A/N: Just because I have received a few questions about this, I wanted to make something clear: Bella does not appear in this fic, and she won't. I simply didn't "see" her when the story came to me. But don't let that deter you from reading.

Aww, I'm sad that several of you have favorited, but I haven't received many reviews. I really appreciate hearing what you think, and it makes me a better writer. And I think that works out well for everyone, because I know you don't want to read crap, lol.

Thanks to my super-betas Kaley and Steph for their hard work making this story readable...you two are awesome!

Oh, and please check out two of my favorite stories by Julie, aka changedbyedward: "Ascension" which is the best Breaking Dawn alternate story I've read, and "The Letter" which features Edward as a very hot rapper, EC Velvet. Yum! Go show her stories some love. After you read this one, of course!

Standard Disclaimer: Things I Own: Too much Jell-O pudding, seven tubes of Lipsmackers lip gloss, and a really stubborn lawn mower.

Things I Wish I Owned: Edward and Twilight, which both belong to Stephenie Meyer.

This story is rated M for a reason…Lemons and Language.

Chapter 2: Guess Who's Coming to Forks

EDWARD POV

A visitor? I couldn't understand why Alice was so worked up. We'd had visitors before. Jasper had friends like Charlotte and Peter who came though once in a while. It wasn't really newsworthy unless it was somebody like Maria, another old, um, companion of Jasper's who most certainly did not follow our strict human-free diet. If Alice had seen her visiting, we should probably start making moving arrangements immediately.

"Alice, why are you so excited?" I quizzed her, my tone bored. "Is it Peter and Charlotte again? The Denali's?" She was still blocking her thoughts with an excruciating rendition of 'Baby, One More Time', but she addressed my question out loud.

"No, it's not Peter and Charlotte or anyone from Alaska." Alice's tone was determined.

"Who, then?" I scoffed. "Who would be so important that you needed a big family announcement?" Alice liked attention, but she had never made this big of a production over a visitor before.

"It's nobody we know, actually, and it's not just any visitor; this one's special. I don't know why she's special yet, but she's a vegetarian vampire visitor." Alice smirked as she said the last bit. I think she liked the alliteration.

"And she's going to arrive tomorrow evening, about thirty-six hours from now. She won't leave the place she's living now for at least another ten hours, but I've seen it." I looked at the clock on the wall; it was about two in the morning. According to Alice, we had the full rest of this day as well as most of the next. Alice slipped while changing songs in her head, and I briefly saw in her thoughts that this wasn't the first time Alice had a vision of this visitor; they had been recurring for a while now.

"Wait, you saw this before? When?" I was irritated with her. Alice should have told the rest of the family well before this, or at least allowed me to see what she saw. Not to mention I hated being kept in the dark.

"Shush, Edward," she snipped, rolling her eyes and bouncing energetically on the balls of her feet. "Stop being ridiculous. I don't have to show you everything, especially when I'm not even sure what I'm seeing. I had the same vision over and over for the past month, but nothing ever came from it, at least until these past few days. Whoever it is wasn't making a decision, so it never changed. And I couldn't see anything defining about the vision either. I couldn't even tell if the person was human or vampire –"

"But you said she's a vampire, correct?" I interrupted, pinching the bridge of my nose. It was a human habit I had adopted long ago, and now it was second nature for me to do it.

"Yes, she is, Edward. I'm sure of it now. Here, see for yourself!" Alice stopped mentally singing 'Toxic' and allowed me in. "I just had this a few minutes ago, so it's fresh off the press. She's decided to come. I don't know any more than that though. We'll have to wait." Alice looked dejected at that admission. Patience and Alice were like oil and water. They could be forced together, but usually not for long.

Alice's vision flowed into my head.

I saw Alice open the front door and wait on the porch and the rest of us assembled behind her. No one was afraid or worried, only excited as we watched the blue sedan approach.

The driver's side door opened and I saw her. She was inhumanly beautiful with smooth, pale skin and big topaz eyes; I felt my stomach knot up a little, but I ignored it. Alice was right. This woman was definitely a vampire, and definitely vegetarian.

She was a gorgeous, breathtaking, stunning vegetarian vampire…wait, what? Where did that come from? Something about her made me want to get to know her, and it wasn't just her appearance; I felt a pull toward the woman in the vision, like a magnetic attraction. The knot in my stomach intensified, and I realized I was nervous about meeting her. Not nervous, more like petrified. It was stupid, really. We'd had plenty of visitors before, and all vampires were attractive, it was part of how we lured in our prey…why should this one be any different! I shifted in my chair and suddenly realized that I had been affected by her beauty in a way most seventeen year old boys would be. My pants felt very tight, and I fervently hoped no one would notice.

The vision had ended, and I became acutely aware of the others watching me as Alice waited, wanting to know what I thought.

Jasper's thoughts cut through briefly, although he was still looking at Alice who was practically vibrating with excitement. Huh, Edward, that's usually an emotion I'm used to getting from Emmett, not you. Oh, and RELAX. You're starting to make ME nervous. This should be very interesting!

If I could have blushed, I would have been tomato red. But I knew that I could trust Jasper not to say anything, unlike my big troll of a brother, Emmett. Speaking of which…

I bet she's fucking hot! Just look at his face! I can't wait to meet her; especially if she has this effect on Eddie…he needs to get laid, bad!

I winced at the nickname and the rest of his thoughts; Emmett's were always easy to pick out by their simple vulgarity. However, little did he know that he'd hit the nail on the head -- I did think that she was incredibly attractive, but there was no way I would confirm that, least of all to Emmett. I was sure there was more to her than just her looks, and it would be ungentlemanly to think about her based on that alone. That was just rude, right?

I wonder why we've never seen her before. Was she ever a member of the Denali coven? A vegetarian loner is highly unusual, but maybe she just assimilates well with humans, perhaps better than we do… Carlisle mused. I smiled internally; the newcomer would probably be grilled for hours by the number of questions Carlisle already had on his mental list.

I fought the temptation to roll my eyes as Esme read too much into the situation, in my opinion.

Maybe I'll have another daughter…that would be lovely! I'd love for her to come live with us. I imagine Alice would be thrilled to spend time with another female besides Rosalie, I know they don't always see eye to eye…Or maybe she'll be what Edward has needed all this time…

Who knew if this lovely stranger would want to remain with us, or whether she was simply curious! Esme was a wonderful mother figure, but there was no need to get ahead of ourselves, especially where their opinions about my nonexistent love-life were concerned. Shockingly, I caught a little part of myself hoping, as Esme did, that the stranger would want to stay.

I shook my head slightly to clear it, and Jasper's voice came through again.

I'm so glad that my darlin' finally saw something that made sense to her. She's been stressing out this past month and not even shopping has helped! Now maybe she'll relax and when we're done here I can give her her prize for winning…

I tuned Jasper out as graphic images of him and my favorite sister flew through his head. Unfortunately, it wasn't anything that I hadn't seen before, but I tried my hardest not to watch. I was often privy to the amorous thoughts of my siblings, whether I wanted to be or not.

Really, I hope this one actually IS a vegetarian. I don't want to have to move again, we JUST got here. And that bitch had better stay the fuck away from my man. He's mine, ALL mine. I hope we're done soon; I can't wait to get back to my car… Rosalie, like her husband Emmett, was easy to pick out. Her mental tone was usually one of self-absorption, and this was no exception. I hoped for the stranger's sake that Rosalie was on her best behavior; she could be abrasive, even after you knew her for a while. Hell, I had lived with her for about seventy years and she still grated on my nerves.

"So, what did you think?" Alice asked this question out loud, startling me out of my reverie. I turned and looked at Alice, who was wearing a grin to rival the Cheshire Cat's.

"I…uh… think we'll have to wait and see what happens, like you said before. We don't know why she's coming, or what she'll do between now and tomorrow night. She may even decide not to come at all," I reasoned. But I hope that's not the case! I thought hopefully, right before telling that bit of my internal monologue to shut up.

"Yes, I think you're right," Alice agreed. "I'll let you know if I see anything else. I promise not to block you. You'll get to see what I see." And no more Britney, Alice added mentally, her pixie face breaking into an apologetic grin.

I smiled, relieved. "Thanks, Alice." More than you know.

"Well, that settles it," Carlisle stated with finality, looking excited. "Alice, let us know if you see anything more, or if there are any changes. I have to leave for the hospital now, so I'll see everyone later, after my shift. Call me if anything comes up."

Carlisle's eyes flicked over to me as he rose to leave. When the newcomer arrives, please take a look at her thoughts. I'd like to know what her intentions are, although I'm sure she doesn't mean us any harm, or else Alice would have seen it. I'm not sure how forthcoming she'll be with information, so we'll need to rely on you, Edward.

I nodded imperceptibly, agreeing to his silent request. It wasn't really any different than what I did every day anyway. I spent a good deal of time monitoring humans' thoughts to make sure our cover story held. I was a little bothered by my father's confidence in Alice's talent though; it was so subjective, and sometimes we forgot that.

The discussion had taken the better part of the early morning hours, and the sun was already rising, although hidden as usual, behind a thick layer of clouds. Of course, that was the reason we favored Forks, Washington, as our home – a seemingly endless supply of cloudy days.

My siblings had paired off, and Esme silently asked that I help her get the guest bedroom ready. The guest room was on the third floor, opposite of my room. It had heavy maple furniture and a calming cream and light blue color scheme. It was one of Esme's favorite rooms in the house even though nobody used it. Esme's irritatingly cheerful thoughts revolved around how she hoped that would change.

I nodded affirmatively to my mother and ran up to my room to change my clothes, donning a clean pair of jeans and a light blue button-down. I met Esme in the guest room, her arms loaded down with fresh linens: a set of light ivory silk sheets and a sky blue satin comforter. Together, we quickly stripped and changed the unused bed. I didn't mind helping because I didn't have anywhere else to be.

Being late June, we had just finished another school year at Forks High. I had pretended to be a Junior along with Alice. It was one of the rare times that I actually pretended to be the age at which I was frozen for eternity.

Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett had all posed as Seniors and had recently graduated yet again. They'd made their excuses about backpacking in Europe as a graduation gift after finals were finished, and none of them had attended the ceremony. Actually, it didn't matter if they attended the ceremony or not; Forks High mailed the diplomas home anyway. I knew that they would be hanging around the house, at least for the summer before they began "college". I knew that Jasper would probably stay behind to be with Alice, but Em and Rose would most likely take another honeymoon after they got married for the eighth time. I groaned internally as I realized I would probably have to be in the wedding party. Again.

My father, Carlisle, had a job at the local hospital where he was adored. He had accepted the position as Chief of Surgeons, but because Forks was a small town and the hospital served most of the Olympic Peninsula, he was often used in other areas. This both gave him practice and kept him from being bored out of his mind, but I knew that Carlisle liked helping humans and giving back too much for him ever to quit being a doctor. It was his calling. How he managed to be around human blood and not be tempted was still beyond my comprehension. Carlisle had an almost supernatural control over his thirst, and I looked up to him for that.

My loving mother, Esme, spent her time renovating and redecorating historic homes in the area. She was quite talented and was in high demand, often working with stuffy society-types from Seattle and sometimes from Portland. But her real pride and joy was the house we lived in.

Our home in Forks hadn't been built by my parents, and we hadn't lived there before when we lived in Hoquiam earlier in the twentieth century. But Esme had felt that she had struck gold when she found the listing online three years ago while we lived in Alaska. After several trips to Washington, we made a bid and soon owned a large home, big enough that some would call it a mansion, by the river just outside of Forks.

We needed the space, what with three married couples and one unmated mind-reader. Esme wanted enough time to make it our own, so she took a year and renovated it. She did a wonderful job decorating and furnishing according to our personalities, and I loved the room she had created for me. She had poured all of the love she felt for me into it, and it meant a lot. I was her first son, and even though I knew I would never take the place of the infant she had lost years ago, her thoughts always remained affectionate toward me in a way that I knew I held a special place in her heart.

After the house was done, we made the move from Alaska to Forks. To be honest, I was more than ready to go.

We had been living in Forks for two years, and with any luck, we would be able to stay another three, maybe even four. Being so cloudy and rainy, it was an ideal location for us. We could come and go as much as we pleased, except for on those rare sunny days. Life in Forks was pretty predictable, but that's how we preferred it. Once in a while, life would throw us something new, but then it would go back to normal. Or however one defines "normal" for a vampire family.

As we rearranged the guest room's furniture, I pointedly ignored Esme's overenthusiastic thoughts regarding myself and the newcomer. I knew the innate mother in her made Esme want to see all of her 'children' happy and somehow she didn't believe I was, at least not entirely. She was right, of course, but I had always tried to keep my feelings about being the only unmated vampire of the family to myself.

From the thoughts she was practically shouting at me I was beginning to think that Esme wouldn't be above setting the two of us up on some kind of awkward blind date, although that seemed very unlikely. I pictured that horrible TV show that Alice and Rosalie liked to watch late at night, heckling the participants, and I shuddered.

In reality, Esme rarely, if ever, interfered with her children's romantic lives -- something I really didn't think Alice was above for a minute, that irritating, meddling pixie. Tanya was a good example of that. Tanya was a female vampire, and a member of a vampire family that fed solely on animals, like we did. She was beautiful in the conventional sense: strawberry-blonde hair and very flirty, but she always seemed very shallow to me. Nothing about her interested me in the slightest, much to Alice's disappointment.

Despite the fact that Alice couldn't see any visions of Tanya and me together, she constantly pestered me about her. And while we lived in Alaska, Denali to be precise, the other vegetarian family's home as well, I knew Esme had been hopeful that I would return Tanya's affections but I could not see her as anything more than a sister. After awhile, Alice had taken the hint and backed off. I had turned Tanya down as politely as possible, but I know her feelings were hurt. Still, I was grateful that Esme did not interfere, although I suspected she was dismayed.

Since moving to Forks, we hadn't had contact with other vampires aside from Peter and Charlotte, so Esme had given up any hope of me ever meeting anyone who could potentially be a mate, at least while we lived here. Now that there was even a remote possibility of me meeting a pleasant, eligible female, she was having a mental field day with the idea. And, to be honest, I was growing a bit resentful of her thoughts. If I were to meet someone who I wanted to spend the rest of my existence with, I wanted it to be on my terms and under circumstances other than my family trying to set me up. Was that too much to ask? Even worse, I knew I'd have to keep an eye and an ear, both mentally and physically, on Alice.

We quickly finished changing the linens in the room and moving the furniture into a more pleasing arrangement. I'm not sure how Esme thought the stranger would be using the bed, but I supposed it should be fresh if she wanted it. I myself had a massive king-sized bed in my room thanks to Esme's and Alice's insistence that I keep up human appearances. It had remained almost completely untouched since the day it was assembled. I only used it to relax on while listening to music.

"Esme? Do you need anything else right now?" I asked, trying to keep my annoyance from leaking into the question. Esme was so sweet and kind and everything I could have asked for in a mother, and I'm sure she didn't intend for her thoughts to be so…intrusive. She was just concerned, and I knew she meant well.

"No, I'm all set, Edward. I'll let you know if I need anything else." She turned toward me, wearing a warm, maternal expression. "Don't go too far though, in case Alice's vision changes. It's good to have two of you who can confirm what's happening."

"I won't. I'll be in my room for now." I left the guest room and headed across the hall, closing the bedroom door quickly behind me, but slowly enough not to be rude. The closed door was mostly a symbol of privacy. I could still hear nearly everything that was happening on the floors beneath me, both thoughts and physically, and I knew they could hear when I turned my music on as well. I went to my stereo and pressed "play", knowing that the classical selection I wanted to listen to was already in the system. Debussy started coming out of the speakers (he was one of my favorites), and I lay down on the leather sofa, feeling the tension melt away with the melody.

A/N: Please let me know what you think so far. I'd really appreciate it! :-)