All characters from The Vampire Diaries belong to L.J. Smith as well as all characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing except my version of events.

A/N: Guess who's baaaaaack?

A bit of a time jump.

Chapter 26 Not Again!

"How's school Baby Girl?" My dad asked over the phone.

"It's alright, nothing super exciting. I got a few papers due already, I hate learning." I commented casually.

I heard my dad chuckle over the phone, "I don't even believe you. You're my nerd of a daughter."

I huffed but agreed with him, though secretly keeping from my dad that I was tempted to quit school altogether. Keeping up with my magic was becoming difficult with a full-time student schedule. At the moment my magic was more important than school and my grades were suffering, education of the human world paled in comparison. Of course I couldn't tell my dad that so I pretended as best as I could. If I quit school he wouldn't understand why, without magic as a reason he'd be disappointed in me and I really didn't want that.

"So how are you daddy-o?" I asked to change the direction of our conversation.

"I'm alright. Actually, I started dating this woman I met in Port Angeles. I've been meaning to tell you about her but we've only gone out on a few dates. I didn't want to tell you until I figured out if it would work out or not." He said sheepishly.

I, on the other hand, was completely excited. "Really?! That's great!" I practically yelled over the phone.

"Ow," he complained. "You went supersonic, Baby Girl." but I could hear he was pleased by my reaction. I don't know why he would think otherwise, he's been alone for far too long. He was my dad and I wanted him to be happy. "So what about you?" He casually asked.

"What about me?" I questioned.

"No boys at Whitmore falling head over heels for you?" He pried, but I just laughed.

"Nope, no boy yet. Still waiting for someone to catch my attention and I haven't found one yet." I wasn't lying, I was so focused on my magic and my studies to even bother to glance at a boy. I simply didn't have the time.

"Not over Paul yet?" He slyly asked.

My dad said what? "You knew about Paul?" That was a surprise, he never commented or said anything about it. At first he teased us but after a month he gave up when he realized we really were just friends… I guess he knew all along we were a bit more than just that.

He scoffed, "Of course I did. That boy couldn't take his eyes off of you for a second. I know you guys are best friends but I also knew there was something else going on. I figured there was nothing deeper than what it was since you never said anything." I could practically hear him shrug in nonchalance as he slipped in that he knew it was only sex. I didn't know which part to be shocked over, the fact that my dad knew I was sexually active or that my dad was ok with it.

"Well this is… surprising. Though you've always been the quiet observer, Chief Swan. I should have known better." Now I was wondering what else he had seen or secretly knows, I should probably mention it to Sam. I have a feeling my dad already knows or at least suspects that something supernatural is going on. "Anyways, I'm too busy with school to date right now. Maybe later on when I get used to my full-time student schedule. For now though, I'm happy you've found someone to spend some time with. Listen dad, I've gotta go. I'll call you again in a few days, ok?"

"Sure kiddo. Love you." He replied back.

"Love you too." I said and pressed the end button as I threw myself on to the sofa in my living room where Angie was sitting on. I had just arrived from school and I was mentally exhausted, I guess I won't be practicing my magic today.

"You look exhausted." Angie commented, as she set her textbook down onto the coffee table.

I sighed, not only did I feel exhausted but apparently I looked it as well. I turned to look at her and realized I was now ready to share with her what I've been thinking about doing. Deciding to finally voice my thoughts out loud I said, "I'm thinking about quitting school." I admitted, looking down into my hands. I knew she wouldn't like it, school was important to her and she wouldn't want me to go uneducated.

"I think that's a great idea." She said.

I whipped my head to look at her, completely shocked by her response. "Say that again?" I had to make sure it wasn't a figment of my imagination.

She giggled. "I think it's a good idea, Bella. Look, school is important to me but I'm only a normal human. I need a career and all that but it's different for you. You found out you're a witch a couple of months ago and you've been practicing ever since. You're running yourself ragged, trying to balance both at the same time."

"I agree with Angie." Jeremy added as he sauntered into the living room with a plate piled high with four sandwiches and a big bag of chips. He plopped himself on the sofa in between Angie and me and handed me a sandwich and another to Angie. I grabbed it and took a bite, I was hungry and I hadn't even noticed. "We were actually planning to have an intervention for you." He smiled at me, with a mouth full of food.

Gross. "Who's we?" I asked, wondering who the hell else had noticed.

"Caroline, Damon and Tyler. We were also planning on letting Paul know and getting him to video call for the intervention. We figured he didn't know since he hasn't called any of us in worry." Jeremy answered.

"He knows some," I defended. "Not as much as the rest of you but he also can't really see me. He did suggest I think about becoming a part-time student though."

"You could do that too Bella, but I still think school is not a priority for you right now. Why bother when you don't even know what you want to do anyway…" Angie said, then realizing her mistake she tried to quickly correct herself. "Not that that's a bad thing or anything."

I chuckled to ease her worry, as I swallowed a mouth full of chips. "No, it's true. I don't know what I want to study. My witchcraft is also much more important than school right now. You guys are right, I should just quit or at least take a year off and then see where my life is at that point and then I'll decide whether I want to continue with my studies or not."

After making that final decision I felt lighter than I've felt since the beginning of the semester. I finished my sandwich and washed it down with some water.

"Thanks guys." I said as I stood up. "I'm gonna go for a run. Anyone wanna come?" They both looked at me like I was insane. "Okkkk then…" I trailed off as I made my way upstairs to change.

I know I shouldn't go running after eating but I was eager to go now. I haven't gone on a good run since school started, I didn't have time for it. I changed into some leggings and a sports bra adding a zippered running jacket, leaving it open for now. I strapped my phone to my arm and put in my ear buds as I made my way downstairs again, waving to my roommates as I made my way to my backyard to access the woods quicker.

I played my music in my earbuds and started stretching, I wasn't planning on going far. I was going into the woods to follow the short trail there. Sunset was heading my way already so I quickly jogged into the woods, hoping to not run in the dark for long. I wasn't afraid of the dark anyways. I was a witch, I could easily protect myself and I could also make artificial light if I did hit darkness anyway.

I had been jogging for 45 minutes now and I was already making my way back home when my phone rang. I slowed down to a fast walk and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey B, ... Why are you breathing so hard? Please don't tell me I caught you at the wrong time." He pleaded with me.

I laughed and shook my head. "Dirty Paulie, no you didn't. I'm out on a jog."

"Oh thank god. Wait… isn't it too late to be out for a run?" He fretted, worrying about me as usual.

"A little but I've finally decided to quit school and I felt like taking a quick run. I haven't had the time to do it so I really wanted to go right now, I couldn't resist."

"You're quitting school?" He asked surprised, with also a hint of relief in his voice. I guess he's thought about it too.

"Yeah, I've been running myself ragged and when I mentioned it to Angie she agreed with me, her and Jeremy to be exact. Apparently, they were planning an intervention with Damon, Caroline, and Tyler. They were also planning on calling you to join them."

Paul laughed, "No wonder Damon texted me to call him whenever I was free. I was planning to call him after I called you."

I laughed with him, "Well when you do, just tell him problem sol…" but I didn't finish my sentence. I felt a gust of wind blow into me, bringing with it an uneasiness. I looked around me to see if I could see anything but my human eyes couldn't see past my light.

"Bella?" Paul asked, when I didn't finish what I was saying.

"Something's about to happen, Paul." I warned him as I started running towards home. Whatever it was, it was not good. Nothing deadly though but still something to worry about.

"What! Bella? What the fuck is going on?" He practically yelled over the phone.

"I'm in the woods behind my house." I told him, letting him know before whatever it was caught up to me. It was getting close, I could feel it. "Shit!" I exclaimed as I stumbled over a rock and I instinctively activated my shield as I balanced myself out before I hit the ground. My phone beeped letting me know it ended the call. Double shit, I accidentally hung up on Paul when my shield went up. I could see the light on the street lamp illuminating the forest when it happened.

I stumbled in shock again at what I saw. This cannot be happening to me right now.

"Hi Bella!" A squeaky high pitched voice said.

Oh fuck… no, no, no, no, no.

"What the fuck are you guys doing here?" I demanded. Seriously? I was just starting to feel free again and here they are, ready to ruin my life again as usual… stupid Cullens.

"Language Bella." Edward reprimanded.

I rolled my eyes in response and laughed. "You have got to be shitting me. My language is the least of your fucking worries right now. I'll repeat myself once again, since apparently you've quickly forgotten my question and here I thought vampires had perfect recall… What the fuck are you guys doing here?" I asked again. If they didn't answer my question I swear I'd rip them apart myself.

Carlisle coughed to get my attention. "We apologize for intruding without warning, we only came because we were worried about you."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Worried about me… Now? Funny because you guys haven't been worried about me since you left me almost two years ago."

"You don't understand Bella." Alice butt in. "There's something coming for you and we need to protect you."

"What is coming for me exactly?" I questioned, already knowing whatever it was it would be a complete lie.

"The Volturi. We need to take you away before they get here Bella. We can protect you, I promise." Edward pleaded with me.

"And how the fuck do the Volturi know about me?" I asked, knowing their answer was going to be good.

"Victoria," Edward responded. "I'm sorry Bella. After I left you I went after her, trying to catch her before she tried to attack you but I lost her somewhere in Europe. Now we know where she disappeared to. She went to the Volturi and told them about you. You have to come with us Bella, it's the only way you'll be safe." Edward pleaded again. Did he actually think he could sweet talk me into going with him? Swearing protection after the way he left me the last time?

I couldn't hold it in any longer and laughed. I laughed so hard my eyes closed and tears fell out of my eyes. When I opened them again I saw Damon, Caroline, Jeremy, Tyler and even Bonnie standing by my side.

"And here I thought she was in danger." Damon said sardonically as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Paul thought you were dying or something, you shouldn't play pranks on him like that Bella. You know he worries about you." He said, coming to Paul's defense. Which came as quite a surprise, not the time though, it's not like I did it on purpose.

"Who are you guys?" Tyler asked, directing his question straight to the Cullens.

"The better question is who are you?" Alice squeaked out, making all of my friends cringe at her voice.

"Oh shit Bella, are they…?" Jeremy trailed off, realizing he was right in his assumption.

I sighed knowing I'd have to admit my past to all of my friends now. "Yup, it's them alright." I confirmed.

"Oh wow." Caroline's eyes widened in shock. "Which one?" She asked.

I sighed again. "Pennyhead." I said, pointing to Edward who was standing in the center. I caught a glimpse of Emmett shifting in the background, stepping on the dead leaves laying on the ground but one look from Carlisle and his body froze once again…. What the fuck? That was weird. That was the first time Emmett had shown signs of life… actually… they all looked like they were frozen solid. Well except for Carlisle, Edward and Alice who were completely animated. The rest looked…

"Oh, ... I guess he's kinda cute… if you can get over how pale he is." Care commented, breaking me out of my reverie.

Damon intervened then, "Who's Pennyhead?" He asked as he walked closer to me, I wrapped my shield around my body so it wouldn't push him away. The Cullen's didn't know about my shield or that I'm a witch and I wanted to keep it that way, at least for now.

"Fuck this is embarrasing…" I muttered, unwilling to admit it aloud again. Unfortunately Edward answered for me when he saw Damon place his arm around my shoulders.

"I'm her mate, so I suggest you take your filthy hands off of her." Edward announced, glaring at Damon.

Meanwhile I face palmed, trying to will myself to disappear. "Heaven forbid!" I exclaimed in exasperation. "He is not my mate! He's just my… ex-boyfriend." I finally admitted.

Damon looked down at me in surprise "Just? You dated a cold one?" His look turned teasing. "Now, now, Beautiful, you told me you knew cold ones but you never told me you knew them so intimately. You've been keeping secrets again."

Tyler laughed, "You would have the balls to date a cold one Bella… only you."

I glared at him as I realized Jacob had said the same thing. I was starting to think that comment was more offensive than I had initially thought.

"Whatever, I'm not proud of it okay!" I knew there was no way to defend myself but still…

At that moment Damon's phone rang, he tucked his hand into his pants pocket and fished it out.

"Well hello lover." He answered the phone, he rolled his eyes in response at whatever the person on the other line said. I'm assuming it was Paul. "No, no she's fine. However, I am truly disappointed in you. The three of us have spent so many nights together and not once did either of you mention Bella's ex-boyfriend being a cold one." He said in a teasing manner, sending a smirk at Edward. Leave it to Damon to insinuate we were in a poly-relationship at a moment like this. By the look on the Cullens' faces, they bought it. Carlisle, Edward and Alice looked disgusted. While Emmet, Rosalie, Jasper and Esme remained as stoic as they'd been from the beginning. There's no way Emmett wouldn't have butt in by now, he's always been eager to embarrass me further at every opportunity.

I frowned at that. Rosalie and Jasper had been expressionless the entire time, as if their bodies were there but their minds were somewhere else. Their eyes seemed to be glazed over. At first I thought it was because they were indifferent to the situation, they never seemed to care about me before so why bother to care now but I could feel that something was wrong… very, very wrong. I decided to monitor them from now on, something just didn't feel right.

I zoned back into Damon's conversation, right at the part where Damon agreed with Paul about my flexibility. I rolled my eyes, of course that asshole was playing along as well. Knowing full well the conversation was being heard by every supernatural being present. By the look on Caroline and Tyler's expressions I was proven right. They were trying their hardest to not burst into laughter.

Something flickered in Jasper's eyes then, his expression morphing but before it could fully form Alice swiveled her head in his direction. His face went back to the expressionless face he's had on and his eyes glazed over, his face blank once again. Okkkk… something is clearly not ok here. I looked over to Esme who had appeared to not have been there at all, she looked… I couldn't even explain it. Like a statue? She hadn't moved an inch since their arrival, her head staring blankly ahead as if she weren't alive at all.

I frowned as I felt my intuition kick in full force, almost as if telling me what to do with no words. I continued to let Damon and Paul have their fun at the Cullen's expense... and mine as well, while I opened my senses on the four Cullen's who hadn't spoken. I decided to test out my assumptions first. I placed a shield around each one of them, blocking any other powers from affecting them. Almost immediately their frozen facades broke, they blinked rapidly as if they were regaining their sight suddenly. They looked at each other in confusion, looking around themselves. I looked at Carlisle, Edward and Alice. Out of the three Carlisle was the only one who suddenly looked at the others with a look of pure panic on his face, the other two seemed unfazed. He was about to speak when I beat him to it, maintaining the shield around the ones I was protecting.

"Hmmmm… Seems like someone is hiding a power from the rest of the family." I said as I put my index finger over my lips in thought. "I wonder who it is? …" I playfully sang as I shrugged Damon's arm off of me walking slowly towards the Cullen's, everyone went quiet once I spoke. I wanted to verify exactly who was the one manipulating the others so I placed a shield around each one of them, hoping to feel a push on my shield like I had with Damon when he tried to compel me.

It didn't take long, I felt one of my shields being hit repeatedly in a frantic manner.

"Gotcha!" I smiled in victory. "What happened daddy Cullen? Having trouble manipulating your family?" I fake pouted as I walked around him. He tried to attack me but instead he pinged around inside of my shield, just like Laurent had. I laughed as most of my friends did as well. "Didn't peg you for the manipulating type Dr. Cullen. This is quite a surprise." I said cheekily, as I separated the Cullen's and moving Esme, Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper to the side. They were still looking around in confusion and hadn't uttered a single word… something was still wrong. My shield wasn't enough to release them from Carlisle's power. I walked toward them and they still didn't acknowledge my presence, they were holding on to their heads now as if in pain.

"What's wrong with them?" Caroline finally asked.

"I don't know…" I frowned. "I think… it's their minds… they're not coming out of it as they should have with my shield wrapped around them… maybe because of their prolonged mind control?" I closed my eyes then in concentration, placing my hand upon my shield as if maybe with a touch I could read them. Suddenly, I somehow knew exactly what to do. I took my shoes off, placing my feet bare onto the ground. I needed to collect the energy of the earth, so I focused my mind on the purity of nature. The cleansing of the earth flowing through my body like an ocean, I needed to transfer it into them so I collected it inside of me and released it into my hand touching my shield. It was so quiet then, all I could hear was the sound of the wind, the sound of the smallest animals around me. I smiled at the feeling, it was so peaceful.

With that feeling still present within me I opened my eyes. The Cullen's in the shield stared at me in wonder, no longer holding onto their heads in confusion.

"Bella?" Emmett asked.

I looked into his eyes that were no longer glazed robotically. I could finally see him again. "Welcome back." I said with a smile as I released them from my shield. They all fell onto the floor.

I giggled. "Oopsie." I said with a shrug. Emmett jumped up to his feet and immediately swooped me into a hug.

"I've missed you, sissy." He said as he spun me around in circles, finally placing me back down on my feet once he was done.

"Bella." I heard a sob and looked at Esme who was now holding me gently in her embrace softly crying onto my shoulder.

"It's ok Esme. You're free now." I soothed, rubbing circles on her back. I took the chance to look at Rosalie and Jasper. They were livid, but not at me, they were glaring daggers at the remaining Cullens.

"I'm going to kill them." Jasper growled. I looked at Carlisle, Edward and Alice and they looked completely terrified. "Release them Darlin'." He commanded.

I instantly knew he was talking to me and I did as I was told. His tone demanded complete authority, sending chills down my spine… and not in a bad way.

Before I knew it, I could hear the anguished cries of Carlisle, Edward and Alice. He walked slowly towards them with a deadly grace, standing in front of them and wrapping a hand around Carlisle's neck, releasing him from his power. He immediately stopped crying, looking up at Jasper.

"Son." He said, trying to control him again but I wrapped a shield around Jasper's body to protect him. He turned to look at me and I slyly winked at him, he nodded in silent thanks.

"You mother fucker." He said in a deadly voice. "You trapped me under your control for almost seventy years!" He yelled, reaching down with his free hand and ripping out Carlisle's tongue so he couldn't talk anymore.

Carlisle screamed in agony. Jasper didn't wait for his scream to end when he leaned forward and brought his foot down onto Carlisle's thigh, snapping his leg off in the process. Woah, this might be inappropriate to think about at the moment but my god was this whole thing completely sexy…. Really not the time Bella!

I felt Esme pull away from me then. "Wait Jasper!" she yelled, just as he was preparing to step on his other leg. We all turned to look at her.

Please tell me she's not trying to save him!

She walked towards Jasper and stood to his side, Jasper looking at her and nodding, dropping Carlisle on the floor like a sack of potatoes. Esme stood in front of Carlisle now and bent down to get close to his face. I wrapped her in a protective shield as well.

"You have kept me prisoner my entire vampire life! You will suffer for longer than I have been a vampire. I promise." She finished in the deadliest voice I had ever heard from her as she swiftly removed his head from his body and buried his head in the dirt. She turned to look at us, "I'm planning on keeping him for a long time. What I have planned for him will be worse than what he's done to me."

I looked to Jasper to verify she was telling the truth. I sent him a wave of a questioning emotion and he nodded at me in confirmation. She really did mean it, thank god she wasn't lying to set him free later.

Jasper then turned to Alice and released her from the cocktail of emotions I was sure he had put them in. "Your turn, you poisonous bitch." He squatted down to her level.

"Jasper! Please don't hurt me!" She yelled. "I love you! I'm your mate!"

Jasper laughed in response. "Oh I would never hurt my mate" he said condescendingly as he twisted her head off of her body and held her by the hair to glare into her eyes. "I hope you saw this in a vision Dear Alice." He said as he slowly dismembered the rest of her body, delighting in the painful screams it ignited.

Once he finished with her body he turned to the rest of us, "Anyone got a lighter?" He questioned.

I smirked, "I've got it Cowboy." I said as I snapped my fingers and lit her body aflame. I walked towards Edward now, feeling it was my duty to get rid of him. "I've got this one." I said simply.

"Oh I'm sure you do." Jasper replied. I released everyone from their shields and wrapped Edward in one, releasing him from Jasper's influence. He stopped crying and looked at me with so much hope. If he thought I was going to save him he was absolutely wrong.

"I had hoped to never see your face again Edward, but now that you're here I might as well tell you what you did to me. You left me lying on a hospital bed, bruised and broken. Leaving me to fend for myself when you knew Victoria was after me. Don't think I don't know that's why you didn't bother to kill me that day, you wanted to torture me for just a bit longer." I explained, crossing my arms over my chest. With my words his face transformed intantly into fear. Good. I wanted him to be afraid of me. "But I have to thank you for that, you know. Thanks to you, I am who I am today and I owe it all to you. I plan to repay you in the same way." I said, smiling at him as I caressed the side of his face. "You know I've done this only once before and I plan to enjoy it just as much as I did the first time." With that being said I cut off his fingers with my shield, one by one.

"Holy shit Bella." Jeremy muttered.

I smirked at his response. "That's not all I can do." I said as I cut off his arm and disintegrated it with my shield, delighting in the screams emitting from his mouth. I giggled, "Victoria made the same sounds as you Edward." I lightly commented as I continued to dismember and disintegrate his body parts, until I finally got to his head. "Have fun in hell, Pennyhead." I teased as I wiggled my fingers at him in goodbye and disintegrated the last remaining piece of him.

I turned back to the crowd with a smile, releasing a sigh of relief. Jasper was looking at me in wonder and admiration but everyone else was staring at me with mouths wide open in shock, even Damon.

"What?" I asked.

A resounding robotic laughter echoed through the forest, I looked around but couldn't find the source.

"That was hot, Swan!" I heard Paul's booming voice around me but I didn't know where it was coming from. That is until I looked at Damon, who was standing where I had left him holding the phone up in front of him. Seriously? I threw him an incredulous look.

He unfroze from his shock and shrugged. "What? He wanted to watch… now I understand why." Damon explained, smirking at me.

"Pass her the phone!" Paul said and Damon complied, handing his phone over to me. I looked at the screen and found Paul there, sitting on his sofa drinking and eating chips. "Have I told you how proud I am of you lately?" He said to me.

I smiled at him through the phone. "I think it's been a while."

Paul chuckled. "I'll let Sam know about this new development, I'll keep you updated on what he says. Love you B."

"Love you too." I replied as his face disappeared from sight and the screen turned off. I threw the phone back to Damon.

I looked around me then. Realizing there was someone missing from the group. "Where'd Bonnie go?" I asked in curiosity.

"She left some time ago, while country boy over there tore asshole vamp daddy apart." Damon laughed. "Too vicious for her sensibilities apparently." He rolled his eyes.

"Imagine how she would've reacted if she'd seen Bella torturing her ex too." Tyler commented lightly as he leaned on a tree with his hands in his pocket.

I tilted my head in question. "Enjoy the show?" I asked him curiously.

"Definitely, but now that the show's over I'm taking off. Glad to see you're a vicious killer Bella, now I know who to come to when I get into trouble." He said, winking at me and walking away.

"You're badass, Belly!" Caroline said, smiling widely at me with a look of pure pride on her face.

It made me smile in turn. I was so happy my family both accepted and welcomed my more vicious side. It was bound to come out eventually. Leave it to the Cullens to bring it out of me. I then turned to the remaining members, not knowing what to say to them. I used to be so mad at them but now that I knew they weren't in control of their own minds… Could I really continue to stay mad?

Rosalie and Esme walked closer to me, surprising me as Rosalie threw her arms around me in a fierce hug. "Thank you so much Bella. You saved us… I don't know how we'll ever be able to repay you. I'm sorry I was so mean to you, I just didn't want you to fall into their trap." She sobbed into my shoulder.

I awkwardly patted her back. "Don't worry about it Rosalie. It was my pleasure and no need for forgiveness now that I know you did it in an attempt to save me."

"Oh Bella! Thank you so much!" Esme sobbed as well, throwing her arms around both Rosalie and I. "I've missed you so much, sweet girl. I'm so sorry we left, if I would've had a say in it I would have never left you."

I put my other arm around her as well. I was incredibly awkward when it came to consoling people. I heard Jeremy's chuckle to my left, followed by a mumbled "Look how uncomfortable she is." I'm assuming he said it to Caroline, who giggled in response.

"Sorry." Both Rosalie and Esme echoed, as they pulled away from me.

I threw an annoyed look at Jer, he made it more awkward with his comment. "No worries." I smiled at them.

Emmett had walked nearer and hugged Rosalie and Esme to him, "I know you don't want me to say it either but I have to. Thank you Bella." He said sincerely, in complete contrast to his normally wicked humor.

I just nodded at him.

Jasper walked towards me and bowed in front of me. "Thank you Darlin', I will owe you for the rest of my existence." He swore, as he reached for my hand and kissed the back of it.

Woah, that was unexpected. I couldn't help but notice how hot he was up close, I had never been this close to him before nor had he ever talked to me directly. His southern accent was absolutely delicious.

He stood up straight again and a slow smirk appeared on his face and he winked at me. Oh right, I mentally face palmed, he totally just felt my attraction towards him.

Did I really mind though? He is hot.

I nodded and smiled at him. "So what will you guys do now?" I asked curiously. What the heck were they supposed to do now that they've finally found freedom after years of imprisonment? That's got to be weird right?

"I want to stay with Bella." Esme said immediately, looking at the rest of her family. "I didn't get a chance to completely know you before and I would love to do so now… if you'll have me." She told me, begging me with her eyes to accept.

Emmett looked at Rose then, "I want to stay with Bella too." He said pleadingly at her, as if expecting her to refuse him.

She smiled at him and turned to me. "I'd like to stay too. I didn't get to know you the first time and I'd love to get a second chance."

I was kind of surprised they'd want to hang around me longer. I figured they'd want to explore the world after finally being free. They had the opportunity to decide for themselves and this is what they were deciding to do. To be honest, it was incredibly… humbling for me.

"I'd love for you to stay. I've got a couple of free rooms in my home which you are more than welcome to stay in." I said sincerely.

"Not necessary, Darlin'. I'll split up the money from Carlisle amongst the family and we can buy a home near you. We don't want to crowd you." Jasper said.

I looked at him in surprise and so were the rest of the Cullens. "You're staying too?" I asked him.

He smirked down at me. "Definitely… seems like life would be very interesting around you." He said cheekily.

I suddenly felt a wave of attraction hit me as he held onto my eyes, arching his eyebrow at me in invitation. Woah, I could not believe Jasper was coming onto me. I was totally onboard with that!

"Oh… I plan on making it very interesting, indeed." I replied back flirtatiously.

Damon coughed at our interaction. "So home?" He asked out loud.

I giggled, breaking the intense connection Japer and I had created. "Sure." I said, turning to look at him. "Oh wait!" I exclaimed as I telekinetically lifted Carlisle's head from the ground, letting it land on my extended hand. I grasped onto the sides of his head, staring straight into his eyes. I delved deep into his mind and turned off his ability to use his power, I wasn't about to let him convince the others to release him. If Esme planned on torturing him, I would never deprive her of that pleasure. I threw the head back at Esme, who swiftly caught it midair.

"There. I bound his power so he won't be able to use it any longer. Let me know if you need anything else." I told her.

She smiled delightedly at me and nodded in thanks.

"Ok. I'm ready to go now."