VAMPIRE GIRL

I expected to have nightmares that night.

I expected to see the Volturi. To see myself as a vampire. Something. That's probably why I was so afraid to fall asleep. When I finally did, however, I didn't see anything. I actually probably wouldn't have risen for hours if Edward's shouting hadn't woken me.

"No! No! NO!" Edward roared. I quickly threw a robe on and raced downstairs. Edward was in Bella's face, clearly upset by something. Jasper put his hand on my shoulder when I entered, telling me silently to hold on for a minute.

"Are you insane?" he shouted. "Have you utterly lost your mind?" Bella cringed and covered her ears, clearly uncomfortable with Edward's outburst.

"Um, Bella," Alice interjected in an anxious voice. "I don't think I'm ready for that. I'll need to prepare…" I looked at Jasper to explain, but he shook his head.

"You promised," Bella glared.

"I know, but… Seriously, Bella! I don't have any idea how to not kill you."

"You can do it," Bella encouraged. "I trust you."

Edward snarled in fury. Alice shook her head quickly, looking panicked.

"Carlisle?" Bella looked at my dad. Did she want someone to turn her right now?

Edward grabbed Bella's face in his hand. His other hand was out, palm toward Dad. Dad ignored Edward. "I'm able to do it," he answered. Edward's eyes widened in shock.

"You would be in no danger of me losing control," Dad finished. Holy shit. I tried to move forward, but Jasper's hands held me in place.

"Sounds good," Bella said, a little mumbled.

"Hold on," Edward said between his teeth, turning away from Bella, and then back towards her. "It doesn't have to be now."

"There's no reason for it not to be now," Bella countered.

"I can think of a few."

"Of course you can," Bella said sourly. "Now let go of me," she demanded. He let go of her, and folded his arms across his chest, but his eyes never lost contact.

"Bella," he started, calmer than before. "In about two hours, Charlie will be here looking for you. I wouldn't put it past him to involve the police."

"All three of them," Bella scoffed, but frowned. She hadn't thought about Charlie

"In the interest of remaining inconspicuous," Edward said, looking at Dad now, "I suggest that we put this conversation off, at the very least until Bella finishes high school, and moves out of Charlie's house."

"That's a reasonable request, Bella," Dad pointed out.

"I'll consider it." Bella said, and Edward finally relaxed. Jasper took his hands off my shoulders. The threat was gone.

"I should probably take you home," he said, more calm now, but clearly in a hurry to get me out of here. "Just in case Charlie wakes up early."

Bella didn't move until she got confirmation from Dad. "After graduation?" She asked.

"You have my word." Dad promised. Bella nodded.

"Okay. You can take me home," Bella said, and Edward rushed her out of the house.

"I apologize for waking you up, Dani," Edward said on his way by, arms still around Bella. The conversation ended there.

"Why don't you go back to bed, sweetheart," Dad said, coming over to me now that Bella and Edward's argument had subsided.

"Not until someone explains what the heck just happened," I said. I was not being left out of this one.

"Bella wants to be a vampire, Edward doesn't want her to rush it," Alice explained. There was something else, though.

"That's not everything," I challenged her. She looked at Dad before continuing.

"Edward's afraid that Bella is rushing into it because of the threat of the Volturi. He's afraid that she's only doing this because she doesn't want to hurt us further," Alice admitted. So she's in the same place that I am.

"He's wrong, though," Alice continued. "Bella truly does want to be one of us. Her outcome wouldn't be so clear if she was hesitant, especially where the Volturi's role hasn't been decided yet."

"So she wanted to know what you all thought." I said. It wasn't a question. That was such a Bella thing to do.

"Yes," Dad confirmed. "We voted."

"What did you say?" Did they want Bella to be a part of this family?

"Most voted yes, of course," Dad said. "Bella is already a part of this family. The past few months have made that painfully clear," he added, running his hand down the side of my face.

"Who voted no?" I asked, shocked.

"Rosalie and Edward. Neither of them want her to rush into this," Dad explained.

"That makes sense," I said. It was one of the only things Rose and Edward could agree on. Bella's humanity. They had the most difficult time accepting themselves as vampires, of course they wouldn't want that for her.

"Here's some warm milk, honey," Mom came back into the dining room handing me the mug. "You should try to go back to sleep."

"Can I just lie down in the living room and watch a movie?" I asked. I was a little too riled up right now to go back to bed.

"Of course, love, but you need to rest," Dad said.

Everything went strangely back to normal within the next few weeks. I went back to school, Dad went back to the hospital, and Emmett and Rosalie were still considered graduated and free. Bella, Edward, Alice, and Jasper were all set to graduate come spring, despite all the crazy transfer credit madness. I'm actually pretty sure Jasper forged a bunch of stuff, but they had all been through high school so many times before that there was no way any of them could fall behind. I, however, was not as lucky.

Because of my lack of education during my concussion, I hadn't technically completed my first semester of junior year, and the credit transfer for my online classes had been super messy. As a result, after a lengthy parent/teacher/guidance counselor conference, it had been decided that the best thing for me was to repeat junior year next year. Because I hadn't gone through high school multiple times like my siblings, my parents weren't comfortable with forging documents so I could stay with my class.

Despite my academic setbacks, however, my social life was still alright. Tyler, Ronna, Mariana, and Justin were thrilled to have me back. Even Andrew tried to be extra nice when I returned. It didn't change what happened between us, but I think my absence and lack of communication helped him realize that he had made a mistake. He and Fiona were still going strong, and they looked like a happy couple.

I was actually out with Tyler and Mariana when I ran into none other than Jacob Black and the Puppy Dogs.

"Hey Jake!" I called to him. He turned around and, despite everything that had happened, looked semi-happy to see me.

"Hey, how are you?" He asked.

"I'm home now, for good," I told him. "No more crazy kamikaze missions," I joked. He didn't laugh. "Have you talked to Bella?" I asked him.

"No," He admitted sheepishly. "How is she? Is she back with whats-his-face?"

"My brother?" I corrected him. "Yeah, they are."

"Damn," he said. "This universe is messed up," he mumbled.

"What's going on with you?" I asked him. His buddies behind him looked anxious.

"Just walking around. You know how it is," Jacob answered. "Who are your friends?"

"Tyler Newton and Mariana Webster," I introduced them. "Guys, this is Jacob Black and his posse."

"Embry and Quill," Jacob introduced.

"Don't worry, they're human," I whispered in Jake's ear. For some reason, my heart sped up when I got close to him. Must be his outrageous body heat.

"Thanks for the heads up," He scoffed.

"Look, we've got to get going, so I'll see you later, okay?" Would I see him again?

"Definitely," He nodded, keeping a straight face. Mariana and Tyler headed back to the car, but before I could walk away Jacob grabbed my arm.

"Look, you should come to the beach some time. I'll introduce you to the rest of the pack," Jacob said.

"Isn't that considered 'holy ground' or something?" I asked him. I was pretty sure now that they knew I was a Cullen I wasn't allowed there.

"You're human, there's no rule against humans coming," Jacob said. "No matter who their family is," he clarified. So I was allowed at La Push.

"Should I bring friends?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"Just yourself. Trust me, we'll show you a good time," Jacob smiled.

"As long as this isn't a sabotage and I won't get sacrificed with my head handed back to my family in an anonymous box," I joked, while not really joking at the same time. They were telling me to come alone, and our families had been feuding for generations. I had to be careful.

"Just your fingers," Jacob joked back. "Seriously, no one will hurt you, I promise."

"Hopefully you stay true to your word, wolf boy," I smiled. He nodded.

"See you around, vampire girl," he smiled back. That boy was something else.