A/N: I originally wrote this as seven small chapters and meant to continue from there... But they were very short chapters. SO I'll give it to you now, all as one chapter.
My muse has a tendency to go into hiding but I promise to try for at least one update a week or, at the very longest, every two weeks.
It's coming... The darkness is coming.
I sat at the beach watching the waves roll in rhythmically. The sun was sinking on the horizon throwing the sky and clouds into a spectacular wash of pinks, reds and purple.
Night was coming, bringing with it the darkness I loved.
In the darkness I could hide from the rest of the world... I could escape the onerous life I had.
In the darkness it was so easy to pretend I wasn't alone, that I had some dark protector watching over me... I reveled in the darkness.
Though when dawn came, as it did invariably every night, I was thrown back into the truth of my existence... I was alone; I had no dark angel watching over me.
I hated falling asleep, though I knew I must. It just seemed like such a waste of the precious darkness...
Though exhaustion always dragged me into sleep, and I always woke to the sun shining and my safe darkness another memory.
It wasn't so bad to be dragged into sleep though, every night I had the same dream, featuring the same person... A man, standing beside my bed, brushing my hair off my face as I slept. Keeping me safe from harm until I woke again. He was a beautiful man, golden hair with streaks of bronze throughout the messy locks... Beautiful topaz colored eyes that glowed in the moonlight... A body to make a Calvin Klein model weep with jealousy, though his clothes only hinted at the beauty they concealed... And the smell, he had the most delicious scent I'd ever smelt, really I don't know how my subconscious created such a scent, it smelt like sugar, home, christmas and sex all in one.
Sometimes I could swear I've caught the scent when I woke up from the dream, though that's impossible.
I wasn't always so absorbed in the night; I never used to be so depressed and morose all the time. But things changed when I came home from school that day, and found my entire family slaughtered... In broad daylight. No witnesses, no explanations...
All the police would tell me is that they had all died from blood loss, though I hadn't seen any blood when I found their bodies. It was all so strange.
The police had moved me to a new town, given me a new identity and promised to let me know if anything turned up with their investigation...
This all happened five years ago, and I wasn't that scared 15 year old anymore... Though I still didn't like the daylight... If such things could happen in daylight then what protection was it? What good did it do, really?
No one could look at a picture of me from back then and say with certainty that I was the same person, I'd changed so much. My hair was longer, my features more developed. I looked like a different person. Which was probably a good thing. I didn't want to be that girl again.
I'd grown used to being alone since then, I'd never had a boyfriend, never really had any friends... I'd be starting college soon, a fresh start. I'd had time off since graduating high school and now really needed to get started on building my own life.
~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~
The days and nights until I left for college flew by and too soon I found myself staring at my new, albeit small, house just off campus. It was cheap, and the witness protection program helped me by paying my tuition so I could afford the rent easily and I was thrilled to be living independently, finally doing my own thing.
I was doing night classes, simply because the daylight still caused me to have panic attacks some times... and I found I could concentrate better with the dark blanket of night surrounding me. It was a friday, I could have waited until monday to start class but I was bored.
I showered and head out for a bite to eat, it was raining so I felt somewhat safer than I usually did this time of day. The blanket of clouds effectively keeping the big bad sun at bay.
I headed to the cafe on campus, because I hadn't gotten around to collecting my car from the repair shop yet and didn't really want to turn up to my first class soggy.
The cafe was bright and cheery, the people there laughing and enjoying each other's company. I sat in a booth alone in the far corner and ordered a coffee and a platter of french fries. I watched the other patrons until my meal came and then turned my attention to my food, keeping an eye on the clock in the corner that told me I had 30mins to find my first class.
As I was paying the bill I smelt it; sugar, home, christmas and sex all in the one package... The smell of my dream man. It was faint, but it had wafted in the open door of the cafe... and it was real. I was sure of it.
I debated trying to find the source of the aroma but a quick glimpse of the clock above me made my decision for me, I had to get to class. Slightly disappointed I headed in the direction my map told me to go...
I got the class with 5 minutes to spare, having made several wrong turns and finally being shown the way by a girl in the same class as me, Alice she said her name was. We sat together because I didn't know anyone...
Just as class was due to start I smelt it again, the smell of my dream man. Looking towards the door my breath caught in my throat, he was there. Just standing in the doorway looking beautiful was my dream man. He was even more beautiful than my dreams had ever shown... But he couldn't be real, I mean, I'd had the same dream every night since I was 15... Surely he wasn't real.
Alice nudged me as the teacher started the lecture and I tore my eyes away from the man in the doorway.
I silently tore a page out of my notebook and scribbled a note to Alice.
Who is the guy who just walked in?
I passed it across to her, and watched as she carefully darted a look around me to see who I meant. When she wrote her reply she was wearing a small smile.
Edward? Blondie colored hair with bits of bronze through it? He's my brother... Why?
I blushed a little as I read her reply. Her BROTHER?
Looking at her I could see they had the same topaz colored eyes, the same pale skin... Though her hair was chocolate brown and styled in a pixie cut while his was fair and unkempt. She was petite where he was, well, a man.
Long story. I wrote back. Later. I finished when, reading over my shoulder, she reached for the paper to, no doubt, press me for more information.
After class finished we had a break for an hour or so before the next class started so Alice dragged me to the same cafe I was at before to press me for information.
"So? You were checking out my brother? Did you want me to put in a good word for you?" Alice could talk at great speeds it seemed. "Though, I don't know you very well..."
"Oh." Was all I got to say before she started talking again.
"Though we MUST change that, starting right now. I'm Alice Cullen. I have a fiancé, Jasper Hale, who is wonderful. A brother, Edward Cullen, who might I add, is a surly, moody, stubborn brat. But I love him dearly." She giggled. "I also have another brother, Emmett who is the biggest teddy bear you'll ever meet. And his fiancée Rosalie Hale. Yes, she and Jasper are brother and sister..."
"Wow" I said, still trying to take it all in. "Well; I'm Bel- Kristen Stewart." Shoot, I'd nearly said my old name, Bella Swan... Why would I have done that? I haven't even thought of that name in years, but there was something about Alice that made me want to be completely honest with her.
"I just moved to a little place off campus. And that's about it." I laughed at how feeble it sounded after her long litany.
She laughed too. "I'm sure there's more to you than that."
Just then the waitress came to get our orders. I ordered a coffee and Alice politely declined anything.
"Ok." Alice started once my coffee had arrived. "What do you want to know about Edward?"
"Uhh, I'm not sure. Is he single?"
Alice giggled her beautiful giggle and told me that no, he'd never had a girlfriend. Though not from lack of girls. She then proceeded to tell me about this one girl from high school, Jessica Stanley, who had stripped naked at a school camp and crept into his tent only to have him literally run from the tent when she entered.
Suddenly I could smell HIM nearby, as soon as my mind processed this, a voice behind me said "She was so embarrassed she wouldn't look at me for weeks."
I jumped and turned to see him, up close and every inch the same as the man from my dreams... I knew the voice belonged to him; it was so perfect, like velvet over glass. It made my knees weak and my stomach suddenly blossomed with butterflies.
"Edward!" Alice exclaimed. "This is..."
"Bella..." He breathed it like a prayer.
I don't think Alice heard him though, it was literally just a breath, I wondered if I'd imagined it.
"Kristen, she's just moved up here. We're going to best friends." Alice finished with such surety that I immediately agreed with her.
"Hi... Kristen." He said to me, putting his hand out to me to shake it. As soon as my skin touched his it was as though an electric shock passed through me. I could tell by the look on his face that he felt it too, he released my hand quickly.
"We'll have to talk later Kristen." He said as he turned to leave.
"Bye" Alice and I chorused watching him leave abruptly.
"That was odd... Oh well... Did you want to come to my place for the weekend?" Alice ventured.
"Sure." I replied, already feeling as though we were already the best of friends.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"So... tell me why you want to know Edward." Alice asked me later when we were sitting on her bed at her elegant home.
I couldn't help myself, I told her. Everything. About my family's murders, who I was before all that, my dreams, how I thought I heard Edward whisper my name in the cafe.
"Wow." She said when I finished. "That's quite a story." Suddenly she got up. "Carlisle's home, I need to talk to him, I'll introduce you to Esme, you'll love her."
Walking through Alice's house I couldn't help but gawk at the artworks decorating the walls, what walls there were anyway, all the outer walls were giant windows.
"Wouldn't that be expensive if someone broke in or the window got broken?" I wondered aloud.
"Oh, they're bullet proof." A musical voice called from the living room.
"Esme!" Alice sang brightly. "This is Kristen. She goes to college with me. Kristen, this is Esme, she adopted me a long time ago, Edward and Emmett too. She's the only mother I've ever known."
"Oh. Hi." I stuttered, momentarily at a loss for words as Esme gracefully rose and embraced me in a hug. She was beautiful. She had the same topaz eyes as Edward and Alice, but I couldn't guess at her age, she looked so young, too young to have adopted children my age.
"Are you hungry Kristen?" Esme asked me kindly as Alice danced back up the stairs to, no doubt, talk to the mysterious Carlisle.
"Uh… a little." I admitted sheepishly, as I was herded into a large kitchen.
Esme led me to a barstool and started to rummage through the pantry for ingredients to cook with, just as Edward entered the kitchen.
"Alice needs you upstairs with Carlisle, I'll cook something for… Kristen." He offered, already moving aside for Esme to leave.
Esme shot him a grateful look and walked soundlessly from the room.
"Uh, did I offend her or something?" I asked . "I mean she looked like she was in a hurry to get away."
Edward laughed and I, once again, found myself glad I was seated as my knees went weak. "Not at all, she doesn't cook very often. It's been a long time and she can barely remember how to. I do all the cooking normally."
He winked at me and set to work, expertly making a serving of tortellini and handing it to me.
"What about you?" I asked him, feeling self conscious about being the only one eating.
"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm not hungry." Edward replied with a strange look on his face.
I ate quickly, aware of him watching me curiously as I did so.
"What?' I asked as I finished.
"Was it ok?" He seemed nervous.
"It was great." I replied honestly.
Just then I heard raised voices from upstairs.
"What the hell is she doing here? You know how Jasper is." A female voice exclaimed.
"Shh Rose, don't be rude. She'll be fine." Alice's voice coaxed. "Jasper won't do anything."
Confused I looked at Edward who seemed to be listening intently. "Come with me." He said after a while and led me upstairs. "Carlisle wants to meet you."
Wondering how he knew that without being told I followed him upstairs, worrying about what the rest of the family would think of me.
Edward led me up the stairs and into a largish study, I swallowed nervously as Alice skipped forward and put her arm around my shoulders.
"Carlisle, Rose this is Kristen. Kristen; Carlisle and Rose." Alice chirruped, introducing me to the sexy, golden haired god that is Doctor Carlisle Cullen… And to the striking, albeit snooty, beauty that is Rosalie Hale. "Emmett should be back soon too and Jasper will be over tomorrow."
"Nice to meet you Kristen. I'm Dr. Cullen but please, call me Carlisle." The god-like man who was my only friend's father in all but blood said to me kindly in a voice that would have made me swoon, were I not standing next to the man who had been visiting my dreams every night for the past five years.
"You too." I replied, instantly at ease. "Thank you for having me, even though I only met Alice and Edward today…" I trailed off, feeling awkward.
"It's not trouble at all, if Alice says you're a good person, than we believe her fully." Esme said quickly. Rosalie sniffed loudly, and left the room.
"Uh… is she alright?" I asked, feeling as though Rosalie didn't like me one iota.
"She'll be fine. She's just very protective of the family. And doesn't think we know enough about you yet. But that will change." Alice said confidently.
"I'll go set up the spare room for you. And find you some clothes to wear." Alice danced from the room happily.
"Edward!" He voice called from down the hall.
"I'll go give her a hand making up the bed." Edward said with a resigned sigh as he left the room.
"So, Kristen. Tell me about yourself." Carlisle prompted, sitting down on the desk in the room. Esme patted the couch next to her, inviting me to sit with her.
"Well, what would you like to know?" I asked, taking a seat next to Esme.
"Anything you're comfortable telling us dear." Esme and Carlisle said in unison.
"Alice says you have quite a history." Carlisle stated.
"Well, yeah… I went through a lot 5 years ago… My family was murdered while I was at school." My mind was shrieking at me, asking me why I was telling these strangers everything, but in my heart I knew I couldn't lie to them.
As I told them my story they were the perfect audience. Gasping in all the right places, Esme pulled me into a hug when I faltered over finding my parents bodies. I told them every detail of the house when I found it that day, what my parents bodies looked like, what the police told me about it all. When I described the manner of my parents deaths Carlisle looked so thoughtful and concerned I almost stopped talking to ask him what was wrong.
I told them about my dreams and how every night I'd dreamt of their son standing over me, protecting me. Here it was Esme who looked thoughtful. Though they both looked elated at the same time.
I finished by telling them about meeting Alice and how we hit it off instantly.
"Well, that is quite a tale. I'd like to know a bit more about your parents if you didn't mind Kristen, not their deaths, just what type of people they were, their jobs, friends that sort of thing." Carlisle said when I'd finished. "Not right now of course, you'll be here all weekend and I'm sure there'll be many more weekends to follow this one."
"Sure." I smiled.
"What I'm interested in is talking to Edward right now. Alice should be in her room waiting for you. It was nice talking to you, Bella." Esme said lightly. "Don't worry about anyone finding anything out from us; we're good at keeping secrets." Carlisle chuckled at what must have been a private joke between them.
I didn't find out what Esme and Carlisle said to Edward that night… I never even thought to ask. And he didn't really act as though anything was different; he was still glorious, polite and aloof.
~*~*~*~*~
Alice and I stayed up talking on my bed in the spare room until I eventually fell asleep, the next morning everyone was already awake when I roused myself.
"Bella!" Alice sang from the kitchen as I made my way downstairs. "This is Jasper. Jasper, this is Bella. But you need to remember to call her Kristen in public, cause she's safer that way."
Jasper was gorgeous. Blonde hair that sat in an untidy mop on his head, pale skin, tall and he had the same topaz eyes as the rest of the family, I wondered about the eyes, I'd never seen eyes that color, and now an entire family made up of people with no blood ties all sported the same colored eyes.
'Is the whole family model material?' I asked myself, amazed.
"Nice to meet you." I said aloud, smiling at him and extended my hand for him to shake. He stepped back away from my outstretched hand. I blushed, feeling somewhat hurt and confused. I quickly lowered my hand and looked at the floor trying not to cry.
Alice tutted and I looked up, and blinked in shock, Jasper was GONE. I hadn't even heard him move…
"Don't worry about Jazz." Alice said, linking arms with me. "He was nervous about meeting you, he doesn't really get along with people much… This went a lot better than Rose expected actually…"
"She should know, never bet against Alice." A familiar voice said with a laugh from behind me. My knees buckled at that laugh and I was glad for Alice's support to stop me from falling.
Alice laughed her agreement to Edward's statement. I, however, found I couldn't do more than stare at him. He was leaning against the wall casually, his tousled hair it's usual untidy cap on his head, his legs were crossed at the ankle and he wasn't wearing shoes, he wasn't wearing a shirt either, for that matter.
His jeans were sitting low on his hips and I could see the chiseled lines of his stomach as they dropped into a V to his pant line. I had to fight the sudden desire to press my face into his chest, and the more unfamiliar desire to lick his nipples, chest and stomach.
He chuckled at my scrutiny and my head snapped up, a familiar blush already in place on my cheeks. Alice patted my shoulder as my knees trembled from his low chuckle.
"Edward, weren't you meant to be going hunting with Emmett today?" She asked him looking pointedly at me for some reason.
"He is." A booming voice called from the stairs. A second later a huge man came into view. His hair was brown and cut close to his head, his eyes the same topaz color as every one else's, but what drew my attention was his arms; they were massive. He looked as though he could crack a boulder in half with a punch.
"Hi Bella, I'm Emmett." The new comer said to me politely before snatching me off Alice in a crushing bear hug.
"Be careful with her." Alice snapped irritably. "You could snap her in two just from flexing those trunks you call arms."
Emmett chuckled, a deep rich booming chuckle that echoed throughout the vast room as he set me down. Edward was laughing too. I tottered and would have fallen had Edward not suddenly caught me in his arms.
The second his skin touched mine I felt the electricity flash between us, like it had in the café, I gasped and looked up into his eyes and found myself confused. Not only by the look on his face, which was a combination of concern and something I couldn't place, but by the fact they were no longer the beautiful topaz. They were black. Pure black…
Alice snatched me off him as Emmett quickly dragged him out the door.
"Sorry Bella, they all need to get used to having you around here… Cause you will be here a lot." Alice said as she was rushing me into the kitchen to find some cereal for me for breakfast.
"Aren't you hungry?" I asked her, feeling awkward at the fact I always seem to be eating in front of them. They never seemed to eat.
"No no, I'm fine. Don't worry." Alice smiled at me before racing upstairs calling that she'd get me something to wear to go shopping with her today. I groaned at the amount of energy she had, even this early in the day.
Three hours later Alice had literally stripped me down, thrown me in the shower, dragged me back out again, dressed me, done my hair and make up and ushered me outside and into an shiny silver Volvo, which, she informed me was Edwards. I already had that idea though as I could smell him so strongly it was like he was in the car with us.
After a further 5 hours spent with Alice going from designer store to designer store I was wondering how the hell someone so small could be so annoying. Finally she relented to my whining and drove us home, stopping to buy some Italian take out for me to eat because she'd heard my stomach growling loudly.
When we got back to the Cullen's I was exhausted, but very glad I'd survived a day with the cyclonic pixie people called Alice.
As I collapsed on the bed in the spare room someone knocked on the door. "Come in." I called out, taking off the strappy, 4 inch heels Alice had forced onto my feet and throwing them as far away from me as I could.
Carlisle cautiously entered the room and laughed as he watched the shoes hit the wall with a thud. "Alice?" He asked with a knowing twinkle in his eyes.
I nodded. "That girl has too much energy for her own good… and she's freakishly strong for such a little package."
Carlisle looked at me askance. "Strong? What did she do?"
"Oh, just literally stripped me and physically dragged me all over the place today." I grumbled.
Carlisle visibly relaxed. "Oh, she's a bit…"
"Stubborn?" I finished for him.
"Yeah." He agreed, smiling fondly. "So Bella, how do you like the family? Esme loves you already and Alice adores you."
"Esme is wonderful and Alice is, well Alice." I replied carefully.
"Alice and Esme are already planning to make this bedroom yours for whenever you want to stay. I was sent to give you this key." Carlisle handed me a key.
"A key?" I asked a little shocked.
"If you ever need a place to come and, for whatever reason, don't want to go home you're welcome to come here. The key is for the house, so you can get in even if we're out." Carlisle explained.
"I can't accept a key to your house." I said, still in shock.
"Alice would only find another way to give it to you, and I needed to speak to you some more anyway so just humor her and accept it."
I laughed, knowing that Alice would probably sneak it into my bag somehow, regardless of what I said.
"So, Bella. Please, tell me about what happened to your family." Carlisle sat down on the bed next to me.
"Well…" I started after a long pause. "My mum, Renee Swan, was a kindergarten teacher and my dad, Charlie, was the chief of police in our town. The day it all happened they'd both taken the day off work because Renee was leaving him for a baseball player she'd met, Phil. They were talking about who I was going to stay with and working out visitation. I was meant to be moving with mum, and dad was fine with that. He couldn't handle a teenage daughter and he knew it."
"So did the police look into this Phil's whereabouts after the murder?" Carlisle asked me gently.
"He… he died that same day. His car hit a wall when he was coming to pick up mum's things."
"ah… I'm sorry Bella, I'm just trying to understand." Carlisle said when I stopped again.
"No, it's alright. I know." I smiled tremulously. "Mum and Charlie never had any enemies… Phil didn't either. Charlie's friend, Billy Black, brought me home from school and found the bodies with me… His son, Jacob, went missing that day too…"
"Sounds like it was quite a tragedy. I suppose it's lucky you went to school that day."
I nodded. "I wasn't going to, but I needed to clean out my locker…" Suddenly it all hit me again. "I should have died too… if I'd been there… I… I…"
Carlisle's arms were around me. "Shh, Bella, Bella, shhh… it's alright."
"What else do you remember from that day?" He asked when I'd calmed down.
"Not a lot really… I spent a lot of time at the police station. I'd kinda just gone into shock… They put me in a hotel for the night, with a guard at the door… I eventually just went to sleep. That was the first night I dreamt of Edward… He was standing in front of me as though he were shielding me from something… Then he was just standing there stroking my hair…" I'd never remembered the first bit of that dream before. I'd only had it once… all my other Edward dreams were of him standing above me, or sitting beside me, Carlisle just looked thoughtful.
"Tell me about the boy who went missing. Jacob?"
"He was an American Indian, a Quilette… he was a couple of years younger than me, but bigger than me… We'd never really been friends, though he could remember the time we spent together as children and seemed to think things should go back to the way he remembered them…" I didn't really know what else to say, Jacob had always been my dad's best friend's kid… Nothing more.
"BELLAAAA!" Alice shrieked at me bounding through my door. "Get dressed in this!" She threw a handful of clothes at me then turned and pushed Carlisle out of the room. Carlisle waved his hand farewell as she slammed the door closed behind him.
"What's going on?" I asked her, already getting undressed knowing she'd undress me otherwise.
"We're going clubbing! Edward and Emmett are back from hunting and they said they'd chaperone us." She squealed excitedly. "Hurry! Hurry! It's already 9.30. Rose and Jazz are meeting us there at 10.30."
I dressed in the black dress she'd thrown at me. Looking at my reflection I thought I looked like Marilyn Monroe just in black, instead of white…
"You look wonderful." Alice sang. "Now lets GO!" And with that she dragged me into Carlisle's Mercedes after her. Emmett laughed from the front passenger seat.
"Where's Edward?!" Alice asked shrilly just as Edward emerged from the house. Walking around the car he got in the drivers seat, turned around and winked at Alice and me, then started the car to take us out for a taste of the nightlife.
A/N: Please review.
Criticism helps me improve (Just keep it friendly.)
ALSO: I'm sorry I kept adding and deleting it to begin with, I'm still figuring out to use the site...