A/n: you know, i truly have no clue whatsoever as to why i chose this quote for this chapter. no clue. seriously.

anyways, i was gonna update tomorrow, seeing as more people would be awake then, cause its like 11:30 here and 2:30 on the east coast, so yeah. but anyways, thanks for the reviews guys.

"It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on. Just try your best, try everything you can. And don't you worry what they tell themselves when you're away. It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle…" – The Middle, Jimmy Eat World.

The first few months in Denali were pure torture for Edward. He sat in his room, didn't move a muscle, nothing. He only left when it was absolutely necessary that he hunt. His family, and sometimes even the Denali coven, would try to talk to him, but nothing worked. He had retreated to place within himself that only he could pull himself out of. I was worried that he wouldn't have the strength to do so, though.

I had learned quite a few things from simple observation, because well, that's all I really had. The Cullens were different from most vampires. They chose to live a life of abstinence from human blood and they only drank from animals. I had to give them credit for their self-control.

This little piece of information also opened up the door as to why Edward was so affected by my death. I now knew why he was so upset with himself. Edward was so used to being in complete control of his thirst, that he developed a sort of ego. He never slipped. But when I came along, I challenged everything. I was the one exception to his excellent control.

Anyways, watching Edward constantly brood got old after about three weeks. I wanted to help him, I really did, but what's the dead girl supposed to do? I could only watch and hope that he got better. I could only pretend that he heard me talking to him.

So I started hanging out with various members of the family. I would look over Jaspers shoulder as he read in the library. I accompanied Alice on her shopping trips. Emmett and I watched TV and played video games. I observed Carlisle at work and I watched Esme design the new house they were going to build.

I usually steered clear of Rosalie. She wasn't much of an interest to me. Her character just didn't appeal. Rosalie was a classic narcissist and she was much too materialistic for my taste. But her love for tinkering with cars did interest me to the point where I ignored how much I disliked her and watched her in the garage. After a few days of that I could pretty much tell you all the parts of a car engine. Though how that was going to help me in the future, I really didn't know.

I mostly stayed away from the Denali coven, too. I sometimes stayed close to Tanya or Carmen but I usually left the family on their own. They just didn't interest me the way the Cullens did.

Okay, so I have to admit that I lied when I said that I permanently said goodbye to my father. I did check up on him, once. It was right after my funeral. I had to make sure he was going to be okay. And he was. Charlie was going to get through this. I mostly had Jacob to thank for that. I was forever in his debt.

My mother was in pretty much the same shape that Charlie was. They were two broken people who had lost their one and only daughter. I didn't worry about Renee, though, because she had Phil to fall back on. Charlie had no one except his friends.

I watched in wonder as the construction of the new Cullen household began about four months after they moved to Denali. I knew from Esme's blueprints that the house was going to beautiful, but seeing it come to life in front of me was something entirely different. And the fact that a couple families of vampires were building it didn't lessen the awe I was experiencing.

Esme truly had a gift for architecture and interior design. It was such a shame that she could only share that gift with her family. Esme would be as famous as Frank Lloyd Wright if she were ever discovered.

Things were starting to get back to normal within the family. Edward was still retreated into himself, but his siblings and his parents were moving on. I was beginning to observe more and more just how much this family acted like a bunch of teenagers.

Like right now.

"Just give me the remote and I won't have to hurt you," Alice held out her hand to Emmett, who was still in his seat on the couch.

Emmett scoffed. "Like you could hurt me."

She raised an eyebrow and she said, "You really want to test me?" But what she was really thinking was, "do you not remember what happened last time?"

I'd love to see little Alice beat up on Emmett. It was probably hilarious.

"Can't we just watch sports center?"

"Nope," Alice shook her head. "Now hand over the remote."

"Please?" he begged, clutching the small device to his chest like a child.

Alice sighed. "Em, I've already seen how this is going to play out. You're going to give me that remote whether you like it or not."

But Emmett still wouldn't let go of the remote. I really wished I was alive at that moment so I could sit on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and cheer one of them on.

Alice narrowed her eyes and planted her feet further into the floor to steady herself. Before I knew it, she was flying through the air, hurdling toward her brother on the couch. And so began the infamous wrestling match of May 2005.

I watched and laughed as Alice got the upper hand on the situation. She had Emmett pinned on the ground, but the remote was still securely in his right hand. Such a shame that Alice was so short, or else she would have been able to reach it without shifting her weight too much. Suddenly Emmett had Alice pinned on the floor and he was holding her with one hand while picking himself up.

What he didn't see was Alice's leg, and she managed to trip him. Emmett fell to the ground with a big thud. At this point, Jasper entered the room and stood on the sidelines to watch the even take place. I stood beside him, watching the festivities and silently wondering what Edward was doing in his room.

Needless to say, Alice ended up winning. I didn't really see how, though. Especially since Esme came in and started beating them both with a broom and told them not to wrestle in the house. I didn't see how a plastic broom would hurt them, though.

Whatever. It was entertaining.