TODAY'S QUOTE:

I hope the guy that created autocorrect burns in hello.

"Do you think she's okay?"

"32 seconds, now."

"Watch out, she's burning up again."

"Oh, I hope she's okay."

"Alice, when?"

"15 seconds."

The voices were getting louder, and I tried to roll over to block out the noise, but found that I couldn't. Something was holding me with a vice-like grip, any yet I felt… safe.

I fluttered my eyes, blinking furiously at the lights, though they weren't as in my face as I thought they might've been.

"Hey, sweetheart," my angel said, staring down at me. How could I not recognise that voice, that too perfect face, of Carlisle.

I pushed myself out of his arms, almost falling over in the process. "No, no, you can't…"

I tried to take in my surroundings. I was in a living room, that much was obvious. Carlisle was still sitting on the couch looking heart-broken, and part of me wanted to console him. Esme and the Cullen children, minus Edward, were standing over by a piano, each looking concerned.

"Hello, Morgana," Esme said, a sweet smile on her lips.

"No, no," I said, frantically backing up. "You can't, I can't. No!"

I knew that I had told myself I could deal with the vampires at school, where there were other humans. Here, though? In what I assumed was there house? A place with no others? I was scared shitless.

"Don't be worried, darlin'," Jasper said, and I felt a wave of calmness wash over me so heavily that I nearly fell asleep.

"Jasper! Too much!" Rosalie hissed. The feeling pulled back, and I looked at Jasper curiously.

"Are you going to eat me?" I asked, my expression vacant and voice rather blaise.

"Well, Carlisle migh-". Rosalie elbowed Emmett in the stomach harshly, and the rebounding boom made me jump.

It was Alice who answered my question. "Nope!" she said cheerily. "You smell weird, like ashes and gunpowder. Ugh!"

I raised my eyebrow. She wanted to talk weird?

"You smell fine," Rosalie said, breathing in deeply. "Just not to eat."

"What, so anyone else smells like food?" I asked sarcastically. It was really strange how well I was handling it.

"No," Carlisle said softly. "We eat animals."

He gestured for me to sit down next to him, but I instead took a step back, ignoring his hurt yet understanding look.

"So. Vampires, huh?"

"So, elemental, huh?" Emmett asked laughingly, his voice loud as ever.

I rolled my eyes. "Animals?"

"Yes," Carlisle said. "There are those that eat humans, of course."

"Of course," I muttered. "Perfectly normal diet."

"But we prefer to hunt from animals," he continued. "We call ourselves vegetarians. Our own inside joke, if you will. That's why we have gold eyes. But they turn black when we're thirsty."

I shuddered. I tried to think about what contacts I had in. Thankfully I was wearing hot pink.

"I'm sorry, you must be freezing," Carlisle said. I was still wearing my skirt and crop top, and a quick look at my watch told me it was nearly one am. It was raining, too. I could hear the pattern on the roof, and se it through one of the ginormous windows they had that doubled as a wall.

I blushed. "I don't really get cold. Like I can feel it, and everything, it just doesn't bother me."

"You're just like us," Emmett laughed. I tried to not gag at that idea. There was a fine line between mildy accepting vampires, and being like one.

"Right."

Well this was awkward. I rolled my eyes, and contemplated stomping my foot like a bratty child. "So blood, strength, what else?"

"Super human speed, good hearing, blood-lust," Rosalie started listing. "Sparkle in the sunlight, venom, no sleep,-"

"Wait, go back," I laughed.

"What, blood-lust?" Rosalie asked, holding her hands up in a surrendering pose. "Cause again, animals, and you smell like a furnace."

'No," I said, still laughing. "Sparkling?"

"Hey!" Emmett said, hands on his hips. "It's cool."

"It's adorable."

"It's totally badass," he defended.

"No, I'm the badass. You sparkle."

Carlisle chuckled loudly, and I found it endearingly sweet. Emmett growled, honest to god growled, and appeared in front of me with no warning.

"Say that again," he snarled into my ear, and my heart thumped wildly.

I kneed him in the crotch instinctively, putting all my heat into it, making him jump up in pain into the roof before landing crouched on the floor. Carlisle was at my side, standing protectively in front of me, and I maneuvered myself around him.

"Too soon, babe," Rosalie said, with no compassion for her boyfriend.

"I take it back," Emmett panted. "You're the badass. Sorry, Shortcake. I'll fix the roof, Esme."

She just smiled. "I know you will, dear."

"So…" I said, clutching at straws. Again, this had been turned into something very awkward. "Where's Bella?"

"Angela and Jessica think you went home with Edward and Bella, and Bella actually is with Edward, having dinner in Port Angeles. She thinks you passed out from smoke fumes, and is very worried, but Edward is distracting her." Alice said this very quickly, and with her eyes closed. I decided to ignore that for now.

"I'll bet," Emmett said, flashing me a grin. I rolled my eyes.

"Are the m-"

"Dead and dying," Alice said bluntly, her eyes still closed. I should feel bad, but I felt… good? Was that wrong?

"You should go," Carlisle said quietly, from beside me. I felt a flash of hurt, but I understood. "It's late, and you need sleep."

"And you don't?" I retorted, jumping as Rosalie disappeared and returned just as suddenly with my bag. "Thanks," I said to her. She smiled.

"No," Carlisle said, walking at a human speed till he was in front of me, his face very docile looking, his eyes downcast. "We don't sleep."

"Oh." How do you respond to that? Blood, sure. Sparkling, I'd deal with that later. But no sleep? "That must give you a lot of free time."

"Yes," he said, looking up and finally meeting my eyes. "I often take shifts at the hospital at night because it's much easier for myself."

I tried to ignore the whole, 'vampire working as a doctor,' thing.

"I um, I should go," I said, looking for an exit. "Thank you," I said to the group, but I knew it was really meant for Carlisle. "I would have burned the whole place down, so I'm glad you stopped me."

The corners of Carlisle's mouth tugged up, and he nodded his assent. He looked at Alice, and she waved cheerily, her mouth moving indecipherably.

"I'll escort you," he said to me. He tried to take my bag for me but I held onto it tightly.

"I'm fine."

He frowned, but said nothing. He took my arm and led me outside. "Can I?" He held his arms out.

"Can you what?" I asked, feeling completely confused.

"Run you home," he said simply, as though that cleared everything up.

"You're going to need to explain that a little more, hon."

"We're very fast," he said, smiling his perfect smile. Ugh, snap out of it! "And strong. If you let me carry you, you'll get home very fast."

I bit my lip, something I had been doing more since I started living with Bella.

"Okay," I said. He picked me up bridal style, like he must've done in Port Angeles.

"Close your eyes," he whispered into my ear. I did, though my brain was telling me I really should not trust a vampire, even if they ate animals, and I felt wind rushing against me as we moved at a very fast pace.

It was only seconds later that he set me down on my feet and I opened my eyes again to my porch.

"Are you okay?" he asked, as though I might faint from shock.

"That was so cool," I squealed, before blushing. What was happening to me? "I love speed!"

He laughed again. "I'm glad you enjoyed it," he said, his eyes filled with mirth.

"I should get inside," I said, my hand on the door handle. "Thank you, again, Carlisle."

"Of course."

"So you're sure you're okay?" Bella asked for the millionth time.

"Yes, Isabella."

"Edward said you inhaled a lot of smoke, are your lungs fine?"

"Yes."

"What about coughing? Wheezing, short breath?"

"No, Isabella."

She studied me carefully, before sitting on my bed and pulling me down with her. The second I got home she had ambushed me, dragging me up so she could play the big sister role.

"Okay," she said, finally deciding I was okay. "So I went to dinner with Edward."

I tried to pretend this was news to me. "Really? How'd that go?" I asked, not looking up from my nails. There was so much grime under them.

"It was really good, only this waitress was totally checking him out the whole time."

"That sucks."

"Yeah! I mean, what right did that, that slut have to look at Edward!"

I raised my eyebrows at her, and she flopped against the bed. I'm pretty sure that was the first time she had ever sworn. Either I was a bad influence, or she was just that possessive over her boy-toy.

"Quite a few, actually," I said, standing up, and changing into a long purple shirt that reached my knees and I was sure belonged to Dad but had somehow made its way to my room.

I flung my old shirt and skirt at Bella, and they covered her face. "Unless you had something interesting to tell me, besides your growing jealousy, you're quite welcome to leave. I do need sleep at some point."

"No, no, I actually did." She tried to throw the clothes back at me, but they ended up flying past me and ending up hitting the door before falling in a pile on my floor.

"Great shot, Bells," I said sarcastically.

"Haha. Anyway, Edward can read minds."

If I had any water in my mouth, I would have spat it right out with that statement. "Yes, Bella, and the Cullens are vampires," I said, trying to keep my face blank. "I also shoot fireballs, and the Quiluletes are wolves."

She rolled her eyes. "Very funny. So you heard the legends too?"

I forgot that Bella went to La Push a few days ago, when I decided it wasn't worth going with all the Forks population heading there too. She must've heard them from someone.

"Yeah," I said slowly. "Leah told me."

"I'm not making this up," she said, crossing her heart.

"I didn't say that. I just implied Edward was."

I didn't believe that though. Vampires and firewhips were kinda big, so reading minds wasn't such a stretch.

"I promise you, Morgana, he can read minds."

"Good to know."

"I thought you'd believe me," she whined. "Wasn't it you who used to claim you didn't mean to burn anything down, that it just happened?"

That hurt. So I could say those things, and she'd never believe me, but the second Edward told her he could read fucking minds, then sure, he was clearly telling the truth.

"Right," I laughed with no feeling. "Well, it seems like you're happy to go hang with Edward the Mind Reader, so, thanks for stopping by, love ya, see you in the morning."

I pulled her off the bed and shoved her out the door, ignoring her complaints. Why did she have to do this to me? As soon as we start to get along, she has to put her foot in her mouth.

And now, not only did I have to deal with my own problems, I had to live with vampires and freaking mind readers! I needed coffee.

I didn't sleep well that night, I kept getting up to shut the window, and falling asleep, and then I'd wake up and open it, and then fall asleep and repeat the whole process for literally no reason.

So it wasn't a surprise to me that when my alarm finally went off and I could get up at a normal hour, that I maybe wasn't going to be in the best of moods.

I dressed in a calf length, long sleeved dress, with a high collar, and did my hair with little braids spun into a few big ones. It was maybe a bit much for school, but just because I felt like crap, it didn't mean I had to look like it too. It was a small hassle getting onto my bike, but it was somehow easier with flowing skirts than the tight outfit I had yesterday.

When I arrived at school, I parked under a shady tree, and not three seconds later, Rosalie's BMW arrived right next to me despite the completely empty parking lot. Clearly I was a lot earlier than I should've been.

"Morning, shortcake," Emmett said, speeding out of the car and lifting me up off the bike and onto the ground. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like a rock," I said blandly. "Is Edward a mind reader?"

Rosalie got out of the car eloquently and smiled. "Alice said Bella would tell her," she sung sweetly to Emmett, who groaned but handed her money.

"I thought Ana would kick her out faster."

"What, is Alice psychic, or something?" I asked, ignoring Emmett.

"Yes," Rosalie said bluntly. "And Edward reads minds, and Jasper is an empath."

I tried to hide my shock, but I don't think it worked. "Has he, has he read mine?"

"Yes." She pursued her lips. "He can read anyones except Bella's. Yours and Charlie's is kinda hazy, but Bella's is like a brick wall. He can't get into it. You'll learn to block him out."

"Oh," I said quietly. "Good to know."

"Are you going to sit with us today?" Emmett asked, breaking the silence. "We can explain some more, if you'd like?"

How did you respond to that?

"Sure," I finally answered, before dragging out my phone so I could show Rosalie some pictures of dogs. "I'm thinking of convincing Dad to let me get one, so I can have some company on my hikes. Which one do you reckon looks cuter?"

"I'm sorry we abandoned you," Angela said, when I sat down at our biology table.

"It's fine. I took a bit too long with my books, so I just got a ride with Bella."

"As long as you were okay," she said, looking worried.

"Perfectly fine," I said, flashing her a quick smile. "Are you excited for the dance?"

"Yeah, Ben is so sweet, he says we'll go get dinner before, and then we're going out to ice cream after," she squealed. I was honestly happy for her - she seemed to really like Ben. "Are you still going?"

"Yeah, with the Cullens." I think.

Edward turned around in his seat and gave me a small nod that made me shudder. Stay out of my mind! I thought angrily.

He mouthed the word 'sorry', before turning back around and starting to talk Bella, who looked back at me and smiled. I rolled my eyes.

I sat down at the table, ready to ask my first question, when Alice started rambling.

"He can't hear anyone, anywhere. He has to be fairly close. The more familiar someone's… 'voice' is, the farther away he can hear them. But still, no more than a few miles." She paused thoughtfully. I looked over at Edward and Bella, who were sitting on the other end of the cafeteria, and they both waved.

I was a officially creeped out. It was a little disconcerting to have someone answer your questions without actually asking them. It was also strange to think that Edward could hear our whole conversation, eve if we were on the other side of the room.

"Welcome to Vampires 101," Emmett laughed loudly. I ignored Emmett's comment, though I did glare at the people that turned to look at us.

"How old-" I started.

"-Edward's a bit under 100, Carlisle's around 300, Rosalie and Emmett are nearly 80, I'm nearly 100, Jasper's nearly 130, and Esme's around 110," Alice said very quickly, guessing my questions. "Carlisle turned us all except Jasper and I."

"Right."

"Ease up, darling," Jasper said.

"Most of us are mated," Rosalie said. "It's like a soulmate. Emmett and I, Jasper and Alice, and Edward and your sister. Esme hasn't got one yet."

I noticed she didn't mention Carlisle's mate.

"So burning in the sun, coffins, mirrors?"

"All myth."

"And instead of dying in a cool and dramatic way, you sparkle?" I asked, laughing at Emmett's disbelieving glare.

"It's not that funny," he said. "Babe, back me up."

Rosalie looked conflicted. Part of her seemed to agree with my humor, the other half wanted to help her boyfri- mate.

She settled for ignoring us both, and passing me a phone number on a piece of paper.

"We still need to talk about our sleepover on the dance night," she said. Alice bounced happily in her seat, and I swore I heard a small crack each time she set her weight on the chair. How strong was she?

"Is it really a sleepover if none of you actually, you know, sleep?" I asked sarcastically.

"It's the idea that counts, Morgana," Alice said, rolling her eyes as though it was something very obvious that she was telling me. "It'll be fun."

"Sure," I said, though my brain and instincts were fighting each other. On one hand, I did want to hang out with them. On the other, a vampire sleepover party? "I'll come."

"Great! Esme will be happy she has someone to cook for."

Thank you so much for all the reviews, favourites, and follows!

I'm sorry for the longs wait, aren't exams such a bore? So far, I think I'm doing okay on them, but only time will tell...

I'm glad so many people want her to be a vampire, so far that's definitively in the lead. I actually put a poll up on my profile, so feel free to go there and put your answer in that, or just review it. Either way, it will all be considered.

I'm glad you liked the crazy lady - it's not set in stone, but I have a feeling she might be making a few appearances.

A little bit corny with the ice powers, so it won't be happening in this story, though it does give me an idea for a possible next one...