A/N: As some of you may have noticed the title of the story is the same as another Paul/OC story that's out there. Please don't think that I stole the name or the idea from someone else. I'm not copying anyone. I'm the same author who wrote the other one. I just made a new account because I forgot the information for my other one. When I first started I was younger and a little lost. Clearly I was eager to write a Paul/OC story and jumped in head first without thinking things through.
Though I'm happy to say that I am back now. Hopefully with better writing because I cringed at my old stuff. I thank those of you who said really nice things about my original writing. Now that I have a better understand of where I want this story to go and I do have my muse, I will be getting back to this story. I'll be editing the chapters that have already been written to make them clearer and more descriptive along with writing new ones. I'm really happy to be back guys because I've been wanting to do this for months. I do hope that you guys will continue to follow the story as it progresses and like the chapters that have been rewritten. I'll be updating as much as I can as I do have more free time at the moment.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters associated with the series.
Annabelle used to be a normal sixteen year old girl who resided in Chicago, Illinois. A girl who was close to her family but did fight with them from time to time and was too lost in her own world to hold a boyfriend for more than a couple of months. She had a mother, a father and a brother who just happened to be her fraternal twin. Though she did consider Ben to be more like a best friend than a brother. They spent most of their time together and rarely fought with each other. It did happen occasionally but it didn't last more than a couple of hours. While they did have their separate friend,s at the end of the day it was Ben who Annabelle confided in. Though she wouldn't admit it to anyone for fear of looking weak; Ben was her security blanket. She probably needed him more than he needed her. Their father was a lawyer and their mother a children's doctor who worked at the local hospital. Growing up they were never home enough for Annabelle to be as close to them as she wanted to be. She tried to get close to her mother and she succeeded to an extent but work almost always got i the way of the time she tried to spend with her mother so in turn Annabelle relied on her brother. She was content with the way things were and only wished they hadn't changed in such a drastic way.
One of Annabelle's friends wanted to have a girls night; some time without the usual guys around so that they could talk freely. Though she did want to go and spend time with her friends she held some hesitation. It was a rare time in which both her parents were home and weren't slammed with an overwhelming amount of work. She wanted to sit down with them because she didn't know when she would be able to the next time. Annabelle appreciated the amount of work they did for their family and to help other people but the selfish part of her just wanted them to stay home all the time. Of course all of her hesitation went unnoticed as she was pushed by her parents and her brother to go out. Apparently she deserved some time to herself to be with her friends and do what she wanted as long as she was careful. Annabelle couldn't ignore her family and reluctantly went out that night hoping that she didn't regret it when morning came.
Surprisingly enough for her the night with her friends had went better than Annabelle expected it too. They didn't do anything that would be considered crazy or wild. They stayed in that night'; watching movies, eating large amounts of junk food and talked for the majority of the night. Annabelle barely got any sleep before it was time for her to head home though she felt strangely rested and relaxed. She was feeling good when she walked into her home that morning. She barely noticed the silence that surrounded her as she figured everyone was either out or still sleeping. Going right up to her room, she put the things she took to the sleepover in her room and in the proper places before she figured that she should check if someone was indeed home. First she went to Ben's room, knocking on the door softly she waited for a response before turning the knob and poking her head in. She didn't see anyone in there but his bed was mess which was unusual considering he didn't leave until his room was clean because he didn't want to risk a glare from their mother who could be what most people called a "neat freak." She furrowed her brow for a second before shrugging and moving on to the next room. Approaching her parents room slowly a look of confusion appeared on Annabelle's face. It was the little things that made her stop and think. In this case it was the bedroom door of her parents room. Never before had it been closed or halfway closed. It was open all the time. Her father always said it was because it made him more comfortable. As if he could hear someone coming before they reached the room. She never understood it because she always kept her door closed. Curious and impatient Annabelle walked over to the door; pushing it open slightly. Her eyes widened in shock as her eyes fell upon the room.
"Annabelle." She heard a timid voice say as she felt familiar cold hands shake her lightly. "Annabelle, wake up. We're here." The voice said again while she attempted to swat his hand away and go back to sleep. Though it wasn't a peaceful slumber it was better than staying awake. She hadn't gotten any rest the past two days thanks to the nightmares that came to her as soon as she closed her eyes. Annabelle was almost afraid to sleep because of them. It was no surprise that her eyes instantly narrowed as her gaze turned to the person who had woken her. Her lack of rest and exhaustion only put her in a foul mood. She was annoyed and didn't feel like hiding it and even then she knew that he could feel her annoyance. It was obvious with the small smile that played at his lips.
"Why did you wake me?" She asked monotone as she didn't catch any of his earlier words.
"Because we're here." He repeated as he gestured to the scene in front of him. Annabelle looked out the window for a second before she got out of the car. With the sleeping she hadn't noticed how cramped she felt in the car. She always did hate being stuck in a car for long periods of time. She took the time to stretch her arms over her head then leaned back. It felt good to be able to stand and walk around after sitting down for so long. As soon as she heard the sound of a car door closing, her eyes turned to Jasper. She glared at him for a second, clearly upset that he was the one who woke her up. Even though it was because they had arrived at their destination, she wished that she was still asleep.
The beginnings of what could have been Annabelle's inner rantings were cut off by someone chuckling in the background. Turning around her eyes fell on a man who was standing on a stair that led up to a decent sized house with his arms crossed over his chest and a smile placed on his lips. He didn't look like anyone she's seen before. He had reddish hair; more like a bronzed color to her and light brown eyes that didn't look natural. From where she was standing she couldn't spot one flaw on him; while others might have considered it perfection she considered it slightly creepy. Though that might have been because he was a complete stranger to her. She stared at him for a minute as he continued to chuckle. "Are you laughing at me?" She asked confused as she pointed to herself. Did she have something on her face? Were her clothes messed up? Had she been staring for too long?
"No, I wasn't laughing at you." The stranger said as he shook his head before her turned his sights to Jasper.
Annabelle turned to Jasper and saw that he was glaring back at the man who was laughing not a minute before. He shook his head slowly before speaking. "Annabelle. This is my brother, Edward." Jasper gestured to Edward as he spoke. Annabelle nodded in understanding once she was told who he was. So that was one of the brothers she'd heard about. She hadn't heard much but enough. Raising a hand, she waved at him with half a smile on her lips. She was feeling a little awkward at the moment as she stood there with nothing to say. Meeting new people was never easy for her. She could be social but like most or some, she would usually feel out of place; not knowing what to say or even how to start a conversation. She wasn't shy, she was just...at a loss of what to do when she was near someone she'd just met. It was one of the things she hated about meeting strangers.
She turned to Jasper with a lost look in her eye. What the hell was she supposed to say? Was she expected to speak at all? Jasper only gave Annabelle a reassuring smile as he stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come one, let's go inside. It's about to start raining." She only stared at him frozen in place with fear. Inside...as in inside the house. The house in which the rest of his family-the Cullen's were. Annabelle had the sudden urge to climb back into the car and beg Jasper to take her back to where he'd found her. She didn't want to go in there. Never mind the fact that they were vampires; Jasper had explained that a little after they'd met and after a slight panic session she accepted it with more ease than she thought possible. It came with the knowledge that they didn't drink human blood while the temptation might still be there she wasn't being taken to the house to be offered up as a drink or so she hoped not. What frightened her was the fact that she was about to intrude on this family. A family that were close from what she'd been told. She was an outsider who was going to walk into that house and stay there as if she belonged when she knew very well that she didn't. As if they were her family as well. Jesus they're going to hate me. She thought to herself.
"Annabelle. We are your family and you do belong here. No one is going to hate you, I know for a fact that we already love you." She heard Edward say from behind her. Her head snapped to the side wondering how he knew what she was thinking before it dawned on her and she mentally slapped herself. She had forgotten that he had that nifty little gift that allowed him to read minds. She briefly wondered what that was like before she made a mental note to be a little more careful around him. God forbid there come a day where he made her angry and she called him every name in the book in her head while he heard it all.
"Come on." Annabelle could feel Jasper nudging her forward. She tried to resist but her attempt was wasted as he was stronger than her and in the end she took the steps he wanted her to without her fighting too much. However, before she entered the house she stopped and stood up a little straighter, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. She figured that walking into the house with her head held high was better than being dragged like a child. Annabelle then stepped through the entrance of the house with Jasper at her side. Once inside the slightly warmer home she stopped dead in her tracks. There standing before her was a family filled with the most beautiful people she'd ever seen. They were each as eerily flawless as both Jasper and Edward with the same colored eyes. It was clear to Annabelle that this was the Cullen family she'd been told about by Jasper.
A man with blonde hair stepped forward and from the moment her eyes landed on him, Annabelle knew that he was Carlisle. She couldn't explain it properly but she knew by the Aura that surrounded him. Despite him being a vampire he didn't give off a dangerous vibe. She saw no ill intention in his eye when she looked at him. "You must be Annabelle." He said with a smile. Annabelle could only nod in response, not wanting to say anything for fear of letting something idiotic come out of her mouth. It was then that a women with caramel colored hair stepped forward as well only she had a frown on her face. Upon seeing her a slight from formed on Annabelle's mouth. The frown didn't fit the woman's soft features and it made Annabelle upset to see it there. Even though Annabelle had just seen her for the first time she could tell that the woman wasn't the frowning type. Annabelle had began to wonder if she had done something to upset the woman though she could remember doing nothing other than standing there.
"Please don't be afraid, we won't hurt you." She heard the woman say.
Annabelle blinked twice in confusion. Afraid? She wasn't afraid."I'm not afraid; I'm just naturally awkward." She responded quickly. There was a flurry of laughter from the rest of the family that made a rush of color flood to Annabelle's cheeks. The woman was also laughing lightly with a smile on her face that made relief rush through her. The woman walked off and stood next to Carlisle who wrapped an arm around her once she was close enough to him. Annabelle looked between the two of them before she realized the obvious. The woman was Esme, Carlisle's wife and mother to the Cullen "kids." She remembered Jasper telling her about Esme and the rest of the family. Annabelle's eyes roamed over all of them together. They were all smiling with the exception of the other blonde woman in the room. She was only staring at Annabelle not smiling but not frowning either. As if she were indifferent to Annabelle's presence. And that was exactly why Annabelle smiled at the blonde. Because she wasn't putting on a fake face and pretended to be happy, Annabelle respected that.
While Annabelle was looking at the blonde woman she didn't notice the slightly smaller woman with dark hair step forward. Before she could react Annabelle was pulled into a hug. Due to the shock of it and the amount of strength the woman possessed, Annabelle was having a hard time breathing.
"Alice, she can't breathe." She heard Edward say and almost immediately Alice's hold on Annabelle loosened. Though she didn't release her hold completely. Annabelle stared at her while Alice beamed back. "You know, of all the things I see-I didn't see you coming. You were a surprise to us all." From what Annabelle was told, Alice was the one who could see the future though she didn't see Annabelle. She figured it was because her arrival here wasn't exactly planned. Jasper had told her that it was something he did on impulse.
"I hope I was a good surprise." She mumbled.
"You were a great surprise." Alice said with a laugh before she began to introduce everyone. She pointed to a girl with long brown hair who was standing off to the side. "That's Bella, she's Edward's wife." Then she pointed to a girl that looked like she was about twelve and had had the same color hair as Edward. "That's Renesmee, she's Edward and Bella's daughter." Then Alice pointed to a huge man with dark hair. Annabelle took a step back out of instinct. His size was a bit intimidating. "That's Emmett." Alice saw the concerned expression on her face and laughed. "It's okay he won't hurt you."
"I know he looks scary but uncle Emmett is really just a big goofball." Remesmee said reassuringly.
"And last but not least is Rosalie." Alice said pointing to the blonde that was next to Emmett. Now that Annabelle looked at her again, she saw that Rosalie had a curious expression on her face. Almost as if she was trying to figure the girl out.
"Thank you for letting me stay in your home." Annabelle said with a smile as she was a little more relaxed at the moment. This meant more to her than she would be able to explain. And she knew she wouldn't be able to explain it without shedding a tear or two.
"This is your home now too, Annabelle. This is our home". Carlisle said with ease as the others nodded in agreement. Annabelle had the feeling as if she wanted to cry. Not out of sadness but happiness. She wasn't going to cry because she wasn't going to let herself but she wanted to. Alice pulled Annabelle into another-more gentle-hug. From where she stood Annabelle could see that everyone was beaming now, even Rosalie. It helped diminish the last of hesitation Annabelle felt about being in this home with this family. She still had her reservations of course but she felt more in place now than she did when she was outside.
Not a minute after Alice had finally released Annabelle completely was the front door thrown open. Annabelle didn't have time to step out of the way as someone ran into her. Had she not been near Alice at the time she knew that she would have fallen flat on her face. Looking behind her to see who it was that ran into her, Annabelle saw two guys with similar short black hair and russet colored skin. Both were shirtless with a tattoo on their right arm. It seemed as if the two could be related but the rest of their independent features said otherwise. Then again anything was possible so she didn't comment on that. What she was more focused on was how tall they both were. Jesus they are huge!
There was a chuckle in the background from Edward who gestured to one of the guys. "The one who ran into you is Jacob Black." Jacob smiled giving a small wave before he caught sight of Remesmee and walked over to her. "The younger looking was is Seth Clearwater."
Annabelle looked over at Seth who gave her a smile in return. "Hey!" He said enthusiastically.
"Hello." She replied with a small laugh. Apparently Seth's smile was contagious because the longer she looked at him the more difficult it was to keep an equally big smile off her face.
"This is Annabelle, the newest member of our family." Carlisle said to Jacob and Seth.
Seth's eyebrows furrowed as he leaned into Annabelle and sniffed her. She raised an eyebrow at him but didn't move. What the holy hell is he doing? "Really? Because she doesn't smell like one of you."
Edward rolled his eyes. "Seth, she's human."
"Then how exactly is she one of you?" He questioned.
"It's a long story." Annabelle replied as the others nodded their agreement.
A/N: First chapter down. I'm so happy. :)