thank you." I mumbled. Paul and I tried three different hotels before we found one with a room.
  
  The clerk typed things into his computer. "You're lucky you got this one."
  
  I nodded, shivering. I was freezing.
  
  "Okay, so your room is 302, there's a queen sized bed, and breakfast is free tomorrow morning between seven and ten. The pool is open until one a.m."
  
  "One bed?" Paul repeated.
  
  The clerk nodded.
  
  "Do you have any cots or anything?" Paul asked.
  
  "No, sorry, sir, but all of our cots are in use."
  
  "Great." Paul groaned. "Now we have to find some place else."
  
  "Paul, its fine." I said. "I don't care. I'm tired, and cold, and just want to sleep. We aren't going to find anywhere else tonight."
  
  He sighed. He knew I was right.
  
  We got our room keys, and went up to our room.
  
  I was shivering as I crawled into bed.
  
  Paul was trying to get comfortable in a chair.
  
  I pulled the blankets up to my nose, but was still shivering.
  
  I peeked at Paul. He was watching me.
  
  I closed my eyes, trying to get comfortable and warm.
  
  But my body wouldn't let me.
  
  I heard him sigh.
  
  Moments later there was a very warm presence beside me in the bed. Involuntarily I moved towards him, automatically warming up.
  
  "Jeez Mel, you're like an ice cube." He muttered.
  
  I shivered in his warm arms.
  
  "Thank you." I whispered, and fell asleep on his shoulder.
  
  I woke up kind-of confused. Why was I asleep on Paul's shoulder?
  
  Then I remembered, and felt embarrassed.
  
  I squeezed my eyes shut again.
  
  "Mel, I know you're awake." He sighed.
  
  I didn't open them.
  
  "I'm not mad." He whispered.
  
  I opened one eye to look at him.
  
  "You're not?" I asked in shock.
  
  "You were freezing, which I don't really understand why you were so cold, but you were, and I helped you." he touched my face tenderly.
  
  All I wanted to do was lean in close to him and kiss him.
  
  "Thanks again." I whispered, remembering thanking him last night.
  
  He shrugged. "It was no problem."
  
  I stared up at him. Now more than ever I wanted to just grab him, and pull him to me.
  
  Slowly I leaned forward towards him; he pulled me a bit closer. I was inches away from him before he pulled away, something changing in his eyes.
  
  "I'll go get us some breakfast." he muttered, rolling out of bed, and exiting the hotel room.
  
  I didn't move, just kept blinking rapidly.
  
  Had that really just happened?
  
  Or had it been a figment of my imagination?
  
  Paul had looked...overwhelmed as he had exited the hotel room.
  
  I took a deep, calming breath.
  
  I sat up in the bed, confused.
  
  Paul had wanted to kiss me, I could tell.
  
  I felt slightly dizzy.
  
  He came back in the room holding a tray of breakfast food.
  
  "Thanks." I said quietly.
  
  He didn't say anything. He just looked even more overwhelmed and confused.
  
  After eating breakfast, I got ready to hit the road again.
  
  I stared at myself in the mirror. I needed to make things right with Paul.
  
  As Paul loaded the suitcase I had brought into the hotel into the truck, I checked out, and hopped into the front seat.
  
  He got in the driver's side, and I could feel his eyes on me.
  
  I bit my lip, waiting for him to say something.
  
  When he didn't say anything, just started the car and began driving, I sighed quietly.
  
  "Paul, we need to stop this." I said finally.
  
  "Stop what?" he asked.
  
  "Stop pretending!" I said, exasperated.
  
  He didn't say anything, so I went on.
  
  "You wanted to kiss me this morning." I said. "I could tell, Paul. You can't hide your feelings that easily from me."
  
  He sighed. "You're right. I wanted to kiss you."
  
  The emphasis on the 'wanted' stung.
  
  "And I still do want to kiss you, Mel." He whispered.
  
  "So kiss me." I breathed.
  
  "I can't." he said, not taking his eyes off the road.
  
  "You can." I whispered. "You can stay with me; just not go back to Forks."
  
  "I have to go back." He said through gritted teeth. "I can't let my pack down."
  
  "Paul, you don't hate me, do you?" I whispered, not wanting him to answer, knowing it would be the answer that was sure to break my heart.
  
  "I could never hate you, Mel." He whispered.
  
  And with that, he held his hand out for mine, and I grasped it tight.
  
  Maybe, just maybe, this trip wouldn't be so bad.
  
  Turns out, I was wrong. Dead wrong.
  
  We were just driving along, nothing a problem.
  
  But then, a truck came out of no where in front of Sam's pickup truck, and Paul had to slam on the breaks so he wouldn't smash into it.
  
  The car behind us hadn't realized what had happened, and didn't break, just kept going at one hundred miles per hour. The car behind us smashed into us, moving Sam's truck forward, and right into the transport truck.
  
  I hit my head against the dashboard and the air bag flew out. Glass was everywhere, and had cut me in multiple places. There was a slight ringing in my ears as I tried to look over at Paul. He didn't look hurt, just stunned.
  
  And then, I passed out.
  Chapter 6-Hospital
  
  Paul
  
  I shook my head, trying to clear it. I could already hear sirens somewhere.
  
  I looked over at the passenger seat to see Mel unconscious, with glass and blood all over her.
  
  I rolled out of the mangled truck, and did a quick once-over. I wasn't hurt at all.
  
  I rushed to Mel's side of the truck, and flung the door open.
  
  I reached across her now trembling body to take her seatbelt off her. It was sticky with her blood.
  
  I had a few cuts, but not nearly as many as Mel.
  
  Sam's truck was destroyed. It would cost a lot to get it fixed. Especially without Jake around.
  
  I didn't really care about the truck. I only cared about getting Mel out of it. The ambulance and police had showed up by the time I got Mel out of her seat.
  
  The paramedics took her out of my arms, and loaded her into the back of the ambulance. The cops told me to get any salvageable items out of Sam's truck and get in the police car to follow the ambulance to the hospital.
  
  I did as I was told, and stared out the window on the way there.
  
  Mel was hurt again.
  
  If she had just stayed a bloodsucker, this never would've happened. She wouldn't be on her way to the hospital right now.
  
  I clenched my fists. I was blaming myself for this.
  
  I could feel that she was hurt. It was scary, I didn't know if she was going to be okay.
  
  Jared
  
  I was in Emily's kitchen, eating a muffin when I felt it.
  
  Mel was hurt.
  
  I looked around.
  
  "Have Paul and Mel left yet?" I asked nervously.
  
  "Well, her plane left at ten-thirty, yesterday." Em said, glancing at the clock. "I don't know where Paul is."
  
  Mel was hurt. That's all I knew.
  
  I cursed under my breath. Great.
  
  Where the hell was Paul? Had Mel's plane gone down?
  
  Surely we would've heard it on the news by now?
  
  Leah and Sam noticed something was wrong with me.
  
  "I'm going to go for a run." I mumbled, pushing my plate away.
  
  I ran out into the forest and phased.
  
  Being on four legs was always much more comfortable.
  
  How had Mel gotten hurt? And even more important, why wasn't Paul back yet? Why hadn't he called to say where he was? The car ride to Seattle was only about an hour.
  
  They had left yesterday.
  
  What's wrong? Leah's voice asked in my head. She and Sam had phased. I could feel his mind too.
  
  Mel's hurt. I answered. I want to be alone.
  
  But- Leah was interrupted by Sam.
  
  Phase back, Leah. He commanded.
  
  She sighed, and soon her mind was gone. Sam was still in his wolf form.
  
  Please can I just be alone? I asked.
  
  Do you know what's wrong with her? He asked, ignoring my plea.
  
  No.
  
  Is Paul hurt?
  
  I don't know, I'm not imprinted on him.
  
  Sam sighed. I'll leave you alone.
  
  I didn't say anything, just kept running.
  
  Paul
  
  The doctors wouldn't let me see her. They were still trying to help her.
  
  A nurse came out, looking somber.
  
  "Will she be okay?" I asked, trembling slightly. I wasn't about to phase, I was nervous.
  
  The nurse bit her lip. "We're doing everything we can to help her, but things aren't looking too good."
  
  I stared at the nurse. Her features were soft, brown hair tied in a loose bun behind her head, big brown eyes looking sadly at me.
  
  "You should alert her family." She said softly.
  
  I nodded. How would I tell Mel's brother that his sister could be dying?
  
  I took a deep breath, and called the Cullen house.
  
  "Hello?" Alice's high voice answered.
  
  "Alice...we're in a hospital, Mel's hurt. There was a car accident. Things aren't looking too good for her." I whispered.
  
  "Oh no." Alice moaned.
  
  "Can you get Seth down here?" I asked. "And Jared, Jared should be here too."
  
  "I'll bring Carlisle as well." She said.
  
  "Good." I said, and gave her the name of the hospital.
  
  Personally, I didn't want Jared here, but he deserved to be here as much as I did.
  
  Jared
  
  I kept running until I felt like I was going to collapse, when I finally did need to take a break, I fell to the ground, breathing heavily.
  
  Jared, phase back ASAP and get to Em's place. You have to leave now. Embry's voice came in my head.
  
  Where am I going? I asked.
  
  To Montana, where Mel is in the hospital, dying. He snapped.
  
  I phased back right away, and went straight to Em's house. There was a shiny black Mercedes in the driveway.
  
  Lovely, a nice long car ride with a couple bloodsuckers.
  
  Thankfully, the ones in the car were the more tolerable ones of the group.
  
  The little one, Alice, the doctor, who had saved Mel's life before, and Mel's brother.
  
  They all looked grim.
  
  Emily handed me a bag.
  
  "Just a couple changes of clothes." She murmured. "Send Mel my love."
  
  I nodded. "Thanks Em."
  
  I got in the car, and automatically the icy vampire smell hit me. Everyone in the car had their nose crinkled.
  
  "What happened to her?" I asked quietly.
  
  "A transport truck cut in front of them, which made Paul have to slam on the breaks, and the car behind them smashed into them." Alice said grimly. "She's in a hospital in Montana."
  
  I sighed. This would be one long car ride.
  
  Luckily, Carlisle sped to Montana, and we made it there by the evening.
  
  We burst into the hospital waiting room to see Paul sitting in a chair with his head in his hands.
  
  This wasn't a good sign.
  
  "Paul?" I asked.
  
  His head snapped up.
  
  "Hey." He whispered.
  
  "How is she?" Alice asked quietly.
  
  He just shook his head sadly.
  
  "She's unconscious, and she lost a lot of blood. They're trying to give her more, but they don't know her blood type. They still don't know if any of her bones are broken."
  
  Carlisle cleared his throat. "I'll see if they'll let me look at her."
  
  Paul nodded.
  
  Alice, Seth and I sat in chairs with Paul. He put his head back in his head.
  
  I knew he hadn't seen her yet. If he had been in her room, he wouldn't be out here right now.
  
  I couldn't believe she was hurt.
  
  We were all quiet, lost in thought.
  
  Carlisle
  
  Thankfully they let me in to examine Mel more thoroughly; after I explained that I had treated her before.
  
  She was in bad shape. Her heartbeat was slow and her breathing was ragged. She had cuts all over her.
  
  I couldn't really assess if she had any broken bones well enough because she couldn't tell me how hurt she was, but there was definitely a clean break in her wrist. I told the nurses to get a cast on her immediately.
  
  "Do you know her blood type?" one of the nurses asked.
  
  "I think its B positive." I muttered. "I remember her telling me before."
  
  That was a lie, I knew her blood type because the many times I had treated her I could smell that it was B positive.
  
  But I wouldn't tell the nurses that.
  
  "It's good we have you here." One of them said. "If not, who knows where we'd be?"
  
  I nodded, staring at Mel worriedly.
  
  I really hoped she'd be okay.
  
  Melanie
  
  I was somehow aware of what has happening around me.
  
  What was that called? Anesthetic awareness?
  
  I opened my eyes to see Carlisle hovering above me.
  
  Why wasn't he reacting at all to my eyes opening?
  
  I sat up, feeling woozy.
  
  "Carlisle?" I asked.
  
  No response.
  
  "Hello?" I practically yelled.
  
  Again, nothing.
  
  What the hell?
  
  I stood up, and waved my hands in front of his face.
  
  Again, nothing. He was looking right past me, at the hospital bed.
  
  I turned, and gasped.
  
  There I was, lying there, looking, well, pale and dead. I was in bad shape. Cuts everywhere, IV in my arm, cast on my right wrist.
  
  Oh my god, was I dead?
  
  No, I could hear the beeping moniter that told me my heart was definitely beating.
  
  It was slow, but I wasn't dead.
  
  So what the hell? Why wasn't I in my body where I belonged?
  
  Suddenly, I was sucked back into my body, where everything was black again.
  
  I preferred being out of my body at this point.
  
  I fought to find light in the darkness. I fought to come back to reality.
  
  It didn't work, and I kept fighting.
  Chapter 7-Stranger
  
  Paul
  
  I knew Mel was in bad shape. I hadn't been allowed to go see her yet, but I could tell.
  
  Jared was upset too. Maybe even more upset than Alice and Mel's brother.
  
  Doc came out into the waiting room.
  
  "How is she?" Alice asked softly.
  
  Carlisle shook his head. "I really don't know."
  
  "Are they getting blood for her?" I asked.
  
  He nodded. "They're looking for B positive."
  
  I sighed quietly. There had to be something more they could do.
  
  I looked up to see a very familiar tall blonde guy.
  
  "Eric?" I asked, surprised. I knew this was the vampire from Louisiana who had helped Mel find the newborns.
  
  He turned, and looked surprised to see me.
  
  "Hello." He said.
  
  "What are you doing here?" I blurted.
  
  "Sookie is in the hospital." He said. "I'm visiting her."
  
  "Is she okay?" I asked.
  
  "Yea, just recovering." He said. "Why are you here?"
  
  "Mel got hurt...it's not looking too good for her." I said.
  
  "Wait-she's human?" he asked.
  
  "We found out that there was something weird with her that enabled us to turn her back." Carlisle explained.
  
  "Oh." Eric said quietly. "I can help her."
  
  "How?" Carlisle asked.
  
  "My blood can heal her." He said.
  
  Carlisle nodded. "Come with me."
  
  I stood up. "I'm coming too."
  
  Carlisle gave me a long look before nodding.
  
  I followed them into Mel's hospital room, and wanted to turn around and leave right away.
  
  She looked dead already. She was so pale, it was scaring me.
  
  Eric went over to her, and bit his wrist.
  
  He removed the tube that was connected to the IV, and stuck it in his wrist. His blood poured through it, and I held my breath as I waited for something to change in Mel.
  
  Her heart rate increased, and her body started shaking.
  
  I was worried she was having a seizure.
  
  Her body stopped shaking, and her eyes flew open.
  
  I kneeled on the floor next to her, and grasped her hand.
  
  "Mel?" I asked.
  
  She looked at me, and furrowed her brow.
  
  "What is it?" I asked.
  
  She didn't say anything, just kept looking at me, confused.
  
  "Mel, what is it? What's wrong?"
  
  She still looked at me as if I were a stranger.
  
  "Who are you?" she whispered finally.
  
  Apparently, I was a stranger to her.
  Chapter 8-Memory
  
  Melanie
  
  When my eyes flew open, I was in an unfamiliar room. Where was I?
  
  "Mel?" asked a voice.
  
  I turned to look at him. Who was this guy? How did he know my name?
  
  I stared at him. There was nothing familiar about this person.
  
  "What is it?" he asked.
  
  I now realized he was holding my hand. His eyes were begging me to say something to him. But, how could I say something to this stranger?
  
  "Mel, what is it? What's wrong?" he asked.
  
  "Who are you?" I whispered.
  
  He looked taken aback.
  
  "Mel, it's me, it's Paul."
  
  The name did absolutely nothing for me.
  
  "Mel, come on, you know me." he said desperately.
  
  "Paul, she hit her head." A man said softly.
  
  My head snapped around, and I gasped.
  
  He looked like an angel. Golden blonde hair, deep topaz eyes. He had the face of a model.
  
  There was someone else in the room. He also had blonde hair, but his eyes were blue.
  
  I didn't recognize any of them.
  
  "Her short-term memory must be completely wiped out." The blonde angel whispered.
  
  He came towards me slowly. I tried not move away.
  
  "Do you know your name?" he asked quietly.
  
  I nodded slowly. "Melanie."
  
  "Where do you live?" he asked.
  
  "Forks, Washington." I said.
  
  "Do you know who I am?"
  
  I bit my lip. Yes, I knew him. What was his name...?
  
  "Yes." I said finally. "You're Doctor Cullen."
  
  He nodded. "Yes, that's right. What school do you go to?"
  
  "Forks High." I said.
  
  "And you don't know who this is?" Dr. Cullen asked, motioning to the stranger holding my hand.
  
  I shook my head.
  
  "No, I don't."
  
  The room was silent. I felt weird.
  
  I knew all the attention was on me, and it made me uncomfortable.
  
  I stared at the stranger by my bed.
  
  There was something slightly familiar about him, there was something tugging at my memory, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
  
  A small girl came into the room, then.
  
  "Mel!" she squeaked. She was tiny, with spiky black hair, and pixie like features.
  
  Of course I knew her, she was Alice Cullen.
  
  But why was she talking to me? The Cullens always kept to themselves.
  
  I stared at her blankly.
  
  "Her short-term memory is gone." Dr. Cullen explained. "She doesn't remember Paul. And she probably won't remember the friendship you and her have."
  
  Alice Cullen pouted. I still couldn't get over the shock that she was in my hospital room, but the fact that she and I were friends?
  
  At this point, two other people had come into the room.
  
  I recognized one of them.
  
  "Jared!" I said happily. Finally, a familiar, friendly face.
  
  He smiled. "Hey Mel, you're awake."
  
  The guy, Paul, who was holding my hand, got mad.
  
  "What. The. Hell?" he growled. "How can she remember him and not me?"
  
  "Well, Mel has been known to have some glitches in her system..." Dr. Cullen murmured.
  
  "Jared, what's going on?" I asked.
  
  "You were in a car accident." He explained.
  
  Wow.
  
  "Well, isn't this just great?" Paul seethed. "Perfect!"
  
  And with that, he stormed out of the room.
  
  The other person who had come in with Jared was familiar, but only in the fact that he looked like a more gorgeous, male version of me.
  
  I stared at him.
  
  "Mel, this is your brother, Seth." Dr. Cullen explained.
  
  I gasped.
  
  "I have a brother?"
  
  Dr. Cullen nodded.
  
  "Wow." I whispered.
  
  In the following days, I stayed at the hospital. Jared and Alice were helping me piece back together my life.
  
  It was hard to try and remember things, but by the end of it, I had most of my life back in my memory.
  
  I couldn't believe everything that had happened. It was insane.
  
  When Paul walked back into the room, he looked angry.
  
  Alice and Jared left.
  
  "Paul." I whispered.
  
  "Oh so now you remember me?" he sneered.
  
  "Paul, don't be like this." I whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't remember you. But you're not the only one I forgot. I forgot I even had a brother, and I forgot about being a vampire, and being friends with them, too."
  
  He didn't say anything.
  
  "Yes, I did remember Jared, but now I remember you." I whispered.
  
  His features softened, as he came over to my bed.
  
  I grasped his hand.
  
  "Are you in any pain?" he asked.
  
  I shook my head sleepily. "Painkillers do wonders for you."
  
  He grinned. "I'm really glad you're okay."
  
  He touched my face, and I closed my eyes, loving the warmth that seeped into me.
  
  He chuckled.
  
  "When am I getting out of here?" I asked.
  
  He shrugged. "The nurses don't tell me anything."
  
  I sighed. "I want to go home."
  
  "Do you remember why we were driving?" he asked.
  
  I nodded. Alice had explained this to me. "We were going to New York."
  
  "Do you still want to go?"
  
  "In the fall, probably, but right now I want to be back in Forks."
  
  "Good..." he smiled. "Besides, I wasn't ready to let you go yet."
  
  I smiled. "Are we okay now?"
  
  He nodded. "I understand now."
  
  I felt tears spring to my eyes.
  
  I threw my arms around Paul, and automatically recoiled. The IV was tugging on my arm, and it stung.
  
  He laughed, and brushed his lips against mine.
  
  "Get some rest." He said. "I'll be here when you wake up."
  
  And I did.
  
  I don't think I dreamt about anything. The painkillers were fogging my brain.
  
  When I opened my eyes, Paul was dozing on the chair beside the bed.
  
  Dr. Cullen came into my room, smiling.
  
  "You're going home today." He said.
  
  A wide smile spread across my face.
  
  "Good."
  
  "Alice just ran back to Washington to get another car." He explained. "You'll be home in no time."
  
  Paul had woken up by this time.
  
  "She's being released?" he asked.
  
  Dr. Cullen nodded.
  
  He grinned at me. "That's great."
  
  I smiled sleepily at him. The painkillers were still in effect.
  
  Paul helped me out of bed, and helped me get changed.
  
  Thank god I had sweats in my suitcase. There was no way I would be sitting in a car in uncomfortable clothing.
  
  I settled for my comfiest sweats and a black tank top.
  
  That was good enough.
  
  If Alice didn't like it, too bad.
  
  Of course, when she came back into the hospital, she made a face at my comfy outfit.
  
  "What is it?" I sighed.
  
  "Oh nothing." She sighed. "Stupid sweats, I'm going to burn them one day."
  
  I gasped, feigning being completely offended.
  
  "Never! I was going to wear these to every one of my classes!"
  
  Alice's eyes widened, and then narrowed. "You better be joking."
  
  I grinned, and she hugged me.
  
  Paul led me out of the hospital, holding my suitcases.
  
  "Thanks." I whispered.
  
  He waved off my thanks, and loaded me into a shiny black car.
  
  He sat with me in the back, and I curled against him sleepily.
  
  Dr. Cullen and Alice got in the front seats, with Carlisle driving.
  
  Paul kept me warm on the long drive back to Washington.
  
  Well, I did sleep through most of it.
  
  I woke up on a bed, in Paul's arms.
  
  I looked around, confused.
  
  "Where are we?" I asked. My mind was fuzzy.
  
  "At my apartment." He said. I could hear the smile in his voice.
  
  I snuggled close to him.
  
  "I'm glad I remember you." I smiled.
  
  His arms tightened around me.
  
  "Me too." He whispered, and kissed the top of my head.
  
  I smiled and leaned into him. He was so warm and comfortable.
  
  There was a knock on his door, but he made no move to answer it.
  
  "Paul, it's Emily." She said, voice muffled by the door.
  
  A warm smile spread across my face.
  
  "I brought food." She tempted.
  
  Paul sighed and got up.
  
  He answered the door while I rolled out of bed.
  
  "Mel," she grinned. "How are you?"
  
  "I'm okay." I said as she handed me a muffin.
  
  I bit into it, and of course it was delicious.
  
  I enjoyed my morning with Emily and Paul.
  
  After Emily left, Paul and I went to First Beach.
  
  It was nice and quiet, and relaxing.
  
  I was happy to be back.
  
  The cuts all over my body and the cast on my arm were annoying to deal with, but I could handle it.
  
  I'd definitely had worse.
  Chapter 9-Gaga
  
  "Mel, you have to go." Alice said.
  
  "Why?" I pouted.
  
  "Because you don't want to get lost in the big city when you go in September." Alice said.
  
  "But you'll be with me." I reminded her.
  
  "But you still could get lost. We don't have the same classes." She argued.
  
  I sighed. Edward and Bella still weren't back from their honeymoon, and Alice was trying to push me out of the house.
  
  "Alice, come on!" I argued. "I don't want to go yet! If I go alone now, I'll get lost! Come with me at least!"
  
  "I can't..." she said, biting her lip in a way that I knew she was hiding something from me.
  
  "Tell me, Alice!" I begged.
  
  She gave me a long look, and sighed. Today was one of the rare days that Alice and I were the only ones in the Cullen house. Everyone else was hunting. She got up, and went over to stereo and turned it on. Lady Gaga's Bad Romance blared out of the speakers.
  
  Alice came back to the couch and sat beside me.
  
  She sighed. "I had a vision about Edward and Bella."
  
  My stomach lurched.
  
  "What happened?"
  
  "Well..." she bit her lip. "One of two outcomes can happen. In one vision, I saw that Bella is pregnant with Edward's baby, and in the second vision everything is fine and she doesn't mother a child. It all depends on what they decide to...do."
  
  "Wow." I breathed. "Is that even possible?"
  
  "Apparently it is." Alice sighed.
  
  "Wow." I said again. If Bella and Edward had a baby...what would it be? Some sort of half-breed?
  
  "That's why I want you out of the house." Alice explained. "If Bella does get pregnant, we don't know how dangerous this half vampire would be. And your werewolves might kill me if something were to happen to you."
  
  "Alice, I should at least be here for Bella." I said. "Being around only vampires might upset her."
  
  Alice bit her lip. "I don't want you getting hurt."
  
  "I don't have to stay here overnight." I said. "I can stay at Paul's, and come here everyday." Just like before I started living here. Just like when nothing was complicated.
  
  Alice sighed; she obviously didn't want me staying with him.
  
  "Alice, all my stuff is there anyway." I said. "It makes sense for me to stay there."
  
  She sighed again. "I don't like it. I'm well aware of his temper."
  
  I sighed. "With me, it's not so bad." Except when you push him to the edge...
  
  The front door of the Cullen house opened, and Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie and my brother all came in laughing.
  
  Alice gave me a look that told me not to talk about what we had been discussing.
  
  "Hey, Mel." Emmett laughed, sitting next to me on the couch. "How ya doing?"
  
  I shrugged. "Good, I guess."
  
  He grinned. "You're not hurt any more?"
  
  I held up my cast in front of his face.
  
  His laughter shook the house.
  
  "I don't even understand why you wanted to change back." He said. "You wouldn't be hurt right now if you hadn't changed back. This life is so much better."
  
  The house had gone silent.
  
  I glanced at Rosalie to see a look of despair on her face. The one thing she wanted the most was what Emmett was laughing at right now.
  
  And then, because what he had said before wasn't enough, he went on.
  
  "You would still be indestructible, you would never age, you'd be perfect, and you'd have super speed and strength. Who would want to give that up voluntarily?"
  
  If it were possible, Rosalie would be crying right now.
  
  A small sound escaped her mouth, and I knew it was a sob. Emmett understood what he had done, and got up. She rushed out to the garage, upset. He followed her out, apologizing the whole way there.
  
  "I better go." I said, wanting to avoid the awkwardness that had fallen over the house. I knew this was a touchy subject for the Cullens.
  
  "Bye, Mel." Alice whispered.
  
  I said goodbye to everyone else, and got in my car.
  
  It was hard to drive with one hand, but it was a feat I could manage.
  
  I felt comfortable pulling into the parking lot of Paul's apartment. It was always nice coming back here.
  
  Paul wasn't home, so I made myself some dinner, and sat on the couch.
  
  I flipped on the TV and watched LA Ink. Watching the tattoo artists in their zones was inspiring. It made me want to get a tattoo.
  
  I felt as though getting a tattoo that actually meant something was what I was meant to do.
  
  I began writing out ideas. Lady Gaga was such an inspiration to me, that I felt whatever I got needed to be something to do with her.
  
  This is the Manifesto of Little Monsters...
  
  And now, I'm just trying to change the world one sequin at a time..
  
  Little Monsters.
  
  The goal has never been to be famous; the goal has been to be a star.
  
  It's about the performance, the attitude, the look; it's everything. And, that is where I live as an artist and that is what I want to accomplish.
  
  The truth about Lady Gaga fans lies in this sentiment: They are the kings, they are the queens. They write the history of the kingdom, while I am something of a devoted jester.
  
  We are nothing without our image. Without our projection.
  
  When you're lonely, I'll be lonely too. And this is The Fame. Love and art. 12-18-1974- Lady Gaga.
  
  We'll haunt like Liberace. Find your freedom in the music; find your Jesus find your Kubrick. You will never fall apart, Diana, you're still in our hearts, never let you fall apart; together we'll dance in the dark.
  
  Raise a glass to mend all the broken hearts of all my wrecked up friends.
  
  I stared at the list. It was a pretty huge one.
  
  I sighed. I would never be able to choose one of her quotes/song lyrics.
  
  Paul came home then, ate what was left from my dinner, and we curled up together on the couch and watched TV.
  
  It was so comfortable, that I realized this was where I belonged. This was where I wanted to be. Always.
  
  I never wanted to leave Paul's side again.
  
  Ever.
  Chapter 10-Friends
  
  I woke up alone. I didn't like that.
  
  Where was Paul? I looked around the bedroom, looking for some sort of note explaining where he had gone.
  
  Nothing.
  
  I sighed and checked my phone.
  
  Again-nothing.
  
  I rolled out of bed, and went into the kitchen-living room area to see Jared leaning against the stove.
  
  "Hey." I said quietly.
  
  He didn't say anything.
  
  "Do you want something to eat?" I asked, rooting through the fridge.
  
  "No." he said.
  
  "O...Kay." I said, taking out some grapes.
  
  I tossed them in a bowl, washed them, and sat down at the kitchen table, trying to avoid Jared's gaze.
  
  I popped a grape into my mouth. I didn't like it being this quiet with Jared, and I really didn't like it being this awkward.
  
  Neither of us said anything, until finally he broke the silence.
  
  "Are you in any pain?" he whispered.
  
  I shook my head.
  
  "Not anymore." I whispered. A whisper was all I could manage.
  
  I touched the locket that was always around my neck. Even when Paul had been ignoring me, I still wore it.
  
  "You can sit down, you know." I said.
  
  He didn't move.
  
  "Why are you here, Jared?" I sighed.
  
  "Paul's out with Sam. He was worried you would get hurt. They sent me to watch you."
  
  So now I needed a baby sitter?
  
  I sighed. I understood where Paul was coming from if I really thought about it.
  
  "When are you going to New York?" he asked.
  
  I shrugged. "I don't know."
  
  "Are you still going?"
  
  I nodded.
  
  He sighed.
  
  "What's wrong?" I couldn't help but ask.
  
  "I really thought I had a chance with you for a while there." He said. "I mean you did remember me."
  
  I sighed. I didn't want to get into this with him.
  
  So, I didn't say anything.
  
  He took that as me being confused; and thinking that I had picked him over Paul.
  
  He came over to me, and grasped my hand.
  
  "You admitted it yourself, Mel." He whispered. "You love me. And you kissed me."
  
  I closed my eyes.
  
  Jared was right. And I despised that.
  
  I still wasn't one hundred percent sure on which of them I wanted to be with more.
  
  I wished that the choice could be made easy.
  
  I wished this double imprint had never happened.
  
  I stared at my hand in Jared's.
  
  It looked and felt natural.
  
  Before I did anything stupid, I pulled my hand away, and popped another grape in my mouth.
  
  "Mel, at least give me a chance." He whispered.
  
  "No, Jared." I whispered. "I can't...it hurts too much."
  
  "Please." He whispered.
  
  I looked at him, and found myself leaning towards him. But then, before I could get to close, I got up from the table, and sat on the couch.
  
  That had been far too close.
  
  "Mel, come on." He said. "It's not fair to me for you to only give him a chance."
  
  I closed my eyes. I did not want to have this conversation.
  
  When I opened them, Jared was kneeling in front of me, eyes boring into mine.
  
  I met his gaze evenly. I wouldn't give in to his puppy dog eyes.
  
  "You've admitted it, Mel." He whispered. "You love me. You love Paul, but you love me, too."
  
  "That's not my fault." I said, hearing my voice crack. "You're both imprinted on me. I can't help but love both of you."
  
  "See? Give me a chance." He practically begged.
  
  "No." I whispered. "I can't hurt you both...not again."
  
  "So just hurting me will have to do?" he demanded angrily.
  
  "I didn't mean for it to come out like that!" I said, exasperated.
  
  "That's what it sure sounded like." He said bitterly.
  
  "Jared, you know it's not like that." I argued.
  
  "Then give me a chance!" he yelled.
  
  "I can't!" I yelled back, feeling tears brim at my eyes.
  
  "Why not?" he demanded. "What's wrong with me?"
  
  "Nothing's wrong with you." I said quietly. "It's me."
  
  "It's not you it's me?" he scoffed. "Don't give me that crap."
  
  I looked down.
  
  Maybe Paul wasn't the one for me. Maybe all along it had been Jared.
  
  No. It was always Paul. Always.
  
  I looked up at Jared, and took his face in my hands.
  
  "Jared, please stop this." I whispered. "I want to be with Paul."
  
  "But you want to be with me, too." He said angrily. "Quit denying it, Mel!"
  
  I took a deep, shaky breath. He was right. I couldn't deny it. I did want to be with Jared. But was he who I was meant to be with? Or was Paul?
  
  Jared caressed my face. It was so warm and comforting that I closed my eyes and rested against his palm.
  
  "I can't hide my feelings for you, Mel." He whispered. "I won't."
  
  I sighed quietly.
  
  I had absolutely no idea what I wanted.
  
  Two great guys were pining for me, yet I couldn't decide which one I wanted.
  
  There were times when I was certain Paul and I were meant to be.
  
  But there were other times that I was positive I was meant to be with Jared.
  
  I sighed. This was one of those times I wanted to leave for New York. This was one of those times I wanted to leave everything behind.
  
  My phone rang, and I jumped away from Jared.
  
  When I checked the caller ID, it was Leslie.
  
  I furrowed my brow in confusion. A random call from my best friend? This was weird.
  
  "Hey." I said, answering my phone.
  
  "Mel!" she squealed. "Guess what!"
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "I'm in Forks!"
  
  My heart lurched.
  
  "You're what?" I asked in shock.
  
  "Well, I'm in Seattle waiting for you to come and get me from the airport!" she said.
  
  "Leslie, you're in Washington?" I repeated, not believing the words coming out of my mouth.
  
  "Yes!" she said, sounding slightly irritated. "Come pick me up! I'm freezing my butt off out here!"
  
  "I'll be there in an hour." I mumbled.
  
  "Good!" she said. "I can't wait to see you!"
  
  "Likewise." I said, and hung up.
  
  My best friend was coming to Forks.
  
  On any other occasion I would be ecstatic to have her here with me for however long she was staying.
  
  But not this time.
  
  Alice had wanted me out of Forks because of the maybe baby that was coming home with Edward and Bella and how dangerous it would be for me to be around.
  
  But now how would I go over to see Bella if Leslie was here?
  
  "What's wrong?" Jared asked.
  
  "I have to go get my friend from the airport." I said, shoving Jared out of the way. I had just realized that he was still sitting in front of me.
  
  "Do you want me to come?" he asked, as I shut the bedroom door in his face so I could get dressed.
  
  "No!" I called, pulling on a pair of jeans.
  
  "Are you sure?" he asked.
  
  "Yes." I answered, searching for tank top. Success! I tore off my pajama shirt, and pulled the tank top on.
  
  I glanced in the mirror, and brushed through my hair with my fingers.
  
  Good enough.
  
  I flung open the bedroom door, and searched my pockets for my car keys.
  
  They weren't there.
  
  I looked around the apartment.
  
  They were in Jared's hands.
  
  I snatched them from him, and went to the front door.
  
  Jared was behind me in a second, and had his hand on the door stopping me from opening it.
  
  "Let go." I growled.
  
  "No." he said.
  
  "Jared, let go." I growled.
  
  "No." he growled.
  
  "Why not?" I demanded, not looking at him.
  
  "Because you're not going." he said.
  
  "Excuse me?" I asked, whirling around to face him. "What gives you the right to tell me what I can't do?"
  
  He didn't say anything, just pressed his body into mine, making me back up against the door.
  
  I was squeezed tight in between him and the door. I saw no escape.
  
  "Jared, what are you doing?" I demanded, trying to wiggle away from him.
  
  "Stop." He whispered. "Stop fighting."
  
  "Jared. Stop it." I said.
  
  He pulled my face close to his, and I tried to pull back. I was not making this mistake again.
  
  He put his hand on the back of my neck, and pulled me back to his face.
  
  "Just stop fighting against it, Mel." He whispered. "You want to kiss me."
  
  I looked away from his face, and looked anywhere I could find other than his face.
  
  I tried to push against him, but of course, it did absolutely nothing against Jared.
  
  "Jared, stop." I said.
  
  "No." he said, wicked grin lighting his face.
  
  My phone rang, making both of us jump.
  
  "Hello?" I asked, without looking at the caller ID.
  
  "Mel, where are you? When I left Vancouver it was like seventy degrees! I land here in Seattle and it's like forty! Where are you?" Leslie shouted into the phone. She wasn't angry it was a necessity. I could barely hear her over the pounding rain.
  
  "Sorry, I got...caught up with something." I said, glaring at Jared.
  
  "Please hurry." She said.
  
  "I'm walking out the door now." I said as I pulled the apartment door open.
  
  "Good." She said. "I'm gonna hang up, my fingers are freezing."
  
  The line went dead.
  
  "Mel! Come back!" Jared called.
  
  It was too late. I was already in the parking lot.
  
  "I'm sorry!" he yelled.
  
  "Don't say another word!" I spat.
  
  I got in my car, and sped away from the apartment building.
  
  Why had Leslie come? Don't get me wrong, I was always glad to see her, and cherished the moments I had with her since she moved away.
  
  But this time I was scared. Alice had wanted me out of Forks while Bella was here, maybe pregnant with a half vampire baby, and now my best friend was going to be here?
  
  This was not good.
  
  I hoped Leslie had a place to stay, because I knew there was no room in Paul's apartment for the three of us.
  
  My hands were shaking as I drove to Seattle.
  
  As I pulled into the airport, I searched around for her.
  
  Finally, I saw her. The familiar auburn curls stood out in the crowd to me.
  
  I pulled up in front of her.
  
  She grinned as she got in the car, after putting her suitcases away.
  
  "Mel!" she squealed, hugging me tightly.
  
  She let go, and eyed me suspiciously. "You're skinnier."
  
  How could I explain this to her?
  
  "Yea...my life's been pretty hectic and stressful lately." I said, keeping my eyes on the road.
  
  The car in front of me was oddly familiar. It was a black Celica.
  
  I had ridden in it countless times.
  
  My breath caught in my throat.
  
  Jared had told me he was out with Sam.
  
  There were two people in Paul's car. One was obviously female. I could tell by her hair, and her profile. Paul was driving.
  
  Who was he with?
  
  I tried not to think about who he was with too much.
  
  I tried not to let jealousy take over.
  
  "Are you hungry?" I asked Leslie. "I'll pay."
  
  "Sure." Leslie said.
  
  "Where do you want to go?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the car in front of me.
  
  "Anywhere, it doesn't really matter." She said. "You know you're way around her better than me now."
  
  A smile tugged at my lips. That was true.
  
  I followed the black Celica through the streets. Yes, I was a complete stalker. Hopefully Paul wouldn't notice me.
  
  I doubted he would. His attention would be stalk on the girl in the seat next to him.
  
  Stop it.
  
  He turned into a restaurant parking lot, and I turned with him.
  
  "What kind of food do they serve here?" Leslie asked.
  
  I shrugged. "No idea, I've never been here before. Just figured I'd try it out, you know?"
  
  She nodded, smiling. "Cool."
  
  I pulled into a parking spot far away from Paul's car.
  
  I waited until I was sure he was in the restaurant before slowly making my way inside with Leslie.
  
  The hostess seated us on the other side of the restaurant to where Paul and whoever this chick was with him.
  
  I did have a clear view of her but his back was to me.
  
  She had black hair, and russet coloured skin. She had dark eyes that looked almost black from where I was sitting.
  
  She obviously from the Quileute reservation.
  
  Paul had never talked to me about his family.
  
  Ever.
  
  I had no idea if she was his sister or cousin.
  
  "What are you having, Mel?" Leslie asked.
  
  Paul's head twitched.
  
  "I don't know." I said, turning my attention back to Leslie. "I haven't even looked at the menu yet. What about you?"
  
  "This chicken wrap looks good..." she murmured.
  
  "Yea, it does." I mumbled.
  
  Who the hell was Paul with? Again, I tried no to let jealousy seep into me.
  
  She was probably a family member.
  
  But why wouldn't he tell me that she was visiting?
  
  The waitress came over to take our orders. I pointed to something on the menu. I had no idea what it was, and I didn't really care.
  
  Leslie rambled on about her life in Vancouver, but nothing she was saying was sticking with me. I was too distracted with Paul.
  
  Our orders came, and I realized I had ordered a chicken Caesar salad. That wasn't bad.
  
  I ate it mechanically, watching Paul and his date.
  
  The way she was looking at me told me she wasn't a family member.
  
  "Where are you staying again?" I asked Leslie.
  
  "That little motel in Forks." She said.
  
  "Oh." I knew which one she was talking about.
  
  "Yea." She said, smiling. "Are you okay? You seem distracted."
  
  "No," I smiled. "I'm fine."
  
  The rest of our meal went fine. Leslie's eyes widened when she saw my credit card.
  
  "Where did you get that?" she gasped.
  
  "I'll explain later." I promised.
  
  When we left the restaurant, Paul was still there with his date.
  
  I gritted my teeth. I wanted to demand to know who this chick was.
  
  But I didn't. I kept my cool, and pulled out of the parking lot with Leslie.
  
  "Okay. Who was that guy you were staring at?" she asked. I could tell she had been waiting to ask me this.
  
  "No one important." I mumbled.
  
  The great thing about best friends was that they always knew when you didn't want to talk about something and to just drop it.
  
  We would always be best friends; it was a relationship I knew would last.
  
  As I pulled into the parking lot of the tiny motel in Forks, I helped her carry in her bags, and sat with her in her room.
  
  It was one of the best afternoons I had had in a long time.
  Chapter 11-Replaced
  
  The next day, Leslie and I went to Seattle for a shopping trip.
  
  I hadn't spoken to Paul. Last night when I got home, he was there, dozing on the couch. He woke up when I came in, and all I said to him was that I wasn't feeling good.
  
  I didn't ask him about the girl he was with, just curled into bed and fell asleep before he even entered the bedroom.
  
  "This is cute, right?" Leslie asked, holding up a shirt.
  
  "Yea, definitely." I said. "You'd look great in it."
  
  She sighed. "Not for me! For you!"
  
  I shook my head. "I don't wear white."
  
  "Why not?" she asked.
  
  "I spill everything!" I said, laughing. "Wearing white is not my friend."
  
  She rolled her eyes and put the shirt back.
  
  It was strange shopping with someone who didn't dart through a store like crazy and just shove clothes at you. But, Leslie and Alice were similar in their shopping techniques in some ways. They would get along just fine.
  
  I had actually wanted to invite Alice today, but Bella and Edward were coming home this afternoon, cutting their honeymoon short, because Bella was pregnant.
  
  I picked up a pair of jeans, and scrutinized them.
  
  I put them back on the rack. I wasn't even going to try them on.
  
  "Oh! I need some graphic t-shirts." Leslie said.
  
  "Hot Topic?" I offered.
  
  "Yes!" she said. "Oh my god, I haven't been to Hot Topic in so long! There are none in Canada!"
  
  I grinned. "Maybe now you'll visit me more."
  
  She pouted. "But you won't be here for very long."
  
  "I know." I sighed as we entered Hot Topic.
  
  "Well, New York does have a lot of stores." She grinned.
  
  "Good. You'll visit, right?" I asked, handing her a Paramore t-shirt.
  
  "Of course!" she said, slinging the shirt over her arm.
  
  Leslie bought the Paramore t-shirt, a Flyleaf shirt, and a sweater.
  
  I got a hoodie and earrings.
  
  Leslie and I ate lunch, and shopped around a bit more.
  
  After our shopping trip, I dropped her off at the motel, and went to the apartment.
  
  I knew I was going to have to face Paul when I got here.
  
  I lugged my bags up to the apartment, which was hard to do because of my cast.
  
  Of course, Paul was waiting there for me.
  
  "How are you feeling?" he asked.
  
  I smiled. "Pretty good."
  
  "I have to talk to you." he said quietly. "Sit." He patted the couch cushion beside him.
  
  I felt my stomach lurch. This was not good.
  
  "Okay." I whispered, dropping my bags, and sitting beside him.
  
  "Mel, I have to tell you something." He said quietly.
  
  "What?" I asked.
  
  "I don't know how to say this." He said quietly.
  
  I knew what was coming. I just didn't want to hear it out loud.
  
  I closed my eyes. He had found someone else to love. Someone who wouldn't cause any more problems. Someone he could actually be happy with.
  
  "Mel, I imprinted on someone else." He whispered.
  
  My eyes flew open to stare at him.
  
  "You what?" I gasped.
  
  "I've..." he took a deep breath. "I've imprinted on someone else."
  
  "Is that even possible?" I asked in a whisper. "Are you still imprinted on me?"
  
  "I guess it is possible." He said quietly. "And yes, I am still imprinted on you."
  
  "And you love her?" I asked.
  
  He looked away. "I think so."
  
  It felt like ice was going through my heart.
  
  "Jacob's sister, Rachel is in town...and Jake asked me to go pick her up." He explained. "When I saw her...it was just like...like how I first-"
  
  "Don't say it was how you first saw me, if you value my sanity." I whispered, close to tears. "What does this mean for us?"
  
  "I don't know." He said quietly.
  
  "Do you want me to leave?" I asked.
  
  He nodded. "I think that's what's best."
  
  I nodded. "Okay. I'll pack my things."
  
  I didn't let myself cry as I threw my belongings in my suitcases.
  
  Paul was done with me. He had found someone else.
  
  He didn't want me anymore.
  
  The thought of that stung, but in a weird way, I had already accepted it. Not all relationships were supposed to last forever.
  
  As I finished packing, I looked around the bedroom that was empty of all my belongings.
  
  I sighed, trying not to let tears fall.
  
  I kept my head down as I walked past Paul.
  
  He grabbed my uninjured wrist, and pulled me back to him.
  
  "Are you going to be okay?" he asked softly.
  
  I nodded. "I'll be fine."
  
  "Where are you going to go?" he whispered.
  
  I shrugged. "No idea."
  
  "Be safe." He whispered. "And good luck...in New York."
  
  "Thanks." I whispered.
  
  He kissed my cheek once, and let go of me.
  
  I left the apartment fighting tears. I got in my car, and had absolutely no idea where to go.
  
  I couldn't go to the Cullen house; Bella was there pregnant with something that could be dangerous.
  
  I couldn't check into the motel, I wouldn't pay for that long a stay.
  
  Leslie only had one bed in her room, and I didn't want to intrude on her.
  
  I could really only think of one option.
  
  I knocked on his door, hoping he was home.
  
  After about two minutes he opened the door looking like he had just rolled out of bed.
  
  "Mel?" he asked, obviously surprised.
  
  "Can I stay here for a bit?" I whispered. "It's just for a little while, until I go to New York."
  
  "What about Paul?" he asked softly.
  
  "I don't want to talk about it yet." I whispered. "I can't...not yet...it's too hard right now."
  
  "Do you have any clothes with you?" he asked worriedly.
  
  "Yea, they're in the car." I mumbled. "I didn't bring them in, in case I couldn't stay here."
  
  "Of course you can." He said, pulling me into a comforting hug. "You can always stay here."
  
  "Thank you, Jared." I whispered, and started sobbing into his chest.
  
  Jared pulled me into his living room, and sat with me on his couch, stroking my hair and letting me cry.
  
  When the cries turned to sobs, turned to hiccups, and finally I was able to speak, Jared looked at me, question in his eyes.
  
  "Are you ready to talk about?" he asked softly.
  
  I shook my head. "I don't think so...you'll find out sooner or later when you all go running."
  
  "It's okay." He whispered. "You're safe now, you're here."
  
  I sniffled. "Thank you again, Jared. I won't be that much of a problem. It's only for a couple weeks or so."
  
  "You can stay as long as you want." He assured me.
  
  "Thanks." I said. "That really means a lot."
  
  He smiled. "Do you want anything to eat?"
  
  I shook my head. The last thing I wanted to do right now was eat.
  
  "Are you sure?" he asked.
  
  "Yes, I'm sure." I whispered.
  
  "I'll go get your bags, okay?" he said.
  
  I nodded. "Thanks."
  
  "Don't thank me." he smiled, and left to get my bags.
  
  I curled up into a little ball on my side, and fell asleep.
  Chapter 12-Rude
  
  When I woke up I was still on Jared's couch, and there was a blanket covering me.
  
  The events from yesterday all caught up with me at once.
  
  I took a deep shaky breath. I had hoped everything that happened yesterday was all a dream.
  
  But unfortunately it wasn't. I was sad and I was angry.
  
  I hadn't even known imprinting on two girls was possible.
  
  Well, apparently two wolves imprinting on one girl was possible. I thought bitterly.
  
  I could hear Jared snoring, and it made my heart squeeze. It reminded me far too much of Paul.
  
  I couldn't wait to leave for New York, and I wanted to ask Alice how long I had to wait before I could go.
  
  Well, it would be at least a week. Leslie was still here.
  
  I sighed, angry with myself. Mostly angry with Paul, but also angry with myself.
  
  I glanced at the clock. Ten thirty.
  
  I got up off the couch, and grabbed some clothes, and went into the bathroom to change.
  
  I was going to visit Bella today.
  
  I left the apartment with a quick note to Jared:
  
  Jared, I just had to go out for a while, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Hell, I might even be back before you wake up. See you later.
  
  -Mel.
  
  That was good enough.
  
  I pulled out of Jared's driveway, and drove the familiar way to the Cullen house.
  
  I wasn't exactly sure what I expected when I got there.
  
  Alice was waiting outside for me.
  
  "Hey Mel." She said quietly.
  
  "How are you?" I asked, hugging her.
  
  "I'm fine." She said. "I think I have a headache."
  
  I smiled in spite of myself. "Is that even possible?"
  
  She smiled softly. "I guess so."
  
  We were quiet for a minute before she started talking again.
  
  "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.
  
  I bit my lip. "Yea, I'm okay."
  
  This time she hugged me. "You know you always have a place to stay here."
  
  I nodded. "I know. But I'm staying at Jared's. And I'm leaving for New York soon anyway, right?"
  
  She nodded, biting her lip.
  
  "Mel, I might not be able to come with you." she said quietly.
  
  "What?" I said.
  
  "Well, it's going to be hectic here, and I have aunt duties I'll have to take care of, and well, it'll just be too hard for me to go right now."
  
  "Are you at least coming in September?" I asked.
  
  She bit her lip again. "I don't know. But you should definitely still go, Mel. Don't let me stop you."
  
  I sighed. "Okay, thanks Alice."
  
  She smiled apologetically. "Really I am sorry."
  
  I nodded. "I can tell. How's Bella?"
  
  "I don't know." She said quietly. "She's not looking too healthy. And she's sleeping right now. She wants to keep the baby."
  
  This didn't surprise me. I had known Bella would want to have this baby, no matter what.
  
  "So there's really no use of me visiting her right now, is there?" I asked.
  
  "Not really." Alice admitted. "But I would like to get away from the house for awhile...want to go shopping?"
  
  I smiled. "Like you don't know I went yesterday."
  
  "I do." She grinned. "You can even bring along your friend Leslie. We'll go to a different mall. I'll drive."
  
  I sighed. "Fine."
  
  She laughed. "You love me!"
  
  I grinned.
  
  We got into my car and I drove to the motel.
  
  "Leslie!" I called, knocking on her door. "We're going shopping!"
  
  "Again?" she called, voice muffled by the door.
  
  "Yes, come out here!" I said.
  
  She opened the door, and stared at me. "We just went shopping yesterday."
  
  "But today we're going to a different mall, with Alice Cullen."
  
  "Alice Cullen?" she gasped.
  
  I nodded, grinning. "I told you I was friends with the Cullens."
  
  "Hang on, I have to get ready." She said running back into the motel room.
  
  I giggled and walked back down to my car.
  
  Alice was in the driver's seat, so I got in the passenger seat.
  
  Leslie got in the car a few minutes later. Her jaw was at her feet.
  
  "Hello Leslie." Alice said.
  
  "Hi Alice." Leslie said timidly. She remembered what the Cullens were like at school. They wouldn't talk to anyone really. Well, until I found out about them.
  
  And until Edward and Bella fell in love.
  
  Alice expertly drove to a mall in Seattle. Of course Alice knew all the good malls in the state.
  
  Leslie and Alice got together well. They both loved shopping, and tried to get me to buy stuff.
  
  At the end of the day, after Alice narrowly avoided eating something at lunch, and after shopping around a bit more, we left the mall. Alice took Leslie back to the motel, and drove to the Cullen house.
  
  She pulled into the driveway, and closed her eyes.
  
  "Bella's still asleep." She said. "Thanks for getting me out of here today."
  
  "It was my pleasure." I smiled.
  
  Alice sighed, and got out of the car.
  
  I got into the driver's seat, and drove to Paul's apartment, but then I stopped, remembering I didn't live there anymore.
  
  I turned around and drove to Jared's house, annoyed.
  
  I lugged my bags inside to see Jared waiting for me.
  
  "Hey." He smiled.
  
  "Hey." I said. "You're not with Sam?"
  
  "Nah, he gave me today off." He explained.
  
  I nodded. That made sense...sort of. Paul was probably running today. Jared was probably angry with Paul for 'kicking me out' and who knows what would've happened between them.
  
  "Sam's angry." Jared said quietly.
  
  "Why?" I asked.
  
  "Bella's pregnant." He said through gritted teeth. "Was that leach trying to kill her?"
  
  I flinched. Jared noticed.
  
  "Aw Mel, come on! You know I didn't mean you! You're not one of them anymore."
  
  "I know, it still stings when you guys say stuff like that." I said quietly.
  
  "Sorry, Mel." He whispered, coming up to me. "I'm really sorry. I'll try to be a bit more sensitive, okay?"
  
  I smiled, and wrapped my arms around him.
  
  "Thank you." I whispered.
  
  "For what?" he asked, smiling.
  
  "For..." For what? For helping me show my true feelings for him? For giving me a place to stay? For making that promise just now? "For everything."
  
  He wrapped his arms around me. "Don't thank me."
  
  I leaned against him, taking comfort in his warm body, his strong arms around me.
  
  I felt like I should be crying, but I was pretty sure I was out of tears.
  
  "Are you okay?" he whispered.
  
  I nodded. "I'll be fine."
  
  He rested his chin against the top of my head.
  
  "You can stay here as long as you like." He whispered. "I don't mind."
  
  "You're too nice." I said. "After everything I've done to you..."
  
  "Shhh," he soothed. "Don't worry about that."
  
  I smiled in spite of myself. I had been horrible to Jared, not even giving him a chance, and here he was giving me a place to stay without asking questions about what happened.
  
  "You're too nice." I sighed.
  
  He laughed. "I know."
  
  I sighed, and rested against him, closing my eyes.
  
  He moved us over to the couch, and I curled against him. He was so warm and comforting I couldn't help myself. He tilted my head up so I was looking at him.
  
  "You are always welcome here." He whispered, brushing his lips against mine.
  
  I smiled and laid my head against his shoulder. It was odd-I actually liked being in Jared's company now.
  
  "Do you want something to eat?" he murmured.
  
  I shook my head. Even if I was hungry I wouldn't want to get up to go eat anything.
  
  Jared seemed content with my answer, and tightened his arms around me.
  
  I smiled. I was glad to have Jared. Without him I wouldn't have anywhere to go.
  
  The rest of the week passed slowly, which in some ways was good. Leslie left which was sad, but also lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.
  
  Now I could concentrate more on the supernatural world around me.
  
  I visited Bella, and she didn't look good. She tried to smile for me, but she couldn't do it. She was so skinny, and her stomach was already huge. She had only been pregnant for about a week, and already she looked months pregnant.
  
  There was one day something happened with the wolves. I wasn't exactly sure what happened, but Jared got a frantic call from Sam.
  
  Jared left looking nervous and slightly scared. I had no idea what was going on.
  
  I was sure I would find out sooner or later.
  
  Jared had told me not to leave the apartment no matter what happened.
  
  I was lounging on the couch, watching TV when there was a knock at the door.
  
  I sighed. Had Jared forgotten his keys?
  
  I rolled off the couch and answered the door.
  
  The person on the other side wasn't Jared. It was a girl
  
  The girl who Paul had picked up from the airport. Jacob's sister Rachel.
  
  Paul's new imprint.
  
  "Hi." She smiled.
  
  "Umm hi." I said, leaning against the doorway. A clear sign that I was not inviting her in.
  
  "I'm Rachel, Jake's sister." she said, sticking out her hand. "You're Mel?"
  
  I ignored her hand. "Yep, that's me."
  
  She shoved her hand in her pocket.
  
  "Well, I guess I thought I'd just introduce myself..." she said, looking out at the road.
  
  "Did Paul send you here?" I asked.
  
  Her head whirled back around to stare at me. "How did you know?"
  
  I rolled my eyes. "Let's just say I know him a lot better than you do."
  
  She gave me an even glare. "What's that supposed to mean?"
  
  "That means that I was with him for almost two years before you intruded." I said, crossing my arms tightly across my chest.
  
  "Hey, don't blame me. I was just here visiting my brother when it just happened." She said. "You know all about that, don't you?" she smirked.
  
  I narrowed my eyes. "How much has he told you?"
  
  "Enough to know you've broken his heart more than once." She smirked.
  
  I kept my arms tightly crossed against my chest to keep from slapping her.
  
  "You just have fun with Jared, and I'll stick with Paul." She looked me up and down once. "I'm not indecisive like some people."
  
  "You do that." I said. "But just so you know, he's still imprinted on me. And FYI, even though he's with you and loves you, he's still going to worry about me and care about me."
  
  The look of shock on her face made my day better, and slamming the door in her face made my day.
  
  What gave Paul the right to send her here? Why would he do that? What was wrong with him?
  
  And she had seemed nice, well at least until I started mouthing off to her.
  
  Whatever. I plopped down on the couch. She deserved it.
  
  If Paul wanted her, let him have her. And if she wanted Paul...well obviously she had him.
  
  I gritted my teeth. We had broken up a week ago, and already she was probably living with him.
  
  I rolled my eyes. I couldn't wait to get out of this stupid town.
  
  I called Alice.
  
  "Hello?" she asked.
  
  "When's the next flight out to New York?" I asked.
  
  "I don't know Mel, why?" she asked.
  
  "I need to get out of her. ASAP." I said.
  
  "Okay, let me just look it up..." I could hear her typing. "There's actually one that leaves tonight. If you hurry you can catch it."
  
  "Thanks, can you get me a ticket?" I asked.
  
  More typing.
  
  "Done. Your seat is reserved. The ticket is under Cullen, but your first name." She said. "I'll order a car to pick you up from the airport. It'll take you right to the apartment we have."
  
  "Thanks Alice." I said.
  
  "Good luck, Mel." She said.
  
  "You too. And let me know about Bella and everything, okay?"
  
  "I will." She promised. "Come back and visit before summers over, okay?"
  
  "I will." I said. "Bye Alice."
  
  "Bye Mel." She said, and the line went dead.
  
  I packed super fast.
  
  Then, I left a note for Jared.
  
  Jared, I got a ticket to New York. It leaves tonight. I'm sorry, but I couldn't stand it here any longer. You probably know what happened by now and hopefully you'll understand why I had to leave. Jared, don't try and come and comfort me or anything. I just want to be alone, and get settled. I promise I'll call you as soon as I land.
  
  Love, Mel.
  
  I scrutinized the note. It was short, but that was all I could really manage.
  
  I left Jared's house, and was faced with a problem.
  
  Paul was leaning against my car.
  
  "What?" I demanded.
  
  "You're leaving?" he growled.
  
  "How did you know?" I demanded.
  
  "I just do!" he spat.
  
  "Well, yes, I am leaving, so if you don't mind." I said, motioning for him to move out of my way.
  
  "What did you say to Rachel?" he demanded.
  
  "Excuse me?" I asked.
  
  "What did you say to Rachel?" he repeated.
  
  "Why don't you ask her what she said to me?" I growled.
  
  "You had no right to talk to her." He growled.
  
  "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I said. "Back up! I had no right to talk to her? She came here to 'introduce' herself. She came to me."
  
  he sighed. "What are you going to do with your car once you get to the airport?"
  
  I paused. I hadn't thought of that.
  
  He rolled his eyes. "I'll drive you."
  
  I shook my head. "You don't have to do that."
  
  "Yes. I do." He said through gritted teeth.
  
  I sighed. "Whatever."
  
  He grabbed my bags, and tossed them in my car.
  
  I sat in the passenger seat as he drove to the airport in Seattle.
  
  As you can imagine it was a very, very quiet ride.
  
  I sighed in frustration. Things had been going so well with Paul, and of course they had been ruined.
  
  We arrived at the airport, and Paul helped me bring in my luggage. I got my ticket, and checked in.
  
  "Thanks Paul." I said quietly as he helped me push my luggage onto the belt that took into the cargo hold.
  
  "No problem." He muttered.
  
  "Well, I guess I'll...I'll talk to you later or something?" I said.
  
  "Yea, I guess." He said, running a hand through his hair.
  
  He hugged me once, and turned on his heel and stalked out of the airport.
  
  I sighed, and went to the waiting area. I still had a couple hours before my plane took off.
  
  I got a muffin, and nibbled on it sitting in an uncomfortable chair.
  
  I had wished I had a chance to say goodbye to Jared.
  
  And that I hadn't even gotten a chance to visit Bella and talk to her.
  
  Ah well, she probably didn't need me there anyway.
  
  Finally, I got to board the plane.
  
  I tried to get comfortable in my sleep, and fell right asleep.
  Chapter 13-Trip
  
  Jared
  
  Sleepily, I walked back to the house. I was so exhausted. What was Jake thinking? Making his own pack of wolves to defend Bella. He was being ridiculous.
  
  I sighed, and opened the door to my house. Mel's car was in the driveway. Good, she had listened and hadn't left the house. I didn't want her getting hurt.
  
  The inside of my house was dark. Was she asleep?
  
  I flicked on the light and was surprised she hadn't fallen asleep on the couch. I shrugged and went into the kitchen.
  
  There was a note on the table in Mel's handwriting.
  
  Jared, I got a ticket to New York. It leaves tonight. I'm sorry, but I couldn't stand it here any longer. You probably know what happened by now and hopefully you'll understand why I had to leave. Jared, don't try and come and comfort me or anything. I just want to be alone, and get settled. I promise I'll call you as soon as I land.
  
  Love, Mel.
  
  I had to re-read the note a bunch of times before the meaning of it hit me. She was gone.
  
  I glanced at the clock. I had no idea what time her plane left, but I had to go and find her.
  
  I couldn't let her leave without saying goodbye. I didn't care what her note said about not trying to find her. I couldn't let her go without seeing her one last time.
  
  I ran out the door, slamming it behind me, and got into my own car.
  
  I floored it to the airport, and made it there in about twenty minutes, which was amazing timing.
  
  I ran into the airport, ignoring security yelling at me. They didn't try to stop me though.
  
  "Flight 470 to New York is boarding now." Said a voice on the intercom. "Please proceed to gate two."
  
  I ran to gate two as fast as I could, pushing people out of my way.
  
  When I got there the waiting area was almost empty, but I did see a very familiar figure handing the flight attendant her boarding pass and passport.
  
  "Mel!" I yelled, trying to make my way over to her.
  
  She didn't hear me.
  
  "Mel!" I yelled again, louder this time.
  
  She still didn't hear me, and by this time she was finished with the flight attendant and was making her way onto the plane.
  
  "Melanie!" I yelled, one last time.
  
  I waited for her to come out, but she didn't.
  
  I sat down in one of the chairs, holding my head in my hands.
  
  Mel was gone. Who knew when I would be able to see her again?
  
  I sighed, and got up.
  
  An idea popped into my head.
  
  I made my way to the front desk of the airport.
  
  "When is the next flight out to New York?" I asked.
  
  "One just left, but that plane has to bring people back here and then take people there..." the woman said, looking at her computer screen. "So tonight at about eleven thirty."
  
  "I need a ticket for that flight." I said.
  
  "Okay..." she said, typing. "I need some photo ID, and the cost of the ticket is two hundred and seventy five dollars."
  
  I showed her my ID, and gave her my credit card to pay.
  
  "Your seat is reserved." She said, handing my cards back to me. "You need to check in a couple hours before the plane takes off."
  
  "Thanks." I said, and left the airport. I went back to my house and packed a bag with anything I would need.
  
  I called a taxi to take me back to the airport.
  
  I checked in, and waited for the plane to start boarding.
  
  I realized I had no idea where Mel's apartment was. I gritted my teeth while I called Alice Cullen.
  
  "Where's Mel's apartment in New York?" I asked.
  
  She gave me the address and hung up.
  
  When the plane was boarding, I stretched and gave the attendant my ticket and passport, and boarded the plane.
  
  I got comfortable in my seat. Hopefully this wouldn't be a bad flight.
  
  As the plane took off, I knew it would be a bad flight.
  
  There was a kid behind me who kept kicking my seat. I wanted to turn around and snarl at him, but his mother might report me or something.
  
  Most of the plane ride went like that, with the kid kicking me. Finally, he stopped. He must have fallen asleep or something.
  
  The plane landed, and I left the plane quickly.
  
  I didn't have any baggage to claim, so I left the airport right away, and hailed a cab.
  
  I gave the driver the address, and he drove to a huge ass apartment building.
  
  "Thanks." I muttered throwing some money over the seat.
  
  I slung my bag over my shoulder, and looked at the paper. Mel was on the fourth floor, number 406.
  
  I opened the front door, and was surprised to see that you didn't have to be buzzed in.
  
  I walked to the elevator, and went up to the fourth floor.
  
  I walked down the hallway, and knocked on Mel's door.
  Chapter 14-Tattoo
  
  Melanie
  
  The plane landed, and when I got off the plane, someone was waiting for me with a sign that said 'Cullen".
  
  I walked up to him.
  
  "Hello, are you Melanie?" he asked.
  
  I nodded.
  
  "Your bags are in the car. I'll be driving you to your apartment. Here's your key." He handed me a silver key.
  
  "Thanks." Wow, Alice. You really went all out with this.
  
  He led me out of the airport and to a shiny black car.
  
  I stared out the window as he expertly drove through the streets of New York.
  
  I couldn't stop thinking about how I had just up and left Jared like that.
  
  In a way I felt guilty. But I was also relieved. I didn't have to worry about Paul drama anymore.
  
  The driver pulled up to a huge apartment building.
  
  He turned around in his seat. "Your apartment is 406. I'll help you carry up your bags."
  
  "Thanks." I said.
  
  He led me into the building, and went with me up to the fourth floor.
  
  We walked together to 406, and I opened the door and gasped.
  
  It was absolutely gorgeous in here. It was beyond words.
  
  "I'll take these into one of the bedrooms." The driver said, going somewhere in the apartment.
  
  I nodded, still staring around me.
  
  Alice was insane. It was huge in here, furnished with comfy looking chairs and a couch. The kitchen had all brand new looking appliances. The walls were a warm reddish colour. A huge TV sat in the living room.
  
  The driver nodded goodbye to me, and exited my apartment.
  
  My apartment. It was weird to think of it as my own now.
  
  I sank onto the couch. It was super comfortable. I just stared around me in wonder.
  
  Alice was absolutely insane.
  
  I wasn't sure how long it was after I was just sitting there, that there was a knock on my door.
  
  I got up, and looked into the peephole.
  
  I gasped and flung the door open.
  
  Jared was grinning.
  
  I was shocked.
  
  "What are you doing here?" I gasped.
  
  "Well, I read your note, and I couldn't not see you again." He said.
  
  I stared at him, still not believing it was actually him. "You flew all the way here?"
  
  He nodded, smiling at me.
  
  I flung my arms around him.
  
  "I can't believe you're actually here." I gasped.
  
  He wrapped his arms around me. "I am."
  
  I burrowed my face in his chest. "I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye...it's just that I couldn't stand being around Paul...and...and Rachel for much longer...it was driving me crazy..."
  
  "Shhhh..." he soothed. "It's okay. I understand."
  
  Jared pulled me into the apartment, closing the door behind him. I hadn't realized I had started crying until I was tucked under his chin, wrapped in his arms, and sitting on the couch.
  
  Jared rubbed my back soothingly.
  
  "It's okay, I've got you." he murmured.
  
  I sniffled, and yawned.
  
  "What time is it?" I asked, looking around.
  
  Jared yawned. "No idea, but I think the sun is coming up."
  
  Had I really been awake all night? I felt slightly dizzy all of a sudden.
  
  I detached myself from Jared. "I'm going to sleep."
  
  He nodded. "Me too."
  
  I bit my lip, not wanting this to be awkward in anyway.
  
  "You don't have to sleep on the couch you know." I said.
  
  He smiled. "It's fine. It's comfortable."
  
  "If you want to sleep in a bed, you know there are two bedrooms." I said sleepily.
  
  He nodded. "I'll remember that."
  
  I made my way to my bedroom and flopped down my bed.
  
  I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
  
  When I woke up I was confused. I wasn't sure whose room I was in.
  
  And then I remembered.
  
  This was my bedroom.
  
  I changed out of my clothes from yesterday and got into new fresh ones. My favourite pair of sweats, and tank top.
  
  I went out to the living room to see Jared asleep on the couch.
  
  I went into the kitchen, and was shocked to see that there was actually food in the cupboards and fridge. Alice must've ordered it somehow.
  
  I nibbled on a Pop Tart and Jared's eyes flickered open. He stretched and looked around. The drowsy look of confusion made me smile.
  
  "Hey." I smiled.
  
  He twisted around and looked at me, smiling.
  
  "Hey, good morning."
  
  I glanced at the clock. "It's three in the afternoon."
  
  He laughed. "Then good afternoon."
  
  I grinned. "Pop Tart?"
  
  "Sure." He said, and I tossed a package at him.
  
  He chuckled and took them out of the package.
  
  We ate in silence.
  
  "Do you like the apartment?" Jared asked after we had both finished eating.
  
  "Yea, it's so nice!" I gushed. "I can't believe Alice did all this."
  
  He smiled. "Yea, she has talent I guess."
  
  It was quiet again between us, and I couldn't help but think about how awkward it was.
  
  I turned around and rooted through the fridge to try and find something to drink. Nothing in there really caught my eyes, so I closed the fridge and turned back around...
  
  To see Jared standing right in front of me.
  
  His eyes were boring into mine.
  
  He pulled me close to him, and I didn't fight against him. He pulled my face to his, and kissed me.
  
  I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back.
  
  He pushed me against the fridge, and kept kissing me. I was happy to go along with him.
  
  He broke the kiss off, and stared into my eyes, a deep dark intensity in his eyes.
  
  I kept my arms around his neck. Staring up at him. I wasn't exactly sure what to say.
  
  "What do you want to do?" he whispered.
  
  My eyes widened as I realized what I really wanted to do. In this moment, I knew what it was that I really wanted to do.
  
  "I want to get a tattoo." I whispered.
  
  His eyes widened in surprise. Obviously this wasn't the answer he was expecting.
  
  "I'm sorry, what?" he asked in shock.
  
  "I want to get a tattoo." I said, pushing him out of my way.
  
  "Whoa, slow down." Jared said, as I was getting my shoes on. "When did this idea come to you?"
  
  "Like last week." I said. "I even think I know which quote I'm getting."
  
  "Quote?" he demanded, shoving his own shoes on and following me out of the apartment.
  
  "Yea, come with me." I said, making sure I had my wallet and my keys on me. "I'll explain in the cab." As I was walking down to the elevator, I searched the internet on my phone for tattoo parlors close to me. I found one about ten minutes away.
  
  I rode the elevator with Jared. I could tell he was annoyed. But the idea just came to me randomly.
  
  We walked outside and I hailed a cab. I gave the driver the address and he drove there.
  
  I threw some money at him, and exited the cab.
  
  I took a deep breath staring into the tattoo shop.
  
  I wasn't nervous, I was exhilarated.
  
  "Are you sure about this Mel?" Jared asked, grasping my hand.
  
  I nodded, grinning.
  
  "Where are you getting it?"
  
  "My left shoulder blade." I said. I wanted it in really nice cursive writing, and I wanted the quote, 'When you're lonely, I'll be lonely, too. And this is The Fame...Love and Art. 12 - 18 - 1972 -Lady Gaga.'
  
  Jared sighed. "Let's go."
  
  I squeezed his hand, and went inside with him.
  
  The woman behind the counter was really pretty.
  
  She had blonde hair, and tattoos all over her. The tattoos didn't take away from her beauty, they added to it. She smiled, and looked at us.
  
  She looked at me.
  
  "What are we getting done today?" she asked.
  
  I smiled. "A quote on my right shoulder blade in nice handwriting."
  
  "Okay, what's the quote?" she asked.
  
  I told her the quote and she wrote it out.
  
  "Okay, let me just draw up a sketch." She said. "It'll take about five minutes."
  
  I nodded. "Thanks."
  
  I sat down with Jared, bouncing up and down in my seat. I was excited.
  
  Jared grasped my arm. "Stop, you're insane."
  
  I grinned. "I know!"
  
  Ten minutes later, the lady had stenciled the tattoo design on my back, and had me look at it in the mirror.
  
  "I love it!" I gasped.
  
  She smiled. "Good, now lay down over here, and I'll get started."
  
  I lay down on the table and grasped Jared's hand, bracing myself for the pain that was to come.
  
  I felt the needle on my skin, but it didn't hurt. It was more of a hot scratch on my shoulder blade. After awhile it got a bit annoying to tell you the truth.
  
  After about thirty minutes she had finished.
  
  "All done." She said with a smile. "It looks really good on you."
  
  I got up off the table and immediately felt the soreness in my shoulder.
  
  I looked at the mirror and gasped. It was gorgeous. I couldn't believe that it was actually on my skin.
  
  "Thank you." I breathed to my tattoo artist. "It's gorgeous."
  
  She smiled. "No problem."
  
  She put a bandage over my tattoo and explained to me how I kept it clean and how to take care of it properly.
  
  I paid for the tattoo, and left the shop.
  
  "Do you like it?" I asked Jared.
  
  "It looks great." He said, smiling.
  
  "I'm glad you think so." I grinned.
  
  He put his arm around my shoulders lightly.
  
  "That doesn't hurt, does it?" he asked worriedly.
  
  "Not at all." I said.
  
  "Do you want to get something to eat?" he asked.
  
  "Sure." I said.
  
  We found a nice pizza place to eat.
  
  My night went pretty well.
  
  Jared and I ate pizza, and went back to the apartment.
  
  It was already evening, and Jared and I curled up on the couch and watched a horror movie together.
  
  It was a nice night for just the two of us, and it helped me forget all the drama in Forks.
  Chapter 15-Too Good To Be True
  
  When I woke up I was in my bed and someone's arms were around me. I snuggled closer to Jared...or at least who I thought was Jared.
  
  When I looked up at his face he was Paul. Of course, he had a scowl on his face as if it were my fault he was here.
  
  I stared at him in disbelief.
  
  "What are you doing here?" I whispered in shock.
  
  "Mel, I've realized how much I love you." he whispered, face softening.
  
  He pulled my face to his, and I closed my eyes as his lips touched mine.
  
  When I opened my eyes I was lying on my back. I sat up straight in bed, and looked around.
  
  Jared was curled up beside me.
  
  Not Paul.
  
  Jared.
  
  I took a bunch of deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.
  
  It was only a dream. I chanted in my head. It was only a dream, just a dream...
  
  I touched my neck and felt the white gold chain. It was the locket Paul had given me.
  
  I touched the heart shaped locket. Why hadn't I given this back to him? Why hadn't he demanded I return it?
  
  I tucked it under my shirt. I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it or send it back to him with Jared.
  
  A thought entered my head that made my heart throb.
  
  Jared would have to leave soon.
  
  I didn't want him to leave. I wanted him to stay. What would I do here alone? I would get lost in a huge city with no one to help me.
  
  I hugged my knees to my chest.
  
  I wanted Jared to stay here with me.
  
  I was in way over my head coming here. Why had I even bothered to come without Alice here? She was the only reason I was coming in the first place.
  
  I realized that I no longer needed to stay here to stop suspicions of my non-aging. I wanted to go back to Forks with Jared.
  
  No. I had to go to Juilliard. I would stay for at least a semester and see how it went.
  
  I had no idea when Jared had to go back to Forks, and I didn't want to bring it up.
  
  I leaned back in the bed, taking deep breaths. That dream had freaked me out.
  
  Jared woke up and noticed my panicked face.
  
  "What's wrong?" he asked softly, touching my face.
  
  I took a deep, shaky breath. "Nothing. I'm...I'm fine."
  
  He turned my face to his so I was looking at him. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."
  
  "I'm fine." I whispered. "Just a bad dream." I tried to smile to assure him, but I knew it was a pathetic attempt.
  
  He stroked my cheek. "I know you're lying."
  
  "I don't want to talk about it." I whispered.
  
  He sighed.
  
  Neither of us said anything for a bit, and I closed my eyes, trying to clear my head.
  
  I tried to stop thinking about that stupid dream I had. But of course I couldn't. It was just so weird to have a dream about Paul. I hadn't had a dream about him in months!
  
  Jared stiffened.
  
  "What's wrong?" I asked.
  
  His nostrils flared.
  
  "There's a bloodsucker here." He growled.
  
  My eyes widened. Was it a Cullen?
  
  Jared pushed himself out of bed, and I followed behind him.
  
  "Stay there, Mel." He growled.
  
  I didn't listen. I followed him to the door as he flung it open.
  
  Standing on the other side of the door was Seth.
  
  "Seth?" I asked.
  
  He walked into the apartment, ignoring Jared.
  
  "What are you doing here?" he demanded. I opened my mouth, but he kept talking. "You didn't even say goodbye? Alice hadn't told me that you left! I thought someone kidnapped you!"
  
  "I'm sorry." I mumbled. "I should've called."
  
  He exhaled deeply. "As long as you're safe."
  
  I nodded. "I am."
  
  He noticed the bandage on my back.
  
  "What happened?" he asked.
  
  "I got a tattoo." I mumbled.
  
  "Can I see?" he asked.
  
  I shook my head. "Not yet."
  
  He sighed. "I should be going."
  
  "Wait, is Bella okay?" I asked.
  
  "She's...okay." He said, biting his lip. "You should really talk to Alice about that."
  
  And with that, my brother left my apartment without another word.
  
  I sighed, frustrated. Great.
  
  I closed my apartment door and looked at Jared.
  
  He had a weird expression on his face. I couldn't tell what it was, and I didn't think too much about it.
  
  I plopped down on the couch.
  
  Jared sat next to me and put his arms around me.
  
  "Are you sure you want to stay here, Mel?" he whispered.
  
  I nodded. I did want to stay here. I was just going to miss the people in Forks.
  
  "It's just weird, you know?" I whispered. "I've lived in Forks my whole life, and now to just leave...it's insane. And a little bit scary."
  
  He pulled me closer to him.
  
  "You'll be fine." He said. "I'll come and visit you as often as I can, and I'm sure buying a plane ticket to Washington wouldn't be any trouble for you."
  
  I sighed. I knew he was right, but it was still scary.
  
  "Promise you'll visit me?" I asked.
  
  He smiled. "Of course. How could I not?"
  
  I snuggled close to him. "I don't want you to leave."
  
  He sighed. "I know, but I have to sooner or later."
  
  "Why?" I pouted. "Can't they live without you for a while?"
  
  "There are things going on right now, pack drama." He rolled his eyes. "It's about Jacob, and Bella...and it's just so confusing. And they need me. If Sam has to fight against Jake's pack, he's going to need all the help he can get."
  
  "Jake's pack?" I asked.
  
  "Yea, he's no longer a part of the main pack." He said. "He's trying to defend Bella or something. He has Leah and Seth on his side. Sam needs all the wolves he can get."
  
  I sighed in frustration. "When do you have to leave?"
  
  He bit his lip and looked away.
  
  "Soon." He mumbled.
  
  I took a deep breath. I had had a feeling that he would have to leave sooner than I wanted.
  
  I wrapped my arms around him.
  
  "I don't want you to go." I whispered, burying my head in his neck. I felt tiny curled up next to Jared.
  
  He stroked my hair. "I don't want to leave either, but I have to."
  
  I sighed.
  
  "You know I would rather stay here, Mel." He whispered. "I don't want to go back to Sam. I'd rather stay here and make sure you were safe."
  
  "How soon is soon?" I asked.
  
  He shrugged. "I guess as soon as possible."
  
  I held on to him tighter. "No, what if a flight leaves tonight?"
  
  Suddenly, I was desperate. I didn't want to ever let go of him.
  
  "I can't abandon my brothers." He said softly. "Sam's pissed enough that I came here in the first place. If I stay longer than necessary, especially with what's happening there, he'll have my head on a platter."
  
  I sighed. "Are you leaving tonight?" that was the only thing that mattered right now. I realized just how precious my time was with him.
  
  "Tomorrow at the latest." He murmured.
  
  My eyes widened. "Tomorrow?"
  
  He nodded, looking at me sadly.
  
  My throat felt tight. After tomorrow I would be all alone in this huge city.
  
  I held onto Jared as if he were a life line.
  
  "You'll be okay." He soothed. "You're going to be fine. Like I said before, I'll be back before you know it. I'll visit as often as I can."
  
  I stared up at him. "Has Sam called you?"
  
  "A couple of times." He admitted. "He's nervous. He doesn't know what Jake's going to do next. Or what the Cullens are going to do. I have to get back there quickly."
  
  "You should go tonight." I said miserably.
  
  "I'll order tickets tonight, but there's no way in hell I'm leaving tonight." He said.
  
  I smiled and snuggled closer to him.
  
  "I'm glad." I whispered.
  
  He kissed the top of my head, and we just sat together, enjoying our last night in each other's company.
  
  The next day Jared left.
  
  He had his bag slung over his shoulder, and was standing with me at the front door of the apartment building, waiting for the cab he had called.
  
  I stared up at him, feeling close to tears.
  
  "Be safe, Mel." He whispered, stroking my cheek.
  
  I nodded, knowing if I spoke he would hear my voice shake.
  
  He pressed his lips against mine, and held onto me tightly.
  
  He broke the kiss off, and just held onto me. I squeezed him tightly.
  
  "I'll miss you." I whispered.
  
  "I'll miss you too, Mel." He whispered.
  
  He broke away from me, as his cab had pulled up to the sidewalk.
  
  "I'll call you when I land." He said.
  
  "Bye Jared." I managed to choke out.
  
  He kissed me once more, before saying goodbye, and getting into his cab.
  
  I watched as the cab pulled away, and drove through the streets. I had known Jared's stay here was way too good to be true, and would've had to end sooner than I had wanted. Hell, I hadn't wanted him to leave at all.
  
  I leaned against the doorway, letting the tears fall freely.
  
  Finally, I pulled myself together enough to go back up to my apartment.
  
  I sat on the couch and looked around.
  
  It was so empty without Jared's warm presence. It seemed cold now.
  
  I went into my room and grabbed a sweater.
  
  As I pulled it on, I realized how big it was on me.
  
  I furrowed my brow and pulled it off.
  
  It was Jared's sweater.
  
  I smiled warmly. Obviously Jared didn't need a sweater with his body temperature so high.
  
  It made me smile to know he had left this for me.
  
  I pulled it on, relishing in its warmth.
  
  Even without Jared here, I still had a little bit of him to keep whenever I needed it.
  
  I sat back down on the couch in the living room, feeling slightly better.
  
  I curled up on the couch, and flipped on the TV. I channel surfed, but I couldn't really find anything to watch.
  
  I sighed and roamed the apartment, and noticed a laptop sitting in the other bedroom.
  
  I had never been in this bedroom before. Maybe Alice had assumed this would've been my bedroom?
  
  I unplugged the laptop and sat on the couch with it.
  
  I turned it on, and realized Alice had downloaded a bunch of programs for me. One was and instant messenger. I clicked it, and saw that it already had a username for me and a password set up. I signed in, and was surprised to see that Alice was online.
  
  I clicked her name.
  
  Alice? I typed.
  
  Finally! I was waiting days for you to find it! Came her reply.
  
  I smiled. You could've given me a hint!
  
  Not bloody likely.
  
  How's Bella? I asked.
  
  Really skinny. And really pregnant. Came her reply. Can we video chat instead?
  
  I have a webcam? And a microphone?
  
  I could almost see her rolling her eyes.
  
  They're built into the laptop.
  
  A little invitation for video chat popped up and I clicked 'agree'.
  
  "Mel!" Alice's pixie face filled my screen. I saw myself in the corner.
  
  "Hey Alice." I smiled.
  
  "Isn't the apartment gorgeous?" she asked. "Esme and I decorated it together."
  
  "You guys did an amazing job." I said. "It's perfect!"
  
  She grinned. "I knew you'd like it."
  
  I smiled. "I adore it."
  
  She wrinkled her nose. "Why are you wearing a sweater that's huge on you?"
  
  "It's Jared's..." I said, biting my lip. "He just left to go back to Washington."
  
  She nodded, totally understanding.
  
  "How's Bella?" I asked. I realized I had already asked this, but Alice would be able to actually tell me more instead of just typing it to me.
  
  "Well, we think she's going to have the baby soon. Edward can hear its thoughts, but we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet." She explained. "And she's had to drink human blood, since her body is rejecting food. She's broken a couple of ribs, because the baby is growing so quickly, and breaking everything in the process.
  
  "Where is everyone?" I asked.
  
  "Downstairs." She said, wrinkling her nose. "I've never had to deal with a half vampire before. It's hard to see what's going to happen to Bella. I have a headache, it's so awful. I'm hiding up here in the attack concentrating on the wolves because, oddly, they give me peace of mind since I can't see them."
  
  I laughed. "I never would've thought you'd say that, Alice!"
  
  "You're not the only one." She sighed.
  
  I giggled. "I hope you feel better, Alice."
  
  She got a dark look on her face. "I know what you've been considering, Mel."
  
  I didn't say anything.
  
  "I know how you feel." She said softly. "I won't blame you if you want to come back after first semester. No one will be upset with you."
  
  I nodded. "Thanks Alice."
  
  She smiled. "No problem."
  
  "Alice, you should hunt." I said, noticing how black her eyes were.
  
  "I know, we all should. Especially with Bella drinking cups of human blood. We're all a little on edge." She sighed. "But Edward doesn't want to leaver her alone with anybody. Not even Rosalie."
  
  "Whoa, Rosalie?" I asked in shock.
  
  "Yea, her and Bella have gotten...close." She said, scowling. "We all know it's only because of the baby." She added darkly. "Edward's pissed because he says she doesn't care about Bella's life."
  
  I rolled my eyes. Of course Edward would be pissed about that.
  
  "Well, I have to go." Alice sighed. "Promise to talk later today?"
  
  "Sure." I said. "I actually might go shopping this afternoon."
  
  She grinned. "Therapy shopping?"
  
  I smiled. "Maybe."
  
  "Buy something for me!" she squealed, and disconnected.
  
  I smiled. Only Alice.
  
  I signed out, and turned the laptop off.
  
  I pulled myself off the couch, and got an apple out of the fridge. I munched on it, thinking about whether I would go shopping or not.
  
  Screw it. I thought, and pulled on a pair of jeans, a dark top, and a light sweater. And I spent the afternoon shopping.
  
  I went back to my apartment after doing some major therapy shopping.
  
  I had bought Alice a short, green dress I knew she'd love.
  
  I plopped all my bags on the floor at the end of my bed.
  
  I pulled on my sweats and tank top, my ultimate comfy outfit, and added Jared's sweater to it.
  
  Now this was the ultimate comfy outfit.
  
  I grabbed my laptop, and sat on the couch again. I signed into the instant messenger, hoping Alice was online.
  
  I sighed when I saw that she wasn't.
  
  I checked my email, and was surprised to see that I had one from Paul. What the hell did he want?
  
  Mel just wanted to make sure you landed safely, and got to your apartment okay. Just let me know whenever.
  
  -Paul
  
  I sighed and typed out a reply.
  
  Paul, yes the plane landed fine, and yes I got to my apartment okay. You don't have to worry.
  
  I hit send, biting my lip. How long ago had he sent that?
  
  I saw Alice sign in, and we video chatted. It was good to be able to talk to her, and actually see her.
  
  She was in the attic again.
  
  She smiled at me. "I know you want to see Bella, and everyone, but I can't go down there. It messes with me too much."
  
  "No, don't worry about it." I smiled. "Its fine, I don't want you suffering for me."
  
  She sighed. "I wish I could be there with you, Mel. I really wish I could. But I have to stay here, or Edward would bite my head off, and I wouldn't get to meet my niece or nephew. And that would suck."
  
  I smiled. "It's fine. I'm starting to get a feel for the city anyway. I think I'll actually be okay."
  
  She grinned. "You will be."
  
  I smiled. I knew Alice was right. I would actually be okay.
  
  Alice kept me up to date on all the Forks news. She told me how Charlie wanted to see Bella, but obviously he couldn't.
  
  She told me that Charlie had called Bella everyday, and was talking to her. Alice said that her voice was sounding a lot better, especially after she started drinking the blood.
  
  I smiled sleepily.
  
  "Go to sleep." Alice urged. "We can talk tomorrow."
  
  "Night Alice." I mumbled.
  
  "Good night, Mel." Alice said.
  
  I disconnected and shut off the laptop.
  
  I stumbled to my room, and crawled under the blankets, getting nice and warm. Jared's sweater was so calming; it felt like he was actually here with me. It made everything so much warmer and cozier. I was so glad he left it for me.
  
  I didn't dream about anything. No dreams about Paul curled up with me haunted me.
  
  Although, that dream I had had the night before wasn't so terrible...
  
  Was it?
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