1

"I love you." Kevin leaned down and kissed Leah for the millionth time. She wrapped her arm around his neck, her shiny engagement glowing in the morning light. For crying out loud, she's just going to the airport!

"Bye." She said, pecking him on the cheek and rushing out the door. Kevin turned around, a goofy smile on his face. I pulled my legs to my chest for a moment, let go and stood up, glaring at him from atop the staircase.

"You'll love them. Leah say's they're lovely people." His eyes scanned the floor nearest to his shoes, but I knew he was talking to me.

"I'm going to school." I declared, smoothing out my skirt and picking up my backpack.

"You should hurry. The bus will be here soon."

I walked down the stairs, my sandals clicking against the tile floor all the way to the door.

"I love you, too." He said, but I closed the door in his face. I knew it would hurt his feelings, but lately he's been trampling all over mine, so why should I care?

I'd been fooled for so long: I'd never seen Kevin so happy, not since our parents died. I thought she was a blessing. Now I know better.

She's a curse.

And now she's bringing her monster family to meet Kevin.

Fan-fricken'-tastic.

"Tough morning?" Sammie asks as I slide into my seat beside her. She flips her hair over her shoulder and evaluates me. She'd given me a talking to yesterday about being a slob. After looking me over, she had nothing to say.

"She invited her family over." I said.

"Damn. And Kevin just agreed?"

"Of course! He's, like, her pet. Kev would jump through a flaming hoop if she asked." I replied grumpily, taking a bite from Sammie's bagel. Of course she didn't know nearly how bad the situation was.

"Well, we have double dance tonight, so you can blow them off until around ten."

I sighed, hugging my bag on my lap. Sammie pulled a cookie out of her bag and handed it to me.

"I guess." I mumbled, taking a bite of the cookie. "I mean, why do they have to come over? She didn't even mention them until a few days ago."

"They are getting married, Bray."

I shuddered, and slowly chomped on my cookie. I'd been too mad at Kevin to have breakfast in the kitchen with him and her.

"Don't remind me, Samantha. I have to look at that ring on her finger every day."

"At least he loves her, right?" Sammie grumbled, and I felt a little bad. Now we were both in a bad mood.

"Let's not talk about it, okay? Do you have the Chem stuff from last night? I'll trade you for Physics."

"You know I do."

The rest of the ride was spent copying each other's homework.

"BYE! Text me when you get home!"

I waved from the front door, shivering from the cold mixed with my damp hair. The heat from the showers after dance had worn off, leaving my body wet and freezing. Sam's boyfriend Drew honked his horn and drove off, Sam waving at me from the passenger's seat. It was almost eleven o'clock now, since Drew bought us Italian food after dance. I took out my key and unlocked the door.

"Braylynn, is that you?" Leah called out. Who else would it be?

"Braylynn, where have you been? It's eleven PM and you have school tomorrow." Leah lectured, crossing her arms.

"I had dance." I said whilst giving her my best 'DUH!' look. Over the past few weeks I had been falling into the natural moody teenager tendencies. I was ready for an appearance in Mean Girls.

"You could have called. I've been waiting up because I didn't know where you were."

"That's not my problem. And my schedule is on the calendar." I kicked off my shoes and headed upstairs.

"Just because you don't like me doesn't mean you have to make Kevin miserable." She said as I reached the top of the stairs.

"You're not good enough for him." I replied, looking at the floor.

"No, I'm not good enough for you. Stop being so selfish, Braylynn." I glared at her and looked at the way she was dressed. Ready to hop in bed with my brother, I see.

"You don't know me." The line was very cliché and teenager-y but it shut her up for a moment as I walked to my room and closed my door.

My room is the same as it was when our family moved here. My walls are still the soft pink my mother thought I adored when I was six, and I have a huge princess bed. Only my bedding, books and pictures have changed over the years. I now have a heavy blue duvet, Shakespeare's plays for English and pictures of Kevin and friends. When I turned on the light my dog sat up and wagged his tail.

"Hey Merlin." I ruffled his white fur and rubbed his belly. Merlin nuzzled my face with his nose and lay back down. He was a gift from Kevin for my birthday when I was twelve. His friend Joey's dog had had a litter of white German shepherd puppies and didn't know what to do with them. I opened my closet and changed into pajamas.

"I'll walk you tomorrow. I promise." I told him, turning off the light and crawling into bed, flicking the alarm set button on my clock.

It's a good thing dogs love unconditionally.

Beep. Beeeep. BEEEEEP!

"Huh?" I pressed snooze on my clock, then the off switch and then rolled over. Five thirty, practically cuss words in the morning. Merlin walked around my bed and jumped on me, licking my face.

"Okay, okay, I'm up. No need to freak out." I pulled back my covers and sat up, rubbing my eyes. Merlin attacked me with his nose until I got up and turned the light on.

"Go get your leash." I muttered, letting him out of my room as I went into the bathroom. I flicked on the light and sighed at my head of crazy curls. That's what I get for sleeping with wet hair. I brushed my teeth and washed my face methodically as I waited for the hair straightener to warm up. It took less time than usually to tame the abundance of dark curls, so I did a quick French braid and headed for my closet.

My closet is small, as wide as a door and about an arm's length deep, containing a skinny vertical shelf-thing on one side and a rod and my hung clothes on the other. My socks and underwear sat on the shelf thing, while my clothes hung up beside. I didn't like having a lot of clothes, although I have a lot of costumes for dance.

I bought most of my own things with my money from teaching dance classes, so I really didn't over-indulge. It made me feel bad to have Kevin spend his paycheck on me.

I pulled on a knitted sweater and a pair of jeans, grabbing a pair of mismatched socks along with my nice boots. By nice boots I mean not my winter boots: I only have two pairs.

It was silent in the hallway, and I let out a peaceful sigh. My house was always more relaxing early in the morning.

I tip toed down the stairs out of habit, walking on the balls of my feet to the kitchen. Kevin and Leah The light was already on, which was peculiar, but Kevin's been getting so little sleep that it's really no surprise. He probably raided the fridge last night and forgot to turn off the light.

I looked across the barren counters, and the empty sink. No unattended plate. Okay, now that's weird. Something nudged my leg, and I jumped.

Merlin dropped the leash and grinned at me.

"You're a dork." I grumbled at him, running a hand over his head between his ears.

I grabbed a rice cake and stuck it in my mouth, rummaging through the pantry for lunch items. I found two juice boxes of fruit punch, a chocolate-covered granola bar, dried apple slices and a lonely packet of Ritz crackers. Grabbing a brown paper bag I stuffed my items inside and left it on the counter while I scavenged the fridge for any leftovers Kevin brought home. Wiping the rice cake dust from my lips, I found a box of cookies in the fridge, and daintily removed one, popping it in my mouth. Merlin nudged my leg.

"Coming, coming." I closed the fridge and grabbed my lunch, making my way to the front door when I noticed an abundance of shoes.

Crap.

Crap.

Crapcrapcrapcrapcra-

"Oh, you must be Braylynn." I froze, my eyelids closing tightly. Darn you to pieces, crap memory! I slowly turned to see a young couple about half way down the stairs. Seriously, am I supposed to believe these people are related to Leah?

Oh wait, they're not. They're her freaky vampire friendy-people. Her 'pack leader' is in love with one of the couples' toddlers.

Oh boy.

"That's me." I replied quickly, stuffing my lunch into my bag and grabbing Merlin's leash.

"I'm Esme and this is my husband Carlisle." Esme introduced her husband and herself. I nodded, grabbing my jacket.

"Lovely." I responded, opening the door and ushering Merlin through it. Esme looked like she was going to say something else but I closed the door. I quickly descended the steps in case they decided to join me or anything terrifying like that.

Merlin happily pulled me up and down our country road, crossing the road and sniffing the ground like his nose was going to fall off before he dragged me home.

Just approaching the house I could see more lights on. I climbed the steps to the door. Let the fun commence. The door swung open.

"Hi! I'm Nessie! I'm five! What's your name? You're Braylynn, aren't you? Can I call you Bray-Bray? Can we be best friends? Let's be best friends! Will you braid my hair?"

I bit my lip and gently led the little girl back into the house. I noticed there were other people in the front hall/foyer, including Carlisle and Esme.

"Will you braid my hair?" Nessie asked breathlessly as I took off Merlin's leash. I picked up my backpack.

"How about when I get back from school?" I murmured quickly to appease her. Her face lit up and she ran over and attacked my legs, wrapping her arms around my lower thighs and burying her head against my side. Then she looked up at me.

"We're going to be besties!" She cheered. I gave her a quick smile. I had never been good with little kids.

"That's wonderful. Well, I'll see you later, bestie." And efficiently detached her from my legs.

I spared no time slipping back outside and heading down the driveway.

"BYE BESTIE!" Nessie shouted from the house. I waved, and made my way to the bus, sliding in next to Sammie. She gave me a mock look of concern.

"Am I being replaced?" She asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't test my patience, dear friend." I replied, digging out my copy of Romeo and Juliet. I found my bookmark and continued to read.

"Thou art a procrastinator if I ever knew of one." Sam said, pulling an apple out of her bag.

"Hey, you're telling me you did all your reading for Chem? I don't think so."

"No, but I'm going to do it at lunch. Did you read the pages for Les Mis?"

"Yup."

"Want to summarize it?"

I looked over at her and rolled my eyes.

"Hypocrite."

"I never said I was prepared!"

I opened the door slowly, my backpack weighing me down with all my novels and textbooks. My plastic bag from the grocery swayed as I tip toed inside.

"Glad to see you made home. Get lost in the grocery store along the way, I see?" Leah greeted me from the stairs, a basket of laundry resting on her hip. Nessie and Merlin raced down the hall and Nessie jumped into my arms, pulling me down towards the ground.

"You're back!" She cheered. I shifted her to my hip so I could close the door. I slipped off my shoes and set her down.

"Will you braid my hair now?" She asked, her large brown eyes widening as she blinked, her long lashes colliding with one another as the lids opened and closed. She was so cute it was ridiculous.

"Sure. C'mon." I led her upstairs, allowing her to run into my room and hop on my bed.

"I like your room. It's very pink, though. I like green." She said as I patted Merlin and dipped into the bathroom in search of hair things.

"I know. It's been pink forever." I told her as I returned to my bed, setting my backpack and grocery bag on my bed. Merlin hopped up and curled into a little fuzzy circle by my pillows.

"Sit in front of me." I told her, positioning her so I could start brushing her hair. Her hair was long— super long.

"Do you like school?" She asked, her little fingers drawing imaginary designs on top of my knees.

"I guess. I like English and History." I offered, beginning to section her hair.

"I think I'll like school. Mommy and Daddy said I can go when I stop growing." I grabbed a few scrunchies and put them on my wrist.

"Real mommy and daddy or pretend mommy and daddy?"

"Both. Jake says I'm going to be the smartest in my class."

"I'm sure you will be."

Nessie fell silent for a while.

"Do you like Auntie Leah?"

Well that left me stumped.

"It's an interesting relationship." I said after a long pause.

"Oh. That's good that you love each other, though. 'Cause you're gonna be sisters soon."

"Mm."

Nessie allowed me to work in silence after that. She swung her legs over the side of my bed, softly kicking the side. She looked around the room, but my braiding wasn't overly interrupted by the movements.

"All done." I murmured as I finished. Nessie hopped off of the bed.

"Dinner!" I heard Kevin call from downstairs.

"Let's go!" Nessie exclaimed, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the dining room.

"Look Mommy! Look Daddy! Braylynn braided my hair!" Nessie bounced over to an already seated couple and jumped on who I presume to be her mother's lap.

"How nice." Her mom answered, glancing at me disapprovingly. Well, I thought it looked nice.

"Bray, can you bring out the plates?" Kevin called from the kitchen. I turned on my heel and slipped through the entrance to the kitchen.

Kevin was pulling off chunks of meat from a maple spiral ham. A massive casserole dish was filled to the rim with scalloped potatoes covered in cheese, and a large bowl was brimming with green beans covered in butter and salt.

"How many?" I asked as I started stacking plates.

"Um, eight I think."

"Right-o." I grabbed the required plates and utensils and brought them to the dining room.

Just in case you're wondering, our house is huge. Mostly because my mom thought she was going to have a small army of children. Obviously it didn't turn out that way.

So when I saw the dining room full for the first time ever, I balked. I didn't even know we could fit this many, so I stood there in shock until Kevin walked in.

"Dr. and Ms. Cullen, Ms. Clearwater, Chief Swan, Bella, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Seth, Jacob and Nessie." Kevin relayed. I nodded, following him and tried to identify who ate human food. Rule of thumb; no pale ones except the kid.

"Did you grab the cups?" Leah asked as she walked in with the napkins. I motioned to the table.

"Of course. I knew you'd only want the finest imaginary glassware for our guests." Leah rolled her eyes and we glared at each other for a second until Kevin came around the corner carrying a tray of glasses. Leah sat down and I sat a chair away from her so Kevin could sit in between us.

"Shall we say grace?" Leah's mom asked.

"Take it away, Bray." Leah said. I glared at her. I felt all eyes on me.

"God is good, God is great. Bless this food upon our plates." I said quickly. A few people raised their eyes at me, and Kevin burst out laughing. He knew that the only graces I knew were from summer camp when I was eight.

Insert awkward silence here. I kept my eyes down and tried to eat as fast as etiquette allowed.

"So Braylynn, how was school?" I swallowed and looked up to see…Chief Swan looking at me… I think.

"Not so good. I have to go back tomorrow." I could feel Kevin glancing over at me, thinking Maybe I should've left her in her room, well too late now, brother.

"I'm sure it's not that bad." He said. My plate was cleared. I think that was an almost ridiculous speed.

"May I be excused?" I asked, glancing at Kevin.

"Hot date?" I turned to see who I think is Emmett.

"Yeah. With my Physics homework."

"You're excused, Sassmaster." Emmett said, grinning. I picked up my plate and cup and slipped into the kitchen, hearing Merlin's nails click against the floor as he trailed after me.

"Proxima Centauri's the nearest star. The celestial bodies that follow are: Alpha Centauri A, Toli, Barnard's Star, um," I flipped the page and began reading the other side when I heard a knock.

"Who is it?" The door cracked open, and I saw little Nessie standing in front of Jacob.

"I think I left my bracelet in here." Nessie murmured, not looking at me.

"'Kay. I haven't seen it, but you can check. Wolf 359, Laland 21185, Sirius A, Sirius B, BL Ceti, UV Ceti, Ross 154, Ross 248, Epsilon Eridani," I continued to read out the list to myself as Nessie entered and flitted around the room in search of her bracelet. A minute later, she gave up and left.

"Those are the stars that are nearest to me. Tra la la and fiddle de de." I reached for my water to discover I had drunk it all. With an audible sigh I patted down the hallway and trotted into the deserted kitchen. Well, I thought it was deserted.

"Hey." I jumped, releasing my glass cup from my grasp. I watched it tumble to the ground and shatter loudly.

"Sorry! Sorry! Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Don't move. Here, I've got you." Leah's brother picked me up and placed me on the counter. I hopped off, giving him a little glare. The last time someone had picked me up, I'd been ten and it was because I was pretending to be dead for drama class.

"It's just glass. I'm not a balloon, you know. I won't pop or anything." I grumbled, grabbing the broom from the closet.

"Braylynn!" He gasped. I just lifted my eyebrows at him.

"Yeah, what?"

"If you bleed, it'll make everyone… uncomfortable." I paused, and he grabbed the broom from me.

"You mean everyone will want to eat me."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"What about you? What if you bleed?" I sat back on the counter, forgetting about my science homework.

"Don't worry. I don't smell yummy, like humans. Vampires and werewolves smell gross to each other."

"Oh," Was my exciting and intelligent response.

"Mhmm." He murmured, concentrating on sweeping the floor. When he was done, I grabbed the dust pan for him and he neatly swept the shards into a plastic bag, and then tossed the bag into the garbage.

I filled up a new cup of water, and scanned the fridge for any goodies.

"Hungry?" He asked, leaning back on the counter. I shrugged, grabbed a carrot and closed the door.

"Either that or bored. Can't tell which." He nodded at my comment, and I turned to leave the kitchen.

"Braylynn?" I stopped and glanced back at Seth.

"Yeah?" My eyes locked with his internal mugs of coffee. Don't judge me, that's what his eyes look like! Warm, rich coffee…

"I don't think you're so bad." He said, taking a step towards me, and I reflexively took a step back. He looked, well, sad?

"Bray?" I blinked, and snapped back to reality.

"Gotta go. G'night." I said quickly, before spinning on my heel and rushing off to bed.