Pierce, Theo Pierce.

Theo gasped and it was only by the grace of his newly enhanced reflexes that he didn't crash the car he was behind the wheel of. It was going 90 and Theo was more than sure that was way over speed limit - even so, he didn't slow down. He accelerated. While his head was a little fuzzy; he realized he had to get as far away from Forks as he could.

He knew eventually the Cullens or even the Denali's would find him, but he needed that to be after he had established an identity separate from Edward Cullen. After he had time to ensure that claiming to be an Amnesiac Hybrid would be plausible.

Two weeks would be acceptable but something like six months would be more like it. He knew how to avoid vampires that couldn't go out in the sunlight.

In fact, it was all too easy - go somewhere sunny.

It would normally take 16 hours to get to California from Forks by car, but it would be so much less with how fast the Volvo he was driving went. With that in mind, Theo simply turned on the radio and sped up to 110; completely ignorant to the panicked Cullens he was leaving behind when Alice was no longer able to see Edward's future.

--- 000 --- 000 --- 000 --- 000 --- 000

As soon as Theo parked his car and got out to refill his gas tank - he immediately checked the backseats and the trunk. From his knowledge, the Cullens were always packed with emergency packs so they could go as soon as Edward said they needed to go. Hell, Bella was able to find the money to pay Jason Jenks and fill an entire backpack with stacks on stacks of cash just lying around in random places inside their house.

To them, money was no different than a piece of paper. They needed it to keep up appearances but if they chose too, they could go without it and they had way more than they needed.

With that in mind, it was no surprise he found a duffel bag filled with stacks of cash. Three separate bags with different currencies; a zip lock bag with passports and IDs, and even information on who exactly to go to in different states to create new ones on the fly. Edward was clearly no dumbass - even if he was way too broody and controlling for Theo's tastes.

Grabbing the Duffle bag filled with American currency - he brought it to the front seat with him. Filled the tank completely and then continued driving until he got to LA.

--- 000 --- 000 --- 000 --- 000 --- 00 --00 --

The Omni Los Angeles Hotel was his stop as soon as he got to LA. It was strange that he felt no fatigue, no achy soreness in his arms or legs from the long drive. He was sure he could have repeated the same exact drive, on an empty stomach no less and been just fine. Even so, Theo parked and got out of the car.

The Hotel was beautiful, and he knew he was underdressed; though he had no clothes to remedy that fact, he would sort it out tomorrow. Grabbing his duffle bag he headed inside, quickly spotting the receptionist desk.

"Welcome to the Omni Los Angeles Hotel." The Receptionist spoke in a boredly robotic voice without looking up. "Do you need to book ... a... room?" Her voice trailed off as her eyes finally looked up at him. Her brown eyes widened comically; her lips parting open slightly.

He could get used to that reaction. He smiled widely at her, politely and her eyes widened further. "I'd like a room please; I didn't make a reservation ahead of time.... will that be a problem?"

It took her a few seconds and a cleared throat from a female standing about three feet away from her to answer. "Uh- uh - N-No! No, problem at all. One second, please."

"Take your time." He leaned slightly on the counter, choosing to look at the inside of the hotel. Just like on the outside it was beautiful and expensive. More than one person glanced in his direction while he stood there minding his own business and he fought the urge to smirk; instead pretending to be oblivious to their eyes.

He had always been attractive, had always received attention, but this was new. Not uncomfortable though; if anything, it inflated his already too large ego. He puffed his chest out a little and heard a dreamy sigh from several women across the room.

Fighting a much larger smile, he turned his attention back toward the receptionist. Janine was her name.

"Will anyone be joining you...?" She tried to ask nonchalantly but he could hear the displeasure in her voice at the thought. It caused him to tilt his head minutely.

"No, just a room for one. King bed if you could."

She nodded and the tension in her shoulders relaxed. It was fascinating to see the small changes in her posture and behavior regarding him. Things he would never have noticed when he was human.

As he thought it, he inhaled deeply and resisted releasing a deep groan - he could smell the intoxicating aroma of blood in the air. It was as if it was hitting him all at once; like he had forgotten he was a vampire and now that he remembered, the blood was calling to him.

It was strong and arousing; he could feel his fangs twitch as his mouth watered. He swallowed down his reaction, he'd need to feed before the night was over.

"We have one deluxe suite available with a single king bed - that'll be 300 a night..." She trailed off uncertainly, probably going off how underdressed he was, but continued when he didn't blink at the price. "How long do you plan on staying?"

He hummed, "I'm new to town and have yet to find a place...so I'll go with two weeks for now." And with that he opened his duffle bag - ignoring the way she stared wide eyed at the cash he pulled out. The money in the bag was, contrary to his original belief, stacks of 100s not 20s.

How nice it was to steal the body of a disgustingly rich vampire. He pulled out 4500 and handed it to her.

"Keep the change, Janine." He smiled at her and loved the way her eyes glazed over as she stared at him. The slight blush in her cheeks that made the pleasant aroma of her blood (honey, spice and arousal) that much more prominent. He leaned forward and watched the way her body swayed toward his - her nostrils flaring as she smelled him. Did he smell as the vampires of Twilight did? Was he as Intoxicating to her as she was to him, albeit for different reasons?

"You - You know my name?" She whispered with a deep breath and a harsh swallow as she handed him his room key.

He released a low and seductive chuckle. "It's on your name tag." He purred lowly with a wink before he turned and made his way toward his room.

Hearing a squeaked, 'Enjoy your stay!' before he left.

Oh yeah - he could get used to this.

--- 000 --- 000 --- 000 --- 000 ---0 00 --- 000 --- 000 --- 000 --- 000

In his hotel room, the first thing Theo did was check out his own reflection. It didn't occur to him that wishing to be a Hybrid would enhance his looks - he already loved the way he looked but there he was.

Simply more than he was before.

His emerald, green eyes were smoldering in a way he knew had captivated Janine from the first glance. His hair had much more vibrancy; not a knot or imperfect curl in place. He would continue his moisturizing routine, but he was sure he no longer needed it.

His muscles were even more defined; his body bulkier and more stock but in an attractive way that he was sure humans would not be able to resist. Truly, he looked sculpted out of clay - made to perfection. Adonis would be jealous of Theo; of that he had no doubts.

His lips looked more blood red than he was used too but before, where he would need to ensure he wore ChapStick often to keep them that way; now they were smooth, and flawless. Even after 8 hours in a car with the windows open and the wind hitting him square in the face.

His smile shined, as if a visible twinkle could be seen while his teeth were a bleach white that no human could hope to achieve without cosmetic help. His canines were sharper, not revealing his fangs and humans wouldn't be able to detect the difference but he could tell they were quite a few inches longer than he was used too.

His face no longer showed the normal imperfections associated with humanity. Even a handsome or beautiful face wasn't immune to blackheads or pimples. Though as he continued to scan himself, there was not a blemish, a freckle, a pimple in sight.

Chuckling to himself, he knew he was right before - he could definitely get used to this life.

--- 000 --- 000 --- 000 --- 000 ---0 00 --- 000 --- 000 --- 000 --- 000

Four months later ....

One of the first things Theo did was create a new identity for himself; ensuring that he burnt all evidence that could link him to 'Edward Cullen' - that name no longer existed for him. It was easy to find 'Jerome Jameson'; the man in California who could give him new papers and a new bank account for a fee of course.

Theo had no idea where Jasper found all of his shady connections; and even more no idea why all of the shady connection's names started with 'J.J.' but he wasn't going to complain.

His new name was Theo Pierce, a 21-year-old with a Bachelor of Music; just like in his old life. His parents were both deceased and he had no family to speak of.

The second thing Theo did was buy a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom condo. It was pricy; around 600 grand to be exact but it was easy to get approved for a house loan. He simply compelled the man who interviewed him. The condo had an updated kitchen with stone countertops, stainless steel appliances and tile splash surround. The dining room and family room offered dark wood floors and wall windows with the added benefit of a fireplace. There was a back balcony patio, and the bathroom included an ensuite with a private toilet and waterfall shower.

After his house was settled and he had furnished it - he focused on increasing his income. While there was a lot more money in that duffel bag than he had originally thought, and he was able to use Jameson to exchange the currency of the other bags of cash; it would run out eventually and he wanted no part in Edwards Bank account.

Not that he was above using it for any morally sound reason; it was more in case the Cullens had access to it and could use it to find him. One of the best ways to build his income; if not now than later? Investing. Theo invested in as many companies as he could including Apple, Walmart, Samsung, Microsoft, Toyota, Bitcoin, Nokia, Disney, Cocoa Cola, Pepsi, Marvel, DC, Nintendo, Amazon, Ulta Beauty, Google, Netflix, McDonalds, Burger King, YouTube, Myspace, and finally Facebook.

The companies that were still in their infancy; like Facebook - he insured that he became one of the major shareholders. Even going so far as feeding them ideas in the hopes that he could speed up the delay of technology a little.

When he wasn't busy investing; he was writing music. Or that is to say - writing as many modern songs as he could remember both female and male. When the song was written, including the production of the music that accompanies it; he would turn around and attempt to sell it to the original artist.

If they absolutely refused to buy it - the most common reason was because they hadn't evolved that far in their music career; (like Taylor Swift who was just tiptoeing in the industry and hadn't even released 'Tim McGraw' yet. It wouldn't come out until 2006 and even then, she would be singing country for a few years before she branched out.) he simply turned around and sold it to someone else.

Theo even took to producing the music himself; considering he 'wrote' them - it was easy to produce the music as he remembered it.

In the four months he had been in LA, he had become quite the big deal in the music industry. Everyone wanted to buy 'his' songs. It was easy to dip his feet in and start swimming; though maybe that had to do with compelling his way in but at least his hard work was genuine. The songs didn't exist yet, they were up for grabs.

Along with his two bestselling book series, 'The Hunger Games' and 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians'. He was surprised at first when he could remember them word for word until he remembered that vampires have perfect recall and apparently it included everything in his previous life as well.

He was currently working on 'The Maze Runner'.

Surprising himself, he really enjoyed his new life. He hadn't even thought of the Cullens in so long - he could have convinced himself they didn't exist. Unfortunately, he had no idea his peaceful life in LA would end very soon.

--- 000 --- 000 --- 000 --- 000 --- 000 --- 000 --- 000

{Two months later... The Cullens living room in Forks, Washington.)

The Cullen house felt sullen. It had been that way for six months now.

While they may have bickered and argued like siblings did - everyone felt Edward's absence. Everyone feared for where their brother or son could be; what could have happened to him. Why his future disappeared.

Edward would never have done that to them; there was only one true excuse... one reason he would disappear from Alice's visions - but not a single one of them wanted to even think it. He was just ... gone.

They had searched as soon as they realized that Alice couldn't see him anymore. As soon as he left Forks without so much as a goodbye to either Carlisle or Esme - but without the added benefit of Alice's visions; they were searching blind.

He hadn't shown up in Alaska; where Alice knew he was heading to begin with. His scent had disappeared along with his Volvo about two hours outside of Forks and there went their one and only lead.

Alice blamed herself; she had seen him leaving, being chased out by the human; Bella's scent. She never imagined that would be the catalyst for this - that he would just be .. gone. He was supposed to have come back! He was supposed to have met the human and realized that he couldn't or wouldn't kill her!

Alice had seen so many futures that were now ... just gone. Like Edward was.

Oliver was Edward's fraternal twin brother and as soon as Edward wasn't around - Bella's attention shifted. Her future changed. It went from a happy future with Edward, to a happy future with Oliver.

Alice felt irrational anger toward the human who so quickly abandoned her brother. Who so easily fixed her sites on his twin brother as soon as he was no longer around.

It was so ... human of her. Their emotions were so fickle; so easily swayed - but that didn't matter to Alice. Despite Oliver being his twin, Edward and Alice were the closest. They were the outliers, the freaks among freaks. They were tasked with ensuring their families safety; ensuring no human found out too much and if they did, they could evacuate their family before trouble could brew.

The entire situation; the stress, the human. The way Alice could swear she was the first vampire with a migraine - caused a tension in the house. Carlisle and Esme wanted to be accepting of Oliver's mate. To them it was only fair.

Jasper didn't want a human around period and would back Alice up in any decision she made.

Emmett, Rosalie and Alice? For once they were all on the same page. Until they found Edward, there would be no co-mingling with the human they blamed for his situation. Until they knew he was safe and unharmed. Until he was home - Oliver should keep his mate far away from them. Lest that blame quickly turn into hatred - as it is with vampiric emotions.

They switch from one extreme to the next; easily and quickly. And it was so very hard to get a vampire to let go of grudge - especially when it involved a member of their coven.

Which is why Oliver was hardly ever home; he was off with the human doing whatever they did these days. Alice did not look - she didn't acknowledge his request to ensure he didn't accidentally kill his mate. She didn't inform him that shouldn't be possible - that mates cannot harm one another, that it would hurt him to hurt her, even unintentionally.

She instead focused all of her attention on finding their missing coven member. And after six months she finally had a vision.

One that showed a surprisingly human looking Edward, going by the name Theo and writing songs in his condo. She even caught a glimpse of the address on a piece of mail. 8911 Bluff Lane, Los Angeles, California.

"I found him." She whispered with tears in her eyes that could not fall. As she looked up at her family, they were staring at her with hope for the first time in 6 months. "I found him." She repeated with more conviction.

They could not go now; they would have to ensure they arrived at night. That they hunted adequately - that they were prepared to bring Jasper into such a large city. Even call the Denali's in case they decided to go and confront Edward as well.

He had questions to answer.

While Alice was more than happy her brother was alive; she was filled with hurt as well. He was safe, unhurt... happy even. Had he purposely abandoned them?

She resolved herself to not leave LA without answers but not even she could have prepared herself for what she would learn in just a few days.