A/N This is extra-long to make up for the previous short chapter and the author's note. Read and review!

Bella's POV

The door opened.

"Can I come in?"A soft voice came through the darkness and I sighed.

"Okay, Alice." As soon as the word had left my mouth, she was beside me. She sat with the grace of a ballerina and put her arm around my shoulders.

"You sure do love drama." He whispered, and I smiled.

"Only when I get to act the stubborn, confused bitch," I said dryly, and she laughed quietly. There was a moment's silence.

"Edward isn't a bad guy, Bella. He doesn't usually go around killing everyone; you know you were so much more attractive to him than anyone else, and he couldn't resist," she laughed, "We've had to move twice because Emmett's 'slipped'." She made air quotes and I began to speak, but she cut me off.

"I know what you're going to say, Bella. He doesn't hate you." She raised an eyebrow at me meaningfully.

"You don't see the way he looks at me," I whispered, defensive. Alice looked away, mumbling something.

"What?" I asked, but she shook her head.

"Nothing. Come on; the other's are waiting," she grinned impishly, "We want to test out your power."

I smiled in response. Now this was something I could enjoy.

"Okay," I stood up, pulling Alice with me and leaving my confusion behind. I frowned slightly. When Alice had spoken under her breath, I had thought I had heard her say, "Like the sun shines out of your behind." Before I could voice my concerns, we were in the sitting room.

Alice stumbled in behind me, tripping over a loose floorboard which had been forgotten from the clean-up after that morning. She flew through the air again, somehow landing gracefully. Edward laughed quietly and I shot him a disapproving look, as did Rosalie and Esme. Alice, however, smiled.

"It's okay," she looked straight at me, "I'm just used to being able to see everything." There was a pause.

"What?" Emmett voiced our questions.

"Well," Alice explained, "Bella was holding my hand, so I couldn't see into the future. Usually I would miss a loose floorboard or a wire, which I could trip on, because I would see it coming," she turned to glare at Edward, "You still shouldn't have laughed."

He smiled, unrepentant, "It was just good to see you take a fall for once. Now you know how it feels." They both smiled then and everyone relaxed as Alice and I sat on a large, cream sofa.

"So," Carlisle stood, "We are all gathered here today-"

"To join this couple in holy matrimony," Emmett whispered under his breath. We all laughed and Rosalie elbowed him in the side.

"No," Carlisle continued with a slight smile, "We are here to discuss and test Bella's power. First; Alice, since you've already warmed up."

Alice gleefully rose, taking me with her to stand in the centre of the room. She took both of my hands and closed her eyes.

"Now, look into Bella's future," Carlisle instructed, and Alice obliged, falling into a trance. Within a second she blinked.

"Nope. Not a glimpse," she said, and I smiled.

"Now try Jasper's; you're usually more attuned to him," Carlisle suggested.

Once again, Alice looked into the future. Beaming, she opened her eyes.

"Still nothing," She began to jump up and down, "Oh, Bella, this is so cool!"

I laughed, letting go of her hands, "Don't get too excited just yet. It might not work without physical contact."

"Oh yeah," she frowned, then closed her eyes. Soon, she opened one eye.

"I can see the future. Why don't you try turning your power on?" she suggested, closing her eyes. I closed mine too, willing my power to work. In my mind I reached out to Alice, blowing out the light that was her power. When I opened my eyes she was smiling at me.

"It worked!" she clapped, "Now Jasper." She went and pulled her love up, who rolled his eyes and stood in front of me. As he took my hands, he sent out a wave of calm. I staggered back a little as it overwhelmed me.

"I wasn't ready yet!" I smiled and he held up his hands.

"Sorry!" he took my hands again, "I'll wait this time." And so I did the same as I had done with Alice, mentally turning off the glow of his power. Jasper looked around.

"Hmm, I guess nobody feels like eating human food?" he laughed softly, then turned back to me, releasing my hands.

"Try now," he asked, and I repeated my earlier method. Jasper smiled.

"I can't even feel what everyone else is feeling," he said, "Can I have it back now?"

I laughed, "Sure. I really am making a habit of this." Next Rosalie stood up.

"Can you try me? I mean, I don't have a power, but you could try and take away my looks." I smiled back at her.

"Sure." Without touching her, I took away her 'power'. When I opened my eyes, she still looked almost the same; beautiful but less unnaturally so. She smiled at me, her teeth glinting. Quickly, I replaced her beauty and she returned to her seat next to Emmett.

"So I guess that's all for the non-powerful powers," Carlisle said, "No offense. What about Edward?"

We all looked over to where Edward sat in the corner of the room. I looked away from his gaze as he stood, coming towards me.

"Okay," he said in a low voice, gently taking my hands. I instinctively moved back a step and he smiled sadly.

"Just try to listen to my mind," Carlisle told him, "And Bella, try to stop his power."

I closed my eyes, holding his hands tight as I reached out for the flame which was his power. I imagined it fading until it was nothing. When I opened my eyes, Edward was frowning. He let go of my hands, still concentrating. When he eventually looked at me, his eyes were fascinated.

"Wow. Silence- for the first time in eighty years," he closed his eyes again and a smile spread across his face. Then he gazed down at me again.

"Thank you." I smiled hesitantly, not sure what to make of this.

"Hmm," Carlisle walked over to us, "Edward, why don't you try listening to Bella's thoughts now?" Once again, Edward closed his eyes, taking one of my hands. I felt a strange flicker as he used his power to try and hear my thoughts. Suddenly a burst of sound came into my ears and my eyes flew open. Everyone else was oblivious, including Edward.

Quickly shutting my eyelids, I concentrated on the noise again. Edward's voice came into my head.

Please. I have to know...I have to understand… and then, background noise, still in his voice; she's so powerful, so beautiful. How can I already lov-

I jumped away from him and his eyes flew open.

"Bella?" he asked, concerned, "What's wrong?" For a second I stared at him; how could he not realize.

"Just…Wait a moment," I said, and took his hand, looking for his power. Like before, his voice filled my head. What's going on? Why is she-

I gasped.

"Edward…I" I hesitated and his golden gaze penetrated my own.

"What, Bella?" his voice was stronger, really anxious now.

"I think I can hear your thoughts." He took in a deep, ragged breath, looking at me.

"What did you hear?" he asked, strange emotions coloring his voice; embarrassment, irritation, shame. Slight hope.

If I had been human, I would have blushed. Edward turned to look at Jasper, who had obviously fed him my feelings. Edward looked down at his feet.

"Oh my goodness! Try me!" Alice shrieked, grabbing Edward's hand and beseeching me with her wide eyes, "Try to hear my thoughts, Bella."

To avoid discussion of what I had just heard in Edward's head, I grabbed both Edward's and Alice's hands. As I had done earlier, I found Edward's power and heard his voice in my head. Somehow, however, I couldn't find Alice's thoughts.

"I can't," I said, disappointed. Esme spoke up, surprising us.

"Maybe, because Edward couldn't hear your thoughts before, you have a…connection," she smiled, "Maybe you can now hear his thoughts through this connection, although he can't."

We all considered this and I sighed.

"You're probably right, Esme. I'm tired, though. Can I just go out for a while? I'll stay out of sight."

She smiled warmly, "Of course, Bella dear. Take as long as you want."

I glanced quickly around the room, smiling at each of their faces; confused, happy, amazed, fascinated, curious, thoughtful and indecipherable in Edward's case. I ran out before he could meet my gaze, afraid of what I would see there.

Edward's POV

As Bella ran out of the house, I followed her, ignoring the questioning thoughts of my family.

"Bella," I called after her. She either couldn't or wouldn't hear me.

Sighing, I sped up, following her for miles, although I never caught her up; even though I was the fastest, she was a newborn and had endless energy and strength in her legs.

Finally, I found her, in a small clearing. I almost gasped when I saw the sight before my eyes. The trees were a dark purple shadow behind me, and the moon shone clearly over-head. A small lake lay in front of me, reflecting the night sky. I wondered why I'd never seen it before as I spotted a figure by the lake's edge.

Moving forward, Bella became clearer, and I sat down next to her. She jumped slightly, startled, but smiled softly.

"Hey, Edward," she said, her words carrying on the wind. For some reason it made me feel alive when she said my name. I shuffled closer, taking her hand.

For a second I was scared that she would move away, but I reached out to her with my mind. She caught on, a smile spreading across her pale lips.

When did you find this place?

"Oh, a while ago, when I was having trouble coping." She grimaced.

You could have spoken to Alice, or Esme, or Carlisle, or even Jasper.

At the mention of Jasper's name, she frowned.

What happened- on your hunting trip?

"I don't want to talk about it," she looked away.

"Okay," I struggled on for a new topic, unwilling to see the pain in her eyes, "What is your favorite color?"

At this she looked up, questioning my insanity and raising an eyebrow. I grinned.

"My favorite is probably blue. Typical, I know," I said, then looked at her questioningly again. She sighed.

"It changes every day," she said, "Sometimes green, sometimes purple, and sometimes brown."

"Brown?" I snorted, "Why?"

She frowned, "Brown is warm,"

I contemplated this for a second. Looking into her multicolored eyes, specked with deep brown, I couldn't disagree.

"You're right," I said softly, and she looked at me for a second, before quickly glancing away.

I took her hand, thinking, I never asked you why you came to Forks in the first place.

She smiled.

"My mom got remarried to a guy named Phil," she said, her mind distant.

"Was he the man at your… funeral?"

She nodded.

"It's not that I didn't like him; he's alright, maybe too young, but he makes my mom happy. He plays baseball, which means he travels a lot, and my mom stayed behind with me at first, but I could see that she missed him. So I came to see Charlie," she shook her head, "He was a mess; he can't cook a thing!" her voice became soft, "I don't know how he's going to cope now."

She looked back up at me then and frowned deeply, pulling her hand away.

"Why do you always do that?" she asked me, her voice rising.

"What?" I frowned too, confused.

"Whenever I talk about being a vampire now, your eyes fill with this…regret. Like you don't want to have to put up with me forever, like you wish you hadn't made that mistake…" her voice faded away as I touched a hand to her cheek.

"Oh, Bella," I whispered, "I only regret stealing your life away; it is only guilt that I feel for that," I smiled softly, "I could get used to having you around."

"Oh," she breathed, "So you don't hate me..."

"No!" I exclaimed, louder than before, holding her gaze fiercely with my eyes, "I really like you,"

She was silent for an agonizing moment before she smiled.

"I like you too," she touched a hand to my cheek.

"Bella," I whispered, and I leaned towards her. I hesitated, only for a second, as her sweet breath floated out of her mouth through her parted lips and stunned me. She was so close to me, her eyes shut as her breathing stopped. My mouth barely brushed her bottom lip and she gulped, opening her eyes.

I was immersed momentarily in her beautiful, multicolored gaze until she closed the distance between us. My dormant heart soared as her arms came around my neck, pulling me to her. Hesitantly, I kissed her. There were no voices in my head as the moon began to wane. There was only silence.

A/N (sighs) Awww... I changed that last bit slightly. It was long, too : ) Hope you liked it; review!!