Again, sorry for the delay. I warned you it would be a while.
I read The Host and it was amazing!
If you haven't read it, read it.
Also, in regards to this chapter, I've left out the whole thing about Bella's blood being so tempting to Edward. I know it's important, but I don't want to shake the focus of the story. It just makes things smoother and less complicated.
I thought this could have been written better, but I rushed. I just wanted to get it out.
Anways, this chapter is dedicated to Danielle and all my other faithful readers.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, HSM or anything related to them.

Previously:

I was a little worried about meeting her family. Would they be nice? Would they ignore me? Would they judge me? Would they not like me? Or even worse, would they sing?

Alice and I managed to make our way to the cafeteria without being serenaded. We round our way through the crowded lunch tables and the tanned people sitting at them. Alice led me to the farthest corner of the cafeteria where her siblings were sitting. On the way to the cafeteria she had told me all about them.

Alice and two of her brothers, Emmett and Edward I think she said. were adopted by Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his wife Esme when they were in their earlier teens. Her other two siblings, Jasper and Rosalie were twins and were adopted by the Cullens after Esme's sister and brother in law, Rosalie and Jasper's biological parents, passed away. I thought it was incredibly generous for the Cullens to adopt so many children when they were so young themselves.

Alice started getting impatient at my slow pace so she took my wrist and gently pulled me along. I stared at my feet, embarrassed that I was getting herded along like a sheep. Behind me, I heard the starting of a song. I tried to block it out, busying my mind with other things. I thought of my mom and wondered how her day was going. I wondered what kind of stories she'd have when she got home. She always had cute little stories about her kindergarteners. I loved listening to them. I thought briefly of my father, far away in Fork. I almost laughed out loud at the difference in climate. It was beautiful and sunny here. It was raining in Forks. I didn't need to be a meteorologist to figure that out.

I was so preoccupied with my thoughts, that I hadn't noticed we'd stopped. Alice cleared her throat loudly.

"Bella?" she asked. I snapped to attention. Her siblings were all staring at me, each wearing their own individual expression of amusement. I flushed red and looked away. It was a good thing too, my jaw almost dropped when I saw her siblings. They were all extraordinarily beautiful. The kind of attractive you saw in movies or magazines.

"Bella, these are my brothers and sister. Emmett, Rosalie, Edward and Jasper." Alice said, pointing them out individually. Emmett was enormous, completely muscled with dark, wavy hair. Rosalie was tall, even sitting down, with long blonde hair and was glaring at me. Edward had untidy, bronze hair and was the most attractive boy I had ever seen. Jasper was less muscled than Emmett, but more so than Edward and had honey blonde hair. They all had the same golden eyes and pale skin that Alice had. I was very intimidated.

"Hi." I said shyly. Alice sat down next to Jasper and gestured to the spot next to her. I sat. I was directly across from Edward, who was sitting next to Emmett. He stared at me with evident curiosity. I could have imagined it, but he also seemed to be a little frustrated. I looked down at my food and picked at my sandwich. Alice was telling everyone about me, regurgitating every little detail I had told her about myself, which wasn't much. I looked up. Edward was still staring. I couldn't help but stare back this time. I was stuck on his probing eyes. They weren't unkind, on the contrary, I felt warmer looking in them. That was probably just the blush forming in my cheeks.

"Bella," Alice said, noticing the staring match going on between Edward and myself, "What does your dad do?" She said this while looking at Edward, who had stopped looking at me and was staring off into space.

"Um, he's the chief of police in Forks. It's a small town in Washington," I said, "My parents got divorced when I was a baby." I explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Alice said. I smiled.

"It's not big deal, I'm glad my mom got me out of Forks. It's … wet." I said. I heard a cough and turned to see Edward staring off into space with a tiny smile on his face. I wondered what I had said that was funny. I was too scared too ask.

The rest of lunch passed without incident, Alice asked me questions and I gave the shortest answers possible. Emmett and Jasper occasionally asked me a question or made a comment. Rosalie stayed silent, appraising me with cold eyes. Edward didn't look at me again, opting to stare into space rather than participate in the conversation.

All in all, lunch was a pleasant affair. I really enjoyed the Cullen's company and hope they didn't find me too boring.

"So Bella, what class do you have next?" Alice asked. I drew a blank.

"Um…Let me check." I said, reaching for my bag. I searched through it until I came across my schedule.

"I have…Gym." I said, frowning, "Fantastic." I sighed and leaned back in my chair. I started to think about ways I could skip it.

"Really? That's great!" Alice said.

"Great isn't really a word I'd use to describe gym class." I said. Alice laughed.

"No, let me finish. It's great because Edward and I have that class next. It's also great because I haven't had a partner this whole semester. I've been paired with the teacher most of the classes. It's been unpleasant." She said, "Unless you don't want to be my partner, which is completely fine."

"Of course I will, why wouldn't I be?" I said. She smiled. Emmett snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Like you di-OW" he said, reaching underneath the table to rub his shin. Rosalie was glaring at him. "Sorry." He mumbled. I wasn't sure what just happened but chose to ignore it.

"Well, let's not be late. Bella, Edward," Alice said, getting out of her seat and gesturing to the doors with her thumb. I nodded and started to follow, biting my nails in anxiety. Gym was never a pleasant affair for me. I didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of my classmates, particularly Alice and Edward. I had a feeling Alice, at this point, already liked me and wouldn't judge me.

Edward on the other hand, I couldn't be sure of. I glanced up at him and was relieved he was continuing the new occupation of not looking at me. I looked away quickly when I realized I was gaping. I shook my head. He was too perfect.

As we were walking to gym, I realized I had no gym uniform. That would be a problem. I hoped that meant the teacher wouldn't make me participate until I had some. I also hoped they didn't have one waiting for me. I wondered what it looked like. I knew that the school colours were red, white and gold. I hoped there wasn't too much red on it; I don't think I would ever live down the fact my face matched the gym uniform.

"BELLA!" a soprano shriek broke my melancholy thoughts. I looked up and Alice was standing in front of my with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. Edward was standing off to the left, trying to hold back a smile. "Thank you for joining us." Alice said. I blushed. "As I was saying, I have an extra gym uniform if you need it." I raised an eyebrow. There was no way I was going to fit into her gym clothes. "Okay well, you can borrow my shorts and Edward's shirt." She said, picking up on what I was thinking. "Great. Now come on, mustn't be late dears." She continued down the hall to her locker.

Alice's locker wasn't far off from the gym and Edwards was only a few down from hers. I waited patiently beside Alice while she fished for her extra shorts. She pulled out a pretty pink duffel bag. I wondered how she could fit something so large in her tiny locker. She rummaged through it and pulled out a tiny pair of red shorts. I sighed inwardly.

"They're a little short, but good until you get your own." She said, smiling ruefully. Edward came up behind her and handed me a large white shirt with EAST HIGH written in bold, red letters.

"Sorry. It's going to be big. It's a size toe large on me." He said, with a sincerely apologetic look on his face. I couldn't help but believe him. Not that I had a reason not to.

We started down the hall towards the gym. I was a little ahead of Alice and Edward, who were walking rather slowly. I looked behind me and saw that Alice was looking at Edward confusedly while Edward was staring in a completely different direction. Nobody was talking. It was a little awkward. When we reached the change rooms, Edward parted without a word and Alice led me into the change room in the same manner. I wondered why the sudden silence. I was about to ask what was wrong, when Alice snapped her head up and smiled.

"Ready?" she asked. I sighed and finished tying my shoe and nodded. I stood up and she linked her arm through mine and led me into the fiery pits of hell.

Review!
I might not be able to update again for a while because my uncle is still here, and I've got an extremely busy week ahead of me.
Lots of reviews might get a new chapter out faster.
Hint, hint.