Static

Maddie Forge has always been difficult to read.

Not just to vampires.

To everyone.

Her friends have always joked that Maddie could sit across from someone for an hour without giving away a single thing she was thinking. She doesn't intentionally hide her thoughts-her mind simply works differently. Her thoughts move too quickly, overlapping and jumping from one thing to another.

When she eventually starts spending more time around the Cullens, Edward assumes she'll be like every other human.

Then he tries to read her mind.

Nothing.

Not complete silence.

It's more like static.

Thousands of thoughts crossing over each other too quickly for him to separate.

A song.

A memory.

Something she saw that morning.

A thought about Emmett.

Then it's gone.

Even Edward can't figure her out.

Jasper has similar problems. He can sense her emotions, but sometimes they blur together before he can identify exactly what she's feeling.

Emmett, however, occasionally catches pieces.

Not enough to understand her.

Just fragments.

A song playing in her head.

A childhood memory.

His name.

A sudden flash of amusement.

A feeling he can't quite identify.

And it drives him crazy.

For once, Emmett can't tell what someone is thinking.

So naturally, he becomes determined to figure Maddie out.