A/N:

Sorry, I know I shouldn't be starting another story, but I have decided that this will be a kind of prequel to As Long As You're Mine. I know it's weird. But I promise I will try to post chapters regularly for this one. I've already got the next couple ones planned out.

So anyway, enjoy!

BPOV:

Mrs. Snow says I will be meeting my new family today. She says I'll like them. I'm not sure if I believe her.

I am sitting in one of the hard plastic chairs outside of the meeting rooms on the first floor of the adoption center. Mrs. Snow told me to dress in my best clothes, which means my normal attire of jeans and black ragged converse, complimented by a silky blue top I borrowed from one of the older girls. It's a bit too big on me, but it has long sleeves, which is good. I won't wear tee shirts, and Mrs. Snow has given up trying to guess why. She'd never get it right, anyway.

As I sit waiting for Mrs. Cullen, my new "Mom", to show up, I study my converse. I have added my own personal touch to them- the toes, normally white, now are festooned with doodles and drawings I did with Magic Marker. They were the scented kind, too, and I drew what the scent was- an orange, a blueberry, even a roasted marshmallow. Mrs. Snow doesn't approve of the drawings. She's a neat freak- the type of person who goes nuts if you spill one drop of anything, even water. Let's just say she and I haven't gotten along very well. I think she's glad to be rid of me, finally.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to add a border around my doodles when I hear footsteps headed in my direction. I glance up and gasp. My mouth's probably flopping open like a fish.

It's Mrs. Cullen, and she's, well, beautiful, much more so than I expected her to be. She's small, probably no more than five foot two, but she's slender. She's got huge, sparkling brown eyes inside of a heart shaped face that's surrounded by caramel colored hair that looks soft as a cloud. Her soft pink lips are turned up into a smile, and I feel myself smiling back at her- just a little bit. Even so, I'm shocked at myself. I haven't smiled for a long time now, not since…. Well, never mind.

I tear my eyes away from her to glance at Mrs. Snow. She looks as shocked as I feel, and quickly I regain my composure and my face goes back to its regular blankness. Mrs. Cullen appears not to have noticed anything, she's still smiling at me. I force myself not to smile back again- if I do, I'm giving her a chance to get closer to me, and the closer someone gets to me the more they can hurt me.

Mrs. Snow is glaring daggers at me- I get the hint and stand up, wrapping my arms around myself.

"He- Hello, Mrs. C-Cullen."

She looks a bit surprised, probably at my stutter-- I can't help it, I've been talking like this for years now. It feels like every time I try to speak, the words choke me, trying to tell me to shut up, can't I see that talking doesn't do anything but bring me unwanted attention?

But Mrs. Cullen shakes off her surprise in an instant and holds out a perfectly manicured hand.

"Hello, Isabella. I'm so glad to finally meet you."

I hesitate for an instant before reaching out and placing my hand in hers. She's got a strong grip, and shakes my hand for an instant before dropping it. She seems to sense I feel uncomfortable, and this perceptiveness has me liking her even more, even though I try to stop myself. I've allowed myself to get attached to people who say they're going to be my new 'family', and then they just destroy my trust. Part of me wonders how I can even trust anyone anymore. I have no answers.

Mrs. Snow clears her throat and I jump, realizing I've been standing there staring at Mrs. Cullen like an idiot.

"Well, how about we go into the interview room? You can learn some more about Isabella, Mrs. Cullen, and she can learn some more about you."

I'm not sure if I want Mrs. Cullen to know more about me. I'm perfectly happy keeping everything inside of me, thank you very much.

But Mrs. Snow won't take no for an answer, and she leads us into the small room with the horrible outdated lime green carpet and a dark brown table with worn chairs. She smiles her rather unpleasant smile at me, staring into my eyes with a silent reminder to 'Behave!', and then walks out of the room leaving me and Mrs. Cullen alone. I hastily sit down and she follows my lead. We sit there in silence for a few seconds, me staring at my feet and her staring at me. Then she breaks the silence.

"So, Isabella, why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?"

I look up at her and then bite my lip. What am I supposed to tell her? That I have to see therapists because I have nightmares almost every night? That they haunt me day in and day out? Somehow, I don't think that'd make her want to adopt me…

So I say nothing. I can't think of anything good, anyway.

Mrs. Cullen clears her throat and glances down at her hands, which are twisting around themselves as if she's trying to pull her fingers off.

"Well, ok, I understand that you probably don't feel like talking to me. My daughter Rosalie was like that at first. It took her weeks to come around. But, if you don't mind, could I ask you something?"

I stare at her, and then nod warily, bracing myself.

"Well, I noticed the drawings on your shoes. They're marvelous. Are you an artist?"

I'm completely derailed. I thought it would be something like what my last prospective adopter asked… she'd wondered if I was depressed or if I had an eating disorder, because she said I would be a bad influence to her precious little girl if I had. I hadn't even answered that one.

But Mrs. Cullen smiles at me again as I blink in surprise, and once again I feel my answering smile growing on my lips. And this time, I don't try to suppress it; she deserves to be smiled at, someone as kind as her. I realize she is waiting for an answer as I sit there gazing at her in surprise, and hastily I clear my throat.

"Uh, n-no, I'm not an a-artist. They're n-not that g-good, anyway."

Mrs. Cullen frowns a bit and looks puzzled.

"Are you kidding? They're wonderful. They look so real, I could eat them right now."

I giggle, and she beams at me.

"Th-thanks."

The rest of the meeting goes pretty smooth after that. Although we don't say much else, I learn that she has five children, all adopted, all teenagers. There's Rosalie and her twin Jasper, both eighteen, Emmett, seventeen, and Alice and Edward, who are my age, sixteen. The way Mrs. Cullen talks about them, I can tell she loves them very much.

After an hour, Mrs. Snow comes in and asks how it went. Mrs. Cullen smiles her stunning smile and tells her that it went wonderfully. Then she takes a deep breath and turns to me again.

"So, Isabella, what do you think? Do you want to be a Cullen?"

A/N:

Hahaha Cliffie! But what do ya think she'll say? And what do you think will happen in the next chapter? REVIEW, sil vous plait! :D

-FBD

Word count: 1,316