Twilight and all its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

The weeks after Alice's party, Bella's interest in maintaining her human façade was random and sporadic. Most of the time, she spent our lunch period in the crook of my arm reading a book while I talked to Angela or would come over to the house after dinner to hang out with me or any number of my siblings, depending on her mood. There were some days where she would seek out Alice or Angela herself, and I would find her already at my house or the coffee shop without me, pretending to pick at a pastry or sip on a fake coffee.

Then, there were other days where she would seek solitude from even me, spending lunch in the library alone or leaving school without a single goodbye. I tried not to take anything personally on those days. In my head, I could rationalize her actions: she had spent so much of her life all alone or blatantly ignored. The sudden influx of attention had to be overwhelming. And on top of that, the act she had to display probably tired her out.

My heart, however, told a different story. No matter how solid the justifications were, my heart still worried every time that a rumor had gone too far or something had been too much for Bella and she had returned to the ocean, never to step foot on land ever again. Thankfully, my head was right every time. Once Bella's battery was properly recharged, she always came back to me wearing a small smile that was unnecessarily apologetic, and I would let her tuck into my embrace like I hadn't spent the past twenty-four hours worrying over the fate of our relationship.

One Friday afternoon, Bella thought she had the energy to hang out with my siblings and me, only to spend the conversation slumped against the arm of the couch as I tried to convince the group to attend a concert with us.

"Is it going to be that 'pussy' music?" Jasper asked.

I rolled my eyes. Jasper heard one song where the artist said pussy one time, and suddenly it was the genre of music I listened to.

"Hey! It's not that bad!" Emmett gallantly swooped in. "Personally, I love that he says pussy." He threw me a nod, like the two of us had really secured the victory of that battle.

"Thanks, Em," I frowned, furrowing my brow.

Without giving me a solid answer, my siblings went back to scrolling on their phones. Beside me, Bella shifted her position and I shifted along with her to give her room for her legs. I took the foot she put in my lap in both of my hands and gently squeezed it.

"Come on, guys, please?" I tried again. "I never get to see any of the artists I like perform live."

"Yeah, because they're all dead."

It was uncalled for, but true. "It's Tracy Chapman. She's current. She released something in 2008."

Rosalie scoffed. "The fact that you think music from 2008 is current speaks volumes." She propped herself up onto her elbow so she could look me directly in the eyes. "Do you do this because you're actually weird, or do you simply enjoy sounding like the most boring breed of pretentious asshole?"

There was no winning between the given options, so I chose my own. "It's not weird to enjoy the classics."

Alice sat up in her chair and draped herself over the arm, mirroring Bella's position on the couch beside her, "Bella, do you think Edward's music is weird?"

My girlfriend—and ultimate betrayer—wrinkled her nose and nodded her head.

"That's not fair," I contested, "Bella doesn't like any music."

"And yet you are forcing her to go with you?" Alice asked me.

Bella nodded while I explained, "She is attending to support me and my interests," and stopped nodding when I turned to look at her directly.

Alice cupped her hand over Bella's. "I have no choice. I can't let you suffer alone. I'll go with you."

"She's not going to suffer," I argued, until I realized what she said. "Wait, really you'll come?"

"Not if you don't look more excited about it."

I forced a massive, silly grin.

"There it is!" Alice laughed. She whipped out her phone and began tapping on the screen. "What's his name again?"

"Hers," I corrected. "Tracy Chapman. But don't worry about buying tickets, they're on me."

"No need for that," she waved me away, still typing on the phone. "All I need for payment is a soft pretzel and your unwavering support in everything I do."

"Done," I easily agreed.

"Jasper, you're in, too?" Alice looked up from her phone with a particular look on her face.

"Sure am." The two held each other's eyes for just a moment two long—like they were communicating telepathically—until Alice went back to typing on her phone.

"Em? Rose? Soft pretzel?" Unfortunately, snacks were the better selling point.

Reclined in her chair with her feet dangling over the arm, Rosalie muttered, "Yikes, still out."

Emmett blew out a breath and shook his head. "I'm still out, too. and I would do a lot of things for a soft pretzel." He lowered his chin, looked at me dramatically through his eyelashes, and repeated slowly, "A lot of things."

While my siblings began to argue about the lengths they would go to for a soft pretzel, I leaned to where Bella's head rested on the arm of the couch. Smoothing a small tuft of hair along her ear, I whispered, "Are you done? Would you like to be alone?"

She thought for a second and signed, "With you."

Only an idiot to say no to alone time with Bella. I stood—perhaps a little too eager—and announced. "Okay, guys, Bella and I are gonna head out."

"Where are you going?" Alice chirped.

"We're going to get some dinner," I carefully lied.

"What are you going to get?"

"Um…" I glanced down at Bella, "Fish."

Alice surprised me with an excited gasp. "Really? Can I come? There's this seafood place out of town that I keep seeing online, and I've been dying to go."

"Um…"I looked back down at Bella, searching for an answer.

But Alice was already pulling Bella off from the couch with both hands. "Come on, Bella! You and I can drive together. Have a little girl time." She shimmied her shoulders to make the idea seem more enticing than it was.

What it really meant was Alice would talk, and Bella would listen—Alice's preferred way of conversing. I looked to Bella to make sure it was okay. She didn't look entirely pleased, but she didn't refute Alice either as she skipped the two of them over to the coat closet where Alice kept her purses.

"So, you're going to make me drive alone?"

"Of course, not, silly!" Alice forced a cardigan in Bella's hands, "Trust me, you're going to look so cute in that." Then to me, "You're driving with Jasper in the boy car."

I looked back at Jasper. "You're coming now, too?"

He shrugged, like he had no say in the matter.

In the boy car, I cranked Tracey Chapman for Jasper and he had to admit he really liked her. He asked for the names of several songs so he could add them to his various playlists, explaining the vibes of each and how certain songs fit those vibes. Alice was a tiny speed demon, and I struggled to stay behind her as she wove through traffic at breakneck speeds. After a forty-minute drive I did not expect, we pulled into the packed parking lot of a beachside shack that looked like it was one bad storm from becoming Bella's hidden, abandoned structure. I was hesitant but dutifully followed Jasper through the lot and up the creaky steps to where Alice and Bella were already waiting for us on the shabby porch. Inside looked like an entirely different restaurant. It was completely refurbished, with elements of the original structure preserved. A smiling hostess led us past the indoor dining area and out to a back patio. Wicker couches were paired back-to-back with a coffee-table height dining table. Alice requested the last table beside the outdoor firepit. Once seated, we were so close to the beach, that it felt like the linear wrought-iron fence was the only thing stopping the water from lapping our feet. A waitress quickly stepped up to the table and offered a lukewarm greeting and glasses of water.

I raised a menu between me and Bella, making a barrier between us and Alice and Jasper, and whispered, "Do you want to eat?"

"It would be suspicious if I didn't." she signed.

She was right, but I didn't want to force her into anything. "It's okay if you don't want to put up a charade; we can think of an excuse."

She pointed to the raw oyster appetizer.

"Okay," I agreed, "We'll get oysters and a regular meal and pretend to split them."

Bella began to lower the menu, but I stopped her, "one more thing," and I pressed my lips to hers for a kiss that was far too thorough for a casual dinner with my siblings. When I was pleased with the pink in her cheeks and the shortness of her breath, I leaned back and set the menu on the table. She had to press her lips into her mouth to hide her pleasure.

Across the table, Jasper and Alice were deciding which small plates they wanted to share. They, too, shared a menu like Bella and me, which seemed odd. But, they had always been close, so I figured it was usual for them. Under the shared menu, Jasper placed his hand over Alice's. To my complete shock and utter horror, Alice flipped her hand over so she could lace her fingers through his.

I stood up so quickly that my shins knocked into the low table, shoving it over. Bella's hand flew to my forearm, silently asking if I was alright.

"Alice, I forgot something in your car. Can we go get it?"

It was a lie. And an obvious one, at that—we didn't even drive here together. But now was not the time for discretion. I marched out of the restaurant and Alice trailed after me. The second we were in the parking lot, I spun on my heels and loomed over my smallest sister. "What the fuck did I just see?"

She traced the almond shape of her perfectly manicured nail, searching for an imperfection to pick at. "So… remember when I told you that I was in love with someone in an impossible situation?"

I brought my palms up to my temples, "Oh my god."

"Well, it turned out that he felt the same way about me..."

"Oh my god."

"So, Jasper and I have started dating."

Hearing the words spoken out loud was much, much worse. "Oh my god."

She flung her hands to her side and glared up at me. "Can you stop saying that?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know. Maybe that you're happy for me?"

Yeah, I was happy. Happy that my relationship with a fictional creature was no longer the weirdest relationship in the family. "How can I be happy for you? What you're doing is wrong.! And you clearly know it's wrong, too, since you've been keeping it a secret from everybody."

"No!" she disagreed. She tipped her nose high up in the air and found more volume. "We're testing the waters first. We're making sure this relationship is what we want before we go to the rest of the family and rock the boat. We're trying to be responsible."

I scoffed at the word responsible. "Why Alice? Why rock the boat at all?"

"For love."

"Oh my god."

"Stop saying that!" she demanded again, each syllable sharp and distinct, "You were the one who encouraged me to follow my heart even if it could be wrong!"

"No!" my voice rose in alarm. "Don't you dare pull me into this. I would have never said anything if I knew it was Jasper. I will not be made an accomplice to your… incestuous crimes."

"It's technically not incest."

I pulled at my hair, "That's not a great argument, Alice!"

"We aren't related."

"You call the same two people Mom and Dad."

Alice pouted, "So do married people."

I softly screamed through my teeth.

Alice smiled sweetly at the family walking past us into the restaurant. "Can you please try to chill? Jasper isn't my brother like Emmett or even you. He was never adopted by Esme and Carlisle. He was a foster child who was lovingly accepted into my home."

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I did know that. Rosalie and Jasper were foster children and had never been fully adopted. However, I couldn't recall the reason why they weren't adopted.

The contemplation must have been clear on my face because Alice answered my unspoken question. "His mom is imprisoned for life…" She rose her eyebrows expectantly like it would all come rushing back to me at any second.

But it didn't. "What did she do?"

"Maria ran an underground fighting ring. She would have entire groups of people fight each other, sometimes to the death. When she was caught, she was also convicted for second-degree manslaughter for like twenty people."

I felt my jaw fall open. "What the fuck?"

She reveled in my obvious shock, pleased to be the first one to tell this story to me. "I know. Crazy, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "Almost as crazy as you are for dating your brother."

"Edward!" she petulantly stomped her foot. "He is not my brother! At most, he was a foster brother, but that was only for a year. Ever since he turned eighteen and got out of the system, he has been nothing but a roommate."

What she said made logical sense… but something about it still felt wrong. I frowned. "I hate this, Alice. I hate knowing this and I hate that it's happening…"

She huffed. "Fine. Whatever. Can you at least promise not to say anything until we do?"

That was a big promise, and I couldn't bring myself to agree.

Alice rose up to her tiptoes and clasped her hands together against her cheek. "Please..?"

"I guess I won't tell anyone."

She squealed and clapped. "Oh, thank you, Edward!"

I stepped back to dodge her incoming hug. "I'm going to Google this when we get home, and if it's illegal I'm telling Carlisle and Esme."

"It isn't! We already looked it up," she winked, and skipped back into the restaurant, far more chipper than someone skating on very thin ice should be.

Back inside, Bella and Jasper were playing a game of Hangman on a paper napkin. Jasper had only guessed a few correct letters of Bella's phrase, but the Hangman was already fully drawn. It looked like Bella had taken pity on him and drew in extra features to give him a few more chances.

"Still trying to beat Bella, Jas?" I asked, kissing Bella's temple before I slid back into the booth.

He was a poor loser and was doing his best to hide it. "She never even heard of the game before. I had to draw my own hangman for her."

"The Hangman equivalent of forcing you to dig your own grave," I approved with a laugh. "That's my girl."

Bella beamed.

"You only find it amusing because you haven't lost anything to her yet," he grumbled.

"Oh no, I've lost something to Bella before." Bella turned to me, her eyebrows scrunched together as she tried to figure out what I was referencing. I smiled the smile I knew she thought was silly, "My heart."

Eyerolls and groans ensued around the table. I puckered my lips to kiss Bella, but she stopped me and shoved me back. I laughed; at that moment I was convinced this dinner would be fine despite the horrible news that had been forced into my awareness. But then Jasper put his arm around Alice's shoulders, and I couldn't help but visibly cringe away from the sight. Alice frowned, then Jasper, and the only smile I could manage was much closer to a grimace.

Then, the rest of dinner was just as awkward as anyone would expect it to be if they were on a double date with their brother and sister. Conversations stayed in their respective booths and did not cross over the table. Bella remained unbothered by Alice and Jasper, but she was bothered by my apparent lack of appetite. I tried to appease her every time she tried to talk about it with a smile or a kiss, but she could tell something was wrong and kept pestering me.

"Tell me what's wrong," Bella demanded in sign language, each sign sharp and distinct.

"Nothing," I hoped I signed back properly. I was still worse at speaking in sign language than understanding it.

"You're upset."

"We'll talk about it later," I offered, wondering just how far away later could be.

"Aw, Jasper wouldn't it be cute if we had a secret language, too?" Alice sighed sweetly.

"There are seventy million people in the world who use sign language, Alice," I said, my tone bordering on rude.

Alice snapped her mouth shut. When she opened it again, her voice was smug. "You know, Bella, after you had ditched Edward on your first date, I wanted to tell Edward to never give you the time of day. But, when I realized how much he cared for you, I encouraged him to give you another chance. Because even though the relationship seemed wrong to an outside party, I trusted Edward enough to know that he was making the right decision for himself."

"Cool, Alice," I said dismissively. She scowled back.

When the server finally brought the check, I pushed my debit card in her direction, not bothering to look at the final amount. I just wanted this terrible double date to be over with. Jasper said something about splitting to cost, and I handed him the bill when it returned so he could figure out for himself what he owed me. As we walked off the back porch, Alice kept Bella back with her to whisper something in her ear. The two lingered behind Jasper and me all the way out to the parking lot. No one needed to state that we were driving as separate pairs, it was obvious. Jasper dutifully folded his long legs into Alice's tiny Porche while I opened my passenger door for Bella.

Instead of getting in, Bella followed me around to the driver's side of the car. "It's later." she signed.

I sighed. We wouldn't be able to talk in the car. Well, we could, but it would be an extremely one-sided conversation. I spotted a nearby sign that pointed to a trail that wove through the tall beach grasses along the water's edge. "Would you like to go for a walk?"

She nodded and the two of us made our way to the trail, hand-in-hand. Bella opted to ditch the trail altogether and leaped lightly over the knee-height wooden fence. As we walked along our own path at the water's edge, I told Bella my previous conversations with Alice, as well as the one that happened privately during dinner.

"I don't know what to do about it," I concluded. Bella and I had slowed our walk down to a natural stop. The sun had just dipped behind the horizon, bringing the reds and pinks and oranges with it, leaving the stark sky behind. I could still make out the shapes of her hands and would be able to understand what she signed, but not for much longer. "What would make me a worse person: trying to stop it or not doing anything about it?"

"Why would you need to stop it?"

"Two siblings can't date each other."

Bella threw me an exasperated look. "I know that. But you said they're not related—not blood or by paper."

A stupid technicality that didn't mean anything. "Yeah, but it's still…" I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, "…terrible to witness. And I feel like it's so uncomfortable because it shouldn't be happening at all."

"Our relationship shouldn't be happening, either." She tucked her lower lip between her teeth.

"No, Bella, no." I coaxed her lip back out with my thumb, "This is completely different."

"How?"

"For one thing, we don't need to keep our relationship a secret. They do. No one would try to stop us from being together."

"They would if they knew the truth."

"What do you mean?

"Anyone who knew you were dating a monster would try to stop you."

I pulled her chin up so she could see the conviction in my eyes as I said, "You are not a monster."

She regarded my statement with obvious doubt. "If I went to your house and told your mother that I could kill you with the sound of my voice, she would try to keep you away from me."

I didn't want to think about how true that statement was. I refuted it, anyway. "Not if she knew how much I cared for you."

"It's the same for Alice and Jasper. You're judging their relationship on the worst part of it. If someone were to do the same to us, they would convince you to leave me."

"It wouldn't work," I vowed.

"What they're doing isn't illegal and it's not hurting anyone," she continued. "I say to leave them be, offer support when you can."

Unbidden, I stuck my tongue out in disgust at the thought of supporting them. At the moment, I couldn't even look at them without shuddering. Bella's shoulders shook with silent laughter as she reached up to close my mouth by gently pressing up on my chin. She followed the gesture with a peck on my lips, raising up to her tiptoes and holding into my shoulders to maintain her balance.

"Alright. How about you give them some space for a few days? When you're less emotional and can think with a level head, we'll decide what you should do."

"I think I can manage that." This time, I leaned down to give her a kiss of my own. When we broke apart, I rested my forehead against hers. "You're the smartest person I know."

The smartest person I knew. The most beautiful creature I had ever seen. The source of all my smiles.

Isabella Swan was truly everything.

Her eyes warmed as they melted into mine like she was thinking the same about me. It astounded me that I could have any effect on her whatsoever. How impossible it seemed that I could be anything more than a blip on her radar when her presence was as all-encompassing as the universe itself to me. After another thorough kiss, I tucked her under my arm and led her back to the parking lot with the car.

We only walked a few steps until, Bella perked up, hearing something I couldn't. She whirled towards the water.

"Bella?" I started to ask, but she placed her hand over my mouth, silencing me.

Turning abruptly, she started to rifle through my pockets.

"Bella, what are you…?" She tapped my mouth again lightly with her hand, asking me to be quiet again. She finally found what she was looking for in my back pocket—my iPod—and shoved the headphones into my ears.

"Bella…" I tried to take one out, but she placed her hand over my ear, telling me to keep it there. Confused—and a little nervous—I did as she asked. Then, she cranked up the volume and shoved the iPod back into my pocket. I cringed at the sudden blast of music. Before I could sign to ask her what was happening, she pushed me back with all of her strength. The back of my knees hit the top of the low, wooden fence, and I flipped over the fence, down a sand dune, and into the beach grass with a painful thud.

I stood, ruffling my hair to dislodge the sand and dry grass, and took two steps back up the dune to ask Bella what the hell she was doing. When I got into view of the ocean, I immediately ducked back behind the fence. Past Bella, I could make out the shape of a human torso, and the shape of a tail flipping in and out of the shallow water.

Another mermaid.

The mermaid crawled through the foam, towards Bella. As she got closer, I could see her face in the pale moonlight. She had the same perfect features as Bella, but something in her expression made them more striking than beautiful. Where Bella's soft perfection warmed and soothed the heart, this other mermaid caught my attention like a snare, and I felt trapped in her presence.

Brow furrowed in both frustration and fear, Bella's lips began to move.

I was struck with sudden awe.

Bella was speaking.

Without even realizing I was doing so, my fingers stroked at the headphones in my ears, itching to remove them. I wanted to hear her voice—no, I needed to hear her voice. I dreamed of how her voice would sound countless times—it was as beautiful as she was, high and bright, more melodious than my favorite song. I had to listen.

The second mermaid seemed entertained by whatever Bella was saying. Lips curled into a venomous smile, she pinched the hem of Bella's dress and rubbed the fabric between her fingers. She said something, to which Bella responded, then, the mermaid's hand curled into a fist and yanked on Bella's dress, causing her to stumble into the sand.

Seeing someone's hands on Bella snapped me out of my stupor, and I sprang out of the sand and stepped behind Bella. As I tried to help her stand, Bella's head whipped around, terrified over my appearance. Once I had her upright, she tried to push me away again, but I wouldn't budge, refusing to let her face anything alone.

The mermaid was dry enough to stand with us. Her animal-like gaze shifted onto me, and I could feel her taking me in from head to toe. When her eyes finally met mine, they were so dark and cold they were almost black—nothing like Bella's warm, chocolate eyes. She spoke to me, but the thumping bass from headphones kept me from hearing her voice.

Whatever she said, Bella didn't like it. Bella retorted furiously. The mermaid laughed and said something else that caused Bella to flinch back.

The mermaid reached her hand towards me, but Bella caught it in hers and forced it back, presumably saying a threat, but I couldn't hear. The mermaid pouted prettily and said something that seemed mocking, but Bella stood her ground better this time and snapped back immediately. After giving me one long, last look, the mermaid turned back towards the ocean. Gracefully, she ran through the shallow water and dove into a wave, disappearing beneath the surface.

As soon as I was sure it was safe, I pulled out my headphones and shook my head, as if I could dislodge the music that hurt my eardrums. I was shocked to realize that Bella was struggling to stand on her trembling knees. I took her into my arms and lowered us to the ground, trying my best to calm her with sweet nothings and loving pats. Eventually, the shaking stopped, and her breathing slowed and evened.

"Bella? Who was that?"

"My sister."

"What did she want?"

It took a moment for Bella to gain enough courage to look me in the eye. "You."

Please believe that I do not approve of foster sibling relationships in real life. I'm just poking fun at the canon cover story a bit because it is truly ridiculous. It is all in good fun and not to be taken seriously.