Out of Place

Edward dropped lightly from the tree, gently lowering me from his back and stepped out into the sunlight, away from the dense forest. His skin glistened in the light, mesmerizing me as it had that first day. Emmett's huge frame bustled out into the light at that point, followed closely by Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme. As they stepped into the sun's rays I realised that they all looked somehow different, their skin reacted in different ways to the light: Emmett's skin seemed to shine rather than sparkle, it had a surface like silver, shining brightly in some areas and only slightly in others. Rosalie looked as though she was carved from crystal, a multitude of colours shimmering all over her skin as she moved elegantly into the sun. Carlisle's skin was more like Edward's but with less colours, it also seemed more carved, with sharp edges, although he was still completely smooth. Esme's skin was the most interesting; she looked as though she was made from pearl, her flesh seemed to swim with pinks and creams, running together as she moved.

Emmett ran towards Edward, tackling him to the ground. I cringed as their bodies collided, sounding like a rockslide, and I worried for Edward's safety, I mean, Emmett was so big.

"You cheated!" Emmett's bellowing voice did not fit in with the peaceful scene at all.

"I did not!" Edward was laughing, "You're just too slow!"

"I am not slow!" Emmett bent further over Edward, pinning his arms to the grass beneath him. Emmett was suddenly a blur before reappearing ten feet away with Rosalie straddling him.

"Well you're not exactly fast, Monkey Man", Rosalie smirked and jumped off Emmett, leaving him lying dazed on the lush grass. He jumped to his feet and picked Rosalie up by her slender waist, he looked as though he would snap her, before tossing her twenty feet away into the pool. Rosalie splashed viciously as she slumped into the liquid, her arms and legs flailing and her skin glistening manically in the sunlight. As she entered the water something large burst out of it and scaled the rock face that inhabited the area next to the small oasis.

I had to squint into the sunlight to see what it was that had emerged so dramatically out of the water; I peered towards the rock where the disruption was perched. I realised then that it was a person, no, two people, clinging onto the jagged rock, the smaller one sitting on the taller one's shoulders. With closer inspection I could finally see that the startled creature was Alice and Jasper; Alice was perched on Jasper's shoulders like a small child, and Jasper was holding onto the rock with one hand, leaning back to see what was going on. They were both dripping wet, the water sparkling as much as their skin. They also seemed to shine differently in the sun; Alice had the same sort of sparkle as Edward, but with much more facets, even the slightest movement of her head caused her flesh to sparkle furiously. Jasper was quite like Esme, he seemed to have a pearlescent sheen, with various colours blending in with each other. But something was disjointed about the way the colours merged; they seemed to flow and then stop in various places, as though his skin was somehow creased, although I could see only perfection. Alice's hair was clinging to her pixie face and Jasper's blonde curls were sticking out in all directions and they both had huge grins on their faces as they watched Rosalie leap out of the water and chase Emmett around the clearing.

It was strange to see Jasper so… happy, he didn't look worried or anxious like I had always seen him look, he simply looked content. I understood then that the feelings I'd felt in the trees had been his. He hadn't needed to keep them under control, he was completely unrestrained. He dropped from the rock face onto the soft grass with Alice still on his shoulders, a look of pure joy on her face, her smile broadened when she looked in Emmett's direction and spoke in her wind-chime voice, "Thanks Emmett, ruin the moment why don't you?"

Jasper cleared his throat, probably embarrassed.

"How long had you two been down there anyway?" Emmett ruffled Rosalie's now-soaking hair as he spoke, receiving a low growl from her.

"Only a couple of hours" was Alice's reply. Of course, no need to breathe. I suddenly felt highly embarrassed and realised that Jasper's emotions were escaping again, he clearly didn't want Emmett knowing his and Alice's romantic business.

Carlisle and Esme settled themselves into the grass and began chatting whilst holding hands, Emmett dive-bombed into the water, splashing a sunbathing Rosalie, although why she was sunbathing I had no idea, perhaps she just wanted to emphasise how much hotter she was than me, not that I needed reminding. Jasper sat crossed legged in the grass with Alice remaining on his shoulders; she was playing with his golden hair as it curled in the sun. I didn't want to spoil the moment as I watched the vampires so relaxed, unfortunately my legs had other ideas. As I leant towards the clearing I tripped over a loose branch, I attempted to stop the encroaching embarrassment by grabbing a large, green bush but, as should have been expected, it wasn't as strong as I'd originally thought and I fell to my knees, pulling the large bush on top of me.

As I pulled myself up I could hear Emmett's thunderous laugh echoing throughout the clearing and I saw Edward's shadow cover me as he stepped in front of me, slightly crouched. He looked as though he was protecting me and so I leaned around him to see the danger for myself. I could see Jasper standing in the same position as Edward; he was bearing his teeth, growling. Okay, so Jasper was the danger.

More chapters to come, I just need to type them up :)

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