Only A Sister

By Holly Jane

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Rosalie's head was held up high, her eyes alight with excitement, her golden hair pinned atop her head, framed with a near-Tiara looking headband woven with diamond flowers, her dress a shade of rosy pink that hung just passed her knees and flared out slightly; the style that was in these days. Her legs looked longer, even though they were as long as could be, in the white high-heeled sandals she wore, and she wore accented jewelry that her new father, Carlisle, had bought her.

Her excitement and joy was rendered by that of getting to meet Edward more formally and possibly finding a lover or a friend in him. Rosalie didn't care that the very first words from Edward's mouth had insulted her, she just wanted a friend, and that was all she would really ask for. It was true—she didn't like him very much, aside his prestigious good looks that would match her good looks to perfection, making them an equalized couple if it were to work out. The things Rosalie didn't already like about Edward were sketchy, but she knew she didn't prefer his snotty tone he used when he spoke of her when she was undergoing the tremendous pain of the transformation, and she also didn't like at first how he was so much better looking than her. But now that she was a vampire, she could consider their looks of equality; if hers not to be better which her narrow-minded shallow thoughts were persistent of.

The year was 1931, and Rosalie Hale was etched in determination to make some sort of relationship between her and this mystery Edward work. She knew little of him, but she knew he was very good-looking and Carlisle had assured her he was very gentlemanly and had a good heart and pure mind. All the qualities that she was looking for.

But as Rosalie descended gracefully—and quite dramatically slow, at that—from the spiraled staircase of their home, Edward stood at the bottom and was already annoyed by her petty, shallow thoughts of herself, though he didn't show it through his casual stance and courteous smile.

Although, Edward wasn't heartless. He did feel sympathy for the young girl. He knew she had had a rough time, trying to balance and adjust to the new lifestyle just as he had, and he knew that underneath all the layers of shallow, petty thoughts that Rosalie possessed, there was a good heart, a small girl that was secretly terrified of this new way of life, and he could see she resented herself and the cursed beauty just as much as Edward did of himself, and for that he could empathize and relate to, which he found rather helpful in this situation. While Edward didn't completely like her, he knew that he loved her already—loved what she stood for and loved that she understood the monster within herself, just as he did. But, the love was not rational and it was not in this case mutual. He knew Rosalie despised his very being at the moment, but he was secretly surprised that she was determined to make something, if anything, work.

And while he knew somehow he loved her in someway, he knew it wasn't like what Carlisle and Esme had. It wasn't mate for mate love—it was something lesser than that, but still strong. Like…a sibling's love? While you could hate your sibling, you could still love them at the same time. And that's how Edward Anthony Cullen felt about Rosalie Hale.

Wow. He's even more gorgeous than I had thought him to be, Rosalie thought as she stopped at the bottom of the steps to study Edward, her thoughts not occupied with herself for a change.

Edward starred at Rosalie sheepishly and opened his mouth to speak, "Rosalie—to spare further embarrassment, I should probably inform you of my…talents."

Rosalie's eyes widened; her thoughts wordless as she registered his words to mean something else. Was he talking dirty to her? Edward tried to contain his laughter at such absurdity to a thought coming from one's mind such as Rosalie, and while he tried to contain his ridiculous laughter, he was rather annoyed with the fact that Rosalie would place something as horrid as "talking dirty" to someone such as him. Had Carlisle not informed her of his gentlemanly nature? Edward would never disrespect a woman in such a vile way as to speak in such a manner.

"What…do you mean?" Rosalie spoke aloud for the first time.

"I can read minds." Edward nodded in understanding as Rosalie gaped at him openly.

"What…what was that?" Rosalie stammered. Reading minds? A vampire mind-reader? Preposterous.

"It is rather preposterous indeed. But I'm only warning you ahead of time to save any embarrassment from yourself. I do try to respect everyone's privacy by tuning it out most of the time—but things slip, and I am sorry if that were to happen." Edward smiled apologetically.

Rosalie nodded, her eyes still wide. She shook her head, ridding herself of thoughts that would embarrass herself later on, and said nothing further. They stood there in quite an awkward silence and both at a loss of what to say now. Edward struggled not to grimace as Rosalie's thoughts took on a different direction—one of which were filled to the brim with thoughts of anger towards him for being so impassive. She had expected his eyes to widen and his jaw to drop, she had expected him to kiss her hand and ask her how she does, and she expected the gentleman Carlisle spoke of.

Finally, annoyed as ever with this understanding, Rosalie glared for the first of many times in the long future at her new brother. "So." She said curtly.

"So," Edward echoed casually. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "How do you do?" he asked politely, a small smile forming on his lips as he starred at his new sister. Registering from the fact of Rosalie's thoughts of anger towards him and not finding his behavior as attractive as his looks, and the impassiveness Edward felt for her in return, he labeled that odd love he felt for her as sibling love, no doubt about it.

"I am fine," Rosalie replied casually.

"As am I." Edward returned.

"So, tell me about yourself, Edward." She said.

And so, from that point on, Edward and Rosalie had labeled each other as siblings and nothing more, and when Rosalie had found a mate in Edward's future favorite brother, Emmett, Edward knew he was destined to be alone and thought himself to be complete in himself, thinking he did not need a mate as beautiful as Rosalie. He was just fine with having only a sister.