Chapter 1 - Not Your Average First Day Of School

Another year, another school.

"Who the hell are you?" A giant of a man threw me into a wall behind the gymnasium on my very first day at Forks High School.

It was lunch period and I had only been here for 3 hours, yet I seem to have made a bad impression.

And the day started so normally too! 

As usual, I, Samuel Raith, walked into the front office, bewitched the mind of the lady there, met the principal, did the same thing, and got accepted into the school with no fuss.

High School classes were, as ever, a complete bore.

I was introduced at the beginning of each class, said a lie about myself and my interests, and then made my way to whatever free seat was furthest to the back. 

'Infiltration, successful.' I think with the voice of a 90's game character inside the privacy of my own head. 

I have to entertain myself somehow, or I would go crazy!

...Assuming I am not already crazy...

Anyway, as I sat in the back during class, I did my best to draw the attention of everyone. This might seem counterintuitive, but it is a necessity. It's the only reason I am here, to be honest.

I have a sort of devilish charm thing going on, so it is not difficult. I put clothing models to shame, and that is me being modest, so it is understandable that people would stare. At the same time, I was the epitome of "Look, but don't touch." This was not just a feeling everyone had about me; I used one of my powers to avoid anyone actually talking to or trying to touch me...Which had been particularly hard to do with one loud and preppy girl named Jessica, for some reason.  

Still, it was the same old, same old for me. A new place, sure, but the same game, regardless.

At least...it started out that way.

The day flew by in a blur of gray, much like the rest of my life for the last 40 years. There was one thing that caught my attention, however. Or, a person, rather. 

It was in my 3rd period math class, the class right before lunch, when I noticed a brown-haired beauty with golden eyes.

She was about 5'10" and looked like she worked out quite a lot. Her muscles were well-defined and framed her body well while enhancing her already enchanting looks. She wore a leather jacket, a tank top that barely contained her large chest, and long, fashionably ripped jeans.

When we made eye contact, she didn't look away from me, as she was supposed to, and, instead, stared me down with an almost animalistic intensity. What was weird was that no matter how much power I used, she didn't look away. It was as if she was resisting...

'Oh...Shit. I need to leave. Now.'

Luckily, she didn't interact with me beyond an uncomfortable minute-long staring contest. After she had her fill, she ignored me for the rest of class and I figured I might have been overreacting. Things were fine, just an odd interaction with a human. Some humans are naturally resistant to my power, so it is not unheard of after all. Those eyes though...

'Better safe than sorry. I'll just move on to a new state.'

Once the bell rang, I quickly got up and left the classroom. I kept a casual gate, not rushing, but showing I had somewhere to be or someone to meet up with. I had lots of acting practice over the years, so I was pretty great at it all things considered. 

Looking over my shoulder nonchalantly about 15 feet from the classroom door, I saw that the same brown-haired girl hurriedly walk up to a muscled blonde jock in the hallway. She whispered something to him, and his eyes snapped to mine in an instant.

His gold eyes. 

'Shit. Shit, shit, shit!'

I quickly make my way out of the school building and duck around the corner of the gymnasium to break their line of sight and put some distance between us. 

I did my best to keep my breathing even. If they were who I thought they were, they would be able to hear my heartbeat, so I needed to keep it relaxed. I waited for a couple of moments behind the gym to make sure I lost them, pretending to get a phone call as I made a casual beeline for the forests surrounding the school.

When I made it to the edge of the treeline, I sighed in relief.  

'That was too fucking close.'

I was very much not expecting them to flank me. 

Turning to check I was not drawing attention one last time before I entered the forest, I found myself face to chin with a giant of a man.

He stood at 6'5" and had to weigh over 300 lbs of pure muscle. He had wavy blond hair, the same unnatural golden eyes as the girl, and looked to be the model on which most Greek God statues were based. His designer t-shirt, jeans, and leather boots probably cost more than my car. 

This brings us back to the present.

I flew through the air, and no that is not an exaggeration, with a flick of his wrist and slammed into the bricks of the gymnasium wall, hard, wheezing as all the air was forced from my lungs. I slump down onto my ass as I chuckle mirthlessly. 

"Is this how you won over that hottie behind you? Can I use my safe word now, Daddy?" I snark with a cough as the man's golden eyes narrow on me dangerously.

He scowls and takes a menacing step forward as he cracks his knuckles. "Let's see you joke when I knock all those bleached teeth out, pretty boy."

I scoff up at him from the ground as I wipe some pale red blood from the corner of my lips. "Do you have any idea how much I care for my dental hygiene? That was just cruel and hurtful."

Before he can follow through with his threat, the same brown-haired goddess catches and holds his arm in place. Now that I look at the two of them, they seem perfect for each other. Beauty and the Douchebag. 

She speaks with a hint of a smirk on her lips. "Enough, Ross, calm down. Let's wait for the others and hear him out."

"Ross? Your name is Ross? Are you a character on a 90's sitcom?" I ask, trying to act nonchalant as I desperately think of possible escape routes. 

The Herculean man in front of me snorts but nods his head at the woman as he crosses his arms over his, frankly too-large, pecks. He seriously needed to lay off the 'roids. 

The woman tilts her head to the side as she ponders. "Odd...He smells like he is one of us...but not quite. I have never seen anything like it."

"I'm not looking to join any cults, sweetheart, but thanks anyway for the invite," I say, my smile in place as ever, as I dust myself off and stand up. 

Ross growls and looks like he wants nothing more than to rip my head off. "He is too soft and weak to be one of us, Emily, but let me try to break a few ribs just to be sure."

The woman I now know to be Emily rolls her eyes and pats his arm as she holds him in place. 

Before I can get out any more marvelous comebacks, 3 blurs appear before me and manifest into the forms of 2 women and a man. 

"Oh, good. You called the dream team." I say with a confident laugh.

Inside, however, I was panicking. This was not good. Really, really not good. I was being surrounded and my avenues for an escape were being slowly cut off. 

"Who's he?" A woman with long honey blonde hair and, surprise-surprise, golden eyes, asks. She looks like she is in pain...or maybe just constipated for some reason. She stands at about 5'8" and has a modest, if still extremely attractive, body. She wears a frilly white blouse with long sleeves and black slacks, looking almost as if she is dressed business casual. An oddly formal way to dress for high school.

"He was introduced in Math class as Samuel Raith," Emily answers, still smirking at me or just the situation. Not sure which yet.

"He's not human, that's for sure." A man with short, spikey brown hair responds. It is no longer worth mentioning the eyes as they all have weird-ass golden eyes. He stands at 5'6" with an athletic build and wears a runner's jacket, sports pants, and running shoes. 

"Hmm...I've never seen him before. Maybe he's-" The other woman of the new group starts with confidence before her words are cut off as she inhales sharply. She looks at me with shock and...elation(?) clear on her face while her eyes widen by several factors.

She is the shortest of the bunch at barely 5'2" and has a pixie cut of black hair with red highlights. Her body is lean and petite, but her expressions seem to be the largest of them all. She wears a pink frilly top, jeans, black boots, and a brown leather jacket...with way too many buttons and zippers.

She seems cute...like a little fairy...or pixie?

While I was pondering, all of my audience looked at the small woman with concern because of her loud gasp.

"What did you see, Alice?" The blonde woman who seems to be permanently sucking on a lemon asks.

"He's...He's one of us...but not. I...I don't really understand it. I see him worried about being hunted down...but we are protecting him? And...And I'm...We're..." The diminutive woman stammers as she answers in a confused, hopeful tone. 

I sigh. 

This is not how I expected this year to start at all. 

Sure, I expected to make waves. Encouraged it even! If I am popular and attractive, girls tend to fantasize about me more often. That is good for the ol' tummy. 

But 5 Red Court Vampires surrounding me and not letting me leave was certainly not on my to-do list. 

"Can I introduce myself, or are we going to play 20 questions all day?" I ask, starting to feel annoyed at the group now surrounding me. 

"Yeah. Start talking." The spiky-haired man says, crossing his arms and sharing a meaningful look with the shorter girl. 

"With pleasure," I say, smiling widely and giving them a bow, "My name is Samuel Roland Raith. I am from the White Court and am just trying to survive while not drawing attention to myself. If I intruded on your coven's territory, I apologize. I will leave immediately; just let me grab my stuff and-"

"White Court? What the hell are you talking about?" Ross demands with open hostility. 

I sigh once again. "It is no surprise you haven't heard of me or my kind. The Volturi have been hunting us for hundreds of years...I truly mean you no harm. I am just trying to survive in this crazy, fucked up world. Perhaps...Perhaps I should start at the beginning for you all?..." 

***

My name is Samuel Roland Raith. I was born in 1954 and have lived almost my entire life on the run. 

I stand at 6 feet even, have long flowing black hair, and soft emerald eyes. I am the pinnacle of male attractiveness - And that is not just my narcissism at work either. My kind are naturally good-looking, as it helps us with getting potential feeding partners. Even the ugliest of my long-dead family were 8s or 9s on the attractiveness scale and could have been movie stars if they wanted to.

While I don't have bulging muscles like a certain blond-haired, no-brained, idiot in front of me, I do have a lithe and athletically muscular body. The kind you would find on the cover of some trashy novel that a housewife is trying to hide from her kids. 

As stated previously, I am a White Court Vampire. For those unaware, this means I do not feed on blood like those of the Red Court, but rather emotions. For me, a vampire from House Raith, I feed off the emotion of lust. How? Sex. Lots and lots of sex. ...At least, that is how it is for most of my House. I am a bit special. 

The main distinction between me and the group in front of me is that I am far more human than they are. I am also far more attractive, but that may just be my opinion. I was born this way, not turned by a bite, as I assume many of them must be. I can also walk normally in the sunlight without that weird-ass sparkling thing they do. On the flip side, however, I am weaker than them, my senses are duller, I have a huge flaw that can kill me at almost any moment, my feedings are addictive to my prey, and I happen to be on the most wanted list by their Court's leaders.

Or, at least, I was being hunted. I am pretty sure they killed all of the others, and I am the last of my kind. 

So, as long as they think they got us all and don't know about me, I am relatively safe!

My family is all dead, at the Volturi's hand, and I am just trying to live a quiet and peaceful life without causing any problems for anyone. I don't kill humans, and, due to my special ability, I am able to feed without hurting my prey or making them addicted to me either. Hell, the humans aren't even aware I am feeding on them, and the only consequence is that they are slightly hornier for a bit. It is a passive symbiotic relationship! 

How is this possible? 

I can feed off of the lust in an area radius of about 10 meters around me and from multiple targets at once. I am unique in that I don't need to be an active participant in the lustful things people do or think about in order for me to feed off of it. Doing so this way also nearly nullifies the addiction they feel from my feeding since it is actually my skin and bodily fluids that are addictive. It more just feels like a crush or strong attraction with how little I take.

I am meticulously careful with my interactions and have been able to fly under the radar for the past 40 years, going from senior year of high school to college over and over again and feeding off the horny teenagers around me without ever interacting with them. Since I look and smell like a human, even having a working, beating heart, I can slip past most mystical beings with ease as well.

If I was not currently surrounded by 5 Reds, I would never admit these things to anyone...But I rather enjoy being alive, so I will have to make certain concessions and tell them a bit about myself.

Mostly about how I am harmless and they should let me leave. Preferably now!

I just need one second of their guard being down to fix this whole mess.  

***

When I finish my tragic tale, I notice that they all stare at me in shock and saddness.

The spiky-haired guy...is he crying? What the fuck? 

Shit...both he and the pixie girl are crying. Did I do or say something wrong?

"Uh...I'm sorry if I offended you...I will leave tonight. I just need to pack and-"

I am not able to finish my sentence as a short blur rushes towards me and hugs my body tightly.

I tense as I feel the little pixie-like girl clinging to me tightly. I am not usually a fan of people touching me; You know, because of the whole "addictive" thing.

I look down at the short girl hugging me in a vice-like grip and crying even harder as she buries her face into my chest.

"I'm so sorry, Samuel. I am so sorry you have had to live like that..." Alice says, looking up at me with mascara lines running down her pretty face. 

I'm speechless. 

What the hell is this, some sort of joke?

Is she just really emotional? I don't think I told them anything particularly sad...They got the abridged version, after all. 

Why are they looking at me like that?

I look from the girl hugging me up to the other four who look at me with a mixture of pity, shock, and sadness. 

"Um...can someone explain what the fuck is going on, please?" I ask uncertainly.

"It's...it's because of me." The spiky-haired guy says as he wipes his eyes once again, fighting back more tears. "I used my ability. It allows me to experience the feelings and memories attached to your inner thoughts, and I projected those onto the others around me. As you told your story we...we saw everything you have been through. We experienced the Volturi killing your family while you hid under the floorboards as a child; As if we were there with you. We watched the way you have lived in fear and desperation over the last 40 years. We saw you forcing yourself to avoid connections and always being prepared to run... I was so shocked by it all that I kinda let your feelings of grief and loneliness slip through the connection as well...You've lived a tough life, Samuel..."

I blink.

My casual smile falls from my face entirely as his words sink in. 

Then my eyes go wide in shock and panic. 

"You...What!?!" I shout. 

I have done so well.

Hidden so well.

I avoided connections so that I would never encounter this. So that I would never be betrayed and slaughtered like an animal by those monsters. 

Once they were satisfied and let their guards down, I would wipe their minds of ever having met me and run far, far away from here. Now though...There is no way I can wipe that many memories. Especially with the strong emotions they are feeling attached to them. 

No one can know that I'm alive...Otherwise...she will come to finish the job...

Now...After all my hard work and effort...After all the years of hiding and struggling...

He just mind-rapes me and learns it all anyway!?!  

I look down at the girl hugging me and push her away roughly in disgust as I take up a fighting stance. Anger and humiliation were clawing at my psyche. 

Alice stumbles back at my burst of strength, and the honey-blonde Red catches her.

"You had no right," I say through gritted teeth. My eyes turn silver in color, and the temperature around me drops by several degrees as I glare at the spiky-haired idiot.

My ice magic radiates around me like thorny whips, ready at any moment to unleash itself, consequences be damned. 

Emotions I buried deep work their way to the surface. Making me feel things I would very much rather not feel. 

"He's pissed off and scared," The girl who caught Alice says, "Stand down. We are at fault here."

"Samuel...I'm sorry, but I did it to protect my fam-" The inner-memory stealing asshole tries to make excuses. 

"You had no right!" I scream at him again and a torrent of icy wind blasts towards him. It is not an attack but, rather, a magical reaction to my emotional state.

Covering his face against the sudden cold, he yells, "I'm sorry! ...I needed to do it for our protection. The Volturi are not fond of us either, and we are...different from our kind...from what you call The Red Court."  

I glare at him. Anger like nothing I have ever felt before making me want to rip his eyes out, shove them down his throat, and choke him with them.

Then...I sigh shakily and deflate. The cold peters out in the blink of an eye, and I am left hunched over, feeling a sense of tired resignation. 

I lean against the cold bricks of the gymnasium's outer wall and chuckle piteously to myself. 

The 5 Reds stare at me in silence as I start full belly laughing. I slide down the wall once more and curl up into a ball as I cover my eyes with my arm. 

I'm dead.

I can't get away from 5 Reds. I can't kill them. I can't stop them. I can't force them to keep my secret.

They know of my plan to wipe their minds and will never allow it to happen; either they will kill me, or they will turn me over to the Volturi.

There is no other option - Not if they want to avoid being hunted down themselves.

I have nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. This is the end of the line.

'What a shit place to die.' I think, glancing up at the grey storm clouds above as my laughter dies out. 

Once those psychopaths know I'm alive, they will hunt me to the ends of the Earth. All to "Cleanse the bloodline! Kill the pretenders!" 

I can still remember that psycho bitch yelling and screaming shit like that as they burnt my family home to the ground.

As my parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents lay in pools of their own pale red blood.

'I'm sorry everyone...I tried to live as you asked me, but it looks like our kind weren't meant for this world.' I think as my shaking stops and an odd sense of calm washes over me.

"Just make it quick, please," I whisper my last request into the silence around me, still covering my face with an arm to block the tears that now flow freely from my eyes.

It is almost...freeing in a sense. I spent my whole life running and afraid of being caught, and now that I have, I can finally stop worrying.

I can rest. I can breathe.

'Maybe I will even see my family again?'

The tension in my body fully abates as I realize I have been cornered with no possibility of retreat. 

Time to face the music.

Ross nods and steps forward. Emily has a stony expression on her face, but doesn't stop him.

"What are you doing?" The mind rapist demands as Ross approaches me.

"What he asked," Ross says simply.

"You can't just kill him-" 

"We have to, Edwin." The blonde-haired girl interrupts him solemnly, cupping his head in her hands as she explains. "He is wanted by the Volturi. If we let him go, they will kill us. If we harbor him, they will kill us. We could let him wipe our minds, but even that would put our entire family at risk. We have no other choice, and he knows that. The least we can do is make it quick and painless."

"No!" The sudden shout makes the 4 other Reds jump.

A small figure blurs to stand in front of me once again. Alice's small frame looks almost comical as she moves to prevent the giant in front of her from killing me. "You may be right, Janet, but he has done nothing wrong! The Volturi are the ones who hunted and killed his kind without reason! I...I won't let anyone harm him. Not even you, Ross..."

"Get out of the way, Alice! His existence will endanger us all!" Ross shouts as he towers over the girl.

"No!" She growls as she takes a defensive stance over me, her frame becoming almost feral in her defiance. She crouches low, her arms move up and out widely, and her hands are held open like claws ready to rend.

"You can't. He's mine. You will not kill Samuel. You will not kill my mate!" Her eyes blaze with fury as she looks ready to fight to the death over me. 

...

...

...

"Um...What?" I ask, interrupting the pin-drop silence that suddenly took over us all. I look up at the tiny woman standing in front of me from my place on the ground; my defeat pushed aside by the baffling situation I suddenly find myself in.

Ross stops short, a look of incredulous disbelief on his face. One that is mirrored by the others all around.

"Alice...is that...is that what you saw?" Janet asks breathlessly.

She nods, not lowering her defensive posture an inch.

Edwin sighs in relief, pulling Janet into a tight hug as Emily smiles widely at Alice. 

"This changes nothing," Ross says firmly, getting more looks of shock from the others. "Get out of the way, Alice. He is still a threat to-"

"It changes everything." A cool and calm voice refutes Ross from behind the group. 

A man and a woman walk out from the forest adjacent to the back of the gymnasium, their strides slow and confident. 

"Oh, for fucks sake! How many more of you are there!?!" I demand, flabbergasted by the number of these freaky golden-eyed vampires.

I am unceremoniously ignored. 

The man stands at 6'2" with short blonde hair. His eyes share the golden hue of the rest of the group and he wears scrubs and a long white coat. 

Beside him is a beautiful caramel-haired woman standing at 5'6". She wears a simple white and blue dress that would otherwise look quite plain if not for her stunning good looks. She looks at Alice with a gentle smile, but it wilts a bit when she looks down at me. 

"Carlisle, Esme, he is a threat. If we don't kill him, we will be seen as enemies of the Volturi." Janet says quietly with a complicated expression. Edwin frowns at her but doesn't let her go.

"When haven't we been seen as such?" Carlisle says with a shrug and a confident smile.

"This is different! Do you want us to knowingly oppose them? You will doom us all!" Ross yells in anger.

Carlisle raises his hands in a placating gesture. "I am saying we should calm down and discuss this peacefully. Preferably, not behind a very public area filled with teenagers."

Ross snorts and walks back over to Emily, who wraps her arms around him silently. "Fine," he grumbles after seeing Emily's pleading face.

"Samuel, would you please join us? I am sorry to take you out of school on your first day, but I will contact the office and let them know you had an emergency." Carlisle says with a warm smile. 

"Not like I have much of a choice," I grumble, standing again and brushing myself off.

I am wearing simple blue jeans and a black V-neck T-shirt. I quickly check them to make sure the small altercation didn't leave any holes - They are fine if a little distressed. 

Our happy little group starts off around the building towards their cars in the parking lot. They circle me loosely, keeping one eye on me at all times in case I try to make a run for it. 

Alice walks quietly beside me, taking quick glances at my face. 

"Hey, Alice, right? ...What did you mean by 'Your Mate?'" I ask, hoping that was slang for something other than what I think it was. 

The pixie-like girl smiles, squirms a bit in place, and looks down but says nothing else.

"Cool," I say sarcastically as I follow them to their cars and am "politely" forced inside a red Jeep.

'She's not gonna be happy when I turn her down, is she?' I sigh as I get comfortable in my leather seat. It was going to be an uncomfortable ride, so I might as well alleviate what I could. 

So ends the craziest first day of school I have ever had.