Oh dear, I am still stalling!

Another chapter that has no right to exist, haha! But oh well, a little family interaction can't hurt, right?

And your reviews always motivate me to write, so then I start amplifying the story and that way I make up new chapters ... oh, let's face it: It's all your fault. Shame on you!

Now read, please :-)


It felt good not having to stay home anymore.

When Maddie came home from school with her siblings - on time, of course - she immediately started on her homework to get it done.

As soon as she was finished with it, she hurried down the stairs to look for her Mom. She eventually found her in the garden, tending to her flowers.

"Mom?" Maddie called and leaned with her hip against the garden table on the porch. It was a warm day and a light breeze blew over her skin, bringing the scent of blooming flowers and freshly cut grass.

Even though Maddie had never been - and probably would never be - interested in gardening, she had to admit that Esme had a green thumb. Their garden looked marvellous - flowers of all shapes and colours adorned the flower beds, representing every colour of the rainbow and honeybees buzzed happily around the plants. All the different scents and noises were oddly calming, which might have been the reason for Esme to make a garden in the first place. Well, and because it looked pretty, of course.

Maddie had no clue how much time her mother had already spent here during the last few weeks to make it look like this, but it had definitely been worth it.

Esme looked up and smiled. "Come here, sweetie."

So Maddie skipped over to her and placed a hand on her Mom's shoulder, who was kneeling on the ground, pulling up weeds.

"What's on your mind? Would you like to help me?" Esme asked and glanced at Maddie, curious as to how she would react.

Maddie grimaced but started laughing when Esme laughed.

"I know you don't enjoy gardening, dear, don't worry."

She nodded her head in affirmation, because gardening seemed boring to her. "Mom, I just came to ask you ... if I could go to the skate park for a little while? Please?" She underlined her request with folded hands and a protruding bottom lip.

Esme frowned and stood up, pulling the dirty gloves from her hands. "The skate park?"

"Yeah." Maddie nodded.

"Maddie, you know you cannot go skateboarding. People think you had an operation not too long ago." Well, there weren't many people who knew, but you could never be careful enough.

"I just wanna watch. I won't even touch a skateboard, promise," she told her with big, innocent eyes.

Esme sighed. "Maddie, I have to be honest with you: I'm not sure if this is a good idea."

"Why? I just wanna watch, Mom!" Maddie exclaimed before adding, "And I finished my homework already."

"But why would you like to go to the skate park?"

"People go there to meet and hang out. There isn't much else to do around here." Maddie shrugged her shoulders.

"Let me guess: You would like to meet your classmates there?"

"Uh-huh."

Esme thought about it.

Keeping Maddie home all the time wouldn't be fair. She was young and wild and needed hobbies and friends. But would a skate park be the right place for her? And was she ready to spend time somewhere else? At school she had a schedule to follow which kept her focussed. But how would Maddie interact with humans in a different surrounding? Seeing that her daughter was still waiting for an answer, Esme had to make a decision.

"You may go."

Maddie's face lit up instantly. "Yay! Thank you, Mom!" She exclaimed and threw her arms around her Mom's neck.

It was great to see her that happy, but Esme needed to tell her some more before she would let her go.

Putting a hand on each side of Maddie's face, she then said, "Sweetie, I have to make it a condition that one of your siblings accompanies you."

Well, that curbed Maddie's enthusiasm.

"Aw, come on. That's not fair," she said and pulled away.

"Why do you think it wouldn't be fair?"

"I mean, I wanna go alone," Maddie replied with a pout. It just wasn't fair that everyone could do whatever they wanted whereas she had to accept being watched all the time.

"You haven't been there before and your siblings haven't either. So I won't let you go alone, all right? Maybe another time." Was that park a safe place for teenagers? Was it safe for girls? What kind of people went there? What did they do besides skateboarding and talking?

Maddie turned away a little and hung her head.

"Maddie, you could ask Emmett. I'm sure he would enjoy it," Esme tried to convince Maddie of making a compromise. And Emmett and Maddie would have fun together, they always had.

Now that wasn't what Maddie had planned.

Emmett tended to be a little weird at times. Especially because Maddie had only male friends and that was a thorn in his side. It was ridiculous, really.

But ... what could Maddie do now?

She either complied with her Mom's wish, or she would have to stay home.

Tough one.

Before Maddie could start to whine again and argue with her Mom, Alice appeared on the porch.

"I'll take you there!" she called and grinned.

Hm.

That would be a good idea actually, Maddie figured.

Esme smiled and turned her gaze upon Maddie, asking, "Isn't that nice of Alice?"

Even though Alice was a very petite girl, Esme would be willing to let these two girls go to that strange place - Alice's visions would keep them safe.

Maddie looked relieved and queried, "Really? You would come with me?"

"Yes, so come on! Hurry!"

Maddie ran towards her, while Esme breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Alice. That is really kind of you."

"It's no trouble at all." Alice smiled and stepped to the side to let Maddie enter the house to go get her things.

Alice turned around and made to walk back inside, but was stopped by Esme who called, "No more than two hours, all right honey? And please don't leave her out of your sight, stay with her."

"Don't worry."

The best word to describe Maddie right then would be: lucky.

She was unbelievably lucky that Alice had volunteered to take her to the skate park, because - even though Esme wanted Alice to stay at her side at all times - Alice just dropped her off and told her to have fun.

Of course she shouldn't break her Mom's trust like that, but she had already seen that Maddie would be fine on her own, so why supervise her? Well, in fact, the visions were supervision enough.

Alice wanted for Maddie to have as many human experiences as she could get. Making friends and hang out with them would be one of that. She herself didn't remember her human life, so she enjoyed watching Maddie relive hers.

Nearly two hours later she came back to the park to pick up her little sister. She had spent her time elsewhere, so Esme wouldn't find out that she left Maddie unattended.

"I got a lot of mixed visions about you during the last half an hour," Alice remarked while driving down the main street of Forks.

"Thank you so, so much for taking me, Alice!" Maddie exclaimed, barely listening to her sister. She had had a great time at the park and couldn't keep herself from smiling now.

"You're welcome, but I would still like to talk about my visions," Alice told her.

Maddie snorted with laughter. "Ah, we were just joking around."

"Are you sure? Because if you were serious about anything, then I would like to tell you not to follow through with it."

"We weren't serious."

"It's just not worth it, do you understand? It's great to see that you have so much fun, but there is a time and place where you have to get a grip on yourself and behave," she said and glanced at her sister.

"I know," Maddie replied and grinned.

"I cannot keep you from doing what you want, but I'm a little concerned that you may be heading for disaster, you know?"

Maddie groaned at that. "Come on, Alice, you're normally much more fun. Loosen up!"

And Alice frowned. She meant well by warning her little sister, but did not expect her to react so whatever about it.

"You don't really want me to warn you, now do you?" Alice sighed and looked a little unhappy.

"No, it's cool," Maddie replied. It was nice to have Alice, but she wasn't sure how precise her visions were. And right now she had the feeling they were only there to kill all joy. Maddie had everything under control. In case she did something stupid again, she still wouldn't be in trouble with her parents. Feign ignorance and weep some crocodile tears - that method worked well, so why change it?

Characteristic for Forks, clouds obscured the sun, but it still wasn't dark when they arrived back home.

Maybe that was why Esme didn't want her gone for more than two hours, Maddie thought, because she was supposed to be thirteen and therefore too young to be out in the dark? Oh well, two hours were better than nothing.

"You're back girls!" Esme smiled when she saw Alice and Maddie enter the house, happy that they had obviously had a good time at the park.

"Hi Esme!"

"Hey Mom!" Maddie exclaimed and hugged her. "Thank you so much for letting me go, it was great."

"You're welcome, honey," she replied and rubbed Maddie's back, then looked up at Alice. "So you two had a good time? No problems?"

"No problems," Alice affirmed and hoped that Esme wouldn't ask any more questions. She hadn't stayed with Maddie, after all. But she had watched her, so it wouldn't be a lie if she told her that.

"I am glad," Esme remarked, proud of Alice that she was so kind as to accompany Maddie and proud of Maddie that she had been in control of herself and didn't give Alice any trouble.


On the next day ...

Esme was confused.

She had gotten a call from Maddie's school, telling her to pick her up immediately.

Was Maddie having problems with her thirst? But then Alice would have called her already, wouldn't she? Still, Esme couldn't shake the feeling that something bad must have happened.

And it certainly didn't help to see cars from the waterworks and plumbers standing on the parking lot in front of the school. They blocked the driveway, so Esme had to drive to the parking lot of Forks High to park the car.

It made her nervous that she had just lost a few minutes due to this inconvenience - her daughter might need her after all.

Hurrying over the street and into the main building of Maddie's school, she then went straight to the school office, hoping to finally learn what had happened that she needed to pick Maddie up early.

It wasn't awfully busy in the office, because the students were all in their classes, well except for Maddie and two boys, who sat in the waiting area in front of the counter.

A secretary looked up when Esme approached.

"Mrs. Cullen," she said in a clipped tone.

"Yes, good morning Mrs. Davis," Esme replied and glanced at Maddie, who seemed to be completely unfazed. So she was all right at least and nothing bad had happened.

"The principal wishes to speak to you and your husband tomorrow. Would 9.30 be all right with you?"

Now that startled Esme. "Of course. But may I ask what happened?"

"I think your daughter will explain everything to you. She is supposed to be present tomorrow, too," the secretary informed her, sounding stressed and maybe a little annoyed.

"All right," Esme replied, trying to hide the confusion she was feeling right then.

The secretary looked very busy. She was collecting files, scribbling something down, then called the janitor and so on. So it wasn't surprising that she had no time to explain.

"Come on, Maddie, let's go home," Esme said softly and motioned for Maddie to follow her.

Maddie stood up from her seat, waved at the two boys - one having the same unfazed facial expression Maddie was holding whereas the other one looked like he was about to shit his pants - and followed her mother who was holding the door for her.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Davis," Esme said even though the secretary wouldn't hear. She was currently on the phone, yelling at someone.

They walked down the hall in silence, but the moment they stepped outside, Esme spoke up. "What happened?"

"Stuff," Maddie replied, then frowned and asked, "Huh? Where did you park the car, Mom?"

"Over there. Your school is obviously having craftsmen over and they were blocking the way."

"Ah," Maddie commented.

Crossing the street, they approached the car which Esme unlocked so they could get in.

"Would you tell me now what happened?" Esme asked and shut her door.

Fumbling with the seatbelt, Maddie replied, "I already told you, Mom."

Esme started the car after putting her purse on the back seat and buckling up.

"Sweetie, 'stuff' is not an answer to my question," she said while looking into the rearview mirror and steering the car out of the parking space.

Maddie didn't say anything.

Shooting her a sideways glance, Esme prompted, "Just tell me."

"Mom! I told you -"

Esme stopped her daughter from giving her the same silly answer as before. "Madeline."

"Take it or leave it."

Shaking her head and looking at Maddie, Esme asked, "Maddie, what makes it necessary that your father and I both have to speak to your principal tomorrow?"

Maddie shrugged her shoulders. Yes, she did that a lot.

"Don't be afraid of telling me," Esme said softly.

But Maddie preferred to look out of the window.

Esme sighed.

Well, maybe Maddie would talk about it once they were home, she figured.

But that didn't happen.

Esme parked the car in the garage and Maddie got out without saying a single word, then walked into the kitchen and immediately made her way up the stairs to her room.

That couldn't be good.

But Carlisle would be home soon and Esme hoped that Maddie would be willing to tell him what exactly had taken place at school that day.


Carlisle was greeted by his wife in the kitchen when he came home about an hour later.

She didn't look too happy, so he hugged her and asked, "What's wrong, my love?"

When she didn't answer he pulled away to look her in the eye.

Her sad expression told him that something unpleasant must have happened in his absence.

"Maddie is upstairs, I had to pick her up early today."

"Is she all right? What happened?" he asked in a rush, sounding worried and tense.

"Well, the secretary had called and wanted me to pick her up. But Maddie refuses to talk to me, so I still don't know what happened."

"Did the secretary give you a reason why Maddie needed to be taken home early?"

"No, but we have an appointment with the principal tomorrow, scheduled for half past nine," she informed her husband and patted him on the chest, knowing that he would be very confused now.

His eyes widened at the news. So it has to be something bad, he thought.

He walked into the living room with his wife, then called for Maddie. Well, maybe she could enlighten them now.

It took Maddie a few minutes to come down the stairs, but she complied.

She waltzed into the room, then slumped down onto the couch, curled up and looked at her father with a raised eyebrow, waiting for him to speak.

"Your mother just told me that she picked you up early today," he said.

Maddie nodded her head, then looked like she was waiting for him to go on. A curious child.

"Could you tell us what happened?" Carlisle asked carefully. Maddie had refused to give Esme an answer, so they needed to be very careful with her now. She shouldn't be scared or ashamed of anything, they were her parents, they would understand whatever she was going to tell them.

Maddie shook her head.

"Sweetheart," Carlisle said and sat down next to her. "Don't be afraid to tell us."

Maddie sighed deeply, but did not talk.

"Were you struggling or did something aggravate you?"

No answer.

"Did you get in trouble with one of your teachers?" Carlisle tried.

But ... no answer.

"Do you have trouble getting along with your classmates?"

No matter what he asked, she did not react.

He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle rub, trying to reassure her.

"I'm really concerned about you. Why aren't you telling us what took place at school today? We would like to understand."

Maddie never looked up at him, just sat there looking at the ground.

But she didn't look nervous, Carlisle noticed, which was good ... well, probably.

"You know you can tell us anything, dear."

Esme sat on the armrest next to her daughter and started to stroke her hair affectionately.

"Can I go upstairs?" Maddie suddenly asked.

At least she spoke now.

"Of course, go ahead," Carlisle said with a sigh and nodded his head. There was no need for keeping her down here - she wasn't willing to give them any answers.

Maddie gave him a tiny smile, then vanished from the room.

"I fail to make sense of the situation," Carlisle admitted to his wife and ran his fingers through his hair.

Esme put a hand on his arm and gave him a sad smile.

"We have no choice but to wait until tomorrow to find out," she told him.

"Maybe Alice or Edward know something," he mused.

"Do you think they would tell us?" Esme asked with a frown.

"If it is something grave then yes, I think they would tell us."

And so they waited for them to come home.


When the children came home from school they all looked wary, like they knew that something had taken place that day but didn't wish to talk about it.

"Alice? Edward? Would you please step in here for a moment?" Carlisle called from the living room, waiting for his two children to enter the room.

They came to a stop right in front of him and Esme, so Carlisle decided to ask them straightaway. "I don't wish for you two to break your sister's trust but do you know what happened at school today that the principal wishes to speak to us about it tomorrow?"

Alice grimaced and said, "Sorry."

Edward said nothing.

"Was she struggling with thirst and lost her temper?"

"No, no. She's fine," Edward replied in a sharp tone, which made his parents frown.

"Her thirst is not an issue," Alice said quickly to reassure them ... and because she didn't want them to ask any more questions.

Giving Edward a meaningful look and thinking that they should leave, he nodded and said, "May we retire to our rooms?"

"Sure, son," Carlisle answered hesitantly.

They left and headed upstairs, glad that Carlisle didn't ask any more questions.

Alice wasn't too cheerful when she barged into Maddie's room and crossed her arms over her chest just seconds later.

Maddie looked at her for a long moment, waiting for her to say something or leave again. Whatever.

"Why?" was all Alice said.

"What's going to happen?" Maddie asked in return; she had no desire reacting to Alice's question.

"They haven't made a decision yet. I cannot tell you."

"Okay," Maddie nodded her head and grabbed a magazine from her bedside table.

"Were you trying to prove something or what was that all about?" Alice whispered, not wanting to be overheard.

Maddie shrugged one shoulder then turned away from Alice.

"I'm talking to you," Alice said, louder now. She didn't want to scold Maddie, but still, an answer would be nice.

"Alice, you're flogging a dead horse. She is obviously completely resistant to advice."

Alice looked at Edward who stood in the hallway, hand on the door handle of his own room door. She must have thought something, because he just shook his head and sighed.

So Alice turned back towards Maddie. "I'm disappointed in you," she said in a sad tone and left the room.

And Maddie? Well, Maddie stayed in her room for the rest of the day, not wishing to be pestered with even more questions.

Rose came up later and seemed nervous and a little pissed. But Alice and Edward didn't tell her what was really going on, so she could only guess. Too bad there had been rumours at school, but Rose had to give Maddie the benefit of the doubt. Rumours were no facts, after all.

Seeing that no one succeeded, Emmett sat down with Maddie and tried to make her spill the beans. He was joking and laughing, but still, Maddie decided to keep quiet even though she was dying to tell him.


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