The spare room in Chief Swann's house was smaller than the other two bedrooms on the second floor. Chaney only had to glance at the doors to theorise on the layout. It had room enough for a single bed, a desk and a chest of drawers. Pale wood painted white but scratched in places to expose the grain beneath. A few shelves on the walls were empty and dusty. The walls were a pale worn yellow and the bed covers were grey and patterned with leaves. When Chaney looked in the drawers all he found was dust and the occasional spider or two.

The windows beside the bed looked out towards the back of the house. The overgrown garden full of weeds and the forest beyond. The house was situated on a street on teetering on the outskirts of town. Still in town but towards the edges where the forest dipped it's fingers and curled it's roots. Chaney had grown up in the forest. He knew it's darkness but two years away from it left it feeling almost new. He stared at it through the window and wondered what had changed.

He set the bags containing his new clothing down on the bed along with the small bag of toiletries Chief Swann had brought him. Three t-shirts, a hoodie, a jumper and two more pairs of trousers. All from a the town's thrift store and a new pack of underwear and socks. The only thing Chaney had brought was a second hand pair of black leather boots. They would be painful to wear in but he would need them as the weather moved into winter. He would need a winter coat as well but it was agreed that one would be found if he moved in with a foster family. If not, Charlie would find one for him.

The toiletries were simple things. Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, a three in one body wash and a moisturiser. Nothing different than what he'd had in juvie. He laid them out on his bed next to his clothes and his new backpack. For a second he just stared at them as he remembered all the things he had left in his childhood bedroom. Not that it mattered. He would not get them back.

A knock caused him to turn as Charlie entered. The man looked a bit uncomfortable with having him in the house and he wondered wether it was the fact that he now had someone else living in the house, or if he had news. The man coughed and fidgeted before he spoke. "I've contacted one of the foster homes but they cannot take you. There are two more in town I can reach out to. If worst comes to worst, I shall reach out to the Cullens".

Chaney did not recognise the name. "Cullens? They new? Who would move to our desolate town?" The second question was murmured under his breath.

"Yeah moved here about two years ago now. Doctors Carlisle and his family. They have three adopted teenagers and two fostered. They're not looking to foster again but I could try asking them".

"Don't", Chaney muttered. "Who would want a nearly eighteen year old who just came out of juvie?"

"Speaking of juvie, we need to set some ground rules", Charlie began, voice taking on his no nonsense police chief tone that was far more familiar than his awkward almost fatherly voice. Chaney relaxed and began rummaging in the shopping bags for his school supplies.

"You have more of a history of vandalism than dealing. So I will search your room daily at different times to make sure that you have no drugs. You will also have a curfew. You must be back here by nine pm. That is when I will call the landline and you must pick up. If you miss this then I will call Aberdeen. Also, if you are caught stealing, or vandalising, or burning anything down again then you are going straight back into lock up. Understood?"

Chaney hummed and nodded as he set out a series of notebooks and a few pens. He began trying to fit them in the backpack as well.

"Charles Shakerly". The name made him look up.

"I understand. Jeez", he scowled.

Charlie relaxed slightly. "Alright. While you are here you are to respect my house. You are to keep the space clean and tidy. No inviting people over. I am going to be working a lot so let me know if groceries get low and I will pick some up. Once you've proved yourself trustworthy enough I may start providing you an allowance. But that is only if you end up staying here long term".

Chaney met the man's gaze, face blank and tone uncaring. "Understood".

"You are starting school tomorrow. I will give you a lift in the morning but you shall have to get the bus back. I know it's a Thursday tomorrow but I cannot have you at home by yourself. My daughter arrives on Saturday. If you are a danger to her anyway then you will be straight back in juvie. Understood?" This word was the most forceful yet.

"Understood", Chaney intoned. He turned his face back to the window.

Charlie nodded and left the room. As soon as the door clicked shut and the footsteps had disappeared downstairs, Chaney moved towards the desk. It took a bit of strength and some awkward lifting to move it in front of the door, successfully blocking it. Then he began pushing the bed into the corner of the room. It left grooves on the carpet but he supposed that Charlie could deal.

The final thing he did was push his backpack just under the frame, leaving it within reach but just out of sight. He stood in the centre of the room surveying his handiwork for a moment before kicking off his trousers and climbing beneath the covers. The bed creaked, iron frame old and springs sagging yet it was far more comfortable than his last bed had been. He pressed his back to the wall and curled himself up in the duvet. Eyes watching the moonlight light up his room until he managed to drift into an uneasy sleep.

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He could feel the eyes on him as soon as the cruiser pulled up at the parking lot entrance. He pulled the hood of his new hoodie over his hair and blinked up at the dreary sky. It was drizzling. A miserable wet rain that was never heavy enough to be classed as actual rainfall. It made the Forks Highschool look even more prison like. It was almost as grey as the juvenile facility he had just left. He had attended for a year before he had gotten arrested. It was surreal to be back.

"Alright. Go to the office. They will be expecting you", Charlie stated. "And Chaney?" He called as Chaney opened the car door. "Remember what I said".

"I so much as breathe wrong and I am being sent back to juvie", Chaney recited. "I get it". The door slammed behind him and the cruiser pulled away from the curb.

Instantly the whispers started up. Teenagers huddling together to comment on the newest appearance. Chaney shouldered his backpack that contained everything he owned and started walking. A few people swerving out of his way as he marched across the concrete. As he walked, his eyes picked up a jeep parked close to the school. It was a new model, something he might have tried to break into two years ago. It stood out with how new and shiny it was compared to the second hand vehicles surrounding it. Even the grey Volvo that seemed newer than the rest of them.

But what drew his eye more than the jeep were the people surrounding it. There was five of them stood around the jeep and the Volvo. Two blondes. Male and female with pale skin and high cheekbones. Male with his long hair dusting his collar bones while the female's was tied back in a long ponytail. She had a cold distasteful expression and was dressed like she was a teen model at H&M. The male was wearing clothes more befitting a boy in church with his ridged shirt collar and his neat knitted jumper. He looked so visibly uncomfortable that Chaney moved his eyes on to the rest of them.

Next to the blonde man stood a tiny girl with short cut dark wavy hair. Her eyes were bright against her skin as she stared back at Chaney with a slight smile on her face. Something about her flowy dress and floral patterned tights reminded him of a fairy. Her petite structure and big eyes did not help the image. The way she was staring back at him was a bit too see through. Like she knew things about him. He did not like it and moved his eyes on.

The boy next to the pixie girl was the tallest of them. He was the broadest of them too but had a boyish head of brown curls. The fact that the was dressed in stylish gym wear did not help the jock aura he was portraying. As Chaney watched, the boy turned and smirked. The dimple in his cheek did not make the look any less threatening.

Chaney glanced at the last of them. It was another male. This one shorter than the others, around Chaney's own height. His skin was as pale as the blonde's but his hair was a ruffled bronze shade that hung around his sharp cheekbones. He was leaner than the curly haired boy but for some reason he seemed more dangerous despite the less commanding presence. It was in the eyes, Chaney guessed. He had seen enough boys in Juvie to figure out what danger signals were all for show and which ones were the true monsters. The blonde boy screamed danger but the bronze haired one had something else about him. Something Chaney couldn't put his tongue on and wasn't sure if he wanted to figure out.

The bronze haired boy turned and their eyes caught across the carpark. Then he flinched and moved back towards the others. The pixie girl reaching for his arm. Chaney inwardly rolled his eyes and kept walking. He should have guessed that the rumours would have spread. Everyone was afraid of the convict. No surprise there.

He did not know then, too busy psyching himself up for the school day, that fear was not in the bronze boy's eyes. He should have recognised it. Had seen fear enough times. But he had not, instead categorising the danger signals going off in his chest for anxiety. By the time he realised far too late that he was not the dangerous one, he was already entangled in it all.

------------------

"Chaney", a female voice greeted as he stared at his locker. He was already exhausted from the second long speech about rules and what should happen if he break them from the principle that he had ignored the girl making her way towards him through the crowd.

"That's me", he rolled his head to face her and paused. "Dawn?"

The girl grinned around her lollipop stick. It was a familiar smile despite the black lipstick. Before he had left, she had been the glasses wearing catholic girl. Now she was dressed entirely in black interspersed with chains and rips and mesh. Her boots made her almost as tall as he was and her short black hair hung around her jaw. "Juvie made you hot", she commented. "Better clothes and girls will be falling for the bad boy".

"And what happened to you? Demonic possession?" He retorted.

"Nope. Just daddy issues, newfound lesbianism and a messy divorce", another familiar voice interjected.

Chaney turned and crossed his arms as he regarded Andy with a narrowed eyed glare. "Andy".

The boy held up his hands apologetically. "Hey hey don't punch me please. I brought a peace offering". He grabbed for his bag and began rummaging through it before producing a set of headphones and an old iPod. "Here. You wanted it before you got caught. If I give you this then you forget about me handing you to Chief Swann".

Chaney swiped the device and slung the headphones around his neck as he powered the white box on. "Give me a charger and I'll consider it forgotten". Andy held out a cable and he grabbed it, stuffing it into his backpack.

"So, friends?" Andy asked nervously, hands out almost defensively.

"Nope", Chaney popped as he turned back to Dawn. "And what do you want?"

"Eric and Angelia are writing a whole article about your return for the school paper. I suggest you avoid cameras for a while cause any photo is going to end up right on the front page". She sounded entertained by the idea.

"So you're following me for the amusement?" Chaney clarified.

"Yep". She mimicked his previous tone against Andy.

Chaney began walking towards his classroom and ignored the fact that Andy was following him. Dawn keeping pace beside him as the crowds parted for him as if he was some carrier of infectious disease. "What songs are on here?" He tossed the question over his shoulder.

"Things I remember you liking", Andy voiced back. "Deftones. Linkin Park. Nirvana. The cranberries. Dark depressing stuff".

Chaney let out a pleased hum as he tucked the iPod into his pocket. "Do you have art with Mrs Fadein first?" Dawn asked.

He pulled the crumpled piece of paper that held his timetable and glanced at it. "Seems so".

"Cool. Sit next to me".

Chaney peered at her. "Why?"

"Cause you'll keep the arseholes away", Andy piped. Dawn rolled her eyes and fished two more lollipops from her pocket. She held them out to Chaney first and he picked the apple. She tossed the second back at Andy, who scrabbled for it. "Cola? Yes!"

"Cause you're cool", She stated.

"Am I?"

"Yeah. You helped me set fire to my ex's clothes. Very cool. The juvie thing? Even better". She smirked at him and Chaney found himself smirking back.

"It seems you grew a back bone Dawn".

"It was overdue".

Chaney was trying to remember the way to the art room when Andy reached around and grabbed him by the shoulder. The sudden unexpected touch made him flinch and he drove his elbow back. Andy letting out a sharp oof at the impact. "Hey!" He wheezed as he leaned back against the wall. "I was just going to warn you man".

"Don't touch me without asking first", Chaney growled, grabbing him by the corner and pining him to the painted brick. "Or I'll fuck you up. You hear me?"

"Noted!" Andy yelped. His hand rubbing at the forming bruise in his ribcage. "Jeez man", he complained as Chaney let go. "I was just going to move you out of the way". He winced pathetically as a group of people brushed past.

Chaney turned and saw the group who he had spotted in the carpark. They didn't so much as walk down the hallway as glide as if in one of those slo-mo adverts. The blonde girl and the curly haired boy went first, commanding the hallway like it was a red carpet. Then the blonde man and the pixie girl. She was almost dancing. Her hand interlocked with his as they followed the couple in front. The whole hall full of teenagers watching them.

The bronze boy followed up the rear. As he passed his eyes slid over Chaney in a way reminiscent of guard's, checking for danger. The seconds seemed to slow down as there was a flash of gold and bronze eyelashes as their gaze met for the second time in an hour. Chaney stared right back defiantly. Brown meeting gold. Then the bronze haired boy's lips twitched into a small smirk. Something in his eyes felt almost hungry. Emotions coiled in Chaney's gut, exhilaration, danger, anger, insult. All of it writhing so much that it threatened to choke him.

Then the moment was over. The seconds returned to normal speed and the bronze boy was turning away. His feet carrying him away down the corridor as Chaney stared at his retreating back. Skin prickling like he had just narrowly avoided being hit by a car. "They're new", he commented with a frown.

"They're the Cullens", Dawn scowled.

"Yeah. Whole family moved to the area just before you got arrested. So you wouldn't have met them", Andy explained, perking up at the opportunity. "The dad is a doctor and the mom does charity work I think. Either way, they adopted there of them and fostered the other two. But they're all dating".

"Yeah", Dawn hummed. "Rosalie, the blonde girl, she's dating Emmet. He's the one built like a truck. Then there's Alice and Jasper. He's not very talkative. Seems to have social anxiety or something. Guy always looks overwhelmed or in pain. Alice is nice though".

"And the last one?" Chaney prompted.

"Edward", Andy responded. "Girls throw themselves at him but he doesn't seem interested. Doesn't seem interested in boys either. Bit antisocial actually. They all are. They don't leave their little pack. Imagine dating your foster siblings?" He scoffed.

"Andy", Chaney huffed.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up. Whatever they do is none of our business". With that, he set off again towards his classroom. Dawn and Andy following like two different shadows.

unedited

Introduction of the vamps. Chaney has no idea what he has gotten himself into.

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