Author's Note: Okay, so my friend (MyThrillingHunt-Artemis) and I are both shamelessly Mary Sue-ing ourselves into the Twilight universe. If it's not your cup of tea – or coffee or soda or whatever you drink – don't read it. Artemis is Cori (Read her POV in Blood Moon) and I am Kris. This story takes place around the time of New Moon. As for the rest, read to find out!

Disclaimer: All characters (other than Cori and Kris) belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 1: Life Starts Now

The first thing that I was aware of was that I wasn't really aware of anything. You know what it's like when you're just coming out of a lucid dream? Where nothing was real but you knew that, but then you're waking up and trying to snap back into reality and it's hella confusing.

I groggily opened my eyes, sat up a bit and cracked my neck. Sleeping for what was probably close to an hour in an already tiny, now very cramped car due to suitcases, did not help my already fucked-up back. I was very slow to take in my surroundings; I'd never been the most observant person to begin with and it wasn't easy to shake the sleep from my brain.

My eyes catalogued the sheets of rain pouring down over an unending stretch of trees. Would I ever get used to such a beautiful sight? Los Angeles had its own kind of beauty, but it was completely different. The beauty of L.A. was found in its people and in the incredibly fast pace of life - everywhere you looked there was movement and an amazing vibrancy. This Forks place was the complete opposite. Don't get me wrong, I liked being surrounded by nature and all its wonders, but that was going to be a major adjustment.

An adjustment that neither my sister nor I truly wanted to make. I loved L.A. and would have gladly lived there forever. I knew Cori would probably want to travel the world someday, but she never would've started in Forks, Washington. And even then, it would've been on her terms.

Once again, I felt the all-too-familiar rage boiling inside of me. At this point, I couldn't even remember any two days in a row that I didn't want to scream or punch something. I know it had probably only been going on for the past two years, but it felt like I had been angry my entire life. With no reprieve in sight.

My little sister's rising voice brought me out of my internal monologue. I turned my head to see Cori with a death grip on her cell phone, yelling at whoever was on the other end. Curiosity warred with courtesy - should I listen so that I can know (at least some of) what's going? Or should I ignore her so she could have some privacy, as much as available when in a car?

"Don't tell me I'm overreacting!" Well, that made my decision pretty easy. There was no way I was going to be able to ignore that.

Waving my arms a bit to catch Cori's attention, I mouthed, "Who?"

"Dad," she whispered. Oh, hell no. I extended my arm and gestured for the phone. She shook her head but I kept my arm outstretched.

She hesitated for a second, but given that she looked like she was about to cry, we both knew she couldn't keep talking to the asshat for much longer. She handed her phone over to me then snatched mine off my seat and started typing. As much as I wanted to comfort her, the useless waste of a human we called a father was still talking, stealing my attention.

"-like a mature adult. A break-up is no reason to move to another state and-"

"What the fuck?! Dad! We didn't move away from our home, away from our loving mother, just to -"

"What about me? Aren't you gonna miss me?" I swear to god, our dad was a fucking child. Always pouting and making everything about him. For fuck's sake, he didn't even ask why Cori wasn't on the line anymore.

"What about you?" I couldn't be bothered to keep the vitriol out of my voice. "We tried living with you. It didn't last for a week! You made Cori cry, then we screamed at each other until one of us stormed out, you apologized but didn't actually mean a single goddamned word, lather, rinse, repeat. Jesus, that's not even the point here!" Staying on one train of thought had never been my forte, but it always gets harder when Useless started his self-absorbed tantrums. "The point is that we needed to leave! Not because Cori got a boo-boo or because her boyfriend didn't call her when he said he would. You know why we had to leave Mom's! And this - this, right here! - is why we couldn't stay with you! Because you are absolutely allergic to caring about anybody other than yourself! And taking the shit that happens with your daughters seriously! This isn't a fucking joke, you ASSHOLE!" Violent click. Was it a bad sign when it feels good to hang up on your father?

I was so fucking pissed I didn't know what to do with myself. Sitting in the car and radiating anger wasn't going to help Cori any. I looked outside to the torrential downpour. Sure. That would do.

I stepped out of the car and shut - okay, slammed - the door. I was instantly 100% soaked. Good. Ignoring Cori's baffled look, I sprinted around the car for a few minutes before I felt like I could finally breathe again. After one last lap to cool down, I slid back into the car like nothing had happened.

Silence. I think Cori might be a little pissed about water on the leather seats. Whatever. It was either water from the storm or fire from my spontaneous human combustion. You take what you can get.

"So," I started, surprisingly calmly, "John gave us a piece of shit car that broke down. I assume that's why we stopped, yes?" More silence. "Do we have a Plan B?" (I'm gonna take a moment to give myself credit for how incredibly calm and not-at-all pissed I sounded. Quite a feat, that. I am proud of my mastery in the art of… I don't know… not killing people in a fit of rage? Because it's not as easy as everyone seems to think.)

"Esme's sending some girl named Rosalie to come get us." Jesus. Okay, if I was at risk of setting the car on fire, it wouldn't have mattered because Cori would have frozen it with how cold her voice was. Was this because I got water on the fucking seats? Nah, probably because she'd driven for all of, like, forty hours and then the love of her life broke down.

Not really knowing how to reply, I just nodded. Should've brought up some bullshit conversation because the next thing I heard was:

"You shouldn't call him John. He's our dad. Why don't you call him that? You call him John or asshat or motherfucker. He's not that bad." Oh, hello, Anger. Nice to see you again. It's been, what, five minutes? How ya doin', pal?

I tried to keep calm. I really did. I was usually good at burying the anger so no one sees it. I was a fucking pro. But I always fucking lose it when it comes to Useless. "First off, he was literally a motherfucker so that's an accurate term. Then, he was a receptionist-fucker and broke our mom's heart. Second, I can call him whatever I damn well please. He is not 'Dad.' 'Dad' cares about what happens to us. 'Dad' keeps his promises. 'Dad' listens when something is wrong or when something is good and 'Dad' comforts or congratulates his daughters when big things happen in their lives. John has done none of those things since we were five years old." Fuck. I was about to fucking cry, goddamnit. I hate what thinking about Dad - John - does to me.

All Cori did in response was to get out of the car and slam the door shut. I didn't know if that helped or hurt the situation. I couldn't decide if I wanted her to stay in the car so that we could fight or if I was glad she left so that we wouldn't. "FUCK!"

She stomped around to the back of the car. I pulled my feet onto the seat, hugged my knees, and cried. Logically, I knew we were both stressed about the move and everything that had happened before it and that I shouldn't take this shit personally. But sometimes, you just have to fucking cry. And I haven't been able to in months. I've had to be strong so Cori could deal with this shit. Because it was mostly her shit. Yeah, I was affected by it, but it didn't happen to me. So I didn't get to break down or be vulnerable because it wasn't about me. It was about her and I was gonna be there for her, no matter what. But she wasn't here at the moment; all I needed was to fall apart for five minutes. Then I could pull myself back together and everything would be fine. Well, as fine as it could be under the circumstances.

Headlights approached. That must have been Rosalie. She's driving a red BMW convertible. I was almost ashamed to even look at the car with how disgusting I was after running around in the rain, much less knowing I was going to ride in it. Oh, cool. Aphrodite stepped out of the car. So, Aphrodite was gonna drive a drowned cat and her little sister in the most perfect car that has ever existed. No way that was gonna be uncomfortable.

Our new roomie was… the American icon, basically. Tall, long blonde hair, perfect face - cheekbones and all that nonsense - absolutely gorgeous. And suuuper pale. Now Cori and I are a little bit tan, her more than me, but not as much as you would expect from two girls born and bred in California. I was used to being the palest person around. But blondie here looked like she could glow in the dark.

I did my best to make myself presentable (meaning I wiped the tears from my face, that was as good as it was gonna get tonight, folks) and got out of the car.

Cori introduced herself and Rosalie responded, "Yeah. Did you want to stay out here in the rain, talking? Or did you want a ride home? Your choice, but I would recommend getting in the car." She didn't sound like she was trying to be funny, but I couldn't help but laugh.

"I think I'd rather get in the car. I don't think I could get any more wet than I already am," my sister replied.

"Hey, I'm Kris. Thanks for the ride. Let me just pop the trunk, we'll grab our stuff, and we can get outta here." I waved at the goddess and scurried to the back of the piece of shit Useless gave us. I had a little trouble opening it up. The keys slipped out of my hands and into the mud; I dropped them twice. Rosalie, bless her, put me out of my misery. She grabbed the dirty keys, slipped them into the lock, and effortlessly lifted the heavy trunk. Granted, she had a look of utter disdain for having to sully her hands with a peasant's muddy keys, but still, help was help and I was grateful.

Cori looked dead on her feet. She grabbed one bag and I was afraid it was going to knock her to the ground. I wanted to offer to help but I had my own shit and there was a fine line between helping my younger twin and babying her. She was not always a fan of accepting help but we both hated if I ended up babying her. She could handle herself. Rosalie once again stepped in and proved to be an amazing human being by grabbing Cori's god-awful floral-patterned laptop bag.

I dumped my bag into the back of heaven-on-earth and Cori asked Rosalie, "Rosalie, you wouldn't happen to have any towels, would you? Your car is beautiful and I'd hate to get mud and water all in it." I hadn't even thought of that. I was too ready to fall asleep in an actual bed and not a car to worry much about upholstery.

Rosalie tersely replied, "I'm not worried about the upholstery. I can get it cleaned." She looked us up and down, taking in our drowned appearances. It was crazy that she could stand in the same rain as us and not even look wet. I mean, yeah, obviously, she was soaked, but it somehow didn't affect her appearance. She looked like one of those supermodels that gets hosed down for a couple seconds before the shoot. I had no idea how anyone could ever look intentionally rained-on. If that made any sense at all. Maybe not. I was still tired. Luckily, she didn't seem to be judging us, just… I don't know, assessing. A little uncomfortable but not malicious. "Come on."

We slid into the car and I had every intention of blacking out again (desperately hoping not to drool like I sometimes did), but I noticed Cori flicking the rubber band she wore on her wrist. Nervous habit. "Are you all right?" I asked her. I hoped that she could hear the genuine care through the tiredness.

"Yeah, Kris. I'm fine. I'm tired is all," she replied, much quieter than usual. Sure, Cori wasn't nearly as loud as I almost always was, but she sounded so subdued just then. "I'll be better when I'm dry and in a warm bed." Not to be all twin-telepathy-thing, but I've always been pretty good at knowing when Cori was lying. But I guess when you ask a stupid question, you get a fake, placating answer. Of course she wasn't all right. No one in her situation would be. She put her bright green headphones in, hit Play on her iPod, and slipped off into a world where music solved everything.

That left me alone with Too-Beautiful-To-Actually-Exist. I wasn't good at meeting new people. I wasn't someone who engaged. If you talked to me first, I'd talk your fucking ear off until you ran away from me, screaming and cursing my name. But starting the conversation? Yeah… no.

Mercifully, Rosalie didn't seem to have that same awkward hang-up about talking first. "Well, your car got you most of the way there. That's pretty lucky."

"As far as bad luck goes, I guess that's about as good as it gets." I wasn't known for my optimism, but I was trying here. "John, our dad, won it off his friend, Dave, cool guy, in a poker game. How you get to the point where you have enough money to bet a car is beyond me, but hey, it worked out all right. For me. Well, for my... dad." (Hey, I didn't visibly cringe. That was a plus.) "Then for me. Most of the way." Would you believe that I hadn't noticed I was rambling until that exact moment? "Sorry. It's been a long trip. I talk a lot when… well, I just talk a lot. Feel free to tell me to shut up. Seriously. I won't be offended. Well, maybe if you're rude about it, but mostly it's fine." See? That right there was why I didn't start the talking. Because I never ended the talking.

Rosalie simply laughed. For that I was thankful and a little bit optimistic at the prospect of having made a friend. Or a future friend. If you can put up with that and not at least roll your eyes, we're gonna get along great. "Oh, don't worry. When you get on my nerves, you'll know it." Fair enough.

We were… well, I guess now it's home… in about five minutes. And wow. Just… wow. Freakin' huge-ass house. It looked like it was probably pretty old but had been modernized spectacularly. Three stories, a deep porch, and the whole thing was painted a faded, but still pretty, white. Now, Cori and I were used to wealth - our mom was a highly sought-after neurosurgeon and Homewrecker was a well-paid worker bee for some boring company everyone uses but no one remembers. But Mom never liked to flaunt her money so our old house was simple and unassuming. And Jackass would buy anything with a large price tag so everyone would know he was rich. Everything he owned was gaudy and god-awful. Pricey and pretty was new to me.

Cori and I trudged to the back of the car to get our bags; Rosalie floated. She grabbed Cori's laptop bag, Cori got her duffle, and I managed to get a hold of all three of my bags. I got this, no problem.

"Need some help with that?" a deep voice asked, out of nowhere.

Cori squeaked and dropped her bag on her foot. I couldn't help but snort, "Way to go, Cor." I turned to the guy who spoke, and I should look up synonyms for the word "wow" because I was gonna be using it a lot in this house. He was easily six feet, maybe six and a half, had short, curly hair that was so brown it looked black, another perfect face, and the brightest smile I think I'd ever seen. Also, super pale. Was there just never any sun here? Ever?

His grin was infectious; I couldn't help but smile back. "Nah, I got this. But thanks." I took one step forward and dropped all my bags. So much for having it all handled. "Or not. Yeah, help would be nice. Thanks." Pretty sure all the blood in my body had migrated to my face.

"Way to go, Kris," Cori snarked. I stuck my tongue out at her and she did the same. Yes, what mature almost-adults we were. Quite. Oh well, who cares. "Oops, we're being rude. Hello, obviously I'm Cori and this is Kris and you are?"

"Emmett Cullen at your service." He winked, I melted, he shook Cori's hand, she half-died, he shook my hand, I desperately tried not to show on my face how gorgeous he was, he grabbed two of my three bags, and we headed inside my new home. Cori was leading the way, for some reason. It's not like she knew where she was going. I wondered if she had realized that yet.

While Cori led us up the long driveway, I looked around a bit. Lots of green. Unsurprisingly. But what was surprising was that the all-encompassing woods was more comforting than frightening. We had stepped into a world that was all our own. For the first time in months, I felt something resembling peace.

Rosalie opened the door for us and I could see that the inside of the house was just as breathtaking as the outside. It was large and there was an entire wall of glass. Twenty bucks says Cori trips and breaks the glass in a month. And white. Everything was white. I was beginning to notice a pattern. Freakishly beautiful and pale. Seemed to be the theme of the Cullen household. Though I could have used a splash of red or gold or something. I wondered what Esme would think of maybe… possibly… redecorating? Pretty please with a cherry on top, so I wouldn't feel like I was suffocating? We would have to see.

Speaking of Esme, she and Carlisle looked exactly the same as I remembered them from twelve years ago. Neither of them looked a day over thirty. Our mom would kill to have whatever their secret was. They were seated together, holding hands, smiling like their long-lost daughters had just been found. I was taken aback by the care in their eyes; I mean, we hadn't seen them in twelve years. And they still cared about us that much? Meant a lot.

Esme got up from the couch and walked over to us, giving me a hug. She turned to give Cori a hug, but my dear sister was still spaced out. "She's not ignoring you, I swear. She's just tired. And… well… I mean, you know Cori. She's spacey. As soon as she realizes that you're here, she's gonna be ecstatic." I felt the need to both apologize for and defend my twin. Meanwhile, she started inching toward whatever it was that had captivated her attention. Ah, a piano. That made sense. Yeah, we weren't gonna have her attention for a good long while.

Esme chuckled and waved off my apology. "It's all right, dear. We know this move is a lot for you two. Emmett, Rosalie, will you please take their bags to their rooms?" Emmett nodded, grabbed my last bag, and they ran up the stairs and back down fairly quickly. When they came back downstairs holding hands I realized that I had missed something. Oh. That's… I thought they were… well, I guess if they were all adopted it's not that weird.

If I didn't do something soon, we were all going to be awake for the rest of eternity before we even got around to introductions. I cleared my throat three times before Cori came back to earth.

"Oh shit. Sorry! Sorry. Piano pretty. Pretty piano. I was distracted. Did I really zone that much?" she said at hyper-speed. "Hi. Hello. I'm sorry again."

Esme laughed again and moved to hug Cori. "It's so nice to see you again, sweetheart. Girls, meet the family. You know Carlisle," her husband waved jovially from the couch, "and you've met Emmett and Rosalie," they nodded at us, "this is Jasper," Blondie 2.0… Dude Blondie… Jasper. Okie doke. "And Alice," the super-smiley pixie with dark hair who was sitting on top of Blondie #2. "My youngest son, Edward," bronze hair with the super intense stare, "and his girlfriend, Bella," girl with brown hair, brown eyes… looked a lot like Cori, actually, who was curled into Edward. Jasper, Alice, Edward, Bella. Jasper, Alice, Edward, Bella. Jasper, Alice, Edward, Bella. Got it.

Everybody was coupled up. A little odd, but really cute. There was so much love in the room, it was nice to see, but kinda sucked to not be a part of. I hadn't been much into dating back in L.A. The guys were nice enough but I was a little too independent. I didn't want to be tied down or accountable to anybody but me. And I was dead-set against falling in love in high school. That's just asking to get your heart ripped out. Still, though, every once in a while, like now, I'd get a glimpse of what I'd been missing.

"Not to sound rude or anything, but we've been driving for twenty hours and I'm, like, dead on my feet." Cori cut the meet-and-greet short.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty tired, too. It was nice to meet you all, but I think I should go pass out now. Good night."

Everyone chorused their goodbyes and I led Cori the way Emmett and Rosalie had taken our bags. My room was the farthest on the right, Cori's was directly across from mine. I only knew this because someone had put very bright and very glittery decorations with our names on them on the doors. Based on the vibes I got downstairs, my money was on Alice being the artist.

"Night, sis. Sleep well. Don't punch me when I sleep through all my alarms and they wake you up instead. Love you," I said. I wasn't sure if she wanted a hug or just to go to bed. She didn't like to be touched but I was special and we were in a new place.

Cori tackle-hugged me. "Good night, Kris. Love you, too." She squeezed me a little harder than usual, then pulled away and attempted a smile. She turned and went into her room and shut the door.

I took a deep breath and opened my door and stepped inside. Everything was white in here, too. Maybe Cori and I could decorate with another paint war. There was no way she could claim victory this time around (she didn't even win the first time, but somebody had to answer the door to get the pizza). Resolving to make this room homier tomorrow after school, I pulled back the covers on my (guess what color?) white bed and climbed in. I was so tired it didn't even occur to me I was still wearing my wet day clothes until I was halfway to dreamland.

So began the new chapter in my life.

Author's Note #2: We're still alive! Sorry and thank you to everyone who waited patiently. It's been crazy trying to coordinate our schedules to make time to write. Both Artemis and I did some editing on Chapter 1 to make it more consistent and flow more smoothly. And we're working on Chapter 2 so that should be up in the next few days. Please read and review, thanks!