One month later...
"Come on, Bella! Stay still, or I'll have to start all over!" Alice begged the little girl as she tried to braid her hair.
Bella scowled as she looked at her red shoes as she kicked them about with impatience, "I'm sorry..."
She didn't quite understand Alice's obsession with doing her hair but to please her, Bella tried her best not to protest—she didn't want to upset the pixie by rejecting her.
"No, it's okay!" Alice hurried to reassure Bella when she noticed her shoulders fell slightly. Then, peering over, she smiled brightly at Bella, "I'm all done! Wanna see?"
Nodding, Bella was swept up in Alice's arms and carried to the bathroom to see all the hard work the pixie had done. As Alice walked in with Bella on her hip, she smiled brightly at their reflection as Bella's eyes widened with surprise.
Two French braids adorned the top of her head; her chestnut brown hair was pulled back as the ends of it went just past her shoulders. The burnt orange Pom-Pom peasant dress she wore made her pale skin more noticeable as she blushed.
"You look adorable! I'm sure all the little boys will be positively taken with you!" Alice chimed as she took Bella's silent reaction as a good one.
She held her hand the whole time they walked down the stairs, Bella still somewhat quiet as she was reminded why Alice was dressing her up in the first place.
Since the funeral, Bella had barely left the house, with the exception of Esme and Carlisle taking her to the hospital to get her stitches taken out or trips to the grocery store. Emmett and Jasper made sure to take her on walks around the property or play in the backyard, but when they realized how clumsy the little girl was, it was ruled out they wouldn't be doing anything that could result in an injury. Picnics and star gazing had been Alice's suggestion which seemed to work just fine for Bella.
They were all still growing used to the scent of her blood, and they would not risk any slip-ups when it came to Bella.
According to Alice's vision, it would be suspicious if the Cullens suddenly packed up and left Forks with Bella so soon after the death of her parents. Thus, it was decided that they would enroll Bella back in kindergarten for the remainder of the school year for a short period of time.
"Are you sure it's a good idea? I don't know about leaving her all alone," Carlisle questioned Alice the night they all agreed. Bella slept soundly on Jasper's lap in the living room after a particularly hard day—nightmares interrupting her sleep at night regularly ever since the funeral—sometimes even Jasper couldn't keep them away with his gift.
"Now that Bella is a part of the family, it'll be noticeable if she's the only one aging. After the semester ends, we should probably move to Alaska for some time, and in a few years, when she's around our age, we can come back. The three of us are still technically away for college," Alice nodded towards Edward and Jasper, "so no one knows about us—not really. But they will notice you and Esme."
A soft whimper brought them out of the debate before Jasper whispered to Bella to soothe her again. The small crease between her brows barely easing despite his attempt to calm her.
Alice shook her head, "Besides, she needs to be around kids her age. It'll mess with her head if she starts to believe she needs to be quiet and serious all the time. Her parents didn't do her any favors by instilling that trait."
They all grew solemn at the reminder.
"Alice?" Bella's little voice brought the pixie out of the memory, and she smiled at her.
"Yes?"
"...You will...come pick me up?" The day hasn't begun, and yet she's already asking about who is picking her up...
"Of course, we'll come to pick you up! Are you worried we won't?"
"Y-you won't forget? Promise?"
You won't forget...
"Did someone forget you before?" Alice probed.
Bella didn't answer, but the embarrassment that flushed her face was answer enough.
"Look at me?" She curled her fingers under Bella's chin. When her big eyes found Alice's face, she said, "No one will ever forget you in this family. That's utterly impossible!"
"...Really?"
"Yes! Now, come on, or you'll be late for your first day of school!"
Jasper's hand held Bella's the entire time they drove to school. Carlisle and Esme sat in the front seats while he and Alice sat on either side of the nervous litter girl.
"We'll be waiting for you here, Bella," Jasper reassured her as he heard her heart start to beat faster as Carlisle pulled into the parking lot.
Bella looked at him without an ounce of excitement, the complete opposite of the children that laughed and chatted excitedly as they were dropped off the curb. She wasn't happy at all to be going...
Alice was right, though. Bella needs to be around humans, especially children her age. She needed to learn to live in a world without her parents.
Jasper reached over and unbuckled Bella's seatbelt with a sigh before picking her up out of the booster seat.
She wrapped her arms around as Jasper settled her on his lap, the latter rubbing her back comfortingly, "You'll do just fine. Don't be scared."
Bella hesitated before she nodded, nuzzling her head into his shoulder, "Okay, Jaz."
He waved goodbye as she took Esme and Carlisle's hands and let them lead her into the school, her eyes never leaving his as she looked over her shoulder.
The thought to follow after them and take Bella in himself grew until Alice reminded him, "We can't be seen..."
"I know," Jasper muttered before looking to his wife and sensing the adoration Alice was sending his way. Reaching a hand out, he waited until Alice reached over the car seat and took his hand, "didn't know a child could make me so fearful."
Alice smiled, "She's brought the whole house to life, hasn't she, Jazz?"
Jasper pulled his wife close enough to place a kiss on her lips before cupping her cheek, relishing in the feel of her contentment, "Yes, darlin'. I believe she has."
"You don't have a mommy or a daddy. Is that true?" Bella looked up from the coloring sheet Mrs. Arnaz assigned and found a little Jessica Stanley standing next to her, sucking her thumb while her other hand clutched her pink bunny rabbit in it. Her light brown hair was straight and in perfect pigtails with curls at the ends. Her bright pink overalls made Bella frown as she came to find she didn't much care for the color.
Looking back down to her paper, Bella placed the pink crayon back in the pencil case before reaching for the blue one.
"Hey," Jessica Stanley poked the side of Bella's head with her pointer finger, but the latter ignored her, not wanting to talk about her mommy or daddy to anyone other than one of the Cullens. Finally, Jessica whined, "Talk to me!"
Bella's heart hurt at the thought of her parents all over again, and she closed her hand into a little fist as she applied more pressure into the crayon, the light blue strokes coming out darker now against the paper. A yank of one of her braids made Bella stumble out of her chair and stand abruptly as she whirled to find Jessica gripping her hair. A pout on the girl's face caught Bella's attention as Jessica giggled, "You're weird!" Bella tried to shrug Jessica's hand off her hair, but the little girl was surprisingly strong as she kept a tight grip on her braid, ruining Alice's hard work. Bella frowned at the thought of upsetting the pixie and pulled her braid once more.
"Oh! Jessica! Let go of Bella's hair right now!" The teacher scolded as she returned with one of the kids from the restroom. When Jessica lets go of Bella's hair after a few seconds, she shrieks joyfully and runs off to where Lauren Mallory was sitting at the other round table. Bella runs her hand over her ruined braid as she stares numbly at the few strands that were already hanging out of the hair tie.
"Get back here and apologize to your friend! Bella? Are you alright?" Mrs. Arnaz asks as she smooths Bella's hair, only to flinch when Bella shrugs her away abruptly. Turning around and gathering her papers as quickly as possible, Bella forces herself to remain numb to what she was feeling. The drawings she made of Emmett and his oversized teddy bear crumpled up as she balled it up in her tiny fists.
For the rest of the day, Bella was quietly sitting beside Mrs. Arnaz around the circle on the carpet as they concluded their class. Jessica apologized half-heartedly but frowned when Bella didn't say anything to accept the apology.
A ball formed in Bella's throat, and it made it impossible to speak. The little girl feared that if she did speak, she'd crumble into a piece of paper. Much like the one still clutched in her hands.
A part of her desperately wanted to go home so that Jasper could make her feel better with his hugs. Or Emmett could make her laugh because of his silliness.
She wanted to go home but...where was home?
Edward was busy coming up with a new melody on the piano when one of Alice's visions entered his mind.
"You're weird!" A little girl with a high-pitched voice yelled before Bella was jerked out of her seat, her hair being pulled by the little girl.
"She doesn't have a mommy or daddy. My mom said she's an...orphan," the same girl said with some difficulty as she sat across from Bella on the carpet along with other kids, most of which looked at her as if she were an alien and not a little girl the same age as them.
Edward grimaced as the vision comes to an end with a parting glance of Bella staring down at her hands.
"I'm going to go pick her up!" Alice said, her tone laced in venom as she ran down the stairs. Jasper on her tail with a perplexed look before he noticed Edward trailed behind them too.
"What did she see?"
Edward shrugged with lament, "Looks like one of the kids pulled Bella's hair and said mean things." The moment he said those words, Emmett and Carlisle walked into the room.
"What?" Emmett snapped.
"I'm going to get her. She's already having a bad day as it is," Alice said, a scowl on her small face as she pulls a jacket on.
"You know you can't do that," Edward muttered, seeing the vision that popped up again at her decision. "It'll only call more attention on Bella, Alice."
With a groan, Alice stopped in her tracks, "But..."
Edward walked over to his sister and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I know how you feel. We all feel protective of her, but there are certain things we can't do. Not when it involves other humans."
Jasper was not at all pleased but nodded in agreement.
"As of right now, they're just kids being kids, sadly. But, the second it turns into something more, we'll pull her out of school," Carlisle said with a shake of his head, "I'll speak to her teacher today."
"She's really sad, Carlisle," Alice said, the lament in her eyes that she couldn't protect the little girl from this part of her life that was unfortunately considered normal in the human world.
Because Bella was, in fact, a part of the human world and the chances of her ever becoming one of them were unlikely, Edward thought to himself when thoughts of the Volturi and Bella's mortality crossed his mind.
But the most important question wouldn't stop pestering him—how will she react when she finally finds out what they are? Will she think of them as monsters?
Thanks for reading x