Twilight Fan Fiction ❯ In The Shadow Of The Sun ❯ Tension ( Chapter 15 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Slowly, Leina felt herself being pulled out of the dream realm and into consciousness. Her eyes fluttered, trying to adjust themselves. She sat up, slouching, and put her head in her hands. Immediately, she pulled her hands away from her face.

"That's weird..." she mumbled, looking down at her hands.

Her left hand felt normal temperature... but her right hand felt like it had just come out of the refrigerator.

After thinking for a moment, she shrugged, figured that the cold hand must have been out of the covers for most of the night.

Leina turned herself, setting her feet down on the carpeted floor. She realized that there was some rhythmic pitter-pattering sound. Rubbing her arms and hands, trying to get her blood flowing, she walked over to the window. She pulled back the curtain and saw what the cause of the sound was. Rain poured down onto the lush, green forest in her backyard. She could see the puddles forming on the balcony, and the rain drops sliding off of the leaves on the trees that were near her window. Even though the curtain was pulled open, she dreary, rainy world outside provided very little extra light into her dark room.

Leina turned away from the window. "Man... we have school today... I totally forgot. The party last night made it seem like a Friday in my mind... but no, today's only Thursday..." She sighed, scratching her head. She looked in the mirror, then decided that she would try to make breakfast before making herself look somewhat presentable to the public. She pulled on a pair of socks, then went downstairs in her pajamas.

Eyes still half-closed, Leina managed to make her way into the kitchen. She scratched at her eyes again, another final attempt to force the sleep out of them. Then she washed her hands, and went over to the fridge. She took out two eggs, the milk, salt, flour, cream and cottage cheese, sugar, strawberries, and lemon juice.

As she was starting to mix her creation, she started to wake up a little more. "Well, this is the day..." she murmured to herself. Today was the day; the Volturi would be official students at Forks High. The only thing to do was to wait and see what they would do.

As Leina started wondering about how her day would go, Luna bumbled down the stairs. Luna was also dressed in her pajamas. She rubbed at her eyes vigorously.

Leina smiled, in a surprising good mood despite being so tired. "So, you decided that it was too early to get dress, too?"

Luna grinned sleepily. "Definitely... whatcha makin'?"

"Crepes, actually..."

Luna's eyes widened. "You're making your crepes?! The strawberry-kind?!"

Leina nodded, grinning at Luna's enthusiasm.

"Sweet!" Luna exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Leina turned on the burner of the stove and put a small pan on the burner. She talked as she worked. "Why don't you go wake Leonna up? If you do it nicely, then I'm sure that she'll be in a better mood and let you have more crepes! Breakfast'll probably be done by the time you get down here."

"Okay!" Luna answered. "I'm sure Leonna-kitty needs a bit of help waking up, after last night's party..."

Luna turned around and started bounding up the stairs. Leina poured some of the batter into the pan and quickly made the filling for the crepes. Then she continued to make the crepes, cooking and filling, cooking and filling, until the other two finally came down the steps.

"Come on, Leonna! Leina made crepes; I don't want them to get cold!"

Leina heard a moan answer Luna's coaxing. She turned to see Leonna walking slowly down the steps, eyes completely closed, led by the hand by Luna.

Leina chuckled. "Well, at least I'm not the only one to have troubles waking up this morning!"

Leonna smiled weakly, cracking her eyes open. "'Morning, Leina... how did you sleep?"

Leina thought for a moment. "Well, I slept pretty well, actually!" she lied. She didn't want to worry Leonna about her many nightmares before finally setting into a peaceful sleep. Leonna had enough to worry about.

Leonna gave her a look, as if she was trying to figure out whether Leina was telling the truth. But then she seemed to give up, satisfied with Leina's answer, and sat down at the table.

"So, what is it that we're having for breakfast?" Leonna asked.

"Crepes!" Leina answered, happily. "I'll get some coffee started for you as well... you want some cream, too, right?"

Leonna grinned. "You know how I like it," she answered.

Leina brought the pile of crepes over to the table, followed by the plates and silverware. Luna dug in right away, loading her plate with three crepes to start. Leina got Leonna's coffee, and then they all started eating the delicious breakfast.

No one talked as they ate, which was very unusual. Luna usually had something to talk about, no matter the time or situation. But everyone was unusually quiet.

Ultimately, Leina couldn't take the silence anymore. "So, today's the day, guys... the Volturi vamps start school today."

The other two looked a little shocked, but recovered.

"So... " Leina said slowly. "What do you think?"

After a moment of silence, Luna spoke. "I think that we should wait. There isn't much that we can do to prepare for this kind of a battle, except be ready for whatever happens."

"But that's a mental readiness," Leonna pointed out. "Do you think we're all ready for that?"

Leina smiled at them. "I think we are. Sure, I'm a little scared," she said with a shrug, "but you guys know I'm stubborn!"

The other two laughed.

"I'm not going to let them break me; it's going to take a heck of a lot more than those two to break me!"

All of the girls laughed together, finally breaking the tension.

"Well, we should go get ready for battle..." Leonna said, rinsing off her plate.

Luna smirked. "You mean school?"

Leonna grinned back. "Exactly."

As the other two girls went up the stairs to get dressed, Leina looked out of the back window at the persisting rain storm.

"I hope this rain isn't some kind of omen..." she hoped.

But she would just have to wait to find out.
----------
Leina pulled her Camaro into an empty space in the Forks High parking lot. She pushed the lever into "park", and stopped the car. Leonna, Luna, and Leina all grabbed their backpacks and got out of the car. They all pulled up their hoods, trying to stay a little dryer. Leonna pulled a green umbrella out of her pocket and put it up over her head.

Luna snickered. "What, poor Kitty doesn't want to get wet?"

Leonna rolled her eyes. "Yes, in fact. You know I don't like the rain..."

"Or the snow, or sleet, or any other kind of moisture from above," Leina joked.

The trio made their way underneath one of the roofed sidewalks.

"We're a bit early..." Leonna said. "I guess this would be a good chance to update on some reading. It's better than doing homework, anyway..."

Then the reminder hit Leina and Luna like a truck. ""Homework!"" the two girls moaned.

Leonna giggled as the two scrambled to grab binders, pens, and notes out of their backpacks. "You both forgot to do homework, didn't you...?"

Leina laughed uneasily. "Well, with the whole party thing and everything else... I kind of forgot to do a bit of it..."

Leonna chuckled and turned back to her book as the other two hurried to finish up their last bits of homework.

A little while later, Leonna interrupted their frantic scribbling. "The Cullens are here."

Leina's head shot up to see Edward's silver Volvo whip into the parking lot and into a space next to her own car. The five Cullens gracefully got out of the car and hurried (well, human-pace-hurried) over to the bench the girls were sitting on.

"Oh gosh, he's coming this way. Oh... he's just wearing a gray sweater today... well, he certainly wouldn't be wearing the prince costume from yesterday! Though, that DID look pretty good on him... But what do I say to him? I mean, after what happened yesterday...? Wait, why am I freaking out over this?!"

Luna nudged Leina in the ribs, smirking. "You look a little nervous..."

Leina blushed, frowning, and looked away. "Shut up..."

"Hey, g'mornin', everyone!" Emmett announced, grinning like his usual self. He shook his wet hair like a dog, spraying them with water. Leina and Leonna covered their homework and book, respectively. Luna just giggled, trying to shield herself from the spray.

"Nice to see you, too, Emmett," Leonna answered, wiping off the cover of her book.

"Hello, everyone!" Alice said, smiling and dancing over like a fairy. "Oh, Luna, are you trying to finish that Biology homework?"

"Yeah, I forgot about it," Luna admitted sheepishly. "I can't figure some of these problems out."

"Would you like some help?"

"Sure!"

As Jasper and Alice tried to explain Biology to Luna, Emmett (followed by Rosalie) went over to talk to Leonna. Lastly, came Edward.

He was a bit behind the others from having to lock his car. As he walked over, Leina noticed that he had a very serious expression on his face. She couldn't figure out the exact expression.

"It doesn't look like anger... or sadness or anything like that... what is he thinking?!"

Finally, Edward was standing in front of her. "Hello, Luna, Leonna." He nodded to each of them, which they returned with a smile and a "Hey, Edward!" But then his attention was focused on Leina.

Rain dripped from his bronze hair, and his eyes shone with the brightness of sun. They seemed fierce... but with what? Leina's favorite slight, uneven smile unfolded onto his face.

"Good morning, Leina."

"G-g'morning, Edward..." she managed to sputter.

His eyebrows rose with concern. "Are you all right? Did you sleep well?"

Leina shrugged. She was getting used to this lie. "Yeah, pretty well."

He smirked with disbelief. "No, you didn't."

Leina's mouth fell open. "Hah-... how would you know?" she asked defensively.

He chuckled then crouched down, looking up at her. "I just know," he answered cryptically.

Leina looked at him, trying to figure out what he meant. How would he have known that she had been plagued by nightmares for the majority of the night? He couldn't read her mind... so how could he have known...?

Leina was forced out of her wondering by his soft laughter.

"I'm sorry, you just looked so serious," he apologized, smiling. "I could tell by the drooping eyelids and the fact that the area underneath your eyes are starting to look like my own... again."

Leina blushed, her eyebrows furrowing yet again. "So what...?"

Then she made the mistake of looking into his eyes again. She finally understood his expression. Edward was worried about her. Just like last night, he was wondering whether she was okay, how she was handling the stress of being a vampire's wanted prey.

Leina's face softened, along with her tone. "I'm fine, really."

Edward didn't look convinced, but he didn't push the subject. He turned and sat down on the pavement, then leaned back against her legs.

Leina had to focus on concentrating on her homework. She still had another four problems of Math homework. But with Edward actually leaning against her like that, his eyes closed, face turned upwards... he looked like an angel who had just stepped out of the rain. Instead of doing the work, like she should have, she just stayed there, frozen, hand poised like she was about to write.

Just then, Edward's eyes flashed open, and he sprung up to stand. He seemed to be looking down the road, then he moved behind the bench where Leina was.

"How much more time?" Alice asked.

"Just another minute."

"We don't have time to move her," Rosalie pointed out.

"Shouldn't we at least try to get out of their way?" Leonna asked.

"What's going on?!" Leina exclaimed, thoroughly confused.

Everyone looked around at each other, sending nervous and agitated glances and vibes to each other. Leina turned her head around to see Edward take a deep, technically unnecessary, breath.

"The Volturi will be here very soon. We were trying to figure out whether it was better to keep you-"

"Yeah I understand the latter part... so they'll be here soon?" Leina said, trying to sound casual.

The rest of the group was still fidgeting. And the Cullens rarely fidgeted.

Leina sighed. "Okay, everyone, just calm down... They won't try anything during school, right? You guys can relax..."

"Leina, dear, we're just trying to protect you," Alice explained.

"I understand, Alice. But that's the thing. You all don't have to act all protective of me. They won't try anything drastic here, and I think I can handle anything they dish out here."

Everyone adopted looks of disbelief.

Leina sighed. "Fine... I'll tell you all if anything happens, okay?"

The vampires, Luna, and Leonna seemed to finally relax at that.

Leina tried to concentrate on her homework, but she finally realized that it was useless. Between Edward being so close to her, and trying to hide the anxiety she felt, her homework was doomed. Leina found herself constantly looking up at the entrance to the school.

In a couple of minutes, an ostentatious, jet-black Ferrari pulled into the parking lot. It pulled in diagonally, taking up two parking spaces. The head of every boy turned, eager to see the owner of the classy, new sports car.

The first one out of the car was the passenger, Emma. She was wearing a pair of designer, razored jeans, with a pink polo shirt and a deep green and white rain jacket. Her wild hair had been surprisingly tamed into a wavy ponytail. She pulled out a dark green backpack.

Then, Ayden got out of the car. She wore a deep red, off-the-shoulder sweater. It had long sleeves and set right above her belly button, revealing her toned, pale stomach. A long, cascading, black skirt with a slit up to her mid-thigh, sunglasses (despite the lack of sun), and thick, knee-high boots completed the look.

Immediately, all of the guys on campus (except the Cullen boys) rushed back out into the rain. They crowded around the Ferrari. They started offering to carry the girls’ book bags, asking whether they needed help finding their classes, paying particular attention to Ayden.

Rosalie chuckled without humor. “First day here, and she’s already grabbing all of the attention. Stupid, ignorant, naive, human boys...”

“Calm down, Rose,” Emmett whispered, rubbing Rosalie’s back.

As Ayden, Emma, and the hoard of new Ayden fan-boys came closer, Leina could sense the building tension in her friends.

“I’d really like to get to know you...” one boy said, completely fawning over Ayden.

Alice chuckled. “And if they actually did get to know them better, they’d end up blood-drained...”

The Ayden looked over. She seemed surprised to see them for some reason. Maybe she didn’t think that they would show up today. But then she seemed to recover, and a smirk appeared on her face... and she waved at them.

Luna’s jaw actually dropped as the crowd moved away. “She waved at us... why?!”

“I think she’s taunting us...” Leonna replied, glaring at the crowd.

DING!

Leina looked from Ayden to her group of friends. She sighed. “Come on, guys... Let’s just head on to first period.”

Luna and Leina packed their homework into the bags, and the group walked collectively to their classes.

One by one, a member or group would break off from the group. They would wave and say their goodbyes, then head on to their class. First Emmett, Leonna, Luna and Rosalie went off to P.E., then Jasper, and then Alice. Finally, it was just Leina and Edward.

Edward walked close to Leina, almost hovering over her.

“Edward, I’ll be all right, okay? There’s no need for you to be this protective of me,” Leina insisted for what felt like the hundredth time.

He managed to crack a smile for her. “Just promise me you’ll be safe? Don’t go anywhere alone.”

Leina laughed, trying to laugh away her own nervousness. “It’s just school, right? What could happen?”

It didn’t look like that reassured Edward at all.

“I’ll see you later, okay?” Leina said, giving him a smile and a wave. Then Leina turned and went into Building 4.

Edward watched Leina until the door closed completely. He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

“Whether it’s school or not, she’s still in danger... should I just stay near her and just skip class?” He thought about that idea. Just not going to class and staying hidden... he could make sure Ayden and Emma didn’t try anything. But then he realized what Leina would say. “No, she wouldn’t like that... she hates having people worry over her like that... She would tell me to just go on to class.”

Edward turned reluctantly away from Building 4 and started walking to the Art Building. The final warning bell rang. He looked around. No other being was in sight, human or vampire. He decided to take the risk, and ran at his top speed.

The rain seemed to be moving especially slow as Edward sprinted through the Forks High campus. He could barely feel it hitting him. The wind made his hair even more disorderly.

In merely a couple of seconds, Edward was walking into his Art class. He nodded to the teacher, and sat at his table in the far back. Edward looked around the classroom, noticing that most of the boys in the class were absent. And Edward knew exactly where they were.

DING!

“The final bell... all of those boys are late...”

The teacher looked around, confused by the extremely small amount of students in the class, and started to take role.

“Danielle?”

“Here!”

“... David, absent... um, Royce?”

“He’s not here, either...”

The teacher sighed. “Edward?”

“Here,” Edward said in his quiet voice.

The teacher marked him present. “Joy?”

“Here!”

“Kyle-” ;

“WE’RE HERE!”

Just then, all of the rest of the boys in the class burst through the door, sprinting to their seats.

The teacher’s face turned practically purple, making Edward have to suppress a chuckle. “Where were you all?”

“Sorry, teach,” replied the boy named Max. “We were helping the new kids to find their classes!”

The teacher rolled his eyes. “Of course... I’m sure that the new students required ALL of you to show them to their classes...”

The edge of Edward’s lips twitched, wanting to laugh at the poor boys.

“Today is a free day. Try to practice your realistic drawing. I’m grading you on your participation; not how good your sketches are. Begin.”

Edward took out a sheet of drawing paper and a sketching pencil, and started drawing.
------------
“So yeah, maybe if we turn this lever, then it might work! But what if we turn the slide, do you think that might help? I really don’t understand these machines, myself.”

Leina wanted to slam her forehead against the cool science lab table. Austen had been an absolute nightmare all class long. He had either been goofing off, failing at figuring out the equipment, or just couldn’t pay attention.

“This kid HAS to have some kind of problem...” Leina thought, massaging her temples.

“Hey, look, Leina!”

Leina looked over. Austen was now balancing the glass slide on his nose.

“Look, no hands!” he joked, guffawing like an idiot.

Leina groaned. “Austen, please, let’s just get this-”

Just then, the slide slipped off of Austen’s nose and crashed onto the floor.

“I want to slap this kid...”

DING!
“He’s literally been saved by the bell...”

Leina gathered up her belongings, and said a quick farewell to Austen, and left him to deal with the broken slide.

Right before she stepped out of the building, she looked up into the sky. It was just as dark, or darker, than it had been this morning. The rain actually fell harder; Leina was able to see it bouncing off of the sidewalk.

Sighing with exasperation, Leina pulled up her hood and stepped into the torrential downpour. She ran to her next class, trying to avoid the other students (who hurried as well to their own destinations).

At last, Leina stepped through the doors of her English class. She took off her sopping rain jacket and hung it up on a hook with the rest. There were very few people in the class, so Leina walked over to a desk that was situated in the back of the classroom, by the window. She took out a notebook and pen, then started doodling absentmindedly in the margins.

Just then, a group intake of breath snatched Leina's attention away from her drawing.

An extremely confident-looking Ayden stood in the doorway. One hand on her hip, the other dangling next to her, she scanned the class. Her dangerous, crimson eyes fell on Leina. Her smirk widened and her eyes glittered with anticipation.

"Oh god... she's going to sit by me... what do I do?!" she panicked.

Ayden closed her umbrella and took off her coat. Then she started walking over.

"What do I do? I can't just move my seat; she'd go sit by me again! Man, what should I do?!?!"

Ayden was almost to the seat when someone seemed to materialize in front of her, blocking her route.

"Hello, Leina," Jasper said. He seemed to be pretty calm, but Leina could sense that he was ready for any possible fight. "I'm sorry I'm a bit late."

Leina breathed a sigh of relief. "That's okay, Jasper, it's no problem."

Ayden looked absolutely shocked. As Jasper sat down, the vampiress seemed to be trying to recover. Once she had, her confident smirk reappeared.

"Excuse me, Mr. Hale, was it? I believe you have just taken my seat. Why don't you give it up to me?"

Leina watched as Ayden's red eyes bored into Jasper's golden ones. "What are they doing?" she wondered as she watched the vampire-staring contest.

Jasper smiled a little, not blinking. "Why don't you go sit down elsewhere, Ayden?"

Ayden's expression grew calm for a second, then furious. "Do NOT try to mess with my emotions, Jasper..."

Regardless of her want to fight, Ayden turned and walked over to an empty seat, two aisles away, next to a boy who turned tomato red when she sat down.

Leina sighed. "Thanks, Jasper... I don't know what would have happened if she had sat next to me all class..."

Jasper nodded. "Well, for one, Edward would have my hide if I had let that happen..."

Leina chuckled. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're right." Then something occurred to her. "Hey, what did Ayden mean about you messing with her emotions and the whole stare-down thing?"

Jasper thought for a moment, organizing his thoughts so he could explain everything to Leina in the most simplistic way. "Well, at first, she was trying to influence my mind... make me move. But then I used my own power, and tried to manipulate her emotions to make her leave."

"Whoah, that's so cool!" Leina exclaimed, her eyes wide, grinning. "That's such a cool ability! I wish I could do something cool like that..."

Jasper nodded. "It does come in handy."

Then Leina smirked. "Hey... think you can use it on Luna to make her extremely calm and mellow?"

Jasper actually laughed aloud, surprising Leina. Then he turned to her, a big smile on his face, and said, "I'll see what I can do."
------------------
Edward

I couldn't wait any longer. If I was technically "completely" alive, then the anxiety would be killing me. I just had to see her.

All day long, I had worried. I had seen her in History, but the teacher kept us busy writing notes. She stayed quiet the whole time, never looking anywhere but her notes. I couldn't help but wonder why...

Lunch was an over-all silent affair as well. Throughout Biology and English, I couldn't concentrate on the class at all. The only thing I could focus on was anyone who was in Leina's class. What were they thinking? Could they see her? How did she look? Scared? Yet none of these humans were of any help. Leina never crossed their minds, even for a second. I quickly grew frustrated by the simplicity of their minds.

When I finally got to PE, the teachers immediately separated the class into groups. Of course, fate didn't allow me to be placed in her group. Throughout the duration of the class, I looked over at the other groups, trying to find her. Just to see her face, her expression...

"Why do I feel this protective of her?!" I thought, frustrated with myself.

At long last, the final bell rang.

I jumped up and walked as quickly as I was allowed into the locker room. I changed, grabbed by stuff, and ran out of the room. Standing next to the girls' entrance to their locker room, I tried to calm myself down. I didn't want her to see how agitated and uncomfortable I was.

Girls started walking out of the locker room, but she wasn't among any of them.

"Maybe she left already... I couldn't have missed her, could I?"

That was a ridiculous thought, I knew that... but it was a possibility. I continued to run over those possibilities, checking each girl's face that came out of the locker room.

And then she was there.

Her bright, orange-brown hair was still pulled back into its ponytail from gym. The tan skin on her face was flushed red from the exercise. I tried not to dwell too long on the color of her skin... especially the reason for the color. Her eyes were at their brightest, an amazing crystal cerulean color. She looked fairly happy and a little embarrassed. But most importantly, she was still alive.

“You know, you didn’t have to wait for me,” Leina said, her face forming a stubborn scowl at me.

I smiled down at her and the sudden urge to tease her emerged into my sentences. “No, I don’t suppose so. But I usually wait for you, don’t I? It should be more enjoyable than walking by yourself... unless you dislike my company-”

“No, that’s not what I meant!” she exclaimed, frantically.

I chuckled, finding her reaction quite amusing. “Shall we go?”

Leina nodded, her face turning bright red. I had to look away. I could feel that monster inside of me, trying to claw through my inner defenses.

As we walked, Leina seemed to realize that she still had her hair up from gym class. She reached back and pulled the hair tie out, shaking her head for a quick second. But it was long enough to send her scent flying around me.

The smell wrapped itself around me, making me feel like I was surrounded by lavender and fresh-cut wood. My eyes closed, and I felt my throat burning from suppressed hunger. Acidic saliva started to fill my mouth. The monster wanted the source of that scent. The smell was so natural... so addictive... so delicious...

“Stop,” I told myself. I held my breath for a second, trying to clear my head. I needed fresh air, and quickly.

"Let's hurry," I said, barely opening my mouth to speak. I was walking at a brisk pace towards the door. Leina was jogging in order to keep up with me.

As we broke through the doors, I took a large, silent breath. The clean, rainy Forks air gave my throat cool, immediate relief. I pushed further away from the school, feeling the wet air clear away the venom, dryness in my throat and the heat in my mouth. I felt in control once more.

"Hey, Edward!"

I turned. Luna skipped towards me, followed by a calmly walking Leonna and Jasper. Luna grinned as she jumped one final time, splashing water. "How're you?"

I smiled a fraction. "Much better now."

The other two caught up now; Leonna with her green umbrella, Jasper with his black one.

"Hello, Edward," Leonna said, greeting me. Then she looked around. "Where's Leina?"

My eyes widened. I had been walking at such a pace that I had completely left her behind. I turned, looking at the gymnasium exit.

Leina, her hood pulled up, was running through the parking lot. Her head was tilted down, away from the rain.

"Geez, Edward, what was the rush?" she asked me, looking perplexed.

"Sorry," I said, truly remorseful.

“You left her behind?!” Leonna exclaimed, obviously angered with me.

“Leonna, it’s fine, okay? Let’s just go to the car and get out of this rain, yeah?” Leina offered, appealing to Leonna’s dislike of precipitation.

As the girls formed the front of our group, Jasper stayed with me in the back.

“So what happened?” he asked me.

I sighed, and spoke in a tone so low and rapid that no human ears could comprehend what I was saying. “Her scent... right after gym class, she shook out her hair. It was... like a bomb. I...”

“...almost lost control?” Jasper finished.

I nodded, looking down, ashamed of myself.

“Don’t feel too bad about it. We’re all tempted at some point.”

I growled. “She’s already in enough danger from the Volturi. I don’t want to add myself as another threat.”

Jasper nodded, sending me a sympathetic glance. We continued to walk through the rain in silence.

We met the rest of my family by my Volvo. My siblings chatted with the other three about things like teachers and work amount. I stayed relatively silent, content to merely watch Leina. I wanted to know whether she was honestly as at ease as she seemed. She smiled, laughed and joked with the others. She seemed genuinely happy. But I couldn’t be sure. She was practiced in the art of hiding her emotions.

Everyone fell silent. I refocused my attention. Ayden and Emma were strutting out of the school, followed by a group that was even larger than before. The two vampires nodded and smiled at their admirers, but then, right before closing their umbrellas and entering their cars, they addressed us.

"Good bye, Cullens... Leonna, Luna..." Ayden smirked, her gleaming white teeth flashing, "...Leina. I hope to see you tomorrow."

I snarled under my breath as they sent us one final, superior glance. Then they drove away, leaving their fans behind in the mud.

My attention turned to Leina. Her face was absolutely expressionless. Her pink lips formed a flat line, and her brows neither furrowed in fury or raised in confusion or fright. She merely watched the black car pull away.

"Well, I think we better head home," Leonna said, ending the group's silence. "We all have homework to do, and this rain is making me tired...."

Leina grinned. "Aw, sleepy-Leonna-kitty!" she cooed, joking with her friend.

Leonna sent Leina a sarcastic, "Ha, ha", then continued her earlier statement. "So we'll see you all tomorrow?"

I nodded. "Of course. We'll be here. The weather report said that the rain would get heavier later tonight, and continue through tomorrow, so there's a very slim chance that it should be sunny."

Alice smiled at everyone. "Don't worry, it won't be sunny. We'll be here."

I laughed. Sometimes, it was quite nice to know what the weather would do, no matter what.

Luna giggled. "Thank you, Weather-Woman-Alice!"

Alice smiled and hugged her new friend. Then Luna, Leonna, and Leina waved at my family and I.

Before I knew what I was doing, I was calling her name.

"Leina."

She turned to look at me, her eyes wide in surprise.

"We'll be in the car," Leonna said to Leina. Leina nodded and walked over to talk with me. I noticed my family had also gotten into my car to possibly give me more privacy.

"What is it?" she asked. She was so earnest, so honest.

I fought over how to phrase my concerns and qualms to her. How could I make her understand how worried I was about her, without scaring her? Even though I didn't understand it myself... how could I communicate that?

I sighed, and lifted my eyes to meet her serene blue ones. "Just promise you'll be careful."

"Of course!"

She laughed. Trying to break the tension, I supposed... but I couldn't know for certain. Was it that she just didn't want to show how scared she was?

I shook my head the tiniest bit. "Just be safe..." I smirked, "and smart."

"Hey!" she exclaimed, not liking my jest.

I merely chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?" I raised my hand, hesitating for a moment... checking to see whether I could handle myself. Then I swept back a stray lock of hair back into her hood.

"Um... y-yeah..."

Before I lost control completely, I turned and walked back to my car. I got into the drivers seat, not saying a word to my family. I pulled out of my space much faster than Leina, and threw the car into "drive" and sped off. It felt good to have this kind of speed again.

Soon enough, we were at our house. I knew that Carlisle would still be at the hospital, but I could hear Esme's thoughts in the house as we neared. I tuned back into Emmett and Jasper's conversation. They were planning a short hunting trip tonight. We wouldn't be able to go out too far; we had promised Leina and the rest that we would be at school tomorrow. I shook my head.

"I'm going to have to go tonight. I can't skip out on this one again. I'm going to need all of the strength and control I can possibly possess... I was losing today, as it was."

We walked into the house. Esme was sitting on the couch in our family room, reading a book.

Rosalie smirked. "'Wuthering Heights' again? How many times have you read that book, now?"

Esme smiled, sheepishly. "I enjoy the book. Heathcliff is such an interesting character..."

I smiled at my mother-for-all-intensive-purposes. She enjoyed reading the romantic classics, no matter how many times she had read them in the past.

"Well, I'll be upstairs in my room, if anyone needs me," I announced. Not waiting for a reply, I turned around.

Once I was in my room, I set down my bag and stretched out onto my couch. I closed my eyes once again, trying to think things out.

I couldn't believe that I had almost lost control today like that. Her scent had been so vivid, so self-consuming. It was almost as bad and confusing as the first day...


As soon as the news had arrived at the school, I knew that Forks High was adding three more students into its total population. The gossip occupied almost everyone's thoughts; it was impossible for me to get away from it. Everyone wanted to know why they were moving to small, little Forks. As soon as the news had spread about them being girls, all of the females wondered whether the students would join their clique or not. The males wanted to know what they looked like and tested what others were interested, so they could get a feel for the competition.

I had felt the presence of the three girls arriving. I knew that two were different. It was hard to pin-point exactly what, but I felt the human most strongly.

I had been drawn to her scent. It was intoxicating; almost everyone agreed.

The next day at school, the morning passed very slowly for me. It felt like a punishment, to sit through the same lectures year after year. The others felt the same, but they didn't have it so bad. Try sitting through the same lectures for over fifty years.

I walked into the Government classroom, ready for another day of tedious and tiring lessons. But as I was settling into my seat, they came into the class.

I had seen their faces in the minds of every student personnel throughout the day. The blonde one had even been in my Math class, along with Alice. But the fact that I was actually seeing them... it was totally different.

I could smell her now. Oh, the smell was exquisite... enthralling.... dangerous.

I breathed in slowly, trying to take as much of the normal air into myself before she got too close. I watched as the professor put Leonna next to Richard. I could hear his thoughts race and heart beat quicken at the thought of this beautiful new girl sitting by him. I sighed and looked up.

The girl in front of me didn’t seem much different. Physically, she was of average proportions and was still very pretty. The extraordinary thing about her was her face. Her tan skin and freckles stood out from the pale kids her. She had brilliant orange, brown hair and captivating blue eyes that looked like water. I smirked when I realized how uncomfortable she was, standing up at the center of the class. All of the students were staring at her; she obviously didn’t like being the center of attention.

Maybe that was when I started feeling protective of her. Her awkwardness in front of her new class, unsure of how she would be accepted. She looked fragile... but her expression was one of determination.

"Edward? Would you be able to catch Leina up with the rest of us?" our teacher questioned me.

I brought myself out of my mental critique of the new girl to answer. “Of course, sir.” Even if I hadn’t wanted to, I couldn’t reply much else.

Her head was bent down as she walked towards her seat next to me, avoiding all eye-contact. Then I heard the thought flit across the brainless boy in front of me.

“Oh, no...”

I didn’t have any time to act. At least, not without revealing what I was to this class of ignorant humans.

The girl came tumbling down, hitting her head on the floor.

“That must have hurt... poor thing...”

Feeling very sorry for her, I smiled and reached out my hand to help her up.

"Are you all right?" I asked her.

She had shaken her head; for a moment, I thought that she was actually injured. But then she replied that she was merely embarrassed, which made me laugh with relief. I didn’t know why, though...

I grabbed her hand, and that’s when I felt something run through me. It was some sort of internal electrocution, but it didn’t hurt. It was as if I had immediately formed a connection with this small, self-conscious human.

As I helped her catch up on the class material, I couldn’t help but try to get into her mind. But it was blank. It was as if no one was sitting next to me at all. This frustrated me greatly; I felt vulnerable and a bit off-balance.

I started to ask her questions. She gave me a very general, obscure answer. Yet again, I tried to push my way into her thoughts, but it just wasn’t possible. I couldn’t locate them at all. This disturbed me greatly.

“Is something wrong?”

I ceased my internal raving to answer her, but then the teacher interrupted me. I made the excuses that I knew would work on this particular teacher, then decided that I would keep attempting to understand what she was thinking. I showed her sections to write down for our upcoming test, always trying to raid her thoughts. But my attempts were in vain. All I gained was an increase in my dissatisfaction.

“The notes for the class today,” I had said, handing her the paper. She refused to take the extra copy, so I forced it onto her by putting it into her backpack. I smiled at her as she finally agreed, as if she had a choice, and left.

Though I was walking away from the room, I could still hear what Leonna and Leina were saying. Leina was complaining about me “helping her too much,” which I found quite amusing. Then I decided to give them their right to privacy.

As I entered the cafeteria, I noticed I was one of the first ones. I hurried through the line, eager to ask my family their opinions on these new-comers. I took my props back to our usual table, setting the tray on the table.

“So, what do you all make of the new students? You all have had them in a previous class.”

Alice shrugged. “They seem nice enough. I’ve only had the two blonde girls in my classes. The taller one... Leonna, I believe... seems to be much more calm. The other, Luna, is much more energetic. She was quite entertaining in our Biology class, right, Jasper?”

Jasper nodded, his expression quite neutral. “I had the other one in English.”

“Leina?” I asked, interested. “What was she like? Did she say anything to anyone?”

Jasper shook his head. “No, she didn’t say a word all class. She seems to be very attached to her friends, but not many others.”

“Yes, I understand what you mean,” I answered.

Emmett chuckled. “The hyper one and the calm one are both in Rose and my gym class! She tried to help me out with a basket. Hey, there she is now!”

My siblings and I turned to look in the same direction as Emmett. A very slight, wiry-looking blonde was waving energetically in our direction. Leonna stood near as well, but then I noticed that Leina was with them as well. As soon as her eyes fell on me, they widened significantly.

I couldn’t help wonder if she was scared of me. I knew that my kind naturally intimidated humans. They didn’t know why, but their instincts told them to stay away from us. Then I wondered whether would be better if she did fear me. She would avoid me and not get hurt that way.

Then came the Luna-cupcake incident.

Luna ate the cupcake, causing Leonna and Leina to come charging down the aisles. Leina grabbed my shoulders to make me look at her. I had to stop breathing for that moment. Her sudden close proximity to myself was very unexpected, and I wasn’t prepared to suppress the monster within.

"WHAT... THE HELL... DID YOU JUST DO?!?!"

I didn’t understand what she was talking about until the table started quaking.

After Luna sprinted around the room and exited, the other two girls decided to spend their lunch with us. I enjoyed teasing Leina; she grew very embarrassed when I did so. I tried to stop myself on several occasions (the color of her skin was not helping my urge to take her away out of that cafeteria), but it was quite easy to make her shy.

I knew that I shouldn’t have hinted about my “ways of knowing” what people were thinking. It was a brainless thing to do, on my part. But I couldn’t help it. For some reason, I wanted to tell this girl everything. There are those types of people in the world. No matter what you tell them, they will listen to you, accept you no matter what, and say the things that you want to hear. She felt like this kind of person.

But I knew wanting to tell her was dangerous... to her and my family.

As we walked to her next class, and said that she liked meeting the “interesting people,” I realized that I had said far too much. I was getting far too close to her, and I should end any sort of friendship that had been developing while it was still early.

That was why I had acted so rudely to her. I didn't want to, but I thought that it would be best for my family, and her, if I didn't form any attachment to his human.

Though my efforts were in vain, fated to fail.

My talk with Leonna was cryptic, but I thought that would be better. I didn't realize how perceptive that girl could be. As soon as I heard that Leina would be in my gym class, I knew I was doomed.

I tried to ignore her. I tried to treat her poorly and be socially unacceptable, just so that she wouldn't like me. It would hurt me, physically and emotionally, though I couldn't explain why. But I would be sacrificing myself to keep her safe.

But then she ended up hurting herself anyway. She tried to keep up with me during that insignificant race. I was quite taken aback when she was actually trying, and succeeding, in keeping up with me. I could only go so humanly fast. Otherwise, I would have beaten her. Yet it intrigued me that she kept pushing herself so hard, no matter what the circumstance.

I reopened my eyes, smiling. That was one thing that I admired about her. No matter what cruel things the world sent her way, she stubbornly pushed through. Her determination to endure was endearing.

“It’s just that scent,” I murmured. If not for that intoxicating scent that engulfed me in a cloud of pleasure...

I sighed. “But that scent is what attracts the danger to her,” I said aloud. “Including myself.”

I looked out the large window at the pouring, dark rain. Was she following my request? What was she doing, right now?

I shook my head. “She better be safe...”
---------
Leina

I scratched at my homework, the graphite against paper an irritating sound to me. I just couldn’t concentrate on simple homework. I had much larger things to think about than what the next answer was. The lives of myself and my friends were in danger... and I was supposed to concentrate on what number came next in a sequence?

Finally figuring out the answer, I quickly scribbled it down and slammed my book shut with a satisfying THUD! Rotating my legs, I stood up, leaving the homework scattered on my bed. I stretched, stiff from sitting in that crouched position for so long, and listened. The rain was still pattering outside, though the downpour had lightened up.

Just then, my usually cozy room felt confined. I needed an open place to think about all of this. Staying trapped in my room wouldn’t help me sort through my mixed-up feelings.

I leaped down the stairs, taking them two at a time, and loudly landed at the bottom. Luna was sprawled out on a couch, watching our newly-acquired TV set (thank you, government money plan!). Not caring what show was on at the moment, I walked over to the kitchen, where Leonna was making dinner.

“Did you finish your homework?” she asked, not looking up from cutting vegetables with her knife.

I rolled my eyes, a playful smirk appearing on my face. “Yes, mother.”

Leonna grinned back.

“Actually,” I started, slowly, “I kind of wanted to go outside for a while. Just for a bit; until dinner’s ready.”

Leonna looked up from chopping, a very serious look on her face. “I don’t know if that’s the best idea right now...” She sighed. “I don’t want you going far from the house.”

I nodded. “I don’t plant to. Just a couple feet into the trees.”

Leonna still didn’t look convinced.

I sighed. “I really need this, Leonna. I have so many thoughts and feelings, all mixed up together...” I said in a frantic rush. “I need to sort through them all. Figure out how I want to approach this problem.”

Leonna stopped cutting the veggies and sighed, looking up at me. “Do what you have to do, okay?” she said, kindly. “But don’t take too long. Dinner’s almost ready.”

I grinned and ran around the table. “Thanks,” I said, giving her a giant hug before sprinting out the door.

I sprinted through the drizzling rain, kicking up puddles of accumulated water as I ran for the tree line. The rain worked quickly, plastering my hair to my face and neck. I laughed in spite of the weather and my circumstances. As I got under the shelter of the trees, the rain lightened a little. Making sure I didn’t go too far in, I spotted a relatively dry patch under a large, thick tree that had fallen against another. Disregarding the damp ground, I decided to lay down.

As I lay there, staring up at the green, protective shield that was defending me from the storm, I noticed how peaceful it was here. Just in my own little corner of the world, I felt safe.

Huh, how ironic.

The vampires had acted quite oddly today. They hadn't acted with hostility, as I had expected them to. Actually, from another's view, they seemed polite and civil. That worried me. Only my friends, the Cullens, and I knew what their true intentions were. They had acted almost as if we were friends. Waving to us and such, though I could always sense their true intent. And then there was the time when Ayden wanted to sit next to me in English class. What had she wanted? To silently prove her dominance over me, or was it an actual threat? Was she trying to say something to me, a hint on their plan of my death?

"What if I'm supposed to die? Are those trying to protect me merely hindering an unstoppable fate? Am I destined to die here?"

I wondered what death was like. Did you see that famous white light at the end of a tunnel? Would it hurt when I died? I imagined that the vampires actually killing me part would probably hurt pretty badly. But it wouldn't hurt after; it would be peaceful. I wondered if it would feel like flying, and I would be able to see those I cared about.

"Those that I care about..." I murmured to the trees.

Maybe it would be better if I did die. Leonna and Luna would feel horrible, and probably more away. They would be safe. The Cullens would be safe as well. Those Volturi vamps wouldn't have to stay here any longer, and my new friends could continue their existence here. And Edward...

What would Edward do? Would he be upset? He would probably blame himself for my death. But it wouldn’t have been his fault.

“At least he couldn’t have to worry about a pathetic, awkward, little human girl, anymore,” I chuckled, dryly.

Leonna, Luna, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Alice and Edward... my friends all had long lives ahead of them. They would have time to heal, and forget about me.

No.

I sat up, a new fire in my eyes, burning away the silent tears that had been pouring down my face. Of course, it wouldn’t be better if I died. I would not submit to fate and allow my friends to have that emotional pain on them. And I would not allow Edward to torture himself like that. None of them deserved that, just as I didn’t not deserve death because of solely my humanity. I would not allow Ayden and Emma to kill me.

I would be happy and strong. I would not let my “family” and new friends see me discouraged, just as I would not permit my enemy to see my fear.

“I will fight, then,” I announced to the forest with quiet, unbreakable determination. “If that is my fate... I will change it.”