Chapter 3

Star had soon adjusted to life in Forks. She made friends with Bella, Angela, Jessica, and Mike, who all accepted her as one of their own. She had developed a close relationship with the Cullens, especially Alice, and except Edward, who always talked to her in a polite but distant way.

Yet there seemed to be something wrong with Forks, and with the Cullens.

She had noticed the little things first—the way they never ate, the unnatural grace, the coldness of their skin, and how their eyes seemed to change color after each camping trip. Then came the bigger things—Edward's speed, Alice's uncanny predictions, Emmett's inhuman strength.

The Cullens seemed to be keeping a secret, a huge secret that is greatly important, and she wondered what it was.

The answer came to her on a weekend. The Cullens went on their family camping, as usual, and left her in the house. But when they returned, with gold eyes instead of black ones, she noticed that there were spots of blood on Alice's jacket. Before she could say it out loud, Edward had moved swiftly in front of Alice, who took her jacket off with one smooth motion.

"It seems that they're reacting to my thoughts, but how can it be possible?"Star thought to herself, but she noticed that Edward was looking at her tensely, so she didn't finish the thought.

The next day, Star received a call from Bella, inviting her to visit. She agreed happily, borrowed Carlisle's car, and drove to Bella's.

The girls chatted about the books they read, the stories they had heard, and their favorite authors. Eventually, they began talking about mythical creatures. "I think vampires are more likely to be true than werewolves."Bella explains, "people will notice if their friends always vanishes during the full moon." "but wouldn't people notice if there are a lot of disappearances? And what about the red eyes? That can't be easily hidden. "Star argued, "Let's look up more information online, shall we?"

To their surprise, there were lots of different tales of vampires around the world. She couldn't help noticing that the stories have a lot in common with the Cullens. A crazy idea formed in her head--what if the Cullens weren't humans?