{{Charlotte's POV.}}

"Seth! What the hell did you just do? I can't see anything anymore! We heard howling, and Jake just went out to check it out! Then I see your imprint coming here, and then everything else is blank. Jake's thoughts are too confused for Edward to understand what's happening, so that only leaves you. What the hell is happening Seth?"

I completely was confused. What the hell was she talking about?

"Um…I'm sorry but this isn't Seth. Would you like to speak to him?"

There was silence on the other end.

"No, I'm sure he can hear me just fine. Right Seth?"

He chuckled at the girl's outburst. "Well hello, Alice. My day is going fine, thanks for asking. How's yours?"

"This is no time to joke Seth!"

"Where's Jasper?" Seth asked. "I don't want him to be in pain or anything when we get there."

"He left with Edward, Bella, and Renesmee."

"Fine."

"So she's coming here...now?"

Seth glanced at me. "Yeah. A minute tops."

"We'll be ready by then." The line went dead.

I shut the phone and placed it in his open palm. "Where exactly are we going?"

"To a friend of mines house. You'll be safe there."

"Safe from what?"

He smiled gently. "You said you didn't want to talk about the wolf issues. It falls into the same category."

"I'm being protected from a wolf?"

He frowned. "No, it's just the opposite."

What was the opposite of a wolf? Nothing I knew could fight off one...maybe a gun. But who would dare get close enough to shoot a wolf as big as that?

He must have noticed my hesitation because he quickly added, "It's nothing that we can't handle." He patted my hand gently. "You don't have to worry about anything. I'll be there with you, always."

Why did the last thing he say cause a wave of happiness to wash over me?

He turned off onto a little road that I didn't notice. Trees were speeding pass us in a green blur. I noticed the speedometer.

"Uh, don't you think you need to slow down just a bit? This road is very winding."

"We'll be fine if we crash. Or at least I will."

"What?"

"Relax relax. I'm just kidding. I won't crash us." We pulled up in front of a large white house. "Here we are." Seth seemed to relax. But only a little.

"Where's here?" I asked as I climbed out of the car and followed Seth to the front door. I have never seen a house like this one at all. It was almost like a large Victorian house, only slightly smaller. The yard that wrapped around was wide and showed plenty of room.

The front door opened before we had a chance to knock.

"Seth!" A petite, pale-skinned female burst from the open doorway and pulled Seth inside, leaving me to walk in alone. I noticed the back wall was entirely made of glass. The other walls were painted many shades of white. A grand piano sat off to the side.

Several pairs of eyes simultaneously looked at me and stared. I automatically shrunk back.

Something was wrong. These people had and aura of danger floating around them. My instincts told me that they weren't human and to run, but a large man stepped behind me, closing the door, my only escape. He smiled, but it looked more like a sneer. His teeth looked sharp... I flinched away from him and stood behind Seth. Everyone was still staring, making me self-conscious. I shifted uneasily and took another step behind Seth. A blonde-haired woman that sat on the arm of the sofa next to the large man smiled. I flinched again.

"Rose...," a voice called. "Stop, you're scaring her." A tall, blonde-haired, pale-skinned male was descending the stairs. He was beautiful. He came to stand beside Seth and the petite girl. His eyes were golden. I noticed that all the others had the same eyes.

The blonde-haired woman, called Rose, smiled again directly at me. "It's not my fault, Carlisle. Her instincts tell her we're dangerous. She should listen to them. Or she'll regret the day she was born."

A deep growl came from Seth's throat. The petite girl shook her head and grabbed his arm. I felt a wave of jealously rush over me. Rose snickered.

"Aw, now Rose. Be nice. She's only human," said the large man beside her.

"Humph." Rose crossed her arms and turned towards the window.

"Don't mind her," said the large male. "She's just a little cranky." She smacked him on the arm causing a rock-hitting-rock sound. He didn't acknowledge her.

"She'll feel better later when the sun goes down...when we have time to ourselves...and we have our 'playtime'." This time he was knocked to the floor by her punch, shaking the whole house.

"Keep this up and you won't have 'playtime' for a week."

His silent laughter shook the floor beneath my feet. "Relax," he told her. "No harm was intended."

"Rosalie. Emmett." A sweet voice now joined us. It was another female. She was pale-skinned and golden-eyed like the rest. Her hair was the color of caramel, and it flowed gracefully around her. "We have a guest. Behave." They smiled apologetically.

She turned to me, giving a motherly smile. "I'm sorry about those two. Don't pay any attention to them. I'm Esme."

She came forward and grasped my hand. It was cold. I tried not to flinch but she noticed anyway. "Sorry. I know I can be a bit cold at times."

I smiled back at her. "I'm Charlotte."

She nodded. "Seth has told us so much about you. That's all Edward hears when he's around."

I turned to Seth with an upraised eyebrow. He merely shrugged.

"It's not his fault, dear. Edward can't help but to hear other people's thoughts." I must have looked confused. She added, "Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself. Don't worry about it now. It'll all be explained later."

Carlisle stepped forward again and placed a hand on Esme's shoulder. "For now, we want you to relax. If you need anything just tell us. Or Seth. He knows where mostly everything is." Carlisle and Esme quickly left, retreating up the stairs.

Rose─Rosalie─and Emmett left shortly after, walking out the back glass wall and disappearing into the forest. That only left the petite girl, Seth, and I.

"Alice? Where's Jake?"

Ah, so this was Alice. The one who had been yelling on the phone. I could now take a closer look at her. She was petite and pixie-like with short, spiky black hair. Her skin was pale causing her golden eyes to become more vivid. She was a few inches shorter than I was. She was the most friendly-looking person I had seen yet.

"Seth, Seth, Seth." She shook her head. Her voice was high-pitched and flowing. "You ought to know as well I do that he's with Renesmee," she looked at me with a twinkle in her eyes, "as you are with Charlotte." She cocked head to the side. "Does she know yet? Have you told her?"

Seth shook his head. "Not yet. Maybe in a while I will. When all the others come back. That way everything will be explained at the same time."

"What do you have to tell me? I'm confused."

They continued as if I hadn't spoken.

"You don't think it will be too much for her?"

"No. I think she'll be fine."

She nodded then turned to me. "I'm Alice," she said.

"Charlotte."

Her face lit up. "So...what do you like to do in your spare time?"

Seth and I settled on the couch. Alice stood in front of us.

"I love to read."

She frowned a little. "Do you like shopping?"

"Alice," Seth warned.

She ignored him.

"Well... I do but not in the overly excited way that most girls are."

"I bet I could change your mind." She grabbed my arm and pulled me to the stairs, nearly yanking my arm out of its socket. "Wait until you see my closet. It will blow your mind away."

I heard Seth following close behind. We reached a room and stopped. She hesitated before opening the door and slamming it in Seth's face.

"Alice!"

She giggled. "Sorry Seth. No peeking yet. I'm giving her a makeover."

"But Alice, I─"

"You'll thank me later, Seth. Trust me. Besides, it will make the time go by faster."

I heard him grumble and head back down the stairs.

She turned to me with a smile. "Sorry. I know you want to see him, but I wanted to give you a makeover first. I hope that's okay." Her expression looked so sad that all I could do was agree with her.

"It's okay, I guess."

"Thanks. Now you have to see the closet. I think you'll like it very much." She opened a double, frosted-glass door.

I took a step inside as she turned on the lights.

"Oh. Wow." The closet was bigger than the room it was attached to! How could as this stuff fit in here? Row after row after row was piled, stuffed, and overflowed with clothes. "How do you keep up with all this?"

She giggled. "I remember what I have. They are assorted by color, then by material." The closet did have a rainbow theme to it with every color in between. "So, what do you want to try on? You are about the same size as me." She gave me a once over. "Maybe a little taller than me. But that will make everything better."

She walked around me and disappeared into the clothing. She threw something out at me. "Here. This will look excellent." In my hands were a black pleated mini skirt and a green strapless shirt. "Go put it on." She pointed to a little opening. Was that a changing room? "And this too." She handed me a strapless bra and pushed me towards the opening, drawing a curtain closed.

I undressed and dressed slowly. I emerged and found her sitting before a mirror with a spinning chair.

She gasped when she saw me. "I love it!" She squealed. "But it is missing something." She dashed back into the clothing and out again. She had a black belt that she fastened to my waist and a short-sleeved jean jacket. "There. Much better. Now for your makeup and hair." She pushed me down into the chair and began to work.

"I like your closet. It's very...um big."

She laughed. "Thanks. So you do like shopping and everything right?"

"If you can find all the things you have that I like...then yes. I do. You have a different sense of style than I have. I think we can make it work though."

She squealed again. "You don't know how happy this makes me." She gave me a hug.

After two hours of sitting while she constantly styled my hair and makeup, I was finally allowed to see my outcome.

"Oh, wow."

"Is that a good thing? Please tell me you mean that is a good thing?"

I nodded slowly. "I—I like it. Thanks."

She grinned widely. "Now for shoes."

I watched her hunt for them. They were green and black plaid flats, the exact colors of my outfit.

"Oh," I gasped. She smiled at my expression.

"Now, how about we show Seth what you look like."

We headed downstairs where Seth was waiting. He gasped when he saw me. I blushed.

"And why did you dress her up, Alice?" he asked as he pulled me to the couch.

Alice shrugged. "I was bored." She dropped down in a chair across from us. "I miss Jasper. It's no fun with him gone." She closed her eyes.

After a few minutes of silence passed without her saying anything, I asked Seth "Is she sleep?"

He shook his head and gestured for me to follow him outside. We walked about a hundred yards into the forest before he stopped.

"Why so far out?"

"Privacy. She could still hear us. I bet she can still hear us now."

"What do you mean? No one can hear this far out, can they?"

"Oh, I keep forgetting that you don't know anything yet." He smiled apologetically at me. "We still have to wait for the others."

I nodded. That's all I could do sense that I had no idea who he was talking about.

He sat under a tree and patted the ground beside him. "Come sit with me." I sat and he wrapped his arms around my waist. I leaned my head against his shoulder, closing my eyes.

"There's something I want to ask you," I started.

"Hmmm?"

"When Drake tried to...you know...rape me," I felt him shudder, "you broke his leg and then he passed out. Did you leave him there?"

He took a deep breath. "No, I called Carlisle after you went to sleep and he took care of him."

"Carlisle?"

"He's a doctor."

"Oh." I paused. "So where is Drake now?" He pulled back to stare at me. "I just want to know that he's okay."

His face clouded over then he looked away, out into the trees. I didn't think he was going to answer but he finally said, "He's at the hospital. Carlisle and other doctors are looking after him. He'll be fine."

He was still avoiding my gaze. I touched his cheek. "Seth? What's wrong?"

He sighed. "Nothing."

I turned so I could see his face directly. "Something is bothering you. Tell me. Please."

His eyes softened. "I was just wondering why you were dating him."

I blinked several times. This caught me off guard. I shrugged. "He wasn't always such an asshole." Seth's eyes widened by my language. I held up a finger, willing him to listen before he interrupted. "When we first started dating, he was sweet and shy. He would do anything for me. He was kind and caring and no matter what we did, we were happy. Then he started to be more open towards people. I guess it was because he had started playing football. He was good. Every girl in our school would follow him around and try to flirt with him. I, naturally, became jealous, but then got over it as he paid them no attention."

I lowered my eyes and picked at the edges of my skirt. "But then more and more weeks passed and I frequently caught him flirting with the other girls. I planned to break up with him, but we were moving and everything got held up. Half of me wanted to break up with him but my other half didn't. I kept putting it off. I was so stressed, and I didn't want to have to d-deal with him when everything w-was changing so f-fast." I hadn't realized I had started crying until he started wiping away the tears.

I blinked up at him in surprise. "S-sorry," I said, hiccupping, "I guess I w-was a little too caught up in that mess."

He rubbed my back soothingly. "It's fine." He pulled me closer until I was leaning into his chest; my arms were forced to fold between us.

After I was done hiccupping and had calmed down a little, he pulled back. I felt his warm finger under my chin, bringing my head up, forcing me to look at him.

"Better?" he asked. I nodded while he studied me carefully.

"Really, I'm fine."

He looked up at the sky. I looked too. It was becoming darker. I could see little stars starting to shine. "We better get back before they come looking for us."

I grasped his arm before he stood. "Wait," I said softly, "Can we just stay here for a little longer? I don't feel like going back just yet."

"Sure, I guess." He sat back down. I leaned my head into his shoulder.

I soon found that I was dosing off into sleep. You would have thought that from all the time I had already slept that I wouldn't be tried anymore but truthfully, I was more tired now than anything.

After a few seconds, he scooped me up in his arms. I was going to complain but decided against it. I was too tired to walk anywhere. I was drifting in and out of sleep while he walked. I felt him stop shortly, probably to open a door.

"Oh my, the poor dear is all worn out." It sounded like it was Esme. "There's an extra bedroom upstairs. Why don't you let her sleep there? Alice will show you."

He continued walking.

"Here you go Seth," Alice said.

I sank into something soft and plushy. I rolled over onto my side, slowly opening my eyes. Seth was staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said.

I was too tired to ask again and argue. I closed my eyes again and felt warm arms wrap around me. He pulled me into his lap. I buried my face into his chest and drifted off into sleep.