Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. They are the property of Stephanie Meyer.

When I first came up with the idea for this story a year ago, I initially suggested it to a writer friend of mine, thinking she would be able to come up with something far better than I would ever be able to do. Instead, she encouraged me to take a shot, and an hour later, this was what I had...

Blink

It's funny how much you see when your eyes are closed.

When I used to close mine, I could almost see my mother's smile, the way her face would soften and her eyes would sparkle...the loose strands of her hair that escaped the ponytail at the back of her head, floating lazily in the breeze...the little blue flowers that dotted her favorite yellow sundress, and the reflection of my own, tiny face in her 1960s-style sunglasses.

I could almost see the raindrops that constantly beat down on the roof of my father Charlie's old house, and even the flames of the grill as Charlie cooked burgers for dinner on one of the rare, sunny days in Forks.

When I used to close my eyes, I could almost see.

This time, there is nothing but darkness.

My name is Bella Swan, and I lost my eyesight nearly twelve years ago, when a violent car crash claimed my vision, and the life of my mother, Renee. All these years, I've had nothing to remind me of how the world around me appears to healthy, functional eyes; nothing more than what vague memories I had been granted time to store in my young mind before the accident. I have no idea what my school looks like, or what color my bedsheets are. I can't remember what flowers bloom along the path to our front porch, and I have no clue what a cell phone looks like. I don't have a favorite color, because I can't remember what colors look like...and I've long since forgotten the face of my best friend, Jacob Black.

Not that he minds, though. Jake and I basically grew up together, and our bond was as strong as any siblings I'd ever met. Our parents had been good friends since high school and, in fact, his dad was my godfather. His mom had been my godmother, but she had died when he was little, so I guess one could say we were kindred spirits...innocent children who lost their mothers too young. That common factor is what really drew us together, I think. Either way, Jake was the only one who seemed to really be able to look past my blindness, and treat me as if nothing were different. He was always more than happy to describe the scenery around us, whether we were sitting on the shore of First Beach or just lounging in my living room. Even though I had learned very young how to read Braille, Jake used to love to read aloud to me, especially children's books – he would use a different voice for each character, sometimes going so far as to add some goofy accent, just to make me laugh. I'm pretty sure our dads had secret hopes that we would grow up to fall in love, get married, have a house with a white picket fence and all that shit, but that happily-ever-after scenario just wasn't meant to be for us.

Especially after I met Edward Cullen.

The Cullen family moved to Forks at the beginning of my junior year. From the whispers I heard about them in the school halls, they were a rather strange family, one of the most unusual things about them being that they seemed to be outrageously beautiful. They were all adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife, and apparently, they lived in a huge mansion right at the edge of town. According to Jessica Stanley, they were all 'involved' with one another, too...Rosalie and Emmett, two of the three seniors in the family, were all over each other, and Jasper – the other senior – was always seen with Alice, sometimes holding her hand, or simply staring into each other's eyes.

Edward seemed to be the only one without a...partner, as some of the girls in the locker room would say. Most of them had thrown themselves quite willingly at his feet, desperately trying to get him to spare them a second glance, but he never showed any interest, much to their bitter disapproval. The common consensus is that he must have been gay; not that that stopped them from saying his name in a wistful sort of tone. He never spoke to anyone but his siblings, unless absolutely necessary, either. He addressed the teachers easily, and was always respectful, but never initiated conversation with any of his classmates.

That is, until the second semester started, and he found himself seated beside the strange, blind girl in fifth period Biology.

When I first met Edward, the tension in the air had been nearly tangible; I could feel his eyes on me, and it sent chills down my spine. I had no idea what he was seeing, but I couldn't work up the courage to ask him. I heard the scrape of his chair as he got up a split second before the bell rang, and suddenly, I could sense that he had gone. I didn't come across him again for the rest of that day, or the day after.

In fact, Edward missed a total of six days, and I remember the day he came back, as if it were yesterday.

"Hello," a deep, velvety voice said softly, and I nearly jumped out of my seat.

"...hi," I said with a gasp, my head automatically turning in the direction of his voice. It was an automatic reflex, but I heard the faint rush of his breath move closer, so I tried to force my body to relax.

He chuckled, and I felt my jaw clench for a moment at the musical sound of his laughter. "I'm sorry, I didn't get the chance to introduce myself before," he said. "My name is Edward Cullen."

"...hi," I said again, unable to think of anything else. I shuddered suddenly, a strange feeling of electricity rippling through my skin; I couldn't explain what I was feeling, but I found myself leaning slightly closer to Edward, my heart slamming against my chest.

"You're Bella, right?" Edward asked, his voice rising in the slightest pitch. It was a change most people wouldn't have noticed, but as is the case with most blind people, my other senses were slightly heightened. "It's a pleasure to meet you..."

He never really explained where he had been for the week he'd been missing, or what he'd been doing, and I never asked. It wasn't any of my business, I knew that, regardless of how I had felt in his absence. All he would say about it was that, in the end, he was tired of trying to stay away.

Again, I never asked what he'd meant by that, but deep down, I knew. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I'd known exactly what he was saying: He was tired of trying to stay away from me...and I was grateful for it.

After that day, Edward and Alice insisted that I join them for lunch from then on out, and while the feeling of welcome didn't exactly come from all parties at the table, I found myself slowly integrated into their family, though I had no idea why they had taken such a liking to me.

The other kids at school were noticing the way the youngest two Cullens seemed to be so attached to me, and it didn't prove to be good for my already outcast status. It wasn't bad enough that I was the creepy blind girl that sometimes talked about strange things; now I was the creepy blind girl who was accepted by the mysterious and fairly worshiped Cullen kids, save for Rosalie. She had seemed indifferent to my presence from the very beginning.

Not anymore, though. Over time, she finally came to accept the fact that I was going to be around. After Edward had introduced me to his parents, Carlisle and Esme Cullen, they had immediately accepted me as one of their own. Carlisle had spent countless hours researching medicinal and surgical possibilities in hopes of one day repairing the damage to the cerebrum of my brain, and restore my vision, while Esme would go out of her way to check up on me at random times. Charlie had quickly gotten used to her presence at our house, but he had to set a limit on Alice and Edward's visiting hours. After the first night of him coming home at four in the morning to find the three of us sitting up, watching the original Nosferatu – or, in my case, listening – he had made it clear that everyone was going home no later than nine o'clock on school nights, eleven o'clock on weekends. The only exception was if Alice were to sleep over...he had no idea how many nights Edward would spend lying beside me as I slept, his arms wrapped gently around me and his chest rumbling as he hummed softly.

As the days passed, I began to notice things about the Cullens. Things that seeing people would hardly notice, but they were enough to cause a nudge of suspicion to form in the pit of my stomach. For one, despite spending lunch period with them almost every day, I never heard the familiar sounds of eating from any of them. That could have been brushed off as if they just don't like the cafeteria food, but one night, Alice had invited me to stay over for dinner, and yet the entire family had 'already eaten' by then. Not to mention the lack of snack consumption whenever any of them were hanging out at my house.

Secondly, as strange as it may sound, they all smelled amazing. It was unlike any fragrance ever known to man, sweet and spicy at the same time, and completely hypnotic. It wasn't uncommon to hear people sniff slightly as they passed the Cullens, and it always made me want to stifle a laugh.

Third on the list: They never really seemed to sleep much. Whenever Edward spent the night, he hummed throughout the night, his fingers gently stroking my hair. He woke me up in the mornings before Charlie would get up, his voice chipper and sweet, as if he'd been awake for some time himself.

But the most noticable thing I picked up on was the fact that on nice days, the Cullens were absent.

Other students passed it off by claiming the family was simply 'outdoorsy', and that Carlisle always took his adopted family hiking on sunny days. I, on the other hand, couldn't shake the feeling something was off about it, even if it did sound possible...

One weekend, shortly after I'd begun spending time with the Cullens, I joined Charlie on one of his trips to visit Jake and his dad in La Push. I'd invited Edward to come with us, excited by the prospect of introducing my first boyfriend to my best friend, but he'd politely declined. Though I was disappointed, I still had a great time with Jake, and took the opportunity during one of our famous chat sessions to bring up the subject of my mysterious new friends.

Jake sighed, and I heard the rustle of him scratching his head. "I dunno, Bells," he said. "Sounds kinda freaky to me."

I stuck my tongue out, hoping it was pointed in his direction. By his laugh, I decided it was. He nudged my shoulder lightly, and I leaned away from the touch, snapping my teeth at him playfully.

"Whoa there," he said with another laugh. "Actually, it sounds kinda familiar."

"Really?" I asked, tilting my head back in the direction of his voice.

"Yep," he answered, popping the 'p' in exaggeration. "Remember the stories Dad and his friends used to tell us kids at the bonfires?" I nodded, waiting for him to continue. "Well, one time they told us a really lame one about what they called the Cold Ones."

At the sound of the name the Quileutes had given them, I felt my skin prickle with goosebumps. As he described the Cold Ones, I realized how similar they sounded to the common legend of vampires...

Jake had laughed about the topic, considering the whole thing a sort of urban legend the elders told the kids of the tribe to try and scare them, or something. I, however, had begun to piece the clues together, and after coming to the conclusion that Jake had been right on the money, I gathered the courage to confront Edward about it the first chance I got to speak with him outside of school.

To Edward's credit, he admitted the truth – he and his family were actually a very tight-knit coven of vampires. They referred to themselves as 'vegetarians', feeding on the blood of wild animals that wouldn't be easily missed, rather than human blood. That was why I was always safe with them, despite the temptation, and even though Jasper, being the newest to their diet, had some trouble adjusting in the beginning.

Apparently, I smelled as good as a steak dinner to them.

Edward and most of his family took the time to answer a lot of my questions, though they made me promise never to speak a word of the truth to anyone. Carlisle told me about the Volturi, a sort of vampire royalty in Italy, and explained how they would surely kill all of them – and me – if they ever found out they had exposed themselves to a human. I agreed without hesitation.

A year passed. Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie graduated; Emmett and Rose headed off on their 'honeymoon', deciding to spend some time in Africa. Jasper stuck around, helping Esme with her interior decorating business and taking a few courses at a community college in Seattle to pass the time while he waited for Alice to finish this round of high school. They had told me about the game they played, saving their graduation caps every time they earned yet another diploma. Edward guided my hand over the collection, pinned together and hung on the wall like a mural. I lost count after forty-seven.

My relationship with Edward was the most amazing experience I had ever known. His presence had somehow kept the nightmares of the accident, of my mother's final scream, of the infinite darkness that swallowed me and still had yet to spit me out...he kept them away, and being in his arms was the safest place in the world, as far as I was concerned. The only thing that really worried me was the fact that, as a human, I was getting older by the day while he was frozen forever in time. But whenever I tried to bring the subject up in conversation, he quickly changed the topic, completely refusing any notion of turning me. I begged him, pleaded, Emmett and Alice sometimes even joined in, but he remained firm in his stance – he absolutely would not take away my humanity.

It was Carlisle who finally swayed his decision. He revealed to all of us during a Cullen family meeting that the venom taking over and changing my body during the transformation stood a very good chance of being able to heal the brain damage. His announcement sealed the deal for me, and after I asked Carlisle if he, himself, would turn me, Edward finally gave in. He knew how I had longed to be able to see again, to be able to lay eyes on him for the first time and see my love reflected in his face. He made one condition, though: He wanted us to be married before he turned me.

It was my turn to hesitate, but after a bit of work and a lot of romance on his part, I agreed. Alice was thrilled, and a wedding planning monster was born. Or, at least, been released from it's cage...

She and Esme went all out, but they had done a fantastic job, from what I could gather. The smell of freesias and roses filled the air, and Pachelbel's Canon in D played softly in the background as Charlie walked me down the aisle. The lace of the dress Alice had chosen for me felt strangely pleasant against my skin, far softer than any other kind of lace I'd ever worn. It fit me perfectly and, according to my father, it was simply made for me.

The ceremony was beautiful and unforgettable. As I stood before my family and friends and pledged my vows to my Edward, I couldn't help but imagine our next wedding, after my transformation hopefully granted my greatest wish. As I felt Edward's fingers move over mine, and the smooth coldness of the ring as he slid it into place, I imagined seeing his beautiful face, the sincerity of his words reflected in his eyes. He gently helped me to place his ring on the proper finger, and I couldn't wait to see his expression, his reaction.

But, most of all, as we were finally proclaimed man and wife, and I felt Edward step closer, his cool hands cupping my face and his lips descending onto mine, I dreamed of the day that I willingly succumbed to the sweet darkness of the passion my new husband stirred within me.

The response was thunderous. Cheering and applause echoed in the air as Reverend Weber introduced us as Mr. and Mrs. Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, and my new husband held my hand tightly as he led me back down the aisle. He kissed me so lovingly then, it made my toes curl, and his arm was securely fastened around my waist as we greeted our guests, giving thanks and receiving their congratulations with pure joy and enthusiasm. The reception that followed seemed to last forever and end too quickly, at the same time. Jake stopped by to visit, which had been a welcome surprise; ever since Edward came into the picture, he and I hadn't seen or spoken to each other as regularly as we used to, and he had never responded to the invitation we'd sent to him for our wedding. He had seemed sad, for some reason, but I didn't question it, choosing instead to enjoy his company for as long as I could have it.

After he had gone, and Edward had asked me if I were ready to call it an evening, we bid our goodbyes to our family and friends, and tucked ourselves away in what he said was his Aston Martin.

He brought me here, to this isolated cabin in the forest of Wyoming, to celebrate our union. We did not share more than kisses and cuddles our first night, though...I'd told him with no question that I wanted to wait until after the transformation, so I can look into his eyes as he makes love to me. So, he held me, let me sleep and hummed my lullaby. The following morning, nearly a full day before the others were scheduled to arrive, he cradled my head against his chest, pressing his lips to my temple and running his fingers through my hair. If he had been able to, I was sure he would have been crying, and I did my best to soothe his fears. He helped me to take the pills that Carlisle had said may help with the pain of the venom, and after the longest half-hour ever, I felt him lean over me, his breath tickling my ear as he whispered his love for me, uttered one final apology...his words echoed in the air around me as I felt his mouth move to my throat, a sudden pain surging through my neck as his teeth sink into the flesh. The pain is brief, and after a short time I feel his teeth retracting suddenly, but the relief only lasts a moment as my body is engulfed in flames.

My jaw is clenched almost painfully, holding back the cries of agony that are fighting to escape my lips. I had asked for this, almost insisted, despite Edward's repeated refusal. Sure, I knew that over time he had come to agree that it was the only option if I were to ever truly have a chance at regaining my sight, and even accept the fact that there really was no other choice. But that doesn't mean I want him to feel worse than he already does. His touch is almost electric as he moves over my body, his teeth pressing into my skin at each pulse point, trying to inject as much venom as he possibly can. The effect is quick, though, and it doesn't take long for the burning to become so powerful, that all else is blocked out of my mind...until, all at once, it is gone.

And now, just as I have been for most of my life, I am once again lost in the darkness.

But this is a different kind of darkness. This one is filled with a strange sort of silence, a stillness in the air that still feels almost...alive, somehow. I can feel the people around me, my new family, my coven. I can actually hear the air moving almost silently in their lungs as they each held their breath. I can smell the scent that is unmistakeably Edward nearby, but don't make a move. I can taste the dust particles that floated around me.

"Bella?" I hear Edward say, and turn my face towards him, wanting him to be the first sight I see. Digging up as much nerve as I can, I slowly open my eyes...

"Edward?" I say, squeezing my eyes shut again for a long moment before blinking a few times, trying to rid them of the faint burning sensation that seemed to still linger. I blinked again, and felt a strange tugging sort of feeling behind my eyes.

"Yes, love," he said, and the relief was evident in his voice. So was the anxiety that I understood all too well.

I blinked one more time and something slid into focus, but I still wasn't sure. I had to know...

"Is this a dream?"

I swear, I'm not evil...

Okay, that's a lie. I'm pure evil, when it comes to cliffhangers. What can I say? I like giving readers the chance to draw their own conclusions, create their own endings...

That, and I just like to see people squirm...hehehe...

Thanks for reading, please leave a review!

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