Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the rights to her respective characters and plot line; I just use them as I wish.
Life had never been easy for me.
Granted, I was raised from infancy by a wealthy family of otherworldly immortals – vampires, as Emmett loved to point out – and, as a vampire-human hybrid, I was also lucky to strive within the immortal world. That was where my luck started, and ended.
As a hybrid, my family of well-to-do vampires were in constant danger of keeping my existence a secret. Discovered as a day-old infant in the woods by their Canadian mansion fifteen years ago, they had taken me in and cared for me graciously, always waiting for the day my maker would appear. But, as the years had flown by, it became clear that no one was coming for me. They were safe to raise me as their own – so long as my livelihood was kept under wraps.
Susceptible to blood thirst as vampires were, it had been crucial for the Cullens to keep me from the spotlight of the human world up until maturity had caught up with me. I was a mere seven in human years when I had reached the potential that my siblings had. I could now be viewed as a teenager to the outside world; striking and eager to learn the ways of the humans. Alice had taken it upon herself to accompany Esme and Carlisle in any outings, to ensure no danger fell upon us, while Edward, my constant companion and closest ally through it all was effective as a watch-out. Listening in to the thousands of thoughts surrounding us in a day combined with the near constant checking of the future had allowed my overprotective and overly-generous adoptive parents to let me off the tight leash they had reared me on.
And what a world it was when they finally had.
I couldn't get enough of it despite the constant reminder that I must keep myself hidden; keep myself closed off from forming strong bonds with the humans. It was easier, almost, for my five siblings to fight away the constant suspicions and judgements of the humans. They were all too different and most tended to stay away before they even had a chance to determine just exactly what that difference was. For me, on the other hand, I was too like them, too humanized and less intimidating to approach. It was easier for the humans to discover the secrets I held because they were simply less frightened of me. My human side appealed to their senses and escaped their instinctive warnings so much so that I could accidentally slip up and reveal something they should not know or see. Like my increased speed, my advanced strength, my quick growth…
Really, in retrospect, I was quite lucky compared to my siblings and parents in the sense that I could just be. I didn't need to be careful with the way I spoke to the humans or looked at the humans or moved around the humans for they were not eternally petrified of me. I could just be, and yet my floundering sense of humanity strangled inside of a teenaged girl's body told me the one reality I desperately thought to be true: my life was hard.
My siblings and parents needed to hide their true identities from the humans, while I needed to hide myself – my very existence – from nearly every creature, living and dead. Humans, vampires, shapeshifters…
The world was not meant for hybrids and my robust, moody, adolescent mind knew that all too well.
But, most importantly, my life was hard because I couldn't do what I wanted.
To be a normal teenager; to enroll in the local high school and have rebellious friend; to cut classes and skip out on homework and learn from my mistakes; to study hard and move onto college; to make something of myself that was more than just the hushed existence that I lived now. I wanted to be real. I wanted to be human, and the worst part was that each of my siblings could experience such emotions while I was restrained to the house. Even now, as I listened in at the study door of my beloved father, discussing my recent fit with my adoring mother about my desire to attend school with the rest of my siblings, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that life was about to get even harder.
For what was I to do during my endlessly open days?
Ear against the old oak wood door, I listened in as closely as I could, catching phrases and words here and there.
"…hasn't aged in two years…" and "growth spurt" and "…be able to convince…?" were just some of the highlights I had been hearing for the past twenty minutes. Really, it was terribly difficult to live in a household where everyone could speak quieter than my advanced hearing could pick up. A normal human whisper would have been no problem, but vampires could reach notes that were soundless to anyone listening.
Esme and Carlisle's words were too soft and muted to really give me a fair idea of whether I had swayed their opinion, though, in reality, a tantrum like the one I had thrown earlier in the night would have never swayed an opinion other than an eyeroll and a stern talking to –
"What are you doing?"
The whispered voice of my boisterous older brother, Emmett, interrupted my spying and I turned to glare up at him, his stature making it so that he hovered over me by a foot and a half. His entire body encompassed me in his shadow and I now stood in the dark of the doorway. The voices on the other end grew quieter and may have even halted altogether. They were impossible to hear, now.
"Thanks, Em," I whispered sarcastically. He shot me a wide-eyed, unashamed glance, clearly lost in the reason for my immediate annoyance. But he had been there; he should know. And the raise of his eyebrows as he glanced from the closed door to me told me that he did know, and was beginning to realize just why I was huddled before the closed door of Carlisle's study.
"You know what they say about eavesdroppers, don't you?" he denoted with a devilish grin that showed off his dimples. I rolled my eyes, not willing to go along with his jabs. Emmett was not fun to be around when in a certain ornery mood; he tended to egg on a reaction.
"I'm just trying to hear if they're going to let me go to school next year," I hissed and turned my attention back to the door at hand. "And you're not making that any easier," I chastised as I pressed my ear back to the door. Carlisle and Esme were deathly quiet now which meant they had either taken their conversation elsewhere, where in the habit of speaking below listening range, or had given up the farce to listen to Emmett and I banter. I was betting on the second option and was proven correct when Emmett grabbed onto my arm, albeit a tad roughly, and pulled me out of the way.
"Let me listen," he whispered and, like a child excited for the notion of salacious gossip, ducked to press his ear to the door as I had. I stood, arms crossed, foot prevented from tapping as I stared at his curly black hair. His eyes were wide as he listened and full of excitement and I knew involving him had been a mistake. Emmett loved to increase drama. But, as he pulled away, he only shot me a tentative smile and shrugged. "Seems it could go either way, kid."
I groaned.
"What are they saying? Is Esme at least fighting for me? Do you think they are going to reach an outcome tonight?" The questions could have continued but Emmett pressed his finger to his lips, shushing me harshly.
"They can definitely hear you, first of all," he quipped and I pressed my lips together. No need to make matters worse. "And second, it doesn't sound like either of them are for…or against you going. I think they are just weighing the pros and cons."
"Pros and cons?!" I cried a little too loudly and moved to push Emmett out of the way. "Here's a pro," I insisted harshly, toning down my voice a hint, "I actually get to do something with my life instead of wasting away here!"
Emmett chuckled at my dramatics and then called out with an angry, "Hey!" as I tried to push him out of the way so I could go back to listening. "You need to learn some manners, kid," he teased and, normally, I'd apologize unwillingly and everything would be fine, but tonight I was at my wits end.
"Bite me," I grumbled and, after a bit more of a struggle, managed to shoulder him to the side just enough so that I could listen in as well.
Silence.
There was no use to listening anymore and I knew that my growing irritation would only harden their case even more, so I stood back and crossed my arms, deciding to wait out the conversation in my own stewing irritation. Emmett found this to be hilarious as he switched between grinning in amusement at my peeved positioning, and listening in at the door. Despite his overbearing annoyingness, he was actually quite helpful when he needed to be.
Finally, after what felt like hours, he put up a hand.
"They're bringing Edward into this now," he whispered quietly and I felt a spark of hope settle over me. If the decision was up to Edward, if he was the tie breaker, he would undoubtedly agree to let me do what I wanted. We had talked in depth about my enrolling in high school, and he thought it was a brilliant idea – given that he was there with me which, seeing as we had practically been attached at the hip since my arrival, was a no brainer.
Emmett looked up from the door suddenly, a panicked and guilty look upon his cherubic face before he bolted around me, whispering, "They're coming!" in a rather loud voice. I knew it was my cue from him to ditch as he had, but I felt I could not waste what may be my last, for another decade or so, opportunity and so I stayed planted where I was, five feet in front of the study.
When the door opened, I launched into my pre-rehearsed and probably tired argument, watching Esme and Carlisle's eyes go from amused, to annoyed, back to amused.
"My aging has slowed, while my desire for knowledge has not – Carlisle, you of all people should be ecstatic with my wish to attend school – and I am willing to put in the time and effort to do well in my courses while maintaining the secret of my existence. I'll be just a normal teenager to all the humans and they will think nothing of me. Alice and Edward will be graduating this year and, what with none of the others enrolled in college, I request that we move somewhere else so that I can also start school. Carlisle, you yourself said that leaving the hospital next year would not put a damper on your coworkers and Esme has said many times that she'd like to travel somewhere else for a change.
Edward has already agreed to share all of my classes with me, so, in conclusion, I believe that I have a right to demand an education outside of Esme's homeschooling – sorry, Esme – and I think, no I know I am ready for it now." The collective breath I took was enough to give me a slight head rush. I stood my ground, staring between Carlisle and Esme's equally as interested faces.
"Please," I added in quickly as a bonus and received a laugh from Esme and a smile from Carlisle.
"And how long have you been practicing that?" Carlisle asked, his eyebrows raising in what I hoped was impression.
"All evening," I answered as I rung out my fingers. I knew no amount of further begging would help my case and so I waited as patiently as I possibly could which, because I was me, was with hardly any at all.
Carlisle sighed and Esme reached around to press her lips to his cheek.
"I'll let you handle this, dear," she said and then moved past me, brushing her hand lovingly along my shoulder. It was just me and the doctor now, and I honestly had no idea what was going through his head. I wished Edward was back from his hunting trip with Alice and Jasper. He would know how to handle the next step.
"Bella," Carlisle started on a serious note that had my stomach flipping inside out with anxiety. "I know you are desperate for an answer now, but your mother and I think it is best if we have a conversation with Edward first about our concerns and boundaries." He raised a finger as my eyes lit up. "But," he continued heavily, "this is not a soft no, or a hard yes; this is just further discussion, do you understand?"
I nodded excitedly, clasping my hands together because I knew, despite Carlisle's assurances that this was not a yes, that it was a victory nonetheless. Involving Edward meant that they were heavily considering allowing me to attend school so long as I was looked after and that would not be a problem with Edward. He was protective enough as it was, sometimes even more so than Carlisle, though I was suspicious that they may be protective for different reasons. Nevertheless, a referral to Edward was a very good sign.
"Okay," Carlisle sighed exaggeratedly and waved his hand once in dismissal. "Edward, Alice, and Jasper should be home soon. I will talk with him alone when he gets here and you'll have your answer tomorrow morning."
I was practically shaking with excitement as I flung myself at Carlisle, wrapping my arms around his neck. My excitement bubbled over to him and he laughed softly as I kept up a chant of, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Now go to your room and try not to listen in on any other conversations, whether or not they are about you," he insisted in a feigned tired voice and I sucked in a breath, trying to keep my cheeks from burning with my widened smile.
"Yes, dad," I agreed and then, with one last grin, was rushing to my bedroom and flinging onto my mattress in joy.
I was going to school!
The elation didn't die throughout the night, but became a more subdued thrill as I waited eagerly for Edward's return and, when he did return late into the night as I sat at my desk, absorbed in a drawing I was sketching for Esme, the enthusiasm bubbled up once more.
He climbed in through my bedroom window – something he often did when something was bothering him and he didn't want a running commentary from the entire family, spoken or otherwise – and his golden eyes were tinged with irritation before they softened upon meeting my gaze from across the room. I watched as he inhaled and sighed, dragging himself dramatically over the sill of my window and across the floor until he reached my bed. He effectively dropped himself onto the mattress, much in a similar fashion as I had earlier in the night, though mine had been on my stomach and in excitement while his was on his back and in enervation. His long limbs hung off the end of the bed by a few inches, but he stayed put regardless. Besides, it wasn't entirely out of the ordinary for Edward to drop himself dramatically to my bed.
"Bella," he groaned, clearly agitated about something that had happened earlier in the night, before becoming still as a statue, eyes closed, with the only movement the rise and fall of his chest with each unnecessary, but automatic breath. Previous battle and victory forgotten, I stared for a bit too long – really, it was hard not to stare at the Adonis that was Edward Cullen – before moving from my chair to sit on the edge of the bed with whatever room he had left me. And he always left me room, just below my pillow so that we were within perfect distance.
"What's wrong?" I pressed quietly and his brooding increased ten-fold as he peeled back one pale, lavender eyelid to study me from for a moment before sighing exaggeratedly and falling back into a false slumber. He looked funny, stretched out on my too-small bed, with a simple pucker to his brow but, at the same time, he looked entirely too unfunny and entirely too glorious. He kind of took my breath away.
"It's a girl…" he started with a hint of derision and, despite always having known in the back of my mind that this day would come, I couldn't help that immediate reaction of my lungs holding the air they had taken and my muscles freezing in place. Edward, having sensed my reaction, looked over at me apologetically and with a hint of amusement.
"Not like that," he said and I immediately relaxed, ignoring the small curl to his lips as he watched my counter reaction.
"A girl, as in Alice," he explained and I shot him a glare. Why couldn't he have started out with that, and not his oh-so-typical melodramatic entrance?
"What did Alice do this time?" I asked, knowing, undoubtedly, that it was something. There was never a time when Alice hadn't annoyed someone in the family, and it was usually either Edward, Rosalie, or me.
He sighed theatrically and ran a pale, long-fingered hand through his untamed bronze hair, even more so after his wild run, and closed his eyes once more.
"She's hiding something from me," he said after a long pause.
His eyes flashed open as he stared up at my ceiling, hands resting across his chest, "From me, the only one who may be able to help her decipher her abhorrently confusing visions."
He sat up quickly, looking over at me, our faces a mere six inches apart. His eyes crystallized and I studied the mixing runs of onyx and emerald green, a reminiscence of his human life, flecking throughout the pure gold irises.
"Jasper hasn't any idea what she saw either, but I am guessing it has to do with me," he accused.
It took everything within me not to roll my eyes. He always assumed the absolute worst.
"Maybe it's a gift she is planning for you. Christmas is in a week," I reminded him and watched as his shoulders slumped in misery.
"I don't like surprises," he insisted despite his absolute love of receiving things from Carlisle and Esme.
"And I know what you are thinking," he started, wagging his pointer finger at me in a sign of resistance. "The Baby Grand doesn't count."
Of course, he had guessed the direction of my thoughts.
"Oh, definitely not," I mimicked, my tone aghast. "And neither did the collection of first edition Frank Haddock's from Jasper, or the Mausoleum tour from Rosalie, or the – no!" My possibly never-ending list was cut off by a stark cry-turned-laughter straight from my stomach as Edward's lithe fingers danced mercilessly over my waist and up my torso, ending my tirade before I could even really begin. The tickling was sudden, but not nearly as painful as the laughter as I begged him to stop, nearly slipping off the bed in the process. He wrapped an arm around my waist to right me and brushed the hair out of my face, his lopsided grin giving me as many goosebumps as it did warm, tingling sensations up my spine.
"Don't forget the Victoria Falls," he added as his dancing eyes watched me catch my breath.
"How could I? You snuck us in during the night and threw me in." I had only been with the Cullens for five years at the time, and Alice had helped me pick out something suited for Edward's tastes. He loved cultures, and he loved traveling – two things I had not experienced much of.
"My gifts from you are always my favorites," he said instead of replying to my accusation, though it was not an entirely true one. I had, as a child, been on his back and had, at the time, agreed that it seemed fun.
It was cold – and frothy.
I rolled my eyes, the ridiculous smile still pinned to my face as he tightened his grip on me. I could feel the chill of his fingers through my thin long-sleeve and remembered at once the main reason I had been so impatient for his return – convincing Carlisle and Esme.
"Edward!" My excitement returned ten-fold as I moved to kneel before him on my toes, pressing my hands to his hard shoulders. He looked up at me in question, curious as to my sudden change in temperament. "I need you to talk to Carlisle for me!" I moved from the bed quickly, pulling at his arm as I did to get him to move with me. He did, much faster than I had been able to.
"What for…?" he started and then trailed off, his eyes glancing away towards my closed door and then back to me, understanding lighting his gaze. I always knew what that look meant – he was listening to something, or someone, elsewhere.
"Ah," he said and then smiled softly. He placed his hand on my warm cheek, "Fret not, I will speak with them," and then was gone, leaving me standing in the middle of my room with a pit the size of an apple growing in my stomach.
They had to say yes; they just had to.
A few things to clear up: Bella is a hybrid found fifteen years ago by the Cullens. She is, therefore, fifteen years old in human years, though she has been physically and emotionally a teenager for a few years prior to that due to a hybrid's quick growth. Edward and Bella are not a couple as of now due to her young, legitimate age. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed!