There was something wrong with Alice lately. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, of course, but she was constantly singing in French, so I knew something was up. Although, she seemed perfectly happy and excited. Usually when something's wrong, I can tell. For now, I decided to just shrug it off.

At around 2 o' clock in the morning I heard her sneak out of the house. We'd gone hunting yesterday, so she wouldn't be going out for that reason… I don't know why I was so concerned. I'm sure if it was something I needed to know, she'd tell me. Alice and I were fairly close.

But an hour later, that was gone. Our bond had disappeared. She walked into the door in that graceful dancing fashion she always did. She was holding the hand of a girl… She had red brown hair, soft pale skin though not as pale as our family's. The most interesting feature about her was her eyes… They were big, and bright. Their color was a blue gray with a splash of perfect gold in the middle. I honestly caught my breath looking into them.

Who knows how many times I'd been to high school, and in all my years there I'd seen countless amount of girls. Many were pretty, and I'd seen that, but they didn't hold a single ounce of interest for me. Even when Alice insisted she was "darling" and we would make a "fabulous couple." But this girl, who still remained nameless… there was something special about her. She caught me like no one else has.

Then there was something wrong too. It was her mind… There wasn't a sound from it. It couldn't have been me, I still heard Alice reciting the Spanish ABCs. No, there was something about her. It was as if she wasn't here at all… How strange. I'd have to look into that.

As Alice nudged her slightly and gently, urging her to take another step into the house, she obeyed. I was sitting on the main couch and the girl was now a couple steps away from me. Her scent suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. Even now, after I'd hunted less than 24 hours ago, and hunted well, a few mountain lions, her scent made me want to jump on her at this second…

I stopped rigid and held my breath tight, my eyes closing. Who the hell was she? I let my breath out slowly, and took another in just as slow. One at a time. I could get used to it. Dammit, Alice, why would you bring her here? If this would have happened yesterday, I would have killed her!

"Alice…?" Esme spoke first, "Would you like to introduce us to our guest?"

"Oh, yes! This is Lucy. Lucy Febray." Lucy… She shot Alice a confused look.

Esme smiled warmly and held out her hand. Lucy took it, shaking it slightly and glanced quietly back at Alice. "I'm Esme Cullen." She spoke in her perfectly polite tone. "Welcome to our home."

Jasper nodded toward her. "Jasper Hale." He said, and I noticed his country accent hinted in the words.

"Yo!" Emmett boomed, jumping up from his spot on the opposite side of the couch. He was standing in front of her in one stride, and then he held out his fist to hers. "Emmett. Emmett Cullen." He smirked and she laughed- the sound was intoxicating, laced with a girly essence…- and she hit her fist to his.

Carlisle and Rosalie were currently out for a hunt… I wondered how they'd feel about our… guest, as Esme called her.

"And that…" Alice spoke as she pointed to me, "is Edward." Her bright smile broke through her face. She dropped Lucy's hand and skipped over to Jasper, whispering something in his ear too soft for me to hear. And he nodded as he left the room, Esme following him out.

Emmett crossed his legs and grinned. "Hell no, Al. You're not getting rid of me. I wanna see what's going on here."

"Rosalie will be home soon." Alice replied. Emmett looked back and forth before swearing and exiting the room too. "Now, I suppose you're both very curious as to why you're here? Well… Let me explain. Just promise to keep a cool head about this, alright?" Lucy and I nodded simultaneously, causing a mischievous smirk from Alice.

"Well, Jasper and I were on our hunt last week I saw an image of Lucy walking through the woods, so she must have made that decision awhile ago." She looked to the girl. "Am I right?"

"Uh… Yeah, I usually do that in the summer… I guess it becomes routine."

Alice nodded happily. "Exactly. So we saw it and she was walking through the woods while Edward was on his hunt… Let's just say, it didn't end well."

"Wait, wait." Lucky interrupted. "You saw me walking through the woods in what? Like a vision? And what do you mean hunt?" Confusion was written all over the poor girl's face. Why the hell did Alice bring her here!

"Yes, exactly like a vision. You're catching on quickly. Hunting… it's the way we eat, we'll leave it at that for now, okay? Anyhow… Edward, you must be wondering why all of this is happening." Alice declared as she looked toward me. "Lucy is a bit of a… danger magnet, let's say. This is the safest for her, Edward. This is her life. This is what's going to happen. This is what's best. Don't resist it. I've seen it. So many times. So many situations. You can trust me." Her voice turned into a soft whisper through her small speech.

I took in her words, easily following her train of thought. She saw Lucy and I together. No matter what happened, that much was clear. And this path is best to keep her safe. As much as I hated it, I needed to keep her safe. Which is ironic judging by how hard I'm trying not to drain her life right here and now.

"Do you trust me, Edward?" She asked.

"Do I have a choice?"

A smile broke across her face at that reassurance. "Are you going to explain the details to her? Or would you like me to?"

"Once again, do I have a choice?"

"Well… yes. But I really suggest you do it. It's better. She'll feel safer, I'm assuming." Alice spoke as she glanced to Lucy, whom was looking between us. I sighed and nodded toward Alice to leave, turning to face the girl.

I smiled politely at her, nodding once. "Hello Lucy. I'm sorry about all this. I had no idea what Alice was doing. You must be extremely confused."

"Uh, yeah. Kind of. How did Alice know where I was going to be the other night? And where to find me tonight?" God, I would kill to know what she was thinking right now.

I took a deep breath before trying to explain. "You've heard of people who are… physic, haven't you?"

"Physic? Like with the crystal balls? Or like Jean Gray, from X-Men?" X-Men… That made me smirk… She was dead on, though. Almost exactly like X-Men.

"You could say that. Except Alice is a bit different. Say that right now, I decide that I am going to go get a glass of water in a minute. Alice will see a vision of that. But in 30 seconds, if I change my mind, her vision will change."

"Oh… I guess… So, is that it then? That's what the fuss is about? That's really not much of a big deal."

"That's not even half of what's going on here, Lucy. Be patient." She nodded for me to continue. "Some other members of our family have abilities too. Do you remember Jasper?"

"I do."

"He can sense emotions." I paused to check her reaction. She was taking all of this oddly well. I'd have to ask her about it later.

"Hmm… That sounds interesting… How does it work?"

"You should ask him about it, I'm sure he'd be happy to explain. It's just how it sounds. If you're nervous, he feels it too. If you're upset, he can tell. Do you understand?"

She bit her lower lip gently as she nodded her head again. "Just Alice and Jasper have powers?"

"Not necessarily, no. I have a question for you first, though. At what point do you start not being okay with all of this? You've got to have a drawing line somewhere. What, exactly, is too weird for you?"

"I wish I knew."

"What about… reading minds? What's your reaction to something like that?" This seemed so much harder to explain. Maybe because I was the object in question.

"Who can read minds?" Her voice was mainly curiosity, but I thought there was a hint of urgency in there as well.

I couldn't let myself answer. I honestly didn't know what to say. I didn't know how I could say it without getting a usual response from her.

"It's you, isn't it? Oh my God, are you reading my mind right now? You know everything I'm thinking, don't you?"

"Uh, oh… Uhm, no. I'm not. I should be. But… I really don't know. I'm not getting anything from you. It's as if you're immune, if that's possible. I was thinking I should ask Carlisle about it later tonight."

"Carlisle?"

I sighed again and pinched the bridge of my nose instinctively as I realized how much there was to explain. There was no way we could get this done before morning.

"Do you have plans tomorrow?" I said, more forward than I'd planned.

She smiled, trying to hide a laugh. "No. I don't. Would you like to carry on this conversation then?"

"Exactly… Will your parents be worried you're going off with a complete stranger if I pick you up tomorrow? At… noon?"

"No, they won't mind. I should get going anyway before my dad or brothers wake up."

"I'm assuming you need a ride?"

"Probably… I'm sorry. I don't mean to make you leave the house so late."

"This wasn't your fault, it's no problem."

I grabbed my keys from the counter as we walked to the Volvo.