• •
  C.

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The rain in Forks never really stops; it just changes form, shifting from a dull drizzle to a mist that sticks to everything it touches.

I sat at my usual table in the back of Mr. Banner’s biology classroom, my fingers lightly tapping the black laminate desk. Emmet and Rosalie were off in their own world, and Jasper was working hard across the room to keep his own thirst at bay. I was bored. The curriculum was a joke, the thoughts of my high school classmates were a monotonous hum of trivial drama, and the day stretched out ahead of me like an endless, gray expanse.

Then, the classroom door opened.

Mr. Banner paused mid-sentence to greet the newcomer. I didn't bother looking up at first—until a scent hit the air currents in the room.

It hit me like a physical blow.

It wasn't just blood. It was a torrential wave of sweet, burning perfection that flooded my lungs, instantly drying my throat and igniting a fire in my veins I hadn't felt in decades. My muscles snapped taut, my hands gripping the edge of the table so hard the wood groaned beneath my knuckles. Monster. The word screamed through my head as my inner predator reared its head, demanding I move, hunt, drain every single drop.

I forced my eyes up.

You stood by Mr. Banner’s desk, looking pale, awkward, and completely unaware that you had just walked into the lair of something that wanted to tear you apart. You held a pink slip in your trembling hands, your eyes darting nervously around the room.

And then came the silence.

I leaned in, straining my mind, but... nothing. Your thoughts were a completely blank wall. No shallow worries, no quiet fears, no hum of inner monologue—just absolute, maddening silence.

"Ah, welcome," Mr. Banner said, signing your slip and pointing directly toward the only open seat left in the room.

Right next to me.

My jaw clenched as you turned and began walking down the aisle. Every step you took pushed another wave of that agonizing scent toward me. I locked my eyes on yours, black eyes wide with a ravenous hunger I could barely suppress, praying you would read the danger and run.

Instead, you took a breath, pulled out the chair beside mine, and sat down.*