Sorry that this didn't get up as soon as I planned... it's longer than I thought it would be too, so I'm hoping that makes it better... :D

Anyway... I hope this isn't crappy...

Oh... and if anyone has reviewed and I didn't reply to it, I'm sorry. I try to reply to every review I get, but sometimes it doesn't get to my e-mail for some unknown reason...

After Alice and Jasper introduced themselves they told us about how Alice could see the future and how Jasper could play with people's emotions as I had felt earlier. It didn't take long to appreciate the two as friends. Alice was hyper and loud while Jasper was controlled and quiet.

If I had met them separately, I would have never guessed that they were perfect for each other, but there was this strong feeling of love between the two that proved otherwise. I wondered if Marcus would be stunned at the strength of their relationship when they expressed it so subtly.

"So may we join your coven?" Jasper asked when they had finished telling Edward and I their story.

"I don't see why not," I replied.

"Carlisle isn't here at the moment, but I'm sure he'd be delighted at a new addition to our family," Edward added.

"So would Esme," I said as I nodded my head.

"So when do you think they'll be coming back?" Alice asked.

"You're the one who can see the future," I sighed.

Alice's face went blank for a moment and I was afraid that I had stepped over some boundary but then I saw in her mind that she was looking to see when our family would be back. She quickly regained her composure and frowned slightly.

"They haven't made up their minds yet," Alice said. She must have seen our faces and quickly explained what she meant. "I can only see the future once people have made their decisions."

"Intriguing," Edward said.

"You're starting to sound a lot like Aro," I teased lightly. "So interested in talents."

"Aro from the Volturi?" Jasper asked.

"That's why we were in Italy," I said as I nodded my head.

"Well, actually, it was because Rachel-" Edward quickly stopped himself when I prepared myself to attack him. "You really should go back…" Edward trailed off.

"Why? So I can watch Athenodora seduce him?" I spat back out. Jasper growled as he felt my rage. He did his best to calm me down but it wasn't working. "Sorry, Jasper," I said, turning to face him.

"No, Rachel," Edward replied. "You should go back so you will believe me when I say Caius loves you, not that putrid excuse for a woman."

I turned back to face Edward. "Maybe you're right," I conceded. "But that doesn't mean I'm not still mad. If you're married, that's something you should say before you ask someone out let alone kiss them."

Alice coughed lightly. Edward and I snapped out of our fight and turned to face them.

"Sorry to interrupt your fight, but another vampire coven will be here in a moment," said Alice. "You seem to know one, Rachel."

"From the Volturi?" I asked. Alice shook her head no.

"No, they're American," she replied.

"But I don't know any other vampires," I said before I started at the ground in thought.

"She's got blonde hair and is a little taller than you," Alice described. "I'm not sure how you know her though."

"We'll find out in a few moments," Jasper said as he turned toward the door.

Two seconds later, we heard a knock on the door. I sighed and went to open it.

I wasn't expecting what happened next.

A pair of arms wrapped tightly around me while the owner of the arms and I crashed to the floor.

"Rachel, Rachel, Rachel, Rachel!" A familiar voice kept chanting my name happily for about a minute. The light shock from when she first touched me must not have affected her too much… or it could have been because we had known each other before?

"Come on, Erin," came a second voice. Erin? Could it be?

"Give her room to breathe," a third voice said.

"Not like she'll need it though," a fourth laughed.

"But I haven't seen her in forever!" said the second voice. There was no denying it… this was definitely Erin, but her voice had that musical vampire tone.

"Erin?" I asked excitedly.

"Rachel!" Erin's arms squeezed me tighter and had I been human, I would have been crushed to a pulp.

"Um… hello?" Edward said awkwardly.

"Oh, Rachel… Who's your friend?" Erin asked with a meaningful edge to it.

"He's my brother, Edward," I replied emphasizing on the word 'brother.'

"Brother?" asked the second voice. I could tell by her thoughts that she was already thinking of 'befriending' Edward.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but I'd prefer to keep from making any sudden changes," Edward said stiffly but not unkindly. Edward always had to be the gentleman.

"Ha! Michelle, you've been caught," the fourth voice said teasingly.

"Well, I suppose I do have an unfair advantage," Edward replied. "Rachel and I can both hear thoughts."

"Really?" The third voice said. "Another bunch with talents. I have the ability to make others see things my way."

"That's interesting," Alice said.

"Alice and see the future and I mess with people's emotions," Jasper added.

I repositioned Erin and myself so we were sitting up and I returned her hug. "I've missed you so much!" After I finished saying hello, I went to stand by Edward as Erin went to her friends.

"Right well, I suppose we should all introduce ourselves," the fourth voice said.

"I'll start," Erin said. "I'm Erin Stewart Rostell." Erin hadn't changed too much since I had last seen her two days before I became a vampire. She still had dark blonde hair only it was longer than I remembered. She also looked a bit older too, about three years older so maybe the physical age of twenty. Her eyes were a bright, ruby red though, which was different.

"Andrea Kabrina Rostell." Andrea, who happened to be the third voice I had heard, had light brown hair almost the same length as mine and her eyes were just as vibrant as Erin's. I supposed that she and Erin could have passed for twins if they wanted to, but they wouldn't have been able to say they were completely identical.

"Venus Bacciano Rostell." Venus was the fourth voice. She had lovely, blonde hair that curled softly and would have probably gone down just past the middle of her back had she not been wearing it in an elegant, emerald clip. She was just as beautiful as her name suggested. She could probably have passed for the Roman goddess Venus. Rosalie might have sworn she was looking in a mirror were she here- except for the eyes, of course.

"Michelle Rostell." The second voice. "I am the leader of our coven." Michelle had reddish-brown hair that cascaded to her shoulders. Her scarlet eyes looked us all over, trying to determine if we were safe or not, but quickly relaxed, obviously pleased with what she saw. According to her thoughts, she saw us four unknown, animal-blood-drinking vampires as 'safe and welcoming.'

"Jasper Whitlock," Jasper said coolly as he wrapped his arms around his tiny wife.

"Alice Whitlock," Alice said brightly as she moved a short strand of black hair out of her eyes before resting her hands on Jasper's.

"Do you have a human maiden name, Alice? I assume you and Jasper are married," Venus asked politely.

"If I do I can't remember it," Alice replied. She didn't seem to upset that she couldn't remember her last name.

"Edward Masen Cullen," Edward said. I could tell that he, too, was eyeing the new vampires, determining if they were safe or not.

"Rachel McCarty Cullen," I said when it was my turn. I glanced up at Edward and silently told him that I believed they wouldn't harm us. He nodded briefly but kept himself mentally alert.

"So where are your leaders? Am I correct in assuming you four are from different covens?" Andrea asked conversationally.

"Alice and Jasper are about to join our coven and I already think of them as siblings." Although I didn't really need to say how I felt about them, I figured it might ease Edward's nerves if they knew that Alice and Jasper were with us and if, for any reason, any of the four of us were hurt, the other three would have their revenge.

"And Carlisle, the leader of our coven, is currently in Volterra, Italy, dealing with the Volturi with the rest of our family," Edward finished.

"Have you broken any laws?" Erin asked with a smile.

"No. Actually, we should still be there," Edward replied before I had a chance to answer. "We were there for Rachel."

"Yeah, and that was a big, fat mistake, wasn't it?" I snarled.

"It's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all," Edward said.

"So you admit that I lost love. Face it, Edward! I'm a looser when it comes to love!" I shouted. I almost wished I could cry.

"Edward, please stop making Rachel mad. I can feel her emotions and it's starting to make me mad," Jasper said with an edge to his voice.

"Rachel, may I ask why talking about Volterra makes you mad?" Erin asked sweetly. Damn. She could still make me want to gush everything that was happening even thought it had been ten years since we had seen each other.

"I would also like to know, if you don't mind," Alice said as Jasper nodded in agreement.

I held my hand to my face, my thumb and forefinger resting on my temples.

"Go ahead, Edward," I replied, doing my best to sound calm.

"I'm sure they'd all like to hear you say it," Edward pushed.

I glared at him. "I'm a little biased right now," I growled.

Edward sighed and went on to tell the newcomers our story after I told him there was no need to rush. I decided that it would be best for me if I did my best to tone out his words and went upstairs to make sure I couldn't tackle him again.

I stayed clear of Carlisle's study for the moment. No need to remind me of what happened. Instead I went into Edward's room and found a record that had some of my favorite music on it.

I put the record on its player and turned it on. It was quite loud to human ears, but I didn't mind.

I quickly became bored listening to music since it didn't help calm my feelings and turned the record player off. Not knowing what to do, I started pacing the hallway.

With nothing left to do, I closed my eyes and let all the random thoughts that I normally pushed out of my head flood my mind.

The house didn't smell like vampires much. Have we been gone that long?

Jerry needs to get a hobby. I wonder what he's been doing all this time. Knocking at the door, hoping he'd get a response?

Alice and Jasper seem nice. I could definitely get along with them.

I haven't seen Erin in forever. I wonder how she became a vampire.

Jasper is a complete foot taller than me. Everyone but Alice is taller than me. Even Esme is taller than me by three inches. I feel short now. Oh well. Maybe Alice and I can start a short people club, even though I'm four or five inches taller than her. We're both still short.

When I reopened my eyes, I found that I was in Carlisle's study. I didn't realize his door was left open. Did I open it without knowing what I was doing?

I turned quickly to exit the room but instead was met with the largest picture in Carlisle's study- the painting of four vampires in Volterra.

While I wanted to turn away, I couldn't help but stare.

Damn. This is horrible, just horrible.

"Edward… you better get up here," I said in a low voice, trying to take my eyes off but failing, as I knew I would.

"I'll be right back," I heard Edward excuse himself as he ran up the steps.

Edward sighed as soon as he saw me.

"You're pathetic," he laughed.

"Shut up," I scolded lightly.

"Why is Rachel pathetic?" Erin asked as she came up to see what we were doing.

"Where did you start explaining?" I asked Edward.

"Oh… So this is the picture," Alice said as she came to join us.

"Yes, now if you will all please exit the room. Yes, thank you," Edward said as he gripped my arm tightly and dragged me out of the room.

As soon as we were out of the room I shook my head as if to clear my thoughts. I tend to do this often even though I know it never works.

"Can we see the picture?" Venus asked as she came up to meet us near Carlisle's study.

"Maybe some other time," Edward said as he gestured for everyone to go back down stairs.

"So what do we do now?" Michelle asked. By her thoughts, I could tell she was used to deciding what to do, but since this was not her territory, she would allow Edward and I to choose our plan of attack.

"You're already done explaining?" I asked.

"It didn't take that long," Edward replied. "And now we go back to Volterra. If you wish to come with us, we'd be glad for the company," he answered Michelle.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said quickly. "No way am I going back there!"

"Well, I could try to get Caius to see things your way," Andrea said kindly.

"Thank you, but I don't think love works that way," I replied as kindly as I could. I didn't want to start out with a bad impression, although it was probably too late for that.

"Well, then I'll make Athenodora see that she needs to leave so you and Caius can have a blooming relationship," she smiled. I couldn't help but smile back. Apparently I didn't make too much of a horrible of an impression.

"That's very kind, but…"

"Look, Rachel. I don't need to see the future to know that you'll be miserable if you don't fix this," Alice interrupted. Wow… I really do need to make a short club… Short people are always scary when they're trying to force something upon you!

I sighed. None of them would let me give up.

After a few moments of silence, Jasper spoke up.

"So when do we leave?"

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