He was sitting at one of the four tables, as though waiting for me. After a stunned minute in which I was sure he could hear my heart thudding in my chest, I looked around at the other tables, but none of them were empty. Actually, none of them could have fit another chair on them even if I wanted them to.

The tiny girl who had been at the airport, Alice, slid out of her chair and came up to me. "Hi!" She said brightly, "I'm Alice. You're Angela's cousin, right?"

I nodded. I suppose talk spread in a small town like this. Besides, it wasn't hard to pin me as Angela's relative. Though my hair was darker and I was shorter than her, we still looked like family. Alice was so weird! Not weird as in a freak, but just weirdly friendly, I guess. Especially for a vampire.

"Wanna sit with us? It's just me and my brother."

I glanced over at the table, where Emmett gave me a small wave. I tried not to look at him in the eye, sure that if I did, I'd probably melt into a puddle right there on the linoleum floor.

"Um," I said, not sure if I trusted myself. After all, one smile from him and it was all over...

"It's fine," Alice assured me, and pulled me by my sleeve to their table. I looked wildly around hoping for a waitress to come out so I could just place a to-go order and get out of here as soon as possible, but no such salvation came, and I had no choice but to allow this.

"Here we go," Alice said, giving Emmett a long look. After a second, which I'm sure seemed much longer to the two of them, Alice lightly shoved me in the chair beside Emmett. Grateful that, at least, this wasn't a booth, I scooted (with great difficulty actually; every pore in my body was screaming to be as close to him as possible) my chair as far away from him as I could, to the very corner of the table.

"Em, this is-?" Alice began, raising a perfectly manicured eyebrow at me.

"Oh, right. I'm Kelly."

Alice smiled. "This is Emmett. We live just outside town."

I nodded. "Right. I saw you guys at the airport a few days ago."

"Where did you move from?" Emmett broke in. I clenched my hands around the edge of my chair as his voice sounded exactly as it had last night. Deep, with an underlying tone of excitement, yet always steady. There was nothing else to be said; I had officially lost my mind. How was it possible that I knew such things about him without actually being around him?

"I lived in upstate New York." I said without looking at him, very much aware of our closeness, despite my feeble efforts to put space between us.

"I love New York!" Alice said, and she started going on about the shopping there, and the adorable Gucci dress she'd bought last time she'd gone.

I nodded every now and then, trying to be polite and pay attention, but my focus was solely on Emmett. I could smell him, and though the scent wasn't as strong as last night because we weren't as close, it was still tantalizing and I was steadily losing control of any resolve I had. Not that I wanted to stay away from him, just that I hated that I was wanting what had destroyed my family. It was sick and twisted on universal levels, and I cursed myself that only I could have the luck to move to some poe dunk town like Forks, find the only vampires probably in the entire West, and fall madly in love with one of them, one I barely even knew.

As my mother used to say, such is life.

oooo

Carlisle POV

"Are you sure he'll be...alright?" I asked Edward. It wasn't that I didn't trust my son, of course, merely that I worried for him, like I did all my children. With recent events, it was only wise to question the control of such a strong force like Emmett.

Edward nodded. "He won't hurt her. It's almost as if he can't. Like the idea of her not being here is much more unbearable than the worst of thirsts."

I could relate to this, in some form. My beloved had almost been taken from me once, and though her heart was still beating, she would have certainly passed on if I hadn't stepped in. Her blood was the most indescribably sensuous thing I'd ever encountered, and had it not been for the fact that I'd loved her for years before happening upon her that day, that I knew what it was like to be without her, I surely would have killed her, once I'd given in to biting her.

But I knew that with her, my life would be much more complete than if only my thirst for her blood was quenched. So I returned Edward's smile, knowing that Emmett would, like myself, make the right choice.

oooo

Emmett POV

When she walked in the door, I knew it was her before looking up. Her scent, the unique rhythm of her heart. I was surprised that I was already so tuned to her. I could swear it had take me much longer with Rose to be this familiar. I looked over at Alice, the one who had dragged me along on this little escapade. She smiled loftily at me, then stood from her chair, walking over to the girl.

I should've known Alice had an agenda in bringing me here. I was just along for the ride because we were supposed to go hunting afterward, and Alice was the only one of my family I actually enjoyed hunting with. She was fast and knew where the best game would be, so I'd agreed to make a short stop before heading on into the woods.

My bad, I guess, for not seeing through her. But it wasn't like I was really mad. It was cool to finally stop thinking about this girl and actually see her. She looked like she'd seen a ghost when she looked over at our table, her dark eyes contracting as she glanced at me. I wondered if she'd been thinking about me as much as I'd been thinking about her. She probably thought that last night was a dream. I'd wanted to be there when she'd woken up, but my gut was telling me that it was too soon for that. I didn't know what was really gonna happen between us, so I'd left before she'd started to wake up.

I was more aware of her than I had ever been of anybody, and that was something new and exciting and maybe even scary all at the same time. I was zoned in on her, like I was a jet aiming for a target to bomb. Alice drug her to our table, more or less shoving her into the chair next to me. The girl scooted her chair to the very edge of the table, as though I was contaminated. I looked at Alice, who still had that annoying smile on her face.

"Em, this is-?"

"Oh, right. I'm Kelly." Her voice had an edge to it, not rude or anything, just kind of like she wanted to let people know that she wasn't down with a lot of talk.

"This is Emmett. We live just outside town."

"Right, I saw you guys at the airport a few days ago."

She wasn't looking at me, or at Alice, instead focused on the napkin dispenser in the middle of the table. I wanted to hear more of that voice, to know more about her. Alice nudged me under the table with her foot.

"Where did you move from?" I asked, turning to look at her. She tightened her grip on the edge of the chair, her knuckles showing white under her skin. What was with her? She wasn't scared, at least not that I could smell or tell.

"I lived in upstate New York." She said after a moment, still not looking at me. Alice started blabbing on about some stupid ass shopping trip she'd taken there, giving me an opportunity to just be by Kelly. Her scent was as strong as last night, and I had the same desire to hold her close to me (it was weird, but my thirst wasn't bugging as bad as it usually did when I was this close to humans. I'd have to think about that later and figure out why). While her eyes, for now anyway, didn't have the same loneliness that they did at the airport, I never wanted her to have to feel that way again. I wanted to protect her, to not just keep her safe but to be there for her, to be there by her.

"Sorry," A voice broke in, not really sounding sorry at all, and I turned to see a girl from Alice's class, looking harassed and pulling out a pad. "Know what you want?"

"Pepperoni okay with you?" Alice asked Kelly, who gave her a slightly confused look but nodded.

"A large pepperoni, and three milks, please." Alice said, and the girl whirled away without responding.

"What a bitch." Kelly said, her eyebrow lifted after the girl.

Alice nodded. "Agreed. But you know, she's always like that. Her name's Lauren, and as a rule she doesn't like other girls, and she doesn't like my brothers or Jaz because they won't go out with her."

Kelly rolled her eyes. "I love girls like that. They're my favorite."

For as closed off as Kelly wanted to be, at least that was the vibe she put out there, she seemed to be opening up pretty well. Maybe she was just making an effort. New town, new people, I guess.

It was stupid that I wanted to think it was because of me, because of me being here. Out of the corner of me eye I saw Kelly glance over at me for a second, then grin as she hurriedly averted her eyes.

Maybe it wasn't so stupid after all.

oooo

"Can I walk you home?" Emmett asked me, as we left our empty plates and vacated the restaurant. It was dark outside now, still raining. I couldn't deny how nice it would be to have some time with him alone. Not that I would say much, I had barely been able to eat my share of the pizza without looking like an idiot.

"Oh," I said, glancing at Alice, who was looking up at the sky.

"I'll just meet you at home," She said with a wink at her brother, and she turned and began walking down the main road, opposite of the direction I was going.

"Um," I said, as Emmett gestured for me to follow him, "thanks. You know, for the pizza." I had tried to pay for at least my share of the late dinner, but Emmett was having absolutely none of that.

"Welcome." He shrugged, and as I'd said, if he smiled, it would be all over. My legs nearly gave out, and I gripped the nearest object, a green Chevy, and could've sworn I heard a faint, tinkling laugh as I tried to right myself.

"You okay?" Emmett looked back at me.

I cleared my throat, took a deep breath, and nodded. "Dandy." I said, and I hurried to walk beside him, as close as I could get without being invading,.

"Do you like it here? So far?" Emmett asked after a few minute of silence, looking over and down at me.

I held his gaze for a moment, his eyes a slightly darker shade of the caramel brown they had been at the airport, but just as warm. "Yeah," I replied, "there are some things better than others." I said without thinking, then clapped my hands to my mouth, mortified.

Emmett smirked. "Like?"

"Oh, you know." I shrugged, trying to sound indifferent. God, I was such an idiot.

"Yeah..." Emmett trailed off, and he stopped, his icy hand gripping mine and he pulled me back to him, "yeah, I do." He used his free hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his eyes searching mine, his hand hovering between my hair and my cheek. I was sure I had stopped breathing.

"Sleep tight." He said at last, and released my hand, stepping back from me. I looked around, realizing that we were in front of the Weber's house. My house.

"Right. Thanks again." I said, and he gave me a two fingered salute, making sure I was in the house before turning to leave. As I shut the front door behind me I rushed to the living room window, hoping to see him pass, but he was long gone. Stupid vampire speed...stupid vampire in general! I couldn't believe myself, getting all caught up in a cheesy moment like that. I'd promised myself that I would confront them-the Cullens-about what they really were. I'd demand to know why they were here, why they wanted to live like humans.

But of course that hadn't happened. I had basically slobbered and swooned all over Emmett Cullen like a pathetic thirteen year-old fangirl, and I was deeply embarrassed by that, but I couldn't deny that being alone with him and it being actual, not a dream, was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

Stupid vampire.

oooo

Alice POV

I ducked as Emmett, trying to be sneaky, swooped up behind me, trying to get me into a headlock.

"Oh, it's on now, you little freak!" Emmett said, and he tried to come at me again, but I was too fast for him. Knowing his exact movements ahead of time, he didn't stand a chance.

"Alright, fine." He conceded, folding his arm across his chest, "you win. But I'm still pissed."

I laughed. "No you're not! You love it and you love me. Aaaand you love her."

Emmett dropped his hands to his sides. "Negative on all three, little sis."

"Hey!" I protested, "I'm older than you, you palooka. And you can try and deny it all you want, but you wanted to do much more than just hold her hand, didn't you? Geez Em, you're such a perv."

Emmett glared at me, but I knew he wasn't really mad. "Well duh, I'm a vampire and she's a human. I wanted her blood."

I sighed. "Ah, of course. It's only about her blood. Not about the color of her hair or her smile, right? Or how smart you think she is, how easy she is to be around. It was her blood that stopped you from killing her last night, wasn't it? Not how she felt in your arms or-"

"Got it, thanks." Emmett interrupted, peeved that I was hitting home. "Now shut up and let's hunt."

I nodded. "You're going to need it, being one-on-one with with a human girl so much."

I stepped out of the way as Emmett, a grin on his face, barrelled after me once more.

As always, feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks for reading! The next chapter should be out shortly.