Damon's POV

I had walked out the door to head toward school the next morning when I was met with a right hook to the face.

"What the…." I greeted my attacker with a toss across the room against the wall. I was prepping myself for another round when I turned to see Carlisle standing between us with his hand up.

"Stop!" he demanded, sharply. Edward stood on the other side of the room wearing a furious expression. "Both of you, that's enough! Edward, what is going on?"

Edward looked at me like I was something that belonged in a trash heap on the corner. Not that I wasn't used to judgement. My membership into the herd of black sheep was nothing new although my sister Lexi found herself there currently as well.

"I'll tell you what happened," I offered, "Your "son" attacked me for no reason."

Carlisle's eyebrows lifted. His hand rubbed the back of his neck to release the tension building there.

"No reason? You've got to be kidding me!" Edward grunted not backing down for a moment.

"I have no idea what your problem is, but perhaps you should go see someone to get that," I released a whistle and made a crazy in the head gesture, "checked out."

Edward's movement was so fast I didn't see anything coming until I found myself on the ground looking up. "What is your problem?" Our fists crossed, blows were delivered, furniture broken, lamps knocked over.

"Damon, Edward, stop it, immediately!" Esme spoke as arms enclosed me from behind and I fought, watching as Edward was met by the same embrace. Alice, Jacob and Jasper held us each to one side while Carlisle and Esme stood between us.

"I will once you get your watch dog to back down!" I spat angrily.

"Enough! Sit down," Carlisle's voice held a tone I'd never heard, and certainly not one I wished to cross. Jasper and Alice sat beside me on the couch across from Edward and Jacob. "Damon, you're new here. I have rules for this family, rules that Edward knows very clearly. I do not tolerate family fighting family. We are a unit. We back one another. I will not tolerate an out and out brawl in my household. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir," I gave in, defeated. "But I suggest you keep your monkey under control because I won't be responsible for the mess he'll become if he tries to screw with me again."

Esme gave me a warning look, but didn't say anything. Carlisle's jaw twitched as he held his emotions under control.

"Edward, explain this to me slowly," he paced the room.

"His thoughts disgust me," Edward sneered. "If you knew what was running through his mind, you'd lay him out yourself."

Edward's ability to read the thoughts of others wasn't new to any of them, but sometimes it caused problems they normally wouldn't have. I chuckled beneath my breath at the seriousness of the moment. This family really needed to lighten up.

"Don't you dare laugh," Edward looked like he was going to come out of his seat, but Alice placed a hand on his arm. "Sophie's off limits!"

"This is about Sophie?" Esme questioned. Sometimes the complexity of her children was too much to handle. "What about her?"

"They skipped school and spent the day together. This jackass wants to make her his next conquest and I'm not going to stand for it," Edward ran a hand through his hair.

"Are you sure that's accurate?" I laughed, "Perhaps you should tweak your mentalist antenna because I'm pretty sure that if I just wanted your sister-in-law as another "conquest", I would be done with her already."

"He's telling the truth," Alice spoke up. "I saw a vision of them earlier. He was nothing but kind to her."

I glared at Edward wishing everyone would leave so I could end him. Edward's facial expression demonstrated that he was reading and understanding my thoughts. The smile on my face grew at the realization that I was getting to him. To add insult to injury, I threw a wink his way.

Carlisle considered this new information for a moment, "Edward, I'd like to speak with Damon alone."

Carlisle's POV

As my family departed, I motioned for my nephew to follow me outside. We walked in silence for awhile before I spoke. "I'm concerned about your involvement with Sophie," when I began to argue, Carlisle held up his hand. "Please hear me out," he requested. When I stopped, he picked up once more. "Sophie just moved in with Bella and Edward because of some problems she was having in Florida and later in Forks. We don't know the extent of what the problems were, but we have seen some of the ways she is handling whatever is hurting her so deeply."

"But Edward," I began.

"Can't read her thoughts," Carlisle explained, "The point is, she isn't in the best space right now and so far, she isn't letting anyone in. She can't be hurt anymore."

"I recognize that," I stooped to select some pebbles which I then proceeded to skip in the stream. "I saw it in her eyes when we first met. I can't explain it, but I feel an overwhelming need to protect her."

"And that she may ver well need, but Damon, promise me you will do your best to protect her heart."

After a moment, I responded in sincerity, "I will, Sir."

Sophie's POV

Lunchtime was always my least favorite. The buzz of the lunchroom was too overwhelming and there were a million judgmental eyes following my every more. Or so it seemed. Attempting to keep up appearances, I carried a salad, granola bar and a piece of fruit on my lunch tray. They would later meet their demise in the garbage bin, but for now, it would keep nosy people from asking questions. I wasn't prepared to answer. As I walked toward the back of the room, a hand touched my arm.

"Hi, I'm Josh," the voice said and I turned to see a boy my age with medium build wearing a basketball jersey and a goofy grin. "We saved you a seat."

"What?" I was caught off guard to see a group with an open chair assigned to me.

"We want you to sit with us," a girl with gorgeous, red, cascading curls added. She pulled out the chair in an inviting gesture.

"That's OK." While they seemed nice enough, I was not comfortable with their gesture.

"Don't worry, Soph, we're not going to bite," Josh took my tray setting it before the awaiting chair.

"But…" I protested feeling my anxiety start to kick in. Across the room, I locked eyes with Damon. A moment later, a cold hand rested at the small of my back.

Damon's POV

While I wanted to be Sophie's knight in shining armor, I also recognized the importance of her making other connections, and this group of kids seemed like they really wanted to get to know her.

"Hi," I greeted everyone, "I was wondering if you might have room for one more since Sophie already promised to have lunch with me." When they weren't looking, I threw a wink at her.

"Of course," the red head pushed out another chair. Sophie didn't look a whole lot more comfortable, but at least she sat and watched the exchange as introductions were made. First there was Josh, the jock who initiated the invitation and his girlfriend Sydney who sat looking like a model in her cheering uniform. Next were the twins Micah and Makayla each on bipolar ends of the spectrum. Micah was the editor of the school newspaper, president of the science club and a member of the physics team; he was dating Hannah, the brown haired artist with glasses and a sketchpad forever in her hand. Makayla, on the other hand, had blonde, straight hair pulled into a ponytail to accommodate her involvement in field hockey, softball, basketball, track and soccer.

I watched Sophie pick at her food, her face was red, and tears were building in the corner of her eyes. Despite her obvious discomfort, she at least attempted to keep up with the conversation, offering little tidbits of personal info here and there. The group of kids didn't seem to notice that she wasn't as into their interaction as they were, and kept laughing and joking through out the meal.

When the warning bell rang, Sophie jumped to her feet as though she had been counting the minutes till her escape.

"A few of us are going out after school if you want to come," Sydney took out her pen and reached over to write down her cell number on the notebook sticking out of Sophie's bag.

"Maybe, thanks," Sophie faked a smile and rushed off to dispose of her half eaten salad. I quickly said goodbye to everyone before charging after her.

"Hey," I greeted, gently, "Where's the fire?"

"What?" she whipped around, angrily.

"Easy," I soothed. Her breathing and heart rate were rapid. I could hear every sound as the chambers of her heart opened and closed, releasing blood through her veins. "Sophie, you're shaking," I reached a hand out to steady her. The tears came quickly and for a moment, I didn't know how to react.

"I'm fine," she sniffled pretending she had something in her eye.

"You're not fine," I argued reaching out to pull her close. Instead of accepting my embrace, she pushed me away angrily.

"Let go of me, Damon," she snapped. "I said I'm FINE! Now, leave me alone!"

With that, she disappeared into the girls' bathroom knowing I could exactly follow her in there. And that's how I found myself standing there the loser of round one.

Sophie's POV

When I exited the bathroom, I was surprised to see Alice leaning against the wall wearing a bored expression.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Try outs for my cheering squad are today after school; I was hoping you might be one of my recruits. I need a strong squad this year if we're ever going to make it to nationals and I've heard you are an excellent flyer.

While what she said was truth, I had no intensions of getting involved in anything at school.

Noting my hesitation, she put on her best puppydog look, "Please, please...I'm not going to take no as an answer. I am counting on you. Please don't let me down. It's my first year coaching and I really need you. Please?"

I looked at her face, she wasn't the enemy and really I had no reason to be angry with her even if I was pissed off at the whole world these days. Maybe practices could double as a good excuse or not being on Bella and Edward's radar. Alice was cool. I bet she would even cover for me every now and then if there was something I really wanted to do.

"Fine," I sighed suddenly unable to breathe against her tight embrace. "Alice, Alice, can't breathe..."

"Oh, sorry," she grinned, releasing me. "We meet at 2:10 in the gym. I packed you a set of gym clothes. They're already in your locker." With a grin, she danced away.

Alice's POV

Outside the bathroom, I had heard the sound of sniffling. When Sophie exited, I could still see the remnant of tears on her cheeks. I was determined to do whatever it might take to help get her back on track. I had seen several visions of her hurting herself though I wasn't sure if they had actually happened or not. The problem with my visions was they were never quite certain and for some reason I struggled with seeing Bella and her sister. It didn't matter, one way or another, I planned to be there for her no matter what.