Chapter One: Human for dinner

"Alice invited a human for dinner." Rosalie didn't even bother to give context, fuming inside as she silently glared at her sister.

Carlisle stopped what he'd been doing (which was just reading) and looked up. "Alice?"

"She's nice. And she won't pry, I swear." Her eyes were hopeful (albeit, they usually were. For some reason that was their natural state).

"I don't care. Un-invite her!" Rosaline carried on complaining. She would get her way.

"Well, that's rude of you," was the only answer given.

"Look," began to explain the blonde, "I already have to control myself at school. I don't want to have to do the same at home." She wasn't being unreasonable, she had some good points other than 'I don't like humans' - not that Alice would actually believe her. Probably because she did, in fact, hate humans...well most of them. She could tolerate them enough, at school though, not in her house.

"Actually, her blood is quite unappealing. The scent is almost...repugnant." Rosalie's glare was now directed in Jasper's direction. Since when was he pro-human interactions?

"Are you talking about Eliza Rolens?" Apparently, Edward was now a part of the conversation too.

"Yeah."

"I still stand by my point," Rosalie reminded everyone before they got too sidetracked.

There was a small silence before Esme spoke up softly, "Maybe this isn't such a bad idea. Having someone normal over might help diffuse those rumors that have been circling around town."

She also made a valid point and Rosalie wavered ever so slightly, that is until Emmet decided to voice his opinion.

"And she's actually okay...for a human."

Everyone could sense Rosalie's glare as soon as the words escaped her poor unsuspecting boyfriend's mouth.

"You know her?"

Emmet rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she has math with me."

Alice was getting tired of all this dancing around without taking a solid decision. "So, is that a yes?" (Her eyes are still hopeful.)

Rosalie scoffed when she saw no one saying yes, yet not saying no either, and muttered under her breath, "Why is everyone suddenly in love with this girl?" Of course, them all being vampires hear her. (Her comment is ignored.)

And so it is decided, that the following Friday the Cullen's would invite one Eliza Rolens to have dinner with them.

Eliza Rolens was nervous.

The road was dark and it enveloped her in its clutches as she pedaled along the road.

But that wasn't why she was nervous, the dark didn't scare her. (Perhaps just a little bit, but not any more than average.)

She wasn't nervous because she was cold - freezing actually - and wished she'd brought a bigger coat with her. (She still hadn't adjusted to the harsher weather in Forks.)

No, she was nervous because she was having dinner with the Cullens Family.

They were also new to town and their five foster children went to Forks High with her.

Alice, the most approachable of the siblings - they were all strangely intimidating-, had invited her (the lonely new girl) to dine with her and her family just one week into school.

Eliza had been too polite to refuse the invitation. It was very kind of Alice, and if it'd been just her, Eliza would maybe not even have thought twice about the whole thing, but, as it was, it wasn't just Alice she would be having dinner with but Alice and her four siblings and two foster parents.

Eliza wasn't shy, per se, but social interactions with strangers wasn't on her list of favorite pastimes.

Add the fact that her parents were out of town (like usual), she didn't know how to drive - and didn't want to - and the Cullens lived on the outskirts of town, all of which accumulated to thirty minutes on her bike (in the dark and cold), resulted in her mood not being the best.

Only the thought of a potential friend - which meant no more lunches eaten by herself - drove her on and kept Eliza from bailing last minute.

She eventually caught sight of the house, after a couple of minutes debating whether or not she'd gotten herself lost - who lived in the middle of the forest?

The house was fancy (actually the word fancy didn't quite cut it) and modern, the lights within made it stand out like a beacon amongst the dark.

She parked her bike next to the front steps, re-arranging her outfit as she climbed up the porch stairs and rang the doorbell.

She hadn't been too sure on what to wear - formal or casual? - and had settled on jeans (no way was she riding her bike with a skirt or dress on) and a nice blouse.

From what she'd been able to observe, the Cullens dressed stylishly. She didn't want to stand out anymore than necessary.

Alice was the one to open the door.

"Eliza!"

"Hi," the girl smiled. "Sorry, I'm a bit late." Ten minutes to be exact and she couldn't even blame the traffic.

Alice waved her off like she hadn't even noticed that was late to begin with.

"Come on in!" She always seemed to be smiling and Eliza appreciated that about her. It made her want to smile all the time too.

The first thing that caught her attention was how hot it was inside. The temperature in the house was boiling, so much that her glasses had fogged up a bit.

Alice took her coat and Eliza cleaned the mist off with the hem of her shirt.

She took a startled step back when she had her glasses back on, having spotted the entire family now in the foyer - she hadn't even heard them come in.

Her heart hammered a little bit harder in her chest.

Introductions were made; Carlisle and Esme were both lovely and polite, Rosalie had a strained expression that'd loosened when Emmett strung an arm over her shoulder (apparently they were a thing and people at school had been really weirded out about it. Eliza tried not to be bothered by it. They weren't actually related and if their 'parents' were okay with it, then who was she to judge?), Edward, who - in her honest opinion - seemed a little depressed and brooding and finally there was Jasper (people weren't sure if he and Alice were also a thing, they seemed close and the fact that Eliza couldn't decipher if it was simply sibling affection or more deeply disturbed her.)

Eliza felt quite small surrounded by all these people.

"It was very nice of you to have me over for dinner."

"It's our pleasure dear," was Esme's warm reply.

Alice simply winked at her. "Us new kids have to stick together," she said and lead her further into the house.

Eliza was grateful to leave the foyer behind her.

The house was nicely decorated and she perceived a simple touch to the way things had been arranged. It was all very orderly.

Their kitchen, as well as their living room, was spacious and glowed in a soft orange hue.

The smell of soy sauce fried noodles invaded Eliza's senses and for a minute she was transported back to her childhood days.

"That smells really good," she commented, sensing everyone's eager eyes on her.

Esme smiled proudly. "Really?"

"Yeah," Eliza nodded. "It's actually my favorite food…" Her smile was shy.

Edward's expression shifted to smug for a second before regaining the scowl that had been plastered beforehand. Eliza was the only one to not notice the change.

They all took a seat with Eliza placed between Carlisle and Alice at the head of the table.

She felt uncomfortable being the center of attention and she was sweating slightly. Although that might've been due to the high temperature of the room. She wanted to say something, but no one else seemed affected or bothered by it and she didn't want to sound rude. She was really hot though (maybe it was just nerves?) and her skin was now getting clammy as well as sweaty.

Edward saved her from saying anything (and dying of embarrassment) by getting up and heading towards the thermometer.

"It's hot," he said when his whole family turned to cast their curious looks at him.

There was an awkward silence as he sat back down again and the food was served.

Eliza took notice that she'd been served a bigger plate, or more like her plate was average sized and the rest were lacking.

"So, Alice tells us you haven't been here for long?" It's Carlisle who has asked her, drawing her attention away from the food servings.

Eliza finished chewing before answering.

"Yeah. We moved in at the beginning of the summer."

"And how are you liking Forks so far?"

"It's okay. Smaller than what I'm used to. We lived in San Francisco before this."

"That's pretty far away. Any particular reason you decided to move?"

"Not really." Yes. " My father's job entails a lot of moving around traveling, so it doesn't really matter where we live." She drank a bit of water. "I got tired of the city and asked if we could move somewhere smaller, so here we are." Not exactly the truth, but they didn't have to know that.

"May I ask what your father does for a living?"

"He's in the military. He doesn't talk about his job a lot though, so I can't tell you what service branch he belongs to. Sorry."

"No need to apologize, dear. Would you like some more water?" Esme looked at Eliza expectantly.

"Uh, sure. Yes, please."

They all seemed to be done with their food already. Their plates had barely been touched. Eliza hoped they had enjoyed the food at least…

She hesitated before asking a question that had been on her mind. (Silence settled briefly and Eliza was the worst at handling uncomfortable lapses in conversation. She usually made things worse trying to avoid them.)

"If it's not too rude of me - are any of you actually related?" She was nervous as the question left her lips, not wanting to be misinterpreted as nosy or judgemental.

She'd always wondered what differences the adoption and fostering processes entailed.

Emmett laughed, catching Eliza by surprise.

"Is this because of what people have been saying about us?"

"What have people been saying?" Esme looked sad and Eliza felt bad even though she hadn't really said anything wrong… yet.

"They think it's weird Rosalie and Emmett are dating because they live in the same house." It's Edward that offered this insight - nothing Eliza hadn't already heard from the other kids.

"I don't think it's weird," She offered, looking at Rosalie who was frowning at her drink. Sure, it wasn't something you heard about every day, but it wasn't like it was incest. Besides, if their 'parents' were okay with it, then it wasn't anybody else's business really.

Still, couldn't be nice to be new and already have rumors circulating about you.

Eliza was aware some were also circulating around her - the reason she'd been eating by herself all week. Somehow, news that was she eighteen years old and still a junior had gotten out, and people had drawn the conclusion that that meant she was bad news. If only that was the real reason.

She was heading down a dark train of thoughts - the past - when Jasper spoke for the first time, drawing her back to the present.

His voice soothed her mind as he answered her original question.

"Rosalie is my twin and Alice, Edward and Emmett are blood siblings."

Eliza nodded in understanding. It was nice that they'd all been picked by the same foster family and not separated. They looked happy here - or relatively at least, Edward didn't seem capable of smiling. (He frowned in annoyance.)

Eliza took the last bite of her plate.

"Do you want some dessert? I made chocolate cake." Alice suddenly beamed, looking very proud of herself. "I've never made a cake before," she revealed.

Eliza felt like they'd all gone to huge lengths for this dinner and felt honored yet bashful that it was all for her. She might've flushed.

"Chocolate is my favorite."

Alice's smile lightened up even brighter. "Perfect!"

After dessert, which no one except Eliza had, the family proposed she stay a little bit longer.

"I wish I could, but it's really dark out and I have a long way back home." It's already nearing midnight and the food had made her groggy. She really doesn't feel like riding her bike for thirty minutes.

"You don't' have a car?" Edward asked her.

"I don't drive," she clarified, hands fumbling nervously. She was aware it was weird (eighteen and didn't drive?) but she was really terrified of steering a wheel, even just thinking about it would cause trepidation to rise in her bones.

"Well, that's alright," Alice smiled and looked at Jasper. "Jasper can drive you."

Carlisle looked at Alice, a warning in his eyes. "I don't think that's -"

"I don't mind," Jasper interrupted.

Carlisle looked at Edward for guidance. "He'll be fine."

Eliza felt lost, having no clue as to what was happening. "It's okay. I like riding my bike." She didn't want them to go through the extra trouble, they'd already done enough.

Jasper looked at her. "I insist."

She felt compliant at his words and found herself agreeing without further resistance. "Okay. Thank you."

The ride to her house was...silent yet not completely awkward. Jasper seemed deep in thought and Eliza dared not disturb him save for instructions and two briefs thanks yous; one to him for the ride, and another to his family and Alice for the invite.

"That went well." Emmett waited for Jasper to come back before voicing his thoughts.

"It did, didn't it?" Esme was throwing away the food left. "And she seemed to like the food."

"She did," confirmed Edward. "She was surprised about the effort - touched though."

"Did she suspect anything?" That was what really interested Rosalie.

"No. She found a couple of things out of place but she won't piece anything together. She's not very observant. We won't' have to worry about that."

Alice looked at everyone pointedly. "See? I told you this was going to work."

Carlisle smiled at his daughter. "Yes, you were right. And I'm proud of you all." He added.

Emmett shrugged, "It wasn't even that hard really. Her blood really does smell horrible."

They all nodded in agreement.

It was a good thing too. It would help divert attention from themselves if they occasionally hung out with other people, and the fact that Eliza Rolens blood wasn't a temptation made her the perfect accomplice.

A/N: Hello! So, I had this scene floating around my head and it just wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down. Hope you liked it? If you think it has potential, people don't hesitate to tell me as I'm not sure if I should continue this or not...Have a good day!