Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, I merely play in the sandbox. I lay claim to my original characters.

AN Updated: Thanks Adam's Gurl for Beta'ing this chapter. ~Hannah

Chapter Seven – The Cullen's House

I was strangely nervous to visit the Cullen house. The house in question was an enigma to all.

What secrets lie in wait for me to find?

Of course, this wasn't a horror film and I didn't think the kind of secrets that the school population thought of, would be found in the Cullen's house. I was truly grateful that I'd found such good friends and that I'd been accepted so readily. I had expected it would have taken longer considering that the Cullen's didn't really associate with others. However, I sure wasn't complaining.

Bella was happy for me and that only increased my excitement to visit the house. I don't think there has been a time where I've been this happy. Surely that was cause for much celebration. I tried to ignore the phrase 'what comes up must come down' because I knew I was floating on cloud nine and I didn't want to think of it all crumbling away.

My new name seemed to be Social Pariah, or at least that's what I felt like after my latest confrontation in the cafeteria. I was trying not to let it get to me, I might come across as a strong individual but really I was as fragile as the rest of the kids here. No one does well when they hear the whispers of people talking behind their backs or see the glares in the corridors. It just wasn't pleasant.

Bella joked that I now had friends I could count on two hands. When we were younger, she often asked me to count my friends and I would always put up one finger. She was the only friend I thought I needed, I never entertained the possibility that I would need more.

Alice was bouncing in her seat, perhaps with more excitement than I felt. It amazed me how quickly we had become friends, and I now couldn't imagine my life without her. She had a way of lighting up the room and coaxing even the most hidden secrets from you. No one would ever replace Bella in my heart, but Alice was well on her way to becoming my second-best friend.

To be honest, I felt a little lost. This wasn't usual. Normally I'm very good at remembering facts and things that have happened to me during my day. Bella calls this version of me the 'crazy jumping lady'. FYI, that just means I'm super excited and when I'm super excited I tend not to remember anything I've done in the day prior to that which is causing me to be so crazy.

It's true, I honestly cannot remember what happened in school today. I was probably walking around like a complete zombie. Heaven forbid if I drooled without realising it! All I could think about was my excitement in visiting the Cullen's house. I'd also be meeting their parents and, though I'd heard good things about them from Dad, I was a little anxious.

Dad had always drilled into me that it was good manners to arrive at someone's house for the first time with a gift. I'd seen the lack of food eating at school and though I thought it a little strange I didn't judge. That immediately ruled out the thought of bringing food or wine as a gift. Dad had mentioned that Mr. Cullen was a doctor and I'd found an article on Buzzfeed titled '21 things only a doctor would know'. I compiled the article together in book form and made it look semi-presentable. When in doubt I knew a homemade gift always did wonders. For Mrs. Cullen, I'd gone down the classic route and got some flowers. They were a beautiful array of tulips and roses. Brightly coloured ones that would pop out against the green background of Forks.

In case you wondered how I'd kept the flowers hidden and hydrated while I was at school, I left them with the school's receptionist who kindly put them in water for me.

As I neared Edward's silver car – for Alice had informed me that that would be the car taking us to their place – I felt my gut churn uncomfortably. What if they didn't like the presents? Or thought I was weird for bringing them? Giving gifts was generally an adult thing and only done when invited to someone's house for dinner, yet I had still done it. It had never let me down before.

Edward was the first to arrive at his car, then Rose, Alice and Jasper, and Emmett brought up the rear.

"Why are you carrying flowers?" asked Edward.

I blushed, I was so hoping they wouldn't ask. I know, stupid me; of course they would wonder about the flowers.

"They're um, a thank you for your mum, for… you know, uh, letting me into your home."

Hmm, I could have said that better but at least I didn't stutter.

My eyes darted up from the ground and caught looks of confusion and awe before I lost my nerve and reverted my gaze back to my shoes.

"I got something for your Dad as well."

"That's incredibly kind of you Ella but you didn't have to," said Rose.

"Dad always said it was important to thank people when they invited you into their home. I didn't want to let him down now and you've all been so kind to me. I know letting someone into your home is a first and I wanted to thank your parents for allowing it." I shrugged my shoulders. I didn't do well with this kind of attention. Give me a group of strangers and I was fine. A group of people I knew however always left me in a mess. I still cried when people tried to sing happy birthday to me. I knew I was still blushing and I clenched the hand that wasn't holding the flowers in an attempt to reassure myself that there was no need to panic.

"We should go. Ella, you can ride in the front next to Edward," said Alice.

I nodded. The door was opened for me by Edward and I slipped into the seat. Even though I'd said goodbye to Bella earlier, I still waved at her from across the carpark. She had a big smile on her face and blew out a deep breath as she gave me the thumbs up. She was reminding me to relax. I'd be so lost without her here to guide me.

The ride to the Cullen's house was quiet; apart from Alice's rambles, that is. I was content just to look out my window and watch as the landscape passed me by. There was so much green, but it was so pretty. I loved to imagine what was hidden in the luscious landscape, what secrets had been whispered to the trees and what tragic events the forests had witnessed. I guess my mind had a way of running away from itself because, feeling a nudge on my shoulder, I realised we'd arrived without me even noticing.

The house had a way of bringing warmth to your soul. That's the only way I could describe it. Nestled in the forest behind it, it was modern but had a certain fairy-tale feel to it. I could see that a lot of effort had been put into the creation of this house, it obviously meant something to the Cullen's. I guess it was a place they could be themselves without having to hide. I gathered they hid a lot from the way the people at school treated them.

I was eying up Rose's car when she parked it. I hadn't even noticed what she'd been driving before. I couldn't tell you much about cars other than what colour they were and whether I thought they were pretty or not. Rose's car was pretty.
"Do you like cars?"

I jumped, not realising that Rose had parked her car and had come to stand beside me.

"I don't know anything about them but it's certainly pretty."

Rose smiled.

"I do know what car I'd like to own though."

Rose raised her eyebrow and waited.

"A mini, the colour of freshly cut grass. That's my dream car."

"Why don't you have a car? Can't you drive?"

"Oh, I can drive but Dad's not made of money. Besides we needed something to sweeten the move for Bella. That dying truck did it for her. She won't let me drive it but I wouldn't want to; the thing would probably die on me!"
We'd reached the front steps of the house now and Rose had

pushed the door open, waiting for me to enter. I realised that the others had already made their way inside while we were talking.

Walking in I realised the inside was even more beautiful than the outside. If I had a house like this, I would never leave it! I couldn't see the others and my confusion must have shown on my face, for Rose answered for me.

"Kitchen."

Foolishly, I felt like I was walking towards my doom – or the dentist – when, in reality, I was just walking towards my friends and their parents. I didn't really know what to expect but I didn't think I would be treated to the site of the Cullen's making food.

All movement seemed to stop as I came into the room. Or rather, a beautiful woman with wavy brown hair stopped in her ministrations and came to stand before me with an impossibly tall and calm looking man by her side.

"You must be Ella; my children have told me so much about you. I'm Esme and this is my husband Carlisle."

Beautiful names for beautiful people.

"It's nice to meet you, thank you for allowing me into your home. I brought you these."

My voice was steady; I was extremely pleased to note. I handed the flowers to Esme and the homemade booklet to Carlisle. I waited to see if there was going to be a fallout. I'd hate to have offended the two of them.

"These are beautiful Ella, they smell wonderful. Alice, go fetch me the vase from the living room. I want these in pride of place."

I blushed, I couldn't tell whether Esme was being serious in her appreciation or not. I hoped it was the former, I'd be gutted if she was just humouring me.

Carlisle was still reading the booklet I gave him, a small smile etched on his face.
"Thank you, Ella, this is most kind."

I nodded, again the attention had turned towards me in a way I was uncomfortable with. My anxiety about the situation was making me panic and I really didn't want to embarrass myself.

"I'm making Italian for you Ella, and some snacks. My children might not like eating in public, but they've been telling me that you don't eat enough! So I want you to eat everything I give you ok?"

I felt very much like a scolded child. All I could do was nod, anything more and I would have crumbled.

There it was again though, that nod to the fact that the Cullen's didn't eat in public. Thousands of thoughts swirled around my head. All of them slightly impossible. It didn't really matter, for I'd still accept them regardless of what issues they had but it was kind of like not being included in the secret. I felt a little miffed but if they wanted to tell me they would – lord knows I kept many things hidden as well. Wouldn't it be cool though if they were a myth come to life? Crazy right. Just so you know, I'm still waiting for my Hogwarts letter. I may be seventeen, but I hadn't given up hope that I might be a witch just yet.

"We should get started on our art project," said Alice.

I allowed her to lead me away, Jasper closely following us.

I was strangely unsurprised to find that the Cullen's had their own art studio. I imagined that this house was actually larger than it appeared. I settled myself into a chair and looked up at Alice, only to find her looking expectantly at me. It was a little unnerving.

"What do you think we should do?" she asked.

It was almost as if she knew I already had an idea. I narrowed my eyes at her but she just looked at me with innocence etched into her face. So I ignored the feeling in my stomach and got out what I had.

I'd printed off several brightly colour mosaic pictures from Google along with some stained-glass window pictures from various churches. I'd also sketched out a couple of things I thought we could use. I waited nervously as Alice and Jasper looked over the work that I'd done.

"This is fantastic!" Alice shouted, "What mediums were you thinking of using?"

"Urh, well, I thought of acrylic, watercolour, pencil, pen, crayon, tissue paper and maybe glitter?"

Jasper was nodding as I listed off things and Alice looked fit to burst.

"Do you want to draw the outlines for us?"

I looked at Jasper confused.

"Don't you guys want to have some say in what we create? Maybe you could draw parts of it?"

I didn't like the idea that they were sacrificing their own ideas in favour of mine.
"Why don't you draw what you have in mind and then we'll add any bits that we want."

I nodded. That could work, I suppose.

Alice brought out a sheet of A1 paper and a pencil. I took it from her and from the moment I put the pen nib to paper, I forgot all that was around me and was engrossed in the world of art. Of course, Alice didn't let me forget when snacks arrived from Esme. With a couple of prods and reminders, I forced myself to eat and work. I had to admit, Esme was an excellent cook, I would happily eat anything she cooked for the rest of eternity.

The finished outline had taken me a good hour, but I thought it was pretty good. At a glance, it looked like a beautiful landscape but if you took a closer look you could see all manner of creatures and patterns hidden within.

"You've made some excellent progress."

I jumped, these Cullen's were sneaky, maybe they were ninjas. I never hear them coming when they sneak up on me.

"It was all Ella, isn't she talented?" said Alice.

Edward nodded. "Dinner is ready; I came to drag Ella away."

Alice nodded, "OK, Jasper and I are going to stay and add some bits to the drawing. Is that ok Ella?"

I nodded, happy that it wasn't just going to be my input reflected in our project. I allowed Edward to lead me back to the kitchen. Honestly, I would have probably gotten lost without him.

"I made Italian pasta with mushrooms and a cheese sauce, is that alright?" asked Esme.

"More than alright, I love mushrooms."

Mushrooms are the bomb.

Esme smiled at me, then left the kitchen, leaving me to eat and Edward to stare at me. It was a little unnerving actually and I was glad when he started to talk.

Finishing my dinner happily I was glad the sauce hadn't been tomato, as I'm sure it would have been all over my face! Edward had been chatting with me while I ate. Actually, it was more of a one-sided conversation; he talked, and I listened while I ate.

I felt so at home here that I could see the house becoming my home away from home. It was so peaceful and welcoming.

"Come with me, I want to show you something," said Edward.

I began walking towards Edward and tripped. Bella seemed to be rubbing off on me.
My hand caught Edward's. It was cool, comforting. He looked alarmed, but I didn't see why. Some people had cold hands, some people had warm hands, it didn't really matter to me.

Edward led me to... surprise, surprise... a music room. There was a black grand piano sitting in pride of place in the middle of the room.

I looked at the piano in awe and then looked back at Edward. I suspected what he might be wanting but needed confirmation of it.

"I haven't heard you play yet; you always wear headphones when you play at school."

He was right, I'd been nervous at school so far, not wanting others to hear me play in case they didn't like what they heard.

"You promise you won't watch me?" I asked.

I hoped I didn't sound too much like a scared child when I asked that question.
Edward nodded and gestured for me to sit at the piano. I sat and stared at the keys. I didn't know what to play. A thousand songs danced in my mind, but I couldn't pick a single song. Then I had a thought. There was a song Bella had introduced me to, she called it 'the perfect song for me'. I guess she was right, it pretty much captured my life and how I never backed down even when life crumbled. Edward was only expecting me to play the piano, not to sing as well. Both Bella and Dad said I had a good voice, I usually didn't sing in front of others and I was nervous to attempt it now, but they'd been so kind to me. The least I could do was give back.

I began the intro to the song, getting lost in the tones of the piano. I'd almost forgotten Edward was in the room when I began singing.

"Like a small boat
On the ocean
Sending big waves
Into motion..."

This song was like a mantra to me, encouraging me to fight on even when I was down in the dumps and life wasn't going the way I wanted it too. I poured all my emotion into the songs I sang – that's what Bella said. I never really noticed I was doing it unless I was singing this song. Something about this song just made me determined to get everything I was feeling across to others and to reassure myself that life got better.

"This is my fight song
Take back my life song
Prove I'm alright song
My power's turned on
Starting right now I'll be strong
I'll play my fight song
And I don't really care if nobody else believes
'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me..."

I knew this song so well I could play it in my sleep. My eyes closed as my fingers danced across the keys. The melody consumed my soul and plunged me into a world of magic.

"Like how a single word
Can make a heart open
I might only have one match
But I can make an explosion..."

I didn't want to stop playing; I wanted to get lost in the music. I was terrified that I'd stop and be outed as a terrible singer and a horrible player. I could never quite believe my abilities; it was something I needed to work on. It hadn't helped when I was younger that Renee would constantly tell me that my hobbies were a waste of space and that I should be doing something worthwhile. It had led me to doubt the talents I had, and I cursed Renee every day for impacting my life so negatively.
"And I don't really care if nobody else believes

'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me
No, I've still got a lot of fight left in me..."

As the last note sounded on the piano I braced myself for Edward's reaction and was awarded a round of clapping. Clapping that sounded significantly louder than if it came from one person. I whipped around and had my theory confirmed, standing before me were all the Cullen's. I felt myself blush scarlet, this is why I could never be famous, I don't like attention.

"Sorry. Edward asked me to play something," I said quietly.

"I didn't know you could play that well," he replied.

"You never asked!"
The Cullen's chuckled.

"You're welcome to play the piano anytime you come over Ella. You might even give Edward a run for his money," said Esme.

I smiled and thanked her. I was pleased that I'd impressed them enough to be allowed back into their home.

(Song lyrics – 'Fight Song' by Rachel Platten)