Disclaimer: As much as we'd like to claim these characters, nothing Twilight-related belongs to us.

A/N: Not much to say up here; everything you need to know is at the end. :)

Turning Eighteen
By cALLIEfornia BENches

Chapter 7: All Anew; Part 2

We laid there for a long time, neither of us deciding to speak as we immersed ourselves in our thoughts and within the silence. Both of us were never too comfortable, but always on the edge of serenity.

The door swung open quietly, and I felt Isa stiffen beneath me.

It was an odd sight, hearing a soft intake of breath to the side of me; it belonged to neither Isa nor my own mouth. But at that small gasp, my head involuntarily snapped forward, and my body sitting in front of Isa's, eager to protect her with every ounce of energy I mustered. I became rigid, almost stone-like, and my gaze had adjusted instantly to our captor; the small frame of a woman stood amid the dark doorway.

My stiff posture continued as I glared menacingly at the woman before me. I could take her and get Isa out of here... save us.

But before I could move, my piercing stare was met with gentle, light topaz eyes; the woman had decided to venture out of the shadows. She was average height, with caramel hair that had made its way down her back. Her skin looked incredibly pale, almost translucent, under the fluorescent lighting from where she stood. Perhaps it was the contrast between her skin and her brown shirt, I thought. But the instant I saw that stare, my body slackened in strain, and I nearly melted on the floor. Those golden eyes, so peculiar, held unshed tears, and her ethereal face was masked in an odd combination of pain and happiness.

Everything felt so familiar; my entire violent struggle ceased. I must have seen her before. I felt somehow attached to those topaz jewels, as if they held some hidden secret only I understood. The woman herself, pained and glowing, was somewhat known, if not accustomed. Even her pale fingers, which were fidgeting by her sides, seemed recognizable.

I obviously must know her. Why else would she kidnap Isa and I?

But my mind was drawing blank. There was no way I could know this woman. For someone so incredibly unique in her features, I could not pinpoint exactly who she was, regardless of how acquainted I was with how she looked. The woman was no mother or sister belonging to anyone at school I had seen, nor was she someone I had known in California.

Did Isa know her?

I quickly glanced over at Isa, only to be met with the same curious gaze from her chocolate brown eyes; she was gauging my own reactions. It seemed apparent that both of us knew nothing of this woman, but yet I felt like I already knew so much. I was so confused.

One word continued to pop in my head: Familiar.

"Edward."

My thoughts cleared upon hearing her voice.

There was that name again. The very one which the incredibly large guy had said before I was kidnapped. Who was she speaking to? I looked around curiously, eyeing Isa, before setting my gaze back upon the woman. Who was Edward? She must have had the wrong people, mistaken the two of them for people they really wanted to capture.

The clicking of heeled shoes grew louder, and I was pulled out of my questioning trance as the caramel-haired woman earnestly approached me, her hands fidgeting at her side. My mind shouted for me to stiffen up, to slowly inch away, and to defend myself and Isa; she was small enough that I could easily push her out of the way. But my heart, while erratically beating, kept me still, and somehow found the energy to keep me calm. I found no further reason to scurry away.

"Edward."

I couldn't speak. Rather, my mind registered no possible words to be exhumed from my mouth. I simply stared blankly at the woman, even as she surprisingly wrapped her arms quite forcefully, dragging me into what seemed like an embrace.

What was happening?

Her shoulders shook violently as the woman continued to hug me, and I soon realized they were the effect of the long dry sobs wracking through her body. Beside me, Isa began lightly tracing shaped upon my back, as she did in the past to calm me and show support.

I didn't know what to do. Every sensible and logical particle in my body screamed to get away, to push her down and grab Isa towards the door. Logic mapped out each and every step or instruction I could follow towards the escape. And in this very train of thought, Logic was jumping for joy, exclaiming that a miracle had landed at my feet; I could use this woman's vulnerability to my advantage.

And yet, even through all the rationale swimming around in my conscious, I couldn't do it. I wasn't strong enough to obey logic and run away, all the while with myself and Isa, who I loved with all my being, in danger. I was still human, and my heart involuntarily went out towards the weeping lady before me.

So I threw caution to the wind. And I slowly wrapped my arm around her, patting her back petite back gently.

I immediately began to wonder if I had wasted my miracle.

The woman stilled for some time before releasing her grip from me, a pained smile painted upon her lips. She looked as though the tears before had not fallen and had remained shelved on the edges of her lashes.

She gently moved her hand from my shoulder to my chin in a motherly fashion. "Oh Edward," she mumbled, "I've missed you so much."

But before I could respond to her comment, another figure wisped towards the frame of the darkened door, and the sturdy shadow of a man appeared. He bore blond locks, rustled through messily, by the looks of it, with his hands. The man was taller than I was, standing a good two inches more. Scars, though light, etched themselves faintly across his face and arms, adding already to the dark and sickly aura he seemed to create. As he approached bluntly forth, I expected his eyes a royal blue to match his natural blond hair; I was half-surprised to find that he flashed the same shade of color as the woman kneeling inches before me: topaz.

I wanted to say that the two were related; they looked similar in eye color and skin tone. They were both very angular and beautiful. But at the same time, they looked nothing alike.

"Esme, don't touch him. We still have to question them now that they are both awake," the man replied darkly to the lady. Esme... The name rang no bells, and I was utterly confused as to why Isa and I had ended up here.

The smile I had only recently seen plastered upon the woman named Esme's face was gone, and instead replaced with a look of disgust, depression, and much more visible anger. "Do not tell me what I can and cannot do, Jasper. It is quite apparent that you have no authority over me," she muttered through clenched teeth. She turned her body to face the one called Jasper, and her posture slackened.

Jasper slowly marched toward our huddled figures on the bed before speaking once again.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked Isa.

"No."

"Do you know why you are here?"

Isa shook her head hesitantly, fear locked in her eyes.

"What are both your names?" he questioned. His voice was coated with no emotion, but only an authoritative tone. The bluntness of his words seemed to shake the walls, and Isa jumped a little beside me; I was trying desperately to calm her, and my urge to pounce. My arms traced soothingly up and down her arms.

"My name i-is Isa Swanson and h-he is Masen E-edwards," she stuttered.

"No," he stated, "Your name is Bella Swan, and his name is Edward Cullen. You're supposed to be vampires."

Vampires? I almost chuckled aloud at the thought. What was this guy on?

"Stop it, Jasper," Esme interrupted. I quickly diverted my gaze to the fuming figure by the doorway. She was oddly protecting us from him. But she's a bad person, I told myself. She wasn't supposed to withhold any ounce of humanity. I thought it would be natural for her to be alongside her partner, strictly questioning Isa. Instead, she was... defending us.

There was a brief silence before Jasper coughed forcefully. He quickly glanced her way, acknowledging her presence and her words, before focusing his attention back on my girlfriend, with the same authoritative gleam in his eyes.

"As I was saying, your name is Bella Swan, and you," he pointed directly at me with a blank stare, "are Edward Cullen."

Who were Edward and Bella? Surely he just had us confused with someone else. Jasper continued talking, occasionally looking in our direction, and checking our reactions. But after "Edward Cullen," I had numbed out the rest of his words, though I knew I should have listened; what he said could have dictated the course of our lives.

That name sounded so familiar, like the identity and all my answers were weighing themselves on the tip of my tongue; all I had to do was swallow, and then I'd understand.

I wish it was that easy.

This was all too much. My mind was busy dealing with the current situation of being lost and captured. My heart was busy telling my fingers to calmly rub patterns against my love's arm, to soothe her. There were no possible facets to comprehend the mess of information speeding lightly in my direction; my body was merely holding itself up against the sudden force of pressure.

I was only partially pulled out of my reverie through the small fingers that tightened their hold in my hand, and I turned around to see two chocolate brown orbs pierce into mine. Fear was evident across her face, and a few tears free fell from her beautiful gaze and unto her cheeks. I slowly moved my fingers from her grip and brushed away those clear drops from her face. I looked back up to see the fear in her eyes slowly vanish. We continued to stare at each other, forgetting the blunt and serious words in the background.

I was so confused with everything: with the two captors in our midst, with those names that kept being mentioned from time to time, and with the dense atmosphere of comprehension and mystery that had begun to heavily blanket the room. But I dared not to pull from Isa's stare. She was the last string of hope.

I leaned forward and touched my forehead to hers as she closed her eyes. I mirrored her, taking a deep breath. I would need all the courage I could get if I wanted to get us out of here alive.

I was pulled out of my reverie by someone clicking their tongue.

"Aw, Jas, look. Now how can you be angry at that? Even in their new lives, they were destined to be together." I chanced a glance behind me, breaking away from Isa for a moment so I could see who was cooing at us. It was the one called Esme.

From somewhere, as if finally summoned, I got the courage to speak, to stand up to our captors. "What do you want with us?" I asked, squeezing Isa's hand, letting her know I would fight for the both of us. "I don't think you understand the position you've put us in. You keep talking to us like we're supposed to know you, when we obviously don't. We aren't just going to cave and say we're someone we're not. So if that's all you wanted, let us go now. Your search for Edward and Bella will only go that much faster. Please, just let us go. Let her go, at the very least."

"No, Masen," a quiet voice said from behind me. "I am where you are."

I turned to her, shaking my head. "No, you are where it is safe. Please," I begged her, "Please listen to me, if only just this once, and go if they let you."

A sigh escaped my lips and I turned back to the male and female in front of me. I opened my mouth to speak, but was cut off by Esme's expression. Her eyes, still filled with tears, seemed to be dying to water. She had one hand clasped over her mouth in what looked like a mixture of awe and remorse.

"It's them," she said to Jasper. "It's them. Did you not hear that conversation? That had Edward and Bella written all over it."

"I told you," Jasper said, irritated. "I never once thought that it wasn't them. We have to change them, and soon. If we don't they'll just come up with more and more excuses until they simply escape. And we can't afford that right now."

Esme looked from us to him. "We can't, though. Not without telling them everything first."

The room was silent a moment. What was there to tell? I felt like I was missing out on some massive secret, and no one wanted to let me in on it. At this point, I was pretty sure even Isa knew. I leaned into her and quietly asked her if she knew what was going on. She nodded, not taking her eyes from the two in front of us.

A rough cough echoed into my ears and I hesitantly swiveled from my Isa to the surprisingly angry and distraught expression placed on the face of the man named Jasper. He hadn't shown so much emotion this entire time, and his abrupt change of mood was staggering. Jasper eyed both Isa and I incredulously.

Silence.

"I think it be best we end the day with a photo," he said slowly, controlling his shaky voice. Pain and anger seeped into each word.

Jasper turned towards a dark corner of the room, where for the first time I noticed an amber shaded suitcase lying, precariously opened and rather bulky. He stopped in front of the luggage, and at an astonishingly inhuman pace, littered the floor with objects, ranging from shirts and CD's to books and pieces of paper. I just as quickly stopped his search, and placed all the scattered items back into the bag. The entire spectacle couldn't have lasted more than 3 seconds.

Hurriedly, Jasper, rushed back to where he had stood before us. In his hand was a small frame, bordered by mahogany-like wood. I wonder what he's going to show us.

But before he could go further, the woman named Esme, who had this entire time stayed within the shadows of the doorway, burst from her perched stance, and walked briskly in front of him, between Isa and me. I could not see her face, but her body language said it all: she wasn't letting him do what he was about to.

"You are going much too fast with all this, Jasper. Let them get used to everything. Can't you see you're scaring them? They've been through enough this past week," Esme calmly stated.

Jasper, at these words, instantly flared up.

"Too fast, huh? What do you expect me to do then, Esme? Wait? Be careful like I was with Alice? Lose them like I did with Alice? Should I be slow enough that the Volturi catch up? That everything Carlisle has done will be in vain?" His eyes narrowed and he began to take long breaths in an attempt to soften his voice. I held Isa tightly as not only for her benefit, but for her to be my anchor, as I'm sure I would have stood up and demanded answers.

Esme took a step forward, and I could faintly see tears in her eyes and guilt ridden on her face, as if she felt partially responsible for all the things her partner had listed. What does all of this mean?

"This has gone on for too long, Jasper," she murmured, her voice much softer than before; defeated. "I cannot simply stand here and watch you and your sanity affect more people than it already has. You are using your power and your anger from losing Alice on these two. You expect some kind of repentance by making them understand something Alice couldn't, don't you?

"I'm begging you not to show them what is in your hands yet. Let everything you have said today settle in. Give it some time. That is all I ask. I said nothing when Bella was pushed from our family. I asked for nothing when you and Carlisle had made us to move from Alaska. I let you wallow in your self-pity and despair for a year.

"All I ask is that you wait now. Let wounds heal and give some time for peace." Her speech was filled with a great deal of emotion, though I hardly knew what she was saying.

I expected Jasper to understand and comply with the woman's gentle request. Her pain was clear. And I still needed to understand all that was going on. Somehow, in the short span of time, my mind had stopped thinking about escaping, and started asking questions.

Jasper finally looked over at Esme, and instead of melting into her resolve, he fought.

"I'm not going to make another mistake, Esme. I'm going to do what's best for this family, and that means bringing back as many of those who belong as I can. If I have to be unfair, or unjust in my actions, then so be it," Jasper seethed coldly.

Esme stood there for a while, hanging on his words, and the silence dragged on through the tense air of the room. Finally, she heaved herself forward, toward the door, and made no effort in looking back at her accomplice.

"What happened to you, Jas?" she whispered, her head hung low, and her shoulders slightly shaking as she left.

Isa and I simply sat still. Neither of us spoke in those seconds that had passed. I was too afraid of what to say. I was truly terrified what lay in store for us, what the frame held.

Jasper walked over. There was no nervous or fidgeting motion in his body as he neared. No humanity that showed he was guilty. No small spark or glint present in his eyes as he reached to where we were on the edge of the large bed. The frame was nestled gently in the crook of his arm.

He seemed ready as ever. But I had never been so unprepared in my life.

"I know you don't understand why you're here. Both of you. But with time, you'll know." His words were short and steely, void of all emotion and prospect.

"Vampire?" Isa stood, her hands in fists and her figure trembling as she released her hold on me, and propped herself higher on the mattress. "You kidnap us, keep us here for a week, and you expect us to believe that we are somehow reincarnations of your past family members, starting anew, before they died at the hands of 'vampire royalty'?" I looked at her surprised. She had apparently been listening the whole time.

"You don't have to believe what I say," Jasper replied coolly.

He threw the frame gracefully at the edge of the bed, and the light from the room bounced off the glass of the frame, shining upon his skin and highlighting the scars on his face.

"Take a look at this photo, and let me know if you still find it hard to believe."

And with that, he smoothly marched out of the room, back into the shadows from the ajar door. His presence had brought in the dense fog of tension, and as he left, the atmosphere went with him.

I watched the doorway for a few more moments before I heard the familiar squeak of Isa's voice, and her hand instantly found mine. I turned my head around to meet hers, only to be met with a look of disbelief and awe; her eyes had stayed glued to the picture frame situated inches in front of us.

I followed her gaze.

There in the photo, stood a boy, with bright and bedridden copper-tinted hair, almost bronze. He was extremely pale, making me immediately think of Esme and Jasper. He wore a fitting tuxedo. His eyes were the same light bronze color, and his lazy crooked smile was pointed towards the girl in his arms.

Her chocolate brown hair rested beneath her shoulders, and her similarly brown eyes were drawn toward the boy beside her. She had pale skin, not nearly as pale as the boy, and she wore a midnight blue dress; a cast was on her leg. The photo was taken during a special event; a dance, maybe.

Both seemed very happy. In love.

I blinked, hoping I wasn't fooling myself. Because Isa and I looked exactly like the couple in the photo. Only minor details set us apart.

I felt Isa's hand leave my own once again, and shakily her thin fingers trailed down the framed border, where three carved words lay underneath the couple's feet.

Edward and Bella.

A/N: [Ben] I hope you liked it. And I'm so incredibly sorry that we haven't posted in so long. Let's just say that my internet was being a jackass, and the weather, noticing my struggle to obtain network connection on my computer, decided to dump snow and create wind gusts all over the area. But I hope you guys thought that this was worth the wait. The next few chapters are going to be a little filler, just some transition into their new 'lives.' But stay on your toes; we're going to be throwing some gigantic curve balls your way!

Since Allie and I have decided to take a short break from our child, Turning Eighteen, until the new year, we are instead focusing some of our imagination and creativity towards writing a short series during the break. It's only 7 chapters, and we don't know when, but one chapter will be posted a day! So stay tuned for that. I LOVE THE PLOT!

[Allie] Just a side note to that last paragraph of AN. Chances are, it will not be posted during the break. We're actually not going to be posting anything but author's notes, etc. until after New Years. To be honest, I've had zero time to work on my own story, which is supposed to be done in June. And, well, at the rate I'm going now? I'll be lucky if it's done by June of 2010. So I'm going to be working vastly on that these few weeks. :) That's all.

Transitioning and loving our fans,

cALLIEfornia BENches