NOTE :: I do not claim to be an amazing writer, just that I enjoy it. Please feel free to leave comments and reviews as long as they are kind and/or constructive! I do love to hear what you think!

Forever Mine - Chapter 1

I stepped out of the silver Volvo into the driveway of the Cullen's house. The moonlight shown down through the trees and I could see the stars in the night's sky. I sighed as I thought about the family that I had left behind and the new family that I was joining. Everything had gotten so complicated and I wondered how I had gotten to this point.

Edward breathed loudly to let me know he was listening to my thoughts and I shot him a weary glance. "They're still you're family, Cadence!" he started. "Where you live won't change that!"

I know, I thought lazily. I didn't feel like talking aloud at the moment. It's just hard to live with them. I know she's like my mother but there's no one there my own age that I can relate to. Living there is just too hard for me.

I was referring to Tanya and the rest of the Denali clan. It was Tanya who had turned me into a vampire five years ago, shortly after Renesmee was born and Bella had been changed. My last night as a human was always a touchy subject for me, and living in my home town where I had also been changed was even more unbearably difficult. I don't think I'll ever get that night out of my mind, no matter how foggy it may seem compared to my now precise vampire memories.

It was senior year in high school and my best friend, Sarah, wanted so desperately to become one of the popular girls. The football quarterback was throwing a huge party at his house, and of course Sarah wanted to go. "We can get the year started off right!" she claimed the entire week, and I swear I never wanted to hear that sentence again.

"Come on Cadence! I swear I will never understand why in the world you don't wanna go!" she started on yet another one of her tirades. We were in my room after school on Friday, the day of the party. I sat at my white vanity and brushed my burgundy hair while Sarah was pacing the floor behind me. "This is high school," she went on. "Senior year to be exact, and I want to be popular! I can't go by myself cause then I will just look pathetic and I'll never get popular that way. The party is tonight, and besides, Michael is going to be there and I really need you with me for moral support if I'm ever going to get up the courage to talk to him," she went on and on and started speaking faster and faster. I didn't know if she was even breathing in those long sentences and honestly, I was beginning to have a hard time keeping up with her.

"Fine!" I finally exclaimed, tired of listening to her. "I'll go with you, if that will shut you up!"

Sarah was so giddy with excitement that she was jumping up and down and squealing. Parties were definitely not my thing, but I decided that I could try to keep her out of trouble, to make sure she didn't do anything she might regret. I now know that was futile. Sarah had her own agendas, and even though I was always able to read people well, I swear I never saw it coming. I couldn't believe how differently Sarah had acted, how hard she tried to fit in with people that weren't even her friends. Sarah was doing things that I was definitely against and I wanted nothing more to do with. Sarah had ditched me at the party and I searched desperately to find her. Pushing through the crowd I looked and looked for her, she wasn't hard to spot once you saw her bright platinum blonde hair. It was so blonde that it looked white even though she had never once dyed it in all of her life, but there were so many people there that I couldn't find her. After having searched the entire house I decided to go outside to the backyard and there she was with a small crowd of people, maybe 5 or 6. I didn't remember anymore since I never really paid that close attention to everyone else. "Drink! Drink! Drink!" I could hear them chanting loudly. There was Sarah, standing among them… and chugging a beer? She never drank, so why had she started?

"What are you doing?" I shouted at her as everyone turned their heads to look at me with surprise. I stormed over to her and snatched the bottle out of her hand so quickly that it sprayed the crowd of onlookers, including myself. They all exclaimed something in protest but I didn't hear them, my eyes were fixed on Sarah. "Drinking? Really?" I started. "What are you thinking? You don't have to do this to fit in, they should like you for who you are!" This was probably the norm for our friendship, I had to act as the mother and of course she never listened.

"You're embarrassing me Cadence," she cried out in protest through clenched teeth. "If you were really my friend then you would understand." Those were the last words we ever exchanged.

Now this was where I often wished I had done things differently. I stormed out of the house, which happened to be a single house on a bare rural road for a few miles. It was dark out by now, and my house was only 3 miles away. Sarah had driven us to the party and she of course still had the keys. "Great!" I thought to myself. I didn't want my parents to know where I was and what was going on, so I started walking. Looking back on that decision now, I probably should have called my parents to come and get me, beer smelling clothes or not.

The winding road was eerily and only continued to get darker as I continued up and down hills through twists and turns along the side of the very narrow two lane asphalt. I had walked about one mile when I started to see a light illuminate my shadow ahead of me. I turned around to see the light turn into two headlights swerving from side to side. Before I ever had a chance to move out of the way, I was hit.

I didn't remember much after that until I awoke with Tanya. She tried to fill me in with as little detail as possible, but even she didn't like to think about it. Tanya was hunting with her sister, Kate, when they caught the scent of my blood on the road. Kate wanted to savor it, though that was not something they did since they were vegetarians of sorts. Tanya and Kate are part of the Denali Clan, and they are vampires. They like to think of themselves as vegetarians because they made the lifestyle choice to drink the blood of animals instead of humans. The only other Clan that is vegetarian are the Cullens, my new family.

"Let's just leave her before I drink every drop," Kate had protested.

"I can't," Tonya hissed back in her sing song voice. Even as I was lying there dying I could hear the beautiful playing of bells and chimes as they spoke. "We have to take her home," Tonya continued.

Tonya told me nothing more but I knew what happened next, those were my clear memories taking form. I remember the agonizing pain as I lay in a room, my skin burning for what seemed like an eternity. The minutes passed like hours and the hours passed like days. I didn't physically burn, but as my human body died while I transformed into that of a vampire. Every crevice of my being felt as if it were being engulfed in unmerciful flames. I shuttered at the thought as Edward stood staring into the sky. His eyes were squinting and I realized he too was watching my memories as I relived them. "Hey!" I proclaimed as I caught his blank stare. "Don't do that!" I hissed at him.

"Sorry. I can't turn it off like you can," he claimed with a sheepish grin.

Edward was speaking of my power. I often forgot that his ability to read minds was much different than my own. It took Aleazar some time to figure out what I could do, and even then he had to explain it to me. I thought I was going crazy when I could hear people speaking only to find out they had said nothing at all. It was even crazier when I only heard those thoughts some of the times and not others. Confusion struck when I realized that I had less control over it during heightened emotions, like anger or intense sadness, or some equivalent. Like Edward, I could read minds, but unlike Edward I could listen to one person at a time when I chose to do so. I liked to describe it as tuning into a radio station and being able to turn that radio off when I had enough. "Oh right," I said quickly.

We began to walk up the stairs to the Cullen's house after I pulled my one Louis Vuitton bag of luggage out of the car, a prop. I had flown in to Seattle from Alaska in an effort to appear human for any locals that may have seen. Keeping up appearances of some form of human life were vital when it came to living among them.

"Why haven't you moved from Forks yet? Isn't it getting to be about that time?" I asked him as I looked up at the familiar white house. I had been here a few times before.

"It is, but Bella doesn't want to leave Charlie, and Renesmee can't leave Jacob behind," Edward informed me. "We just try to stay close to home. Even Carlisle has stopped going to the hospital. He's taken a research position and started working from home so no one suspects anything."

Enthusiasm set in as I thought about what he just said, staying close to home. "Does that mean I don't have to go to school?" I asked as a grin spread wide across my face. I was dreading going to yet another high school, let alone one in such a small town.

"Um, I believe that is something you will have to discuss with Carlisle," he smirked at the thought. I knew as well as he did that Carlisle would insist that I go to school, and I didn't have to read his mind to know that. I bet Carlisle had already told several local humans that he was adopting yet another foster child into his growing family. At this point it would look too suspicious if I didn't go to school.

My enthusiasm quickly faded as I followed Edward up the stairs. Before we even reached the porch the door had swung open, drowning us in light from inside. "Cadence!" Esme called out with her arms outstretched. I wondered how long she had been standing behind the front door waiting for us to approach and glared at Edward. I wish he would have warned me. She grabbed me up in a fraction of a second and hugged me before I could protest. "It's so nice to see you again dear. I'm so happy you've come to stay with us!"

"Me too," I chimed in. I didn't want to hurt her feelings. You better not say a word, I thought for Edward's sake. I walked a few steps into the white living room of the Cullen's house. Nothing had changed since the last time I had been there, or since ever I realized. Everything sat in its place, never moving, like a museum.

"So why are you here," someone claimed, and I knew immediately that it was Rosalie. It wasn't so much the sound of her voice that gave it away, it was just Rosalie's way.

"Well you know I just love seeing you!" I proclaimed with as much sarcasm as I could muster, flashing her my devilish grin. She didn't like me much, but then again, who did Rosalie like. "But seriously, I had to get out of my home town. I'm tired of being cooped up in the house making sure I don't get spotted by anyone I knew," I sighed.

Rosalie snorted as she crossed her arms and stormed out of the room.

"I love you too Rosalie," I said in a normal tone but I knew she could hear me. I listened in on her thoughts for a moment to see if she would respond. Yeah yeah, she chimed internally. I was surprised by the tone in which the words came across. They weren't patronizing like I would have expected from her, but instead it was more lighthearted. I briefly saw that she saw me as a little sister, an addition to her family. Her hatred was all an act for the others. I looked at Edward as he was smiling back at me. She really does like you, he thought.

At that moment I noticed that Emmett and Jasper had been sitting on the couch with Alice standing close by. Emmett got up and ran over to me in one swift vampire movement as he seized me in one of his enormous bear hugs. "E-Emmett," I managed to squeeze out. "I'm... not a... newborn…. anymore." He was surely going to break a rib if he squeezed even an ounce tighter.

"Oh right," Emmett quickly put me down again, ruffling my long burgundy hair.

"It's nice to see you to," I smiled at him as I tried to straighten my hair back out, and my clothes. Luckily I wasn't wearing my good shirt. He surely would have wrinkled my silk charmeuse.

I noticed I was still clutching my bag by one hand, so I sat it down and stepped around Emmett, running over to Alice who was still standing by the couch. "Alice," I sang as I hugged her. "Hi Jasper," I said as I glanced down at him, still sitting on the couch and he smiled back. He was watching some football game on the TV and I had to wonder if it he was really interested in it, but I didn't really care so much. "Wanna go shopping tomorrow Alice?" I quickly added.

"Of course," she said in a thrilling voice as she still held on to me. "You know I always do. You are the only one who actually likes to go shopping with me."

"Ahem," Carlisle broke into our excitement. He had appeared next to Esme and I now realized that he had just arrived to our little gathering, He must have been working in his office when we got here. "Tomorrow is Monday and you have to go to school Cadence. You know you need to keep up appearances, and since you're only 17 I have enrolled you at Forks High."

"School? Come on. No one else here is going to school anymore, so why should I? I'm forever 17 and I can easily pass as the same age as Edward! What's another year or two?" I protested.

"Actually," Carlisle started hesitantly. "I didn't tell them you were 17. I told them you were 15 and enrolled you as a freshman."

"WHAT!? But-," I started, but was stopped by Alice. She had gripped my arm and the blank stare into nothingness always gave away that she was having a vision. "It's no use," she started after a moment, blinking as her eyes came into focus. "You're going to school. But we can go shopping next weekend."

"Sure," I said in disappointment. I was dreading going to school. Forks High, how mundane. I was a vampire for crying out loud. Edward and I were both perfectly frozen in time at the serene age of 17, yet he was seen as a 23 year old to these locals and I would have to be 15. How unfair.

You can take my Aston Martin if you like, Edward chimed into my thoughts. His unspoken words startled me. I hadn't realized I had let go of my grip on my power. I looked at him. You know you can give me a little warning when you know that I'm listening unwillingly. Besides, I don't think a 15 year old driving an Aston Martin is keeping up appearances, I thought sarcastically. But you can drive me, I finished.

"So where's my room?" I asked, turning my gaze back at Esme. "I guess I want to unpack."

"You're in Edward's old room," she smiled through her pearly white teeth. "He hasn't much use for it since he and Bella stay in the cottage." She gestured toward the back of the house, out toward the cottage I had guessed. I had never seen it though I heard it was beautiful with the best closet space. That was Alice's doing, and she was so proud of her work that she spoke of it often.

"Speaking of which, I need to be getting back to Bella and Renesmee," Edward stated. "They'll be glad to see you tomorrow. Renesmee has been very excited that you were coming. I'll be back in the morning to take you to school."

"I'll be waiting," I said leisurely.

Edward headed out the door as I grabbed my bag and headed upstairs. I found his room quickly, as it was my favorite in the entire house. The large windows on the far wall had the best glow at night. I was able to fully enjoy it since I did not sleep, ever. I'm sure Edward had probably told Esme I liked it best, but I tried not to think about it. The thought of the time and effort they put into this move and made me feel warm and uneasy at the same time. I unpacked my few clothes I had shoved into my "prop" and pulled out a small red velvet drawstring bag. The bag was woven in jacquard with red lace trimming at the top and a gold rope that pulled it shut. I opened it to find my silver antique brush and mirror set inside. Well, it was antique to me, considering that I wasn't born yet, but Tonya had collected it on her travels during her young vampire years. It used to sit in Tonya's room, on her golden vanity, and I loved to sit there and peer at my porcelain reflection as I brushed my locks. It reminded me very much of sitting at my own vanity as a normal human girl. When I had decided to leave Alaska, she wanted to give me something to show her love for me. It was kind of silly considering I would see her again in my eternal life span. She saw me more as a daughter, not a sister like Irina or Kate, and in a way I saw her as my mother as well. Even though we had only been together for five years now, I felt a strong connection to her. She had explained this to be a part of my vampire emotions, and our bond since she was the one who had turned me.

I sat on the black leather sofa that belonged to Edward but still sat in the room. It was even more comfortable than I had remembered. I began to brush my dark burgundy hair as I thought about the coming day. I would definitely have to get a new vanity when I went shopping with Alice.

School, oh man. How was I going do this? At least the rest of the Cullen's had each other when they went to school. How would all of the students see me now that the rest of the Cullen's had graduated? I know it was years ago and the students wouldn't be the same, but they know who the Cullen's are. They'll be intimidated no doubt, with my perfection and beauty. I know I will be treated as an outsider, much as they were, but the only difference is that I will be alone. I breathed heavily, not that I needed to. I guess I will find out soon enough.