Okay so I was just fiddling around with my brand new laptop trying to figure out how to use it and now I can try to keep this thing going.
BTW: although I may own a new laptop, several brand new shirts, and a fantastic collection of books, Idon't own Stephanie Meyer's property etc.
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APOV
I spend most school days with my visions focused on Jasper. I know how hard he tries and how well he has been doing lately, but I can't help worrying. I know how awful he would feel should he lose control and force us to uproot us from our lives here prematurely.
I was so focused on his future that I blocked out all others unless they were major problems.
The day had been going smoothly and rather like every other one from these past few years in forks, but at lunch my vision suddenly was covered with the black as a powerful vision burst through my filters. Then green and a stripe of orange… a burnt orange firebird thundering down a highway surrounded by trees. It took the roads to our house and a gorgeous brunette vampire got out as the five of us arrived home from school. When Carlisle came to the door her serious face transformed into a dazzling smile, as his became one of shock and surprise. Then they ran and embraced.
As the cafeteria came into focus, I saw three anxious faces staring at me with what one might describe as bated breath in someone other than vampire. Jasper, Rose, and Emmett weren't breathing.
Too quietly for the noisy teenagers to hear I told them, "We need to leave now. Jasper, go tell the office that we have just gotten word that someone close to our family has passed away. Everyone get anything you need and meet me in the car."
Rose and Emmett met me at Rose's red convertible and waited for Jasper as I started to dial Carlisle's work number.
"Alice?" Carlisle seemed rather confused but I gave him the simple explanation that would also inform the others as to why we needed to leave.
"I just had a vision of a visitor coming, whom I did not recognize, just as we get home from Jasper informing the office we have had someone close to us die and we need to leave school early. In my vision you were already home and waiting."
"I'll be home in two minutes." Then the line disconnected.
In just a few moments Jasper came into view walking a little faster than he might have on a normal day.
We got into the car and Rose pressed the petal to the floorboards and Jasper smiled at me. "So, a visitor."
"Yep."
JPOV
We reached our beautiful white home just in time to see the brunette stranger emerge from her firebird. I could feel the envy pouring of Rosalie when she got a good look at that car. The rest happened just as Alice had seen and related to us on the ride home. Carlisle emerged from our house, and after a miniscule moment of shock, his undiluted happiness merged with the female vampire's to create an atmosphere so positively charged that I couldn't hold back the smallest of smiles.
Esme stepped out from the house as they broke from their embrace and joined the four of us as we walked towards the newcomer. She was 5"4', about 17 years old, had long dark brown hair with bits of red highlighted through it; her simple jeans and gray Beatles t-shirt were well worn, but they fit her as well as her black converse. Her eyes were the same warm golden shade as our own. She assessed us as we did her.
Rosalie being Rosalie started a staring contest with her which we were all a bit surprised when the stranger won. Carlisle's arm remained draped about her shoulder in a fatherly fashion and smiled at us. "Everyone, this is Bella. She is one of my oldest friends. Bella, this is my family." He pointed us out as he introduced us. "My wife, Esme. Jasper, and his wife Alice. Rosalie and her husband Emmett."
Esme broke the brief uncomfortable silence with her standard warm and open welcome, "Perhaps we can all go inside and hear a bit more of your story, Bella."
"That sounds great. Thank you Esme." She smiled brightly as her bell-like voice tinkled out her reply, and we all went inside and sat in the living room looking at Bella.
She looked around at us and took a deep breath.
BPOV
I couldn't help taking a deep breath before launching into my long and twisted life. Everyone looked at me though, so I began. "I am very old…" I stopped "Jasper you can stop that I'm not that nervous." Everyone but Carlisle looked shocked but I smiled and said, "I've been around for long enough to be able to recognize a seer sitting next to me. I need to be on fire to miss an empath screwing with my emotions." Everyone exchanged a look and a started again.
"I don't know if any of you have heard of the famous medieval painter Andrew Wyeth,"
And the big one, Emmett interrupted excitedly, "Wait I know this one! He was most famous for his painting called Christina's World, of his crippled goddaughter who disappeared."
"I learned it in an Art history class in college two moves ago." He said smugly.
Rosalie, the fierce blonde smacked him across the back of the head and warned him sternly to not interrupt.
I got back to my story when Rosalie turned back to me. "Well, Uncle Andrew gave me the nickname Christina when I was five years old because I was complaining about the name Isabella. I hated it then and, come to think of it, I still do. Anyway, I was crippled because of an undiagnosed and incurable disease known today as polio. At least, it was unknown then because most people in the town though I was either possessed by demons or paying for some sort of slight to God (or the gods, whatever their beliefs happened to be) somewhere in my family's history. I knew that my future wasn't going to be particularly pleasant, as those crippled as I was were unable to be married off which were all women were considered good for in those days. I spent most of my time either being taught to paint by Uncle Andrew or daydreaming in the fields. Aro stumbled upon me one day when I had dragged myself to the furthest field from our house. He had intended to feed from me but he was interrupted by his confusion when his touch had not resulted in access to my mind.
"He took me into the woods and watched over me while I turned. When I was done, he explained everything. I am a shield. I like privacy. I always have. My mind protected itself with a shield. So powers such as Aro's, Jane's, and Alec's have no power over me."
I could feel everyone's shock as I dropped this gem of information but I struggled on.
" I can extend it if I wish to cover more people. Aro wanted me to join with him, but I didn't want to be a human killing monster. I ran from him and evaded him and his coven for decades, and proved to them that I could survive on animals. I lived by traveling from place to place, learning as much as I could: reading, writing, languages, fighting styles, medicine and healing, music, anything that someone would teach me. Many times I had to disguise myself as a man in order to learn what the cultures of the world could teach me."
"Somewhere between 300 and 400 years ago, I was in London. I hid while a group of misguided zealots, who to my surprise, had actually found a true vampire coven attempted to rid the earth of their presence. After it was over, I left my hiding place and went through the bodies left behind, destroying evidence of the paranormal before anything could draw the Volturi's eye, for I didn't wish to see them anytime soon."
"As I was finishing up, I noticed a human who hadn't been killed by his injuries. I carried a semi-conscious Carlisle out to where he couldn't be found and waited with him while the change took him. When he woke up he was appalled at what he had become and though I explained to him my diet, he didn't seem to understand that nothing could undo what had been done. So I watched and waited while he attempted to put an end to himself and let him discover that he could survive without human death in the same way I had. When he gave up with his grand ideas of suicide for the greater good, we started to travel together. We were companions. He posed as my father, traveling in order to learn more of medicine.
"I left him and went my own way when he accepted a place with the Volturi, however briefly that might have been. I refused to go anywhere near that place. So I have been traveling on my own ever since, until I met a couple the Denali coven. When I discovered Carlisle was living so close by I had to come and see him."
After a pause I continued with my foolish request eyes on the floor, "I was wondering if I could join this family that you have made for yourself here."
I was somewhat surprised when the very small body of Alice suddenly collided with me and knocked me over with her hug.
"Oooh yay!" she yelled "I get a sister to dress. You, me, and Rose are going to have the best time shopping I can tell already."
Carlisle and Esme smiled and said, "Of course you can stay. We just need to think of how you are going to be introduced to the rest of the school in two days. We'll take those days to gather the legal papers and prepare your room." And Alice added, "We also need to prepare her wardrobe."
I however informed her that I had seniority as I was about 800 years old and she wasn't even 100 yet so I would have some say in what I wore. She pouted but recovered swiftly and said happily, "I can buy clothes for you anyway."
So we decided that the family friend of the Cullen's that had passed away had left their daughter under the guardianship of Carlisle and Esme.
Then Alice could no longer be prevented. She attacked several stores with her credit card far enough away that she could not be recognized. While Alice went on rampage dragging poor Jasper with her, Esme started on my room, mostly in shades of blue, and I talked cars with Rose and Emmett.
The night before I started high school, I ignored suggestive sounds coming from the rest of the house while I played the beautiful piano Esme put in my room and painted a new picture of my old farmhouse. I didn't want to forget it. I wondered what I tomorrow would bring and smiled. I wasn't alone.
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Okay so I didn't include the whole describing everyone and telling everyone's story's besides Bella's because we all know them by now and I wrote it at about 3 in the morning. I was just too lazy to bother. Basically when they were discussing their story and getting to know each other better they told. Also I had jasper's pov because he was all military so I thought he would be a good person, because he would automatically try to categorize newcomers and make sure they weren't a threat. Please review!
Thank you for reading it.
