Chapter 4

"Is this all you have?"

I flustered uncomfortably as Tracy stared intensely at me - Her nostrils flaring in irritation. She held out before her one of my white t-shirts. My Aunt and Uncle had been simplistic people. White was one of the staple colors that our family purchased. White t-shirts and jeans. There wasn't an given explanation - I assumed it was cheaper for them.

Tracy groaned.

She had dressed herself up for the occasion. She looked less trash-like than usual. Her feet were finely painted and decked in four-inch tall blue stilettos. Her dress was floral and went to her knees. She had coated her face in make-up.

It was the nicest I had ever seen her.

I nodded tentatively.

"Whatever." She sighed. "I'll just tell em' white is your favorite color. Also. No wearing that hoodie of your's. It's slobby."

I about laughed.

Who was she to talk about being slobbish? I looked around at her house and she knew her hypocrisy was not lost on me.

"Is Leonard coming with us?" I asked, looking for her boyfriend. I could still hear the television in their room buzz on with old game-shows and I could hear his laughter every so often.

"No." Tracy said as she applied her ruby red lipstick in the mirror. She had dropped the shirt in my hands and I pulled it on. "He's busy."

He sure didn't seem busy but I made sure not to say anything about it. I knew why, truthfully. Mrs. Cullen was far too pretty. I had no doubt that Tracy didn't want Leonard being around her or even looking at her. She was jealous like that.

They walked out of the house. Tracy grabbed the umbrella and pulled it up - noting the darkness of the clouds. I stood quietly behind her, slowly following. I let the rain graze my skin before climbing into her Sedan.

I let my thumb roll across the rain-drops on my arms. I shivered. It had been a long time since I let my arms be exposed to the world. Something felt disturbing about it. Like I was without a dear friend or companion. Tracy was certainly neither one of those. And although Mrs. Cullen had been a clearly sweet woman - She was still a stranger. No matter how much I wished I had fought for the right to wear my beloved jacket, I knew that it was best to not test Tracy. She had no problems hitting her boyfriend and I knew that meant she would have no problem hitting me.

The drive to the Cullens was short. They lived incredibly close by - a Bit closer to Forks than we did. Luckily for them. I had nowhere to go but the woods - Being how far away I was. I had no car, no bike, nothing but my own two feet. And no way was I walking six miles for something that could barely be considered a town.

Tracy's car smelled of cheap perfume.

Like some old woman just sat in the back-seat spraying every five minutes. We were practically soaked in it - Just by air exposure. The strong scent automatically gave me a headache. Judging by the clouds, no way was Tracy letting me roll down the window and risk getting her decked out, leopard-print seats wet.

Clumsy, by Fergie.

Tracy paused for a second before she twisted the volume knob all the way up. My ears almost cringed. Except, I was reluctant and could easily admit that the song was a bop. Pop filler and entirely generic, but a bop. It wasn't exactly a song I wanted playing when pulling up to Mrs. Cullen's house.

I leaned against the window, cradling myself.

It took not even five minutes of driving and we were pulling up into the yard. The remaining seconds of Clumsy boomed through our car. I cringed so hard when I saw the curtains flutter - knowing someone must have heard us. Not just anyone. But the people we were about to be eating dinner with.

She turned off the car and I about sighed in relief as we slowly got out. I realized that her bad habits were wearing off on me, when I noted the lack of seat-belt. I shrugged and continued to leave the car. It wasn't that big of a deal.

The door opened the moment we did so and Mrs. Cullen walked out, as though she had been waiting for us to arrive. I almost felt bad. We showed up acting like such trash.

"Hello! Welcome to our home!"

And it was truly a grand home. It stood at least two stories up the ground and dozens of windows seemed to cover the outside of it. I had never been inside a home like it. They were clearly wealthy. Tracy had told me that Mr. Cullen was a doctor: he would be working at Forks Hospital.

Mrs. Cullen was as gorgeous as ever, but out from behind her, an even more handsome man stepped out. His hair was a fine blonde and his eyes were practically golden. He had a nice smile on his face. There was no way this could be her husband, but a part of me knew. Also. He wrapped his hand around her waist like any loving husband would.

That was Mr. Cullen.

Mrs. Cullen was truly a lucky woman.

"Hello Esme, how are you!" Tracy waved her hands and adorned a smile as we climbed up the short steps.

Mr. Cullen unwrapped his arm and held out his hand.

"I'm Doctor Cullen - I hope my wife told you about me."

"That she did." Tracy said but her eyes lingered on him uncomfortably long. I looked at Mrs. Cullen and felt rather embarrassed. She truly had no shame. He quickly dropped her hand and turned to me.

"And you must be Lemini."

I took his hand and jolted, but kept it firm. His hands were freezing. I glanced up at his eyes as I shook it softly. "Yep. You must be Doctor Cullen."

His eyes went amused and I flushed as I quickly realized he had just introduced himself moments prior. I let out a nervous laugh and quickly dropped his hand.

"You have a beaaaauutiful home, Doctor Cullen." Tracy said, fluttering her eyelashes. I rolled my eyes as I shuffled behind her. Even though I hated her, she was still the only person I knew.

"Well come on in-" Mrs. Cullen interjected. "Make yourself right at home."

The house still had that new-home smell. And there was sounds of television being on. And I heard voices, presumably their five children. Their kitchen was the first thing we saw, beside it was some stairs. And I could see the light of the television flashing against the wall.

Tracy continued to talk to Mrs. Cullen and Doctor Cullen and I somewhat lingered behind, shutting the door behind me.

"Hi!"

I jumped about five feet into the air. As a voice popped up beside me. A short, petite girl stared up at me - her dark hair was styled in a pixie cut and her eyes were as golden as her father's. The rest of her face looked nothing like either of her parents….Mrs. Cullen and Doctor Cullen looked way too young to have five teenagers in their home.

"Um. Hi." I said back. I instinctively shoved my hands to my sides, looking for pockets. They weren't there, obviously. I clenched my fists instead and avoided her eyes. She was cute - really cute. She didn't hold the same elegance as Mrs. Cullen, but there was no denying how attractive she was.

This was probably the most beautiful family I had ever seen. And I prayed really hard that one of them would be ugly. It would at least let me feel a bit more normal. I, after all, was hardly the peak of attraction. I was average - rather, less than average. My Aunt made sure to remind me of that, every day.

I shook those thoughts away and focused on the girl before me.

Her dainty fingers stuck out and I stared at them for a solid stupid second.

"I'm Alice."

"Nice to meet you."

I gently took her hand and found it to be as freezing as Doctor Cullen's. I dropped it quickly.

"I'm Lemini."

"Lemini?" She bit her lip with a laugh. "What an interesting name."

I nodded and began the explanation that I was almost always demanded. "My mom is a gemini and my dad is a leo. Thus Lemini."

"Oh. Then what are you?"

"I'm a Cancer."

"Isn't that right in between?"

"Yep."

"You speak really soft. I like that." Alice spoke boldly. "You're going to high school - freshmen right? I'm a sophomore. But we can still stick together in like electives. I love art and fashion-" She looked at my clothes. "I'm guessing color isn't your hobby."

"I like color.." I struggled to finish. "I-um-lived with my Aunt and Uncle before living with my mom. They were-" I tried to find a word. "Strict."

"Oh. So I assume your wardrobe is gonna expand past white t-shirts and jeans? You have such a pretty face. I can see you in blues-"

"I love blue." I interjected.

"I'm more of a pink person." Alice laughed, but it wasn't cruel. "Although every color has their place on just about every person."

"Alice, stop bothering the poor girl about clothes."

Came a smooth voice, from a boy, presumably one of her brothers. At the sight of him, my mouth dried. This entire family had some killer genes. They really scored lucky. He had high cheekbones, a strong jawline, a straight nose, and full lips. He looked completely different compared to Alice. Aside from the eyes - which were the same pretty golden color. His hair was an unusual shade of brown - more of a bronze color.

"Hello." He said formally. "I'm Edward."

His voice was stiff - as though he wanted to do anything but speak. Especially to me. He held out his hands - he had long fingers, perfect for playing the piano. I took his hand gently and nodded unable to speak.

I dropped any eye contact as I took my hand back swiftly.

"This is Lemini." Alice said. "She's our neighbor."

"So Esme said."

"You call your mom Esme?" I asked.

"Adoptive mom." Alice corrected and everything suddenly made sense. It explained why they all looked waaay too old for Doctor Cullen and Mrs. Cullen to have had them naturally. "Edward will also be a sophomore." She mentioned.

Neither of them looked like sophomores. They looked like models out of a magazine. Including their parents. It was bizarre. It also didn't explain their shared eyes. How did they manage to adopt kids with the same eye color as - well - both Mrs. Cullen and Doctor Cullen. It wasn't exactly a common eye color.

They lead me to living room. And I saw the remainder of their siblings. Unfortunately, none of them were ugly. Just the opposite in fact. The girl, was absolutely stunning. Her golden blonde hair was waved around her, like a halo and her eyes were a shade of blue completely unlike my own. Where mine were dark, her's were akin to the most vibrant of skies.

The boy beside her was thick and muscular, his brown hair was cut short to his scalp and their hands were entwined. I noted that and tried not to judge (it didn't work) and beside them was a boy with curly blonde hair, well muscled arms, and a stoic looking face. They all had the same golden eyes. It was almost disturbing.

Tracy was talking to all five of them. Out of place. I was surprised they had kept the facade that she was anything but trashy. I would have kicked her out of my home (especially with it being as nice as theirs') the moment she had rolled up into my driveway.

"Esme made spaghetti." Edward said beside me. He also had a quiet, soothing voice that he seemingly didn't let get too loud. Goodness, he was so unbelievably handsome. Easily one of the best-looking guys I had ever seen.

"I love spaghetti." I laughed softly as I spoke - trying to fight off the urge to run away and go hide in some tree. As I laughed, some of my hair fell into my face. I pushed it back behind my ear.

I looked back at his face in time to see a confused expression, but it was quickly pushed away, in favor of the slight smile. Not completely unlike his stoic adoptive brother, but not stone cold either.

"I'm a big food person." I murmured. "I - cooked for my Aunt and Uncle, a lot."

"I don't eat much." He seemed to smile a bit more after that, as if he had just said some joke. I looked at his slender, although muscular frame. Yeah, I bet he didn't eat much. A wave of insecurity flooded over me. I looked down at my chubby fingers. I wasn't absolutely enormous, but bigger in certain areas that a lot of girls. My Aunt kept me in larger clothes, to simply hide it. She had claimed I was too much of a temptation around her sons. Which I didn't quite understand.

The rest of the Cullens were soon introduced to me, although they were not as open or friendly as Alice was or even Edward. Jasper was the blonde-haired one, Emmett was the muscular one, and Rosalie was the gorgeous girl who thought herself too good to even talk to me.

I was seated by Alice at the dinner table. Our plates were before us as they all chatted amiably. Beside Alice was Jasper. In front of me was Edward. To my other was side was Tracy, and then Esme. Carlisle was at the other end of the table. Rosalie and Emmett both sat on the other side. There was uneven seating, considering the odd number of people.

The plates were placed neatly - and the food was centered in on the table. It probably cost more than I did. As we ate - I wasn't pestered with questions. Not really. I had expected more, but I think it was obvious I wanted to be left alone. Tracy, however, made great conversation.

Every so often I would catch Edward staring at me, squinting his eyes curiously. I quickly looked down whenever I caught him though. He likely thought I was weird and I didn't want to make myself seem even weirder.

"Do you play any sports?"

What a random question.

But it was a still a question and I could barely hear Edward over the sound of his family and Tracy.

I shrugged. "I played softball before coming here. But it wasn't really - I guess - my passion."

"Not a big sports fan?"

"No. I - just - I did it to have something to do."

We stopped talking and I ate some more. I began to realize just how good they were at not eating. I'm pretty sure I saw Emmett flick something into one of the plants placed around. And how Rosalie kept smearing the same few noodles into mush around her plate.

There was something off about them.

The eyes - the cold skin - how insanely pretty they were.

It just nagged at me.

I looked to the right of us - past Tracy. There was a closed piano at the end of the dining room. Did any of them play? I looked back just in time to make direct eye contact with Edward. He looked at the piano.

"Do you play?"

"Only a little."

"Do you?"

"All the time," he admitted.

Esme suddenly directed her attention to me. "You can play?" She said with a wide, comforting smile. "I'd love to hear it."

I flustered and I wanted to sink underneath the table and die, "I'm not that good."

"Don't be silly! I bet you're great! Edward loooves the piano!" Alice interjected.

And that was how I found myself sitting down at the piano - stretching fingers that I hadn't used quite some time. I had no idea what to play. I truly wasn't that great and I only knew around four songs. I loved the sound, though. All of the Cullens were just staring, looking at me and I wanted to puke my guts up.

I began to tentatively play, A Thousand Years, by Christina Perri. I messed up on a few of the keys but I found the song to be lovely and soon my fingers seemed to move on their own. She was such an underrated artist.

Suddenly, I was lost in my world of music.

It was truly such a beautiful thing. Music could be called my passion. If only I were better at it, but I knew I was trash. I had no doubt they were all cringing in their minds and when I finished - they all clapped. I knew they were faking it. There was something off about them and that had to be it.

They had to be mean, horrible people because overall, they were actually quite lovely. Too lovely.

I didn't see Edward behind me, not clapping with them. Instead I felt movement next to me as Edward sat beside me. His shoulder touched mine and I could feel the cold skin beneath his shirt.

"Do you know the Piano Duet?"

"Corpse Bride?" I murmured, questioningly. Daring to look into his eyes once more.

"Let's play it."

My heart jumped straight up from my chest and into my mouth. I flustered and focused back on the piano. I had never really played it before. I loved Corpse Bride, however and as his fingers moved as did mine. And there was a sort of static in the air - an electricity that flowed between us as our fingers moved in synch.

It was finished all too quickly.

"Wow." I whispered and I looked at him with unabashed awe. "You're really good."

"I've had years of practice."

"When did you start?" There was no tremor to my voice, none of the same softness. I didn't think before I spoke those words, which was rare for me.

"I was eight."

"I only started learning at twelve."

We stared at each other.

"It's getting late." Tracy interrupted.

I tilted my head, looking at her in confusion for she never went to bed before eight. Much less demanded that we be home. Tracy never cared about things like that.

"Ah, of course!" Mrs. Cullen said as she clapped her hands together. "Thank you both for coming!"

"No problem." Tracy said stiffly and she gripped my arm, pulling me away from the piano. "Lemini has a lot of chores to get done at home."

"I do?" I spoke up.

"Yes."

"Well - I hope we'll be able to do this again sometime."

"Maybe." Trace said, but in a manner that indicated we were never going to come back her at all.

We practically stormed out of the Cullens house and as soon as she thought we were alone - Tracy reared back and slapped the back of my head. "Stop being such a goddamned show off all the time."

"I wasn't being a-"

"Shut up. I don't wanna hear another word."

Gently I entered the passenger side of the car and I looked back at the Cullen's house. And in one of the windows, I saw Edward frowning down at us. His golden eyes hit me straight in the heart. It had been so wonderful - Playing with him.

I blinked and my mouth fell open for Edward was gone.

Either he was insanely fast or that had all been in my imagination. And I couldn't picture any reason as to why he would show any sort of concern for me - So I presumed to have imagined it.

I shut the car door and ignored Tracy, who began to rant about something. I wouldn't know. I didn't pay attention to it. I was more focused on trying not to cry.

Tracy didn't deserve to see my tears.