CHAPTER 7: When in the library

Sky hurried through the corridor, swerving carefully between the human teenagers. She had to hide. Our safety and sanity depended on it. Ever since Kale's short declaration of love to her in the cafeteria two weeks ago, almost the whole male population at the tiny school were chasing after her for a fraction of her attention. Apparently, once the most popular kid in school showed interest in you, so did everyone else. The boys weren't the only trouble she had. Most of the girls now hated her. But, she didn't need human friends, she never did.

Her sigh of relief could be heard across the school compound and a hearty chuckle from Edward followed not long after. Sky gritted her teeth and she both pushed her feet and tried to appear human, leading herself towards the darkest part of the library. It was already small, but the diluted human scents told her that not many used the room.

Her relief, however was clipped when she saw the source of her problems. Kale sat silently on the floor, his head buried in a book. She caught the title from the few meters away, where she stood.

'Sleep disorder?' she thought as she peered at the young man. He hadn't noticed her standing there, his attention solely on the book in front of him.

He huffed, dropping the book on the floor and scrubbing his face harshly with his hands.

Sky sucked in a long breath and walked up to him, she was angry and no matter what she was going to tell him her mind. But as she grew closer, she noticed the dark circles around his eyes and the smell of salt.

'Was he crying?'

He looked up just in time to see her rush past the bookshelves that were hiding him away. She didn't look at him, instead she focused on the breathing exercises that Jasper had taught her.

She found a cubicle quickly and lightly dropped her bag to the ground, as she pulled out her text from the bag. She knew that he was leaning around the corner to spy on her, but she kept her eyes plastered on the book.

The library was made for studying, so that's what she intended to do. No matter how strong his godforsaken scent was. Or how tempting his irregular heartbeat was. She'd already familiarized herself with its rhythm and tempo, much to her chagrin.

Damn you Edward! She shouted harshly in her mind, and yet again she could hear his chuckle from his classroom, no matter how soft it was.

She could tell exactly were each of her new siblings were, depending on their proximity to her. They were all in school so finding them was easy. Her auditory senses capable of hearing further than the vampires she now lived with. Emmett and Rosalie, were making out, in a broom closet in the west wing of the school, Bella's class was close to it, she was writing, the scratches could be heard. Alice and Jasper were mumbling to each other, they were sharing a class. She was the only one who had a free period and she'd usually use it to sit outside in the fresh air, but her newfound fans made that difficult.

"Is there something wrong with me?" the deep voice drawing her attention away from the conversation between Jasper and Alice.

She looked up to see Kale sneering down at her, his arms folded in front of him.

"I don't know you, so how can I know?" her answer was brief and clipped of all emotion.

"Is there something wrong with you then?" he asked, his tone seeming edgy and temperamental. He wasn't this moody when she'd first spoken to him on her arrival, what had changed? It couldn't have been her rejecting his proposition of dating her, that possibility seemed preposterous to her. He hadn't spoken to her since she refused his advances.

"Probably. But might I ask, why you think so?" she asked, mirth dancing in her mind. She had managed to anger the human, against her knowledge and she didn't know why that excited her.

"I'm Kale Masen. You refused to go on a date with me."

She narrowed her eyes at him, all mirth vanished from them, "As I said, I don't know you and from what I'm hearing now, you're conceited and I have little patience to have affiliations with someone like you."

He frowned and exhaled through his mouth, rubbing his face again, "I'm sorry. I'm being an ass. I just find it strange…you not wanting me…"

Sky couldn't believe she was having this conversation, it disturbed her. How can one boy think himself so highly? He needed to be knocked down a few pegs.

"I'm confused by this conversation. Would you mind explaining why you think I'm obligated to fall head over heels for you?"

"I don't…you're not obligated to like me. I don't even know why I allowed that scene in the cafeteria to happen." He groaned and dropped himself on the floor again, this time closer to Sky and facing her. He pulled at his hair and closed his eyes.

"Maybe you're an attention whore?" Sky blurted out. Her eyes bulged and her hands snapped to her mouth, hoping that she hadn't just said that.

Kale opened his eyes and chuckled when he saw the girl's expression. She was ashamed of calling him out on exactly what he was doing, "Oh, it was confirmed that I am one."

"Why do you need attention then? What's wrong with just staying in the shadows and observing?" Sky asked in a light tone, turning to reread the chapter she had just gone through.

"When your days are numbered, you try to get as much attention as you can." He muttered quietly, not caring if she heard him or not.

"I disagree. If you have limited time, shouldn't you try to make people like you because you were genuinely nice? Instead of leaving a trail of broken hearted girls behind you? Or, by doing the things you love? And I don't mean people." She offered him a side smirk.

He laughed softly at her comment and nodded, "And smart too. You only have yourself to blame when I fall in love with you, like every cliché teen movie out there."

She frowned, "You don't know me Kale, so how can you fall in love with me?"

He mirrored her frown, "Yeah, I sound like a creeper. I'm really sorry if I'm creeping you out. You seem like a nice girl and you're related to Isabella, so by default, you're hot. I figured, since you're single I could worm my way into the life of the rich and famous." He couldn't believe he'd just said that out loud. And from her shocked expression she seemed just as surprised by his confession.

"So, you only wanted a shot at me because I was lucky enough to get accepted into a rich family?" she half-snarled at him. For a brief moment she thought the guy was half way decent, "You, Kale Masen, are a complete asshole. And the world would be a better place when it's rid of you."

She grabbed her things and rushed out of the library. She heard his intake of breath and him mutter, "I know." Before she walked out the door, only to be stopped by two large arms that would have been strong were they not human.

She growled loudly and elbowed the person roughly, hearing the snap from his ribs breaking. She didn't care at the moment, her outburst in the library had swirled something inside of her. She hadn't meant to say it, but the human infuriated her. Then this fool had to cop a feel, she'd wanted to shock him, but decided against it.

The person grunted and screamed just as he hit the ground. She backed up and turned to find a bulking boy, almost the size of Emmett, curled in a ball on the ground. People ran out of classrooms when they heard his howls of pain. She's backed herself into a locker, clutching her bag to her chest tightly. She looked down at the boy, but all she saw was the face of that vile monster from her past.

'I killed you!' she thought harshly. But the face of the boy, didn't belong. She knew that, her vampire mind allowing her that much comfort. She saw Edward appear in front of her, he cupped her cheeks and turned her eyes to him, Bella was beside him as well.

"What happened?" Bella asked, looking between the hollering boy and her new vampire sister.

"He grabbed me from behind and I…" she trailed off, glancing at the boy who was now surrounded by teachers.

"She defended herself." Edward finished, wrapping her in a hug and turning them to the questioning teachers. Sky briefly heard Edward explain to the teachers, they seemed to believe him, her panicked demeanor convincing them. With strong words of discipline they scolded the boy while calling on the nurse and attending to him.

As Edward pulled her away, she got a glimpse at Kale as he shoved through the crowd, heading towards her.

I have to get out of here! She thought quickly to Edward, who nodded and rushed them to the office, as instructed by a teacher.


"It's all being taking care of Sky. Carlisle attending to the human, free of cost, the school's going to take disciplinary actions against him and he won't be allowed near you." Edward said, glancing at her through the rear view mirror.

She rolled her eyes, "He's lucky I did fracture his spine. What is wrong with human males these days? It's like they have no respect for women."

"I have to agree with you on that subject." Bella chuckled.

"What caused him to do that anyways?" Skylar asked, staring absently out the window.

"He was high, if you believe that. He saw you and Kale in the library and it triggered something. As you are aware, you're the ultimate prize at the school right now. Every male wants to be with you, which only makes staying off the radar difficult."

"I should have left when I first got here." Sky muttered, exhaling silently.

Edward eye's snapped to look at her through the mirror again, "No, you are not leaving Skylar. But you might have to leave the school."

"Homeschooling." Bella said with a frown.

Skylar grinned, "I don't mind that at all."


"No homeschooling. It's the experience that she needs. She was turned at such a young age and had to leave school. She should enjoy it." Carlisle soft but firm voice said.

"After today's events? Carlisle, I think Skylar should stay home. She has exceptional control, but putting her in situations where she's that close to her singer is torture." Esme protested, gripping her mate's hand as he shifted gears, hurrying to get home.

His temper was rarely tested and he was a gentle soul, but after treating the human that forced himself on Skylar, even if he had no way of succeeding, had tried his patience. The girl had gone through enough. She'd been with them for a little over three months, but she was by far the youngest, besides Renesmee, in the family. She was a baby. And her past was already filled with too many ghosts. Skylar had finally been able to trust his family enough to tell them about her abuse, after Rose had mentioned her own to her. But, even so, he wanted Skylar to actually experience high school, find its wonders and faults. An experience she was not allowed in her human life. He'd come to look at the girl as a daughter, much like Rose, Alice and Bella. But she was the baby and even though he wanted to protect her, he knew that the decision to keep her home wouldn't be healthy for her.

"We'll leave the decision up to her."


A few weeks later, Sky found herself in the familiar place of education. She thought she could handle being away, but strangely she'd miss the routine of school. It tempered her. And even though she'd see both Kale and the idiot human, whose name she'd refused to learned, she felt relaxed. Kale ignored her as much as she ignored him. They pass each other in the hall every day, but didn't give any indication of noticing each other.

She saw him though. She saw every detail of him, which only bothered her more. The circles under his eyes were getting deeper, they looked almost hollow. In class, he'd excuse himself at least five times. She knew he was taking his medications. But, it was clear to her, he was dying. And yet again, the knowledge of his life dwindling away bothered her.

Against her will, her eyes found Kale's as they sat in the cafeteria. He sat alone, something he'd been doing for a while. She didn't know when exactly, and she didn't want to ask any of her vampire siblings, but after she'd returned to school she'd noticed his change in behaviour.

"He's isolating himself because he doesn't want to 'leave a trail of broken hearts'." Edward said to her from across the table. The others continued to ignore them. Kale was the first to look away, focusing instead on the book in front of him.

"Sky, the more you fight it the harder it becomes. You know you want to go talk to him. Just go already." Edward said quietly to her.

She looked at him, frowning, 'Not a good idea. I don't want to become attached. Like you.' She thought gesturing to Bella.

"Best thing that ever happened to me." he chuckled, hugging Bella as he did so.

Sky shook her head and rested her chin in her palm, her elbowed propped up on the table, she looked back to Kale, wondering what he was reading and if it was the same book on sleep disorders that she had seen him with in the library.

"No. He thinks he's hallucinating." Edward commented.

"Will you stop that?" Sky growled at him.

"Not until you go over there." He teased and she narrowed her eyes.

"How are you two related anyways?" she asked changing the subject.

"Hm…his great great great grandfather was my uncle. My father's brother. Now, go."

"You really should go Sky." Alice commented, "He might need a nice person like you in his life right now."

"He has dozens of crazy girls for that Alice." Sky rolled her eyes.

"But none of them would have any effect on him. There is no harm in talking to him Skylar. He is dying. No worries."

Skylar was out her seat in seconds, she didn't like it when both Alice and Edward teamed up on her. The made an annoyingly good team. She fidgeted with the strap of her bag as she moved towards the table not so far from her.

Her movements were elegant as she pushed a chair back and sat opposite the human boy.

He didn't look up at her, keeping his eyes plastered on the book, "That seat's taken."

"I won't stay long."

At her voice, his head snapped up, he masked his surprise well, "Here to throw in some more insults?"

"It's not an insult if it's true." She had to stay calm, something she kept reminding herself of.

"You said it yourself, you don't know me, so how can you know whether some things true or not?" he leaned back on his chair, folding his arms in front of him.

She drew her eyes away from his chest, his heart rate was fluctuating again, temptingly so, "Look, I didn't come over here to argue with you."

"Why are you here?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"To say I'm sorry. What I said to you in the library, about the world being a better place without you, I was out of line. I didn't…mean it. You have this outstanding ability to piss me off."

"You said you were here to apologize." He said pointedly, raising and eye brow.

She sighed loudly and looked up at him, "I'm sorry."

He looked at her for a long time, his lips held in a tight line, "I'm sorry too. What I told you in the library, I didn't mean that either. It was something that someone told me and I repeated it because I didn't know how to answer you."

"What would you have said instead then?" she asked, genuinely curious.

He paused, then smirked, "The comment about you being hot still stands. But, I would have said. That in the short moments that I've spoken to you, I find you to be pleasant company."

She smiled softly, "You sound like you just recited a turn of the century novel. And stop calling me hot. No respectful young woman likes to be referred to as 'hot'."

"Beautiful then?" He smiled, leaning forward to look at the book again.

"Better." She chuckled.

They remained silent for a while, him reading and her twisting her head to the side to get a view of his book. She didn't realize that she'd leaned forward, pressing herself closer to get a better view of the book.

Why was he reading about 'hallucinations'?

It was until he cleared his throat that she looked up from the book and found their faces to be less than a foot away. She pulled back immediately, uttering her apology.

"It's okay Sky, relax." He chuckled.

She looked at him in surprise, "You called me 'Sky'."

"I did?" he asked his eyes showing his confusion, "You don't mind do you?"

"No, it's not that. Only my family calls me that."

"What about your friends? Don't they have nicknames for you?"

"I don't have friends." She said simply, in a flat tone. She never remembered having friends, under than Jason. But, she'd only spoken to him once. Even so, the brief recollection of that memory caused her to shut her eyes and groan.

"You okay?" Kale's voice was full of concern, she noted, much like Jason's in the girl's bathroom that day.

"Fine." Was her quick response, her eyes flew open. He was leaning across the table, reaching out to her, filling her air space with his spicy scent. His finger tips lightly brushed her forehead, but the heat was neither scalding nor uncomfortable. She liked the feeling she noted and she wanted to slap herself.

"You're freezing." He muttered quietly. So quietly it was almost nonexistent.

She absently clasped her hand over her forehead, an attempt to preserve the soothing feeling that his touch caused, "I am." She stated, "Well, heartless people usually are."

He scoffed, "You, heartless. Right?"

She shrugged but smiled, "I know. I'm too darn sweet to be heartless. Well, that's what Jasper usually says."

She wondered why she'd mentioned something so personal. But decided she'd worry about that later. She liked to talk to Kale. He may be an ass, but he was nice to talk to. She liked the idea of having a friend outside the family. Even if said friend was a constant tempting morsel, waiting for her to sink her teeth in him, or if he was dying. She found her heart aching at that thought. She didn't want to lose a friend so suddenly, again.

"Jasper's the blond guy, right?" Kale asked, looking up at the ceiling and tapping the table.


"They treat you well?"

Her eyebrows furrowed at his question, "Yes."

"You're lucky. Not many people get foster parents that are genuinely nice."

An uncomfortable silence filled the air and just as Skylar was about to blurt her question at him, the bell rang.

She stood, just as he did, "It was a pleasure talking to you Kale."

He offered her a wide grin, "It was a pleasure talking to you too. Sky…"

She smiled then, "Do you mind if we talk again?"

"Oh, so now you want to hang out with me?" he playfully accused her as they walked towards class, one they shared.

"Shut up." She pouted. He made it too easy to be around him. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to dislike this human.

"Sure, we can hang out again, how about tomorrow at lunch?" he asked as they took seats beside each other, the world around them almost disappearing.

Skylar smiled, finding herself hoping for that time to come faster, "Great."

"So, we're friends now?" He asked, not bothering to dull his bright smile.

"Yes, we are friends now." She easily mirrored his exuberate smile, lightly patting his shoulder.

"Oh My God! Oh My God! Oh My God! Oh My God! That is so, totally, awesome." He proclaimed, in a very feminine voice, while fanning himself. They both laughed stiffly, when the teacher shushed them.

It's been ages, I know. And I'm very sorry. I can't make promises that it won't take long for me to upload again though.

So here are some faces to go with the names…

Skylar: Nicola Peltz (ignore the story cover with Phoebe Tonkin)

Kale: Douglas Booth ('love him)

Jason: Lucas Till