CULLEN FAMILY: Esme and Carlisle. Rosalie and Emmett. Jasper and Victoria. Edward. Alice. Wensley and Jessica.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Rated: T.

Author: xPaige Turnerx

Summary: COMPLETED AND WAITING TO POST. "Trust me, dating a vampire and having a wolf for a brother are the LEAST complicated aspects of my life. Every now and then my nose reenacts the elevator scene from The Shining, and I randomly wake up in the woods. Normal was shot to Hell a long time ago."

"At the center of your being

you have the answer;

you know who you are

you know what you want."

-Lao Tzu

Why did florescent lights hum? Or was it just hospital waiting rooms? Either way, it was doing nothing to help the aching throb in Bella's head.

She groaned, holding the frozen bag of peas tighter against her forehead. Well, they'd been frozen at one point. Now they were mostly just cool. Bella sighed deeply, forcing her mouth to form words past the pain in her head. "Dad, this isn't necessary!"

"Like hell it ain't," he all but growled. He was still pacing back and forth, muttering about how long the Chief of Police had to wait, even if it was for Doctor Cullen. Bella had perked up then, curious about meeting yet another Cullen. "They were never this bad before. Does Renee know how they've gotten? Did she take you to doctors in Phoenix?"

Bella leant her head back against the wall, letting the bag of peas just sit on her forehead. "Yeah, she knows. I told you already, dad, this is normal. They're worse but they're not as often anymore. Still balanced. We don't need to waste Doctor Cullen's time."

"Say that to this, Bells!" Charlie waved around the bloody shirt in his hand. It was the closest thing he could grab when Bella collapsed in the living room, writhing in agony with blood streaming from her nose. How could that possibly be normal? He'd never forgotten about his daughter's headaches -how could he? Why did an innocent child need to suffer so?- but this was... this was different. This was more than a headache. Something was really, really wrong with his daughter and he needed to fix it. "The doc, he's a smart man. Brilliant. He'll know what to do, maybe he can even stop it."

Torn between her curiosity to know more about the Cullens, even this doctor one, and her need for privacy and deep hatred of hospitals, Bella could only sit there and watch her father pace. She shook her head, groaning at the fresh wave of dizzying pain. "We've been through this all so many times before, dad. I've had every test and every scan out there. There's nothing physically wrong with me." Weird, considering her eyes, but whatever. A cosmetic defect according to one of her first doctors. "No physical or lasting trauma. They're just bad headaches."

"Then why are you bleeding?" Charlie almost whimpered. His eyes were red and a little puffy, but he'd held back the tears. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done and ever would do; watching his daughter suffer, unable to help her.

She shrugged a shoulder, the bag of warm peas long forgotten now. "Does it matter, in the end?" She sighed, rubbing her forehead and glanced around the waiting room again. Only a nurse, dutifully ignoring them and giving them as much privacy as she could, after informing the doctor he was required. Speaking of which... "So what's this doctor like?"

"Who? Cullen?" Charlie asked, finally dropping into the seat across from her. He draped the bloody shirt over his lap, holding his head in his hands. "Decent fella, I s'pose. Treats everyone alike, takes care of those who can't always afford his services. Wicked smart, we've called him in on a couple cases over the months now. Respectful and deserving of respect, got it?"

"Hey, I'm always respectful!"

"To doctors?"

Her lips twitched into a frown. "Why do they always poke and prod?"

"Chief Swan, I came as soon as I was able to," a man said from the doors that swung open. Bella looked up, surprised and yet unsurprised at the beautiful man standing before her. So young, though, she'd been expecting someone much older, to have teenage kids. He had to be in his early thirties, there was no way he was older than thirty-five. His blonde hair was slicked back in a professional manner, and bright golden eyes full of compassion and concern. "This must be your daughter, Isabella?"

Charlie jumped to his feet, ushering Bella over to the good doctor. "Yeah, this is my kid. You got her papers, right?"

"Of course." Doctor Cullen inclined his head, though his kind eyes remained on Bella. He held out his hand for her to shake, squinting to try and, unsuccessfully, see past her dark glasses. "I am Carlisle Cullen, it is wonderful to finally meet you, Isabella."

With minor hesitation, Bella took his hand. She didn't flinch as bad this time when his skin was noticeably cold, and thank God she didn't try to warm it up like she'd done with Edward. "Calling me Bella's fine, doc."

"As is Carlisle," he smiled gently, "now I hear you suffer migraines, but I see your father has brought a bloody shirt?"

Charlie jerked into action again, waving the shirt around in the air. Bella noticed Carlisle take a subtle step backwards and all but yanked the shirt from her father. "So unsanitary, dad!"

"He's a doctor, he's used to it!" Charlie huffed. "She's had headaches all her life. Used to get a handful of them a day when she was a kid. Had fourteen in one day once. Took her to dozens and dozens of doctors, but they all said the same thing. There was no physical cause for her headaches and no lasting trauma. They prescribed meds for the pain, but basically told us to pound it up our-"

"Dad!"

"Ehm," he coughed, scratching the back of his neck, "I mean, just that there wasn't anything else they could do for her. We, uh, we thought puberty helped for a while there. The headaches tapered off, she'll get one every couple of days, but they're... they're so much worse now. She's collapsing, sometimes she passes out, and tonight she just – she wouldn't stop bleeding!"

Carlisle studied Bella's face intently, taking the shirt from her hands. He took in how much blood it was covered in -an alarming amount for a simple headache, not that there should be any- and hummed under his breath. "I see. Your file says that the light bothers you, triggers these headaches sometimes."

"Well-"

Bella dug her elbow into her father's side, watching him hiss in pain as they followed Carlisle down the hallway. "Yeah, mostly, but uh..." She gave her father a look and motioned to her eyes. He frowned deeply at her, jerking his head towards Carlisle's back. She shook her own. "I usually get them at night the past couple years, usually when I'm sleeping. I'll wake up from the pain, wait for it to fade, and eventually fall back asleep. In my dark, dark room."

His office was smaller than Bella expected, but the walls were absolutely lined with books, and she found that fitting. He set the shirt on his desk and searched through the drawers for something, before turning back to the two of them. "Would you mind removing your glasses, please?"

Noticeably stiff, Bella glanced at her father. He nodded, his face pleading, and Bella sighed deeply. She clenched her jaw, hoping and praying, desperately, that her eyes would remain one colour, one normal colour, while Carlisle looked at them. With even more hesitance, Bella's hand rose to her face, and she slid the shades up into her hair.

Charlie let out a small relieved sigh at the chocolate orbs staring back at him, mildly panicked. Carlisle smiled brightly. "She has your eyes, Chief."

Bella's stiff shoulders relaxed. "Mine are prettier," she bantered.

"Hah!" Charlie guffawed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You know, I've been told my eyes are soulful, Bells. Soulful."

She rolled her own, taking in the satisfaction of people actually being able to appreciate the action. Carlisle chuckled lightly and turned on the little flashlight in his hand. "Alright, Bella, I'm just going to shine a light into your eyes so I can see the reaction myself. Ready?"

Hands clenched into fists inside her pockets. "I guess."

"You need not worry. If it triggers a headache, I have something here for the pain," he tried to comfort her. Carlisle leaned down, his face close to hers, and flashed the light into her eye. The pupil grew wide, taking up nearly her whole iris, before shrinking down to a pinpoint, as expected. He pulled the light away, watched the pupil grow again, and did this a few times. "Very good, Bella, thank you."

When he placed the light back in his lab coat pocket, Bella quickly slid her glasses back down. "That all?"

"I would like to run a few tests if that's alright, and a couple of my own scans, and then we can-"

"No!" Bella all but shouted. She wildly shook her head, gaining more confidence in the lack of pain, and backed towards the door. "No, no. I'm done with the tests. I spent more than half my childhood getting tests and scans that always said the same thing. Dad, I'm sorry I scared you but honestly, that wasn't a bad headache. I've had worse. And Doctor Cullen, I'm sorry to have wasted your time. Can we please leave? I have school in the morning."

Charlie frowned, running his hand through his hair. "Bella, don't be stubborn. The doc can help you if you let him. These aren't normal."

"I said no," Bella shot back, hands in her pockets. "I'm eighteen, legally an adult, so it's my choice."

Helplessly looking to Carlisle, Charlie gaped at his daughter. Carlisle leant back against his desk and lightly shook his head. "She is correct, Chief Swan, it is her choice to make. It is her body and her right. That being said, Bella, my professional advice is to take the tests and scans. I know they are tedious, but I would very much like to help you. You've made a... lasting impression on two of my children, and I would feel terrible if something were to happen to you."

The pixie's face came to mind, her sparkling eyes and brilliant smile, the joyful and energetic aura she carried. Guilt clutched at Bella's heart, oddly enough, and she didn't know why. "I'll take it under advisement," Bella ground out through clenched teeth. "But for now I'd just like to get some sleep before school."

With a deep sigh, Charlie wrapped his arm around her shoulders and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, we can do that. Thanks for your time, doc, I really appreciate it."

"Anytime, Chief. I'm always happy to lend a hand."

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There really wasn't a single thing that a cherry sucker couldn't make ten times better, even sucky situations like Bella often found herself in. She shifted the candy around in her mouth, staring at her phone on the dashboard next to her, contemplating whether or not she should call Jake. Her eyes travelled back to the driver's side window and Mike's red, straining face as the boy pulled on the door as hard as he could.

So Buggy's body was in a little worse condition than she originally thought, and some hinges were rather rusty. Which led to complications like... doors not opening without mighty force. Mighty force that, to Michael's growing horror and embarrassment, he did not have.

Bringing her boots up to the metal of the door inside, Bella decided enough was enough. She'd noticed the flashy Volvo and impressive hummer pull into the parking lot, and now knew just who they belonged to. She really didn't feel like making a fool out of herself in front of the Cullens so soon in the morning. With that in mind, she gave the door a solid stomp with both feet.

Mike went tumbling backwards as the door finally flung open.

To be honest, Bella was surprised he hadn't jumped right back up to help her out of the car. Not that she was expecting that, or rather, wanting that, but it really seemed like something he would do. Instead, an incredibly pale hand was waiting for her. Curious, Bella grabbed her phone, her bag, and slid her hand into a smaller, slender one.

Alice guided her out of the car more gracefully than Bella would have thought, and she fought back the blush. She could see Mike gaping at them from the ground, and a couple students nearby looking at them oddly. The infamous Cullens, usually keeping to themselves and ignoring everyone else, were noticeably taking an interest in Isabella Swan.

"Thanks," Bella breathed, wondering where all her air had gone.

The pixie curtsied with a wicked grin, leaning around Bella to close the door once more. "My pleasure," she replied in her high, bell-like voice. "Would you mind if I walked you to your first class?"

"Guess not." Bella shrugged. "Is there something I can do for you?"

They began their trek towards one of the farther buildings, Alice skillfully ignoring all the kids staring at them, whispering about them, while Bella struggled to walk like a normal person. "I'm sure there are a great many things you could do for me, Bella, but nothing pressing at this moment." Weird, but honest. Bella could get on board with that, so she silently followed along. Alice glanced up at her now and then with those big golden eyes, and Bella suspected she was trying to get a peek at her own eyes beneath the reflective shades. Most people tried eventually, always unsuccessfully. They were custom made and curved around the edge of her eyes for that very purpose. "How do you like Forks, so far?"

Bella jumped slightly at the sudden question, her brows furrowing. "It's alright. Better than Phoenix, even if I miss the sun."

"Do you?"

"Yeah." Bella nodded, grabbing the strap of her bag across her chest and looked up at the grey sky. "I miss napping in the sun. I hated waking up from actual sleep in it, so bright and in your eyes when you're just trying to sleep in, but my mom used to have this little window cove. It was on the top floor, in the attic, where she did her painting, and I would sit in there and just watch her for hours. Falling asleep in that little cove, with the warmth of the sun beating down on my skin, it was... serene."

Alice's smile was small, gentle... intimate? No, Bella shook her head and looked away. "That sounds lovely."

"Yup," she cleared her throat awkwardly, "what about you? How do you like Forks?"

This time Alice laughed, spinning mid-step with her arms up as if to showcase Forks itself. Graceful, like a ballerina. "I can safely say, it's turning out to be one of my favourite moves. My family travels a lot, I've been all over the world."

"You've been all over the world, and Forks is turning into one of your favourites?" Bella echoed with wide eyes. "Simple, dreary little Forks?"

Alice had a coy look on her face, batting her eyelashes at Bella. "It has redeeming qualities."

"Such as?" she scoffed.

"The people."

Bella frowned. "No offence, but the people in Forks either ignore your family or..." her words died out, unable to finish a sentence that would, probably, hurt or offend Alice.

Seeming to follow along anyway, Alice nodded. "True, but not all of them. Not you." She hummed, giving Bella a thoughtful look again, one the Cullens always seemed to be giving her. "Why not?"

"I don't know?" Bella said, but it came out more like a question. She lifted and dropped her shoulders in a shrug. "This is my second day, I think I'm fairly neutral on all fronts."

Alice scoffed with a twinge of frustration. "You are definitely hard to see, to read," she agreed. "Tricky, confusing, but I think I'm getting a handle on it. Not like the others, but then you're not like the others, are you?"

Well, this was just getting more and more confusing. Alice was... odd. Bella could see where all the whispers, rumours, and general attitudes towards her from all the others were coming from. Still, she couldn't deny that it was pleasant. There was definitely something about Alice, about her and her oddness, that Bella genuinely liked. "I try my best not to be," she replied. Alice glanced up at her again, and something in her chest fluttered. "Actually, I try my best to be just like everyone else."

"Why?"

Alice had asked so quietly, so honestly, Bella could not lie. "Because I'm not."

"I'm glad you're not, Bella." The pixie grabbed Bella's hand, squeezing it gently, never breaking eye contact as they stopped outside the History room. "I..."

A shadow fell over the two of them, Alice's golden eyes glancing over Bella's shoulder. She huffed, her lip jutting out in a pout, and dropped Bella's hand to put her own on her hips. "Alice, what are you doing here?" a new voice asked.

"Walking my friend to class, Jess."

Jessica walked around Bella to place her hand on Alice's shoulder, the two sisters exchanging looks. Bella wasn't totally sure, as she glanced into the classroom right at that moment, but she swore she saw their lips moving. When she looked back, both of them were looking at her. Alice with frustration and Jessica with a wide smile. "Hello, Isabella. I'm Jessica."

"Bella is fine," she said, once again grabbing a cold hand to shake. Why did all the Cullens always want to shake hands? What was this, nineteen fifty? "I should probably head inside, I didn't finish all the homework last night."

The taller Cullen perked up. "You could sit with me, I could help you!"

Alice shot daggers at her sister, much to Bella's amusement. "It's a little rude to assume she needs help with her work, Jessica."

"Hey, the way I hear it, you Cullens are geniuses," Bella held up her hands, "I'm not saying no to that."

Boldly, Jessica sidled up to Bella's side, hooking her arm with the human's. She flashed Alice a cocky smile, and could hear how tightly the pixie was clenching her jaw. "Good, I can finally have you to myself. First Edward, then Alice, now I get a turn."

Embarrassingly, Bella's face flushed even though she knew how innocent those words were meant to be. "O-oh," she stuttered, looking at both of them. Her heart stuttered this time at the usually golden, but suddenly burning amber eyes staring back at her. "Um, thank you for walking me to class, Alice."

Blinking and breaking the suddenly heavy atmosphere, Alice smiled again. This one a little more strained. "No problem, Bella. See you later."

"Have fun in class, dear sister of mine!" Jessica called down the hallway after her, the two of them sharing a laugh as Alice's farewell of wiggling fingers faded into just the middle finger for her sister. Jessica glanced over at Bella and gave her a wink. "Now, let's go chat."

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Jessica could talk. She could talk, and talk, and talk, and before Bella knew it, the end of class had arrived. Not that it was a bad thing. On the contrary, Bella really appreciated people who could talk as much as Jessica could, because Bella could not. Jessica was happy to carry the conversation, and Bella was content to listen. Surprisingly, however, the girl did not say much about herself or her family, much to Bella's disappointment. For someone who could talk so much, she was rather private.

Still, Bella left the whole encounter fond of yet another Cullen. Flabberghasted that anyone in this town could possibly not like them. And eagerly awaiting her next encounter with them.

Her new set of classes flew by, her mind drifting back to the smallest Cullen, and she couldn't really say why. She didn't know what it was about Alice that captured her so, how the pixie always managed to find her way into the depths of Bella's thoughts. She struggled to focus on her work, and soon enough lunch had rolled around.

Head ducked, eyes glued to her phone, Bella blindly followed Mike through the halls towards the cafeteria. He was yammering on and on about some dance coming up, and Bella had immediately tuned out. She was not partaking in such a cliche high school event. She just wasn't, not happening.

The rest of the table seemed interested in further discussing this dance, so Bella happily tuned them out as well. She took her seat next to Mike and Lauren, giving them each a brief smile, before kicking her boots up onto the back of Tyler's chair. He seemed more content to lean on the table and get in everyone's face to speak, and Bella never was one to pass up an opportunity.

Call: Jake

Sounds dull, B. But what can you expect from a bunch of Forkians like that. Come down to the res this weekend, let me remind you why this is where it's at, where you belong. We'll have a big party and a fire. Reintroduce you to some of the guys. Don't make me cross over to drag you back here. ;)

Bella chuckled and rolled her eyes. If I must, I must. She quickly sent off her reply, just as the cafeteria door swung open.

The Cullens, in all their glory, trailed in and Bella noticed how conversation naturally paused or quieted at their entrance. She could now understand the intrigue that the Cullens garnered, but all those nasty looks? The whispers? It still made no sense. How could anyone not find it endearing when Alice literally twirled to their table in the back?

"Weirdos," Eric scoffed under his breath, and yet was leaning his chair back as far as he could to watch Rosalie and Victoria go by.

Rolling her eyes, Bella sat up to kick her foot under the table, knocking one of his chair legs back. The sudden jolt sent him toppling to the ground on the other side of the table and had a few kids around the cafeteria snickering. He jumped up to his feet with a red face and sat back down quickly. "Chairs are for sitting, Eric," she said in a sickly sweet voice with a wicked smirk.

"Oh." He looked around the table nervously and then down to his plate. "Hah, yeah. Good one, Bella."

Unable to stop her eyes, not that she fought it too hard, Bella looked across the room to where the Cullens were sat yesterday. All there, all talking to one another, except for Alice. She had a wide grin on her face, her eyes dancing with mirth. As if she knew what Bella did. Impossible, Bella knew; Alice had been across the room and faced the other way, and there was no way she heard Bella. Still, the pixie offered Bella a little wave.

And Bella was about to return it when the giant, Emmett she believed his name was, caught Alice and grinned. He sat up in his seat, met Bella's gaze, and threw his large arm up in the air to wave madly at her. Mildly embarrassed for the poor girl, Bella watched Alice duck her head in her arms, and laughed to herself. She gave the friendly giant a two finger salute that seemed to excite him, before turning back to her own table.

All of which was staring at her like she'd grown another head. "What?" she asked when they said nothing but continued to stare. "Seriously, what? Is there something on my face? Is there an inbred psycho with chainsaws for hands standing behind me? Mike?"

The boy blinked a few times. "Nothing, no. You're just... awfully buddy-buddy with the Cullens, is all."

"Jealous?" Bella countered.

She watched his face go beet-red and immediately regretted it. Lauren pounced on this opportunity quickly, eager to poke at her friend. "Of Bella or of the Cullens, Michael?"

"Don't be a dick," Bella snapped at her. Mike muttered something about forgetting to grab a drink and scurried off to the buffet line. "Aren't you supposed to be his friend?"

"Fuck you, new girl," Lauren said with a snarl. "Don't presume to know me, to know Mike. You're new."

"Old enough to know you're an asshole," Bella shot back, stuffing her phone in her pocket. She glared the blonde down, even as the table got quiet. "I thought maybe you had a problem with me, but now I can see you treat everybody like that."

Lauren shoved her tray back, jabbing Bella in the chest. "You don't know me, Swan. Mike is my friend, I've known him our whole lives. Don't think you can swoop in here, fuck things up, leaving him high and dry, all under the pretence of innocence. Well I didn't know I was leading him on, I was just being nice."

"What are you even talking about?!"

"That!" Lauren all but growled, pointing an accusing finger at Bella. "You've only been here two days and he's already fawning all over you, and you don't even notice! You're going to break him with a smile and walk out of his life like he means nothing to you because he doesn't. You don't know him. I'm nipping that in the bud, I'm forcing a confrontation now before it gets worse."

Bella shook her head, gathering her things and getting to her feet. Lauren was right on her tail. "We're just friends, Lauren. Bugger off."

"Tell him that then," she said. Behind the harsh words and hard mask, Bella could see the actual concern in those green eyes. Was Lauren just being a bitch, or was she actually trying to help? "Lay it all in the open, spell it out for him, but don't fucking ignore it. They never take the hint, and you're going to hurt him."

Of course she would, of course she would sit Mike down and explain it all to him. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt the boy, her new friend. But... "Why do you care?"

"He's my friend." Lauren looked back at the buffet line and the blonde boy choosing out his lunch. "He was there for me during a really shitty time in my life, and he's my best friend. I have his back."

A deep sigh heaved Bella's shoulders, and she scrubbed a hand down her suddenly tired face. "Okay. I'll get the point across, happy now? Leave me alone, Lauren." She caught the blonde's eye one last time before she was finally released, and kicked her way through the cafeteria doors. Instinctively her hands patted down pockets for a pack of smokes, but she'd promised Renee she'd give them up a while ago. Instead, she popped in a cherry sucker and stormed off to her next class. "Fucking high school drama."

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What has two thumbs and a startling lack of self-control? This guy. But, I mean, someone helpfully pointed out that technically monday IS next week, so... ya know. In my defence, I read some stellar fanfiction that just got me pumped to post more and write more and just all around excited. Like, it's great guys. You should really go check out Wishing Upon A Black Star by Cloud Auditore Fair. The characterizations, the wit, the writing itself, everything is fantastic.

Right, so, this chapter. A little more insight into Bella's condition, we met Carlisle, got a better feel for the general attitude towards the Cullens the rest of Forks has. I know it seems kind of slow right now, but that's only because it picks up REAL fast soon. The relationships and bonds between characters, that is. The plot is more or less slow all the way to the end, but that's because this was never meant to be an actual story so much as a helpful tool to get me through writers block with other stories. It only vaguely gets plotty towards the end, and then earlier today I just had like an EXPLOSION OF PLOT SHIT IDEAS DUDES, so like. A sequel I guess, man.

As always, I hope you enjoyed the update.

Peace,

Paige