You have all been so amazing, I teared up reading all the kind reviews. T_T

For those of you worried about about me going easy on Edward, don't worry. We will address all of his issues of control and overprotectiveness.

This chapter is a bit shorter but I'm already working on the next one. The reason for this one's length is that I had to separate ideas that were too short for individual chapters, and I kind of combined them here.

Love you all. Review if you liked it!

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The school year passed, and Edward learned something new about Alia everyday.

The most fascinating thing about Alia was the stories that constantly occupied her mind. She was an aspiring writer, who spent much of her time daydreaming. Her imagination only seemed to change each day. He thought that he would run out of things to notice about her, but she proved him wrong. With every piece of media she consumed, her mind seemed to evolve. It was one of the beautiful things about humans, that they constantly went through change.

Even his family stopped giving him slack about the ludicrous idea of him sticking with Alia out of a desire for a mate once they met her. Alia had been terrified at the prospect even at the months of being comfortable with Edward, but agreed to come over to his house for the first time. He wanted to show her that he wanted her in his life in contrast to the doubts that constantly rose in her mind.

She dressed in a nice blouse and jeans, and was a nervous mess, until Jasper drove them to the house, where he was effectively able to calm her with his gift, to where she was able to face his family with few doubts. Though Rosalie was cold and distant, everyone else was welcoming. Carlisle inquired after her parents, and Esme had prepared a feast of Indian food (hiding the fact that she had recently purchased a crate full of Indian cook books). Emmett and Alice were the ones that he was most worried about, but they managed to curb their enthusiasm (though Alice did hug her tightly).

Alia's reaction was exactly what he had expected. She was intimidated by Rosalie, though she made an interesting comparison to Aphrodite, no doubt from all the mythology she had been reading of late, that made him laugh. Ros would have loved that stroke to her ego if Alia was brave enough to say it.

She immediately took to Jasper, who was a bit bemused at Edward's choice of friend but kind enough to temper her wild emotions with his gift. Alia was amazed at how someone who seemed so intimidating to look at could make her feel so comfortable. Jasper and Alice sometimes sat with them at lunch, where Alia could adjust to Alice's loud personality.

Carlisle was glad of how kind Alia was and Esme was so overjoyed to cook for someone, that she all but wanted Alia to move in if not come over everyday. His parents still exasperated him, but Edward accepted their joy. For once in a long time, he felt like a normal teenager, talking about books and movies and other students. With her, he could almost feel like he was normal.

Edward and Alia both fell into a comfortable pattern of rotating whose house they would hang out at. Alia noticed that Edward didn't seem to eat anything, or his family when Esme made food for her, but was too polite as usual to ask until one day, she got annoyed when he was over.

"Edward, do you ever eat?" she asked after the third inquiry over what he'd like to have. "You never have lunch, and you don't eat for hours afterward. What's up with you?"

He groaned at the inevitability of her noticing it. "I'm not starving myself, I promise."

"Then?"

He hated the excuse he was about to make, but couldn't think of anything else after brainstorming with Carlisle. "I have a lot of allergies and health issues." Edward said. Alia's eyes widened. "Esme makes special breakfasts for me, and for the rest of the day, I'm usually on fluids. A liquid diet is easier for my body to handle." Well, that wasn't exactly a lie.

"God, Edward I'm so sorry." Alia was on the verge of tears. "What are you allergic to?"

"Hey, it's alright." Edward said gently. "No one ever suspects it. Well, let's see. Nuts, gluten, rice, soy, dairy, caffeine, eggs, fruit, and certain leafy greens. And I'm a vegetarian, so meat's out of the question too."

Alia only stared at him, the thought of tears gone from her. "What can you eat?"

He grinned. "Lots and lots of vitamins and meal replacements. Helps to have a doctor for a father."

She thought of how it made sense for him to have some flaws, but still puzzled over how he seemed so healthy. He was grateful that the excuse worked and that she didn't connect his absence of eating with his siblings, who also didn't visibly eat. It wasn't impossible for their kind to eat human food, but it was the equivalent of eating dirt.

Over the next few days, he had to subtly convince her not to try and cook or buy food that got past his 'allergies'. She still called Esme behind his back and asked for tips, to which his delighted mother thanked her but also successfully convinced her otherwise.

Rosalie had been convinced that she'd find out with this, but she had been proven wrong. It was equal parts bemusing and frustrating how Alia took him at face value, trusting the excuses that might give away his abnormality.

He didn't want her to find out. If Alice ever saw her doing so, they'd have to move again and he'd lose the friendship he was beginning to treasure.

They were safe as long as they were friends. Human friends.