I. A New Life

I had told him a million times before when he found me in the hospital, I wasn't interested in joining his little family. I just wanted to drop dead, or whatever it was that vampires did. But now, I stood in the vast living room of the Cullen mansion, waiting to be introduced to my soon-to-be siblings. I leaned my back against the grand piano, which he had said belonged to his son. I took a glance at the black sleekness of it and ran my fingers across the top. There was not a scratch on it.

"Everyone," Carlisle Cullen—the man who took me from the hospital after recognizing me as a damned bloodsucker—called to the five teenage-looking vampires who had entered the house just moments before. "I want you to meet someone. This is Emily."

I saw one of the girls—Alice Cullen, if I remembered correctly—glance at the youngest looking boy, Edward Cullen (again, if memory served), as if she telepathically told him, 'I told you so.' She probably did, because Edward was the one that could read minds, according to Carlisle. And Alice was the one that had visions, so if anyone knew I would be here it would be her. Other than that, Carlisle told me the only other person to know of my arrival was his wife, Esme, who I met this morning. It was quite a tale, actually, how I ended up at the Cullen residence in Forks, Washington in the first place. Considering I previously had lived in Fort Worth, Texas.

I couldn't remember much; it was all a strange daze. I remembered trees and a cabin; there was blood too—lots of it. Two adults, two children, and then there was me. Fifteen-year-old Emily Marie Cottrell. I could also recall a burning sensation that lasted three days—and a growing thirst for the iron taste of blood, nothing else. I walked; I ran—so incredibly fast that I couldn't believe it, the thirst growing all the while. I resisted as much as I could—no, 'resisted' was the wrong word. I denied it. Somehow, fate landed me wandering around the Olympic Peninsula, where the thirst had become so great that I almost attacked the first human being upon sight. It was an elderly woman, and the scare gave her a heart attack. Her scream, however, jolted whatever miniscule humanity was left in me, and I stopped.

I was found in a catatonic state, so I was told. Carlisle said he recognized me as a vampire immediately, and took me as a patient personally. It took almost a week for me to regain 'consciousness,' the thirst already having turned into an irresistible craving. But I still did my best to deny it. The doctor said he was surprised that I had lasted that long against it, especially since I was a 'newborn.' I thought nothing of it. After all, by my philosophy, I only needed blood if I thought I needed it. Things were only what I thought they were. Though, it was proven flawed, since that was what had landed me in Forks, Washington. I tried to disbelieve that oversized mosquito away. 'He only existed if I believed he existed.' And, being a practical teenager, I knew vampires weren't real. Great job, Emily. Good game.

I hadn't realized that, in less than half a second, Alice was in front of me. She had a smile on her face, which I regarded as extremely beautiful. With a smile, a hug, and a peck to the cheek, Alice said to me, "Welcome to the family, Emily. I knew Carlisle had someone to introduce us to." It was when she took a step back after releasing me that I finally took a second to study her. In addition to her pearly white smile, she had sparkling golden eyes—the same as the rest of the family, but some were in different shades—and cropped, spiked hair in a jet black hue. Her frame was like that of a pixie, a description that I was sure she was used to, and she was shorter than my five-foot stature by a couple of inches. She reminded me of a picture straight from an Amy Brown archive.

Bringing myself back to reality, I lightly cleared my throat and also took a step back when she let go. "I'm sorry if I disappoint, but I'm not going to be a part of this family." I informed stubbornly.

"Nonsense," Alice said kindly, in a playful tone. A light giggle chimed from her throat. "I saw you coming."

"Carlisle said that not all of your visions are set in stone." I stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Carlisle and I had a long discussion about his family while I was still hospitalized. I just barely realized how interested I was in his family and their history. I suppose it was because it sounded like a strangely hypnotizing novel that I would enjoy reading back home. Things like this only happened in the books I read.

"But I have a good feeling about this one." Alice nodded.

'At least someone in this room seems to…' I began to think before feeling Edward's eyes on me. He was giving me a berating look with his topaz eyes. There was something about him that I knew I wouldn't like. Something I could sense would often get in the way of us getting along. Maybe it would be the fact that he would be able to hear my most private thoughts, or maybe, in an odd case of events, we were actually very similar—too similar for our own good.

"At least give it a try." Alice brought me back from my thoughts. "It might be good for you. You're a vampire now, just like we are. And there's so much we can teach—!"

"I'm not a vampire." I said with narrowed eyes. My brows furrowed. "There are no such things as vampires."

"And I suppose you're a—..?" Edward questioned, purposely trailing off to allow me to finish the sentence on my own. "You're certainly no longer human."

"Prove it." was my childish response. I crossed my arms and huffed. I glowered at the boy, and if looks could kill then he would—wait a minute, he was a vampire. Dammit, those things don't just drop dead. They have to be ripped into shreds and burned. Why couldn't all those false myths about stakes and crosses be true? Though, I knew there were many ways Edward could prove me as a vampire. The way my once brown eyes were now a scarlet hue and how the human food I ate now tasted like dirt with each bite. The light tan I acquired from summers with Granma Cottrell in South Texas was fading into pale, pasty, marble-like skin. These were just a few details of many.

And now he was hearing every thought that crossed my mind. Sonofa—..! 'Hem, excuse me and my language. I sighed, knowing that he didn't have to prove it to me; it was quite self-evident. I also knew that it would be in my best interest to stay with this family, the Cullens. Especially if my growing thirst got out of hand. Carlisle said newborns were always thirsty, but I could probably keep it at bay the majority of the time with my stubbornness.

This, however, was something I could not afford to be stubborn about. With a sigh, I admitted defeat. "Fine," I settled. "I'll stay here."

"Excellent." Carlisle nodded. I saw him look to Alice, who in turn gave him a small wink. Like I had fallen into their plan exactly as they predicted. Well, exactly as Alice predicted. "I know you'd like to start school as soon as Monday," Carlisle said, interrupting my thoughts. "But I don't think it would be a wise decision given your condition."

"Wait, what?" I snapped back in less than a second. I did want to go to school. Carlisle knew, as I had told him so, that back in Fort Worth I was in all honors classes and at the top of said classes. I wasn't a genius, I just didn't have anything better to do with my life.

"Well with your eyes the color they are, it isn't normal and may raise suspicion." He tried to reason. "It will take about a year for them to look remotely normal. There is also the question of your control as a newborn. I imagine even now that you're just about dying of thirst."

So maybe I was? "I'm not missing a year of school just because I'm a freak of nature!" I argued. I didn't mean the last bit, but I wasn't going to back down on going to school. "I will graduate in the year that I'm supposed to!" And I put my foot down on that fact. I wasn't going to let being a newborn vampire get in the way of school. Carlisle would have to give up sometime.

"We'll think about it." Carlisle promised. "There's plenty of time." And every teenager knew that was parent code for 'Absolutely not.'

"Can't I just say they're contacts? And I'm not even thirsty!" I exclaimed, my stubbornness refusing to give way. When you grow up the oldest, having to share everything with two younger siblings, you have to adapt your own ways of getting what you want. Mine was arguing until I was blue in the face, no matter how many times the other party declared the discussion over, until they finally caved. I didn't always work, I'll admit. Half the time all it got me were a few grounded weekends, but I hardly thought Carlisle had enough authority as my 'father' already to do that just yet. Hell, we hadn't even decided if I would play a Cullen sibling or an estranged cousin whose mother died in a fire.

My thoughts were interrupted when Edward grumbled, "Can't you just be grateful that we're taking you in and not letting you run around, where you would probably get killed by another rouge vampire with more experience?" Okay, what was his problem? I know I may have rubbed him the wrong way with my denial, but it was nothing to act this hostile over. Unless I just downright annoyed him. Either way, his remark had me on the fringe, and we found ourselves locked in a heated stare down.

"Jazz," I heard Alice say quietly to the blond male across the room. Jasper Hale sighed and put his talent to work. A calming air swept the room, the brunt of it seeming to hit Edward and I. I let out a relaxed sigh, forgetting my mental skirmish with the bronze-haired boy. When Carlisle told me of Jasper's ability, I thought it was the most awesome of the bunch he described. Being able to manipulate the emotions of an entire room of people was something worth merit. Visions of the future and mind-reading seemed a bit cliché, in my opinion.

"She likes your ability best, Jasper." Edward said as soon as he regained his composure. "Alice, she thinks ours are cliché." Just wait, I was going to teach him to stay out of my mind.

"Emily," Carlisle called. I looked to him as he smiled at me kindly. "I believe you haven't properly met them. That's Edward," he nodded towards my staring contest opponent. "Alice," he nodded in her direction. "Jasper," the blond male. "Emmett," a built, muscular, curly dark-haired man-child. "and Rosalie." the most astonishing woman I had ever seen.

Jasper and I, I hoped, would get along just fine. He had a muscular, but lean frame, and honey blond hair. He didn't look like a high school student, and his age probably proved me right—not his actual age, which was probably well over a hundred, but the age at which he was changed. Like me, that I would be stuck in the body of a fifteen-year-old for the rest of eternity, Jasper had to have been at least twenty. Emmett Cullen was much bigger, but some look in his eyes gave off the impression of a playful kid. He had the grin to match. He looked too old for high school too, and my guess was that he was the same age as Jasper. But they had to be from different time periods, their physical features disclosed. His muscled arm was draped around the shoulders of Rosalie Hale, a beauty like I had never seen. She put Venus de Milo to shame. Her wavy, golden hair reached the middle of her back. She was so composed and graceful, much more than any supermodel. I wondered if, over time, I would become that gorgeous (I heard something of a stifled laugh from Edward after that thought).

"Nice to meet you." I said with a partially forced smile. It wasn't that I wasn't glad to meet them, but I still felt so damn uncomfortable in a room full of such statuesque vampires, something of an ugly duckling still waiting to be a swan. I looked at each face in the room, the entire family but Esme was present. I supposed the extravagant beauty fit; after all, when I thought 'vampire,' all the mental images of vampires I read about in books came to mind. Then, in a split second, the feverish eyes of the one that bit me flashed into my mind. Instantly, I cringed. Why me? Why my family? What did I do to deserve this?

Worse, what did I do to survive?

A blanket of comfort befell upon me and I made a mental note to try controlling my emotions, lest I cause Jasper any unnecessary trouble. I flashed him an apologetic look and his eyes told me it was no problem, he was accustomed to worse.

"Alice, would you show her to her room?" Carlisle requested. "The large spare upstairs next to Edward's." Joyous; I was to be next door neighbors with the one family member I was almost positive I would be the most conflicted with. But I had to grin and bear it. I was, after all, living off the Cullens' generosity, and if that meant dealing with a surly nearby resident, then so be it.

Alice led me upstairs, talking to me as I visually took in my surroundings. I hadn't had time to tour the house myself. "You came about half an hour before us, right?" I responded with a slow nod. "Well, this is your room."

It was the second-to-last room in the hall. The last, Alice said, was Edward's. I expected the room to be barren and empty, but it was actually made up pretty nice. The walls were painted turquoise, my favorite color. There was an oak wood desk with a new computer in the corner, a matching bookshelf on the adjacent wall—empty, but it would be filled soon enough with a vast collection—and a queen-sized bed with a silky black bedspread and pillows. Across from the bed was a small bureau, made of oak wood as well, with a singular drawer over a small cabinet. On the wall above it hung a 32" plasma television set. To the right side of my bed was a doorway leading to my closet. It was large enough to be a decent guest room, but according to Alice was the smallest in the house. Immediately to my left were hooks that held a collection of styled headbands ("Your favorite accessory, right?"), to the right was a body-sized mirror. The racks inside were filled with hung blouses and a few dresses, jeans. At the bottom were small shelves filled with a plethora of shoes. The further end held drawers that encased my 'intimates.'

"Esme did the decorating." Alice chirped as we exited my closet. "I picked out all your clothes."

"Thanks." I said gratefully, but not enthusiastically. I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my jeans; brand-new, brought to me by Carlisle before I left the hospital. The clothes I was found in, he said, were so unsightly soiled that, if he had let me arrive at his house in them, Esme nor Alice would ever let him hear the end of it. "How long ago did you see me coming?"

"I saw Carlisle meeting you at the hospital about a week ago." She said. It fit. "I didn't see you actually joining the family until a few days later when Carlisle told you about us. He decided then that maybe it'd be best you stay here. For a few days, your decisions alternated between staying and leaving at the first chance you got. Ultimately, you decided to at least meet us first."

I shrugged, gesturing that she was right. After expressing her hope that I liked my new room, Alice left, and I sunk into the sheets of my bed. Maybe living with the Cullens wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

In typical Emily fashion, I argued and argued with Carlisle to allow me to attend school. The argument was mostly one-sided as I seemed to be the only one fighting. Eventually, my will power moved him to give me a chance. So a week later, I experienced my first day at Forks High School. My presence was instantly noticed. Their previous new kid had been Isabella Swan just earlier that month. I was never good at being the center of attention. I had actually avoided introducing myself to my new teachers when I walked into the classroom so that I wouldn't be called up to say a few things about myself to the class. This played a part in my first social mistake: sitting with my new 'family' at lunch before anyone knew who I was.

"Everyone's staring…" I whispered shakily to them as I set my tray down. The looks the other students were giving me knocked me off my usual 'I-don't-give-a-damn' mood.

Rosalie glanced at me, a taunting smirk playing on her rose-red lips. She was about to disclose the obvious. "Nobody knows who you are yet. You haven't talked to anybody at all, have you?" I shook my head. She leaned forwards on the table, her sweet scent rushing towards my face. "You see, Emily, no one sits with us at lunch because some portion of them inside knows we're dangerous and wills them to stay away. The toss it off as our exclusive demeanor. I mean, look at us. It's practically an honor to sit here." She explained. "Then, suddenly, you get here and without warning, you get to sit with us."

"But I'm a Cullen now." I arched a brow, blinking. I was registered as Emily Marie Cullen, the newest edition to the Cullen foster home.

"They don't know that yet because you haven't told them." Rosalie finished, sitting up straight in her chair.

I supposed it made sense. I didn't exactly look like a Cullen just yet. My skin was still somewhat tanned and my eyes were red, unlike their amber hues. I was nowhere near as beautiful as they were, just average-looking as I had always been. With a sigh, I looked down at the tray of food, the odor of grease making the burger on it unappetizing. Not to mention I could already taste the ashes it would feel like against my taste buds. I grabbed the tray and stood up, going over to a trash bin and emptying the contents. I went back to my seat and looked around our table, noticing Edward was missing. "Where's Edward?"

"He's sitting with Bella." Alice said, glancing over at another table. And there he was, sitting with a girl with skin almost as pale as a vampire's and long mahogany hair. Her back was too me so that I couldn't see her face.

"Bella?" I inquired, glancing at the girl. It had to be Isabella Swan, the new kid before me. Edward had taken a certain interest in her, for what reason I wasn't sure. I looked at Edward. He caught and met my gaze, instantly giving me a snarl. I whipped back around and sunk into my chair. 'Well forget you too, then!'

Emmet let out a comical laugh and looked at me. "You're going to be the odd one, aren't you?" He laughed again when I pouted and looked away. He lowered his voice so that only a vampire could hear. "You're just not used to it yet. We've been like this for over many years already, you've only been one for a couple of weeks. Give it time, you'll learn."

Reluctantly, I nodded. My next class was sophomore level English, and there I was attacked. So much for almost getting through the day without being asked questions. Though, after what Rosalie said in lunch, I knew I'd have to at least tell them who I was.

The first to approach me was a girl with dirty-blonde hair, straightened past her shoulders. Her swept bangs partially hid one of her baby blue eyes. She could be considered 'pretty,' but I lived with a family of vampires, so there was hardly any room for comparison. "Hi, I'm Sarina." She was the same height as me, but she wore four-inch heels to make her seem taller. "You're the new girl, right?"

"Emily." I stated, slowly taking my seat. I recognized her. She was in two of the four classes I had before lunch.

"Emily..?" She repeated, fishing for a last name.

Cottrell was my first instinct, as I had grown up with it. However, that would only make her furiously wonder why I was sitting with the Cullens at lunch. After a second's consideration, I replied, "Cullen."

"Oh…Oh! You're a…Cullen?" Sarina laughed in a disbelieving manner. I didn't need Edward's mind-reading ability to know that she thought I was lying. "A Cullen. How are you re-?"

"Adopted." I cut her off. "Just recent, about a week ago. That's why I was sitting with my new siblings today at lunch."

"Right, of course. I'm sorry, you just look so-…" She began to apologize.

"No you're not." I narrowed my red eyes at her, seeing past her fake front. I already couldn't stand her. "I have several other classes with you and now you want to talk to me? Yeah, I'm new and I sat with the Cullens for lunch, so what? Do you have to know everyone in this school?"

Sarina was taken aback. "Look, Emily, in this school, everyone knows everyone. You're new and you don't know the rules, but that doesn't make you an exception to them. Just who do you think you are?"

"I'm Emily Cullen, Sarina. Now back the fuck off." And that's how Emily Cullen began the snowball that would result in her social exclusion from the entire school, and not in a good way. Sarina had them all convinced I was some sort of freak of nature by the end of the day.

By the time school let out, I was happy to reach Rosalie's convertible (Edward's Volvo was reserved strictly for him and Bella nowadays). I made it out there quicker than the others; they were in no rush to get home. I waited next to the red vehicle, slightly bouncing up and down impatiently. A moment later, I spotted Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper coming from the school building. They walked slow, torturing me, knowing that I wanted to go home already. They were just picking on me because I was the youngest now. It seemed like an eternity before they reached me, all of them smirking at my desperate eyes pleading for them to take me home already.

"Someone's a bit anxious to go." Emmett chuckled as he went around the front of the convertible and opened the passenger's side door. "I dunno, are we forgetting anything, guys?"

Jasper laughed lightly as I narrowed my eyes at Emmett. "He's only joking, Emily." He said as he passed me and opened the door to the back seat. He held it open and gestured towards me. "Climb in."

"Thanks." I muttered, a bit annoyed at how they were treating me. I slid down to the opposite side and leaned against the door, resting my head on the back of the seat. I turned my head to look at Jasper again, who was still holding the door open for Alice. I had to smile as they peered into each other's eyes for a moment before Alice slid in as well. I envied their love for each other. Turning my head back, I let out a tired sigh.

"How did you like your first day?" Alice chimed as she slid over next to me.

"I didn't." I said in an annoyed tone. The day was a drag, I just wanted to go home. I wasn't listening to Alice as she chattered about how school would get better for me, because I knew it was just nonsense. Instead I let my mind wander, and after a while, it toed dangerously along the border that I had put up around the day of my transformation. I clenched my fist in my lap as I thought of how unfair it was. I shouldn't have been sitting in a red convertible with a bunch of vampires who I referred to as my new siblings; I should have been dead, cold, and buried in a cemetery next to my actual siblings. My eyes rose to the rearview mirror, where they caught Rosalie's hone gaze.

She seemed to know what I was thinking; my regret for what I had become. Rosalie's eyes were full of understanding for my current situation. Her eyes told a story, her story. Through her eyes, I understood how she compared to met at the time. She would later go on to tell me that she had siblings too, two younger brothers, and although they had not been killed like my younger sister and brother, she missed them just as much. And if she hadn't have been walking alone that night then maybe she would still be…alive. Albeit, she'd be very old by now, but she'd still be human.

There was a sharp pang in my heart as I kept Rosalie's gaze. She saw me and gave a very faint smile, reaching over for Emmett's hand in the front seat. My own heart went out to her completely.

"We're going to have fun tonight, Emily." Alice said, disrupting the awkward silence that had befallen the car. She had a smirk on her face as we drew closer to the mansion. I had to wonder what she meant and summed it up to the probability that she had a vision. What her vision was, I didn't know. Obviously we were going to do something that night.

Rosalie parked in the garage and we all got out and headed inside. I was the last one in, stepping inside just in time to hear Carlisle ask the others where I was. When he saw me he took no time in telling me what he had planned for me.

"Emily," he began with me. "I think it's time you go on your first hunt. Rosalie, Alice, I want you two to take her."

…Great.

Author's Note- Well it's that time of year again. Summertime is when my creative juices get flowing, probably because my most creative hours are between 2 and 6 AM, and summer is the only time I can actually stay up that late. Anyway, I hope you enjoy Emily's story. There's much more to come!