I know it's not a whole lot, I'm sorry.

Promise the next chapter will be more.

There'll be more interaction between her and some of the Cullens!
AndiCullen104: They're all human. Sorry I didn't mention that before.

Chapter 4

It had been harder to keep my principles since I met the Cullens. They seemed to intrude into my personal space while being nothing but nice and that kind of made me want to befriend them. But my mind told me not to. –I hardly knew them and I realized that actually befriending them would probably not be possible, even if I wanted to.

It was almost time for Alice to pick me up and I realized that I had still to check if Charlie was asleep. I'd be in trouble if he wasn't.

I slung the backpack over my shoulder and quietly tiptoed my way down the stairs. The TV was blaring, some kind of sports game was on, but other than that I couldn't hear a thing. Usually he snored so I was starting to dread taking a look inside the living room.

I put the backpack down close to the stairs and went into the kitchen, stepping up to the counter so he wouldn't get suspicious to see me. I quickly risked a look through the door and exhaled quietly as I detected Charlie lying on the couch, mouth hanging slightly ajar, limbs dangling and the table already packed with beer cans.

Well, hopefully he's out for a while or else I'll be in a whole lot of trouble.

I quickly went back to the staircase, grabbed my backpack and jacket and went outside, quietly pulling the door closed behind me.

I sat down on the doorstep and waited for Alice to arrive, which I didn't have to wait for long. A car pulled up into the short driveway, a black Mercedes, but she wasn't alone. Obviously her mother had driven her. I got up quickly as Alice opened her door to get out and walked over to the car.

'Hey Alice.' I signed.

"Bella, I'm so happy you're coming over!"

Why? I asked myself, We have to do schoolwork. "My mom and I have been shopping so we can have a good meal before you're going back."
'Oh, you don't have to, really. I need to make dinner for my father when I get home anyways.' I was about to sign Charlie to her instead of addressing him as my father, but surely that would have looked somewhat suspicious.

"No problem, we'll just make enough for him also." She said with a toothy grin and ushered me inside the car.

"Hello Bella, it's so nice to meet you."

Alice's mother was a lovely woman. Her heart shaped face was framed by hair the color of caramel and her smooth voice went along nicely with the enchanting smile that graced her lips.

'It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Cullen.' I signed and smiled at her lightly.

Jasper had told me that he learned sign language from his mother since her father was deaf and they used to communicate through sign language, so communicating with her should not pose a problem.
"Please, call me Esme. Mrs. Cullen is way too formal." She replied while turning the car back on the road.

The Cullen's home was stunning. It was a huge mansion set in the middle of the forest and the walls facing their garden were almost completely made of glass.

'Your home is absolutely stunning, Esme.' I signed as we both waited in the library for the others to rejoin us, they were just now getting their material for the project.

'Thank you. I designed part of it.' Esme admitted, smiling softly at me. She was such a friendly woman, I couldn't resist the urge I had: I had to talk to her because somehow, she reminded me of my own mother.

'Are you an architect?' I asked, this time eager to get to know this woman.
'Mostly I'm an interior designer, I do plan the houses with an architect from time to time though. But I didn't design this one. It's been built four years ago, another family lived here before us.'

'I didn't know.' I admitted. I had never seen people as rich as them before. They probably didn't have a child at Forks High or I would have certainly known. News spread quickly in a small town like Forks.

'They were quite old.' She explained before getting up from the couch and ridding the table of its décor, probably to give us more space.
"Would you like a cup of tea? Or something else; water, Coke, juice?" Esme asked while putting the things away and turning around to see my answer.
'Water is alright, thank you.'
"No problem, hun. I'll be right back." She smiled again before leaving the room.

Alice appeared before Esme or any of the others and plopped down next to me, letting her notebook and books fall on the table.

"So, Jasper and I think that we should do this every Saturday, what do you say? We don't always have to work since we have like… half a year to finish this."

'Alice' I started but just then the boys came barging in, shoving each other and laughing loudly.

"What's so funny, boys?" Alice asked, smiling smugly as she moved over a little to give them space on the couch.

"Emmett." Edward said, like that explained everything she needed to know but then added: "He's been a sore looser again, acting like a five-year-old." I noticed how his voice played with the words, it was a pleasant sound and I imagined other girls melting at its sound. Like Jessica, I thought –surely he could lure her in and give her a nice brainwash.

Alice's grin widened for a second as she shrugged. "The usual."

We had been working for about two hours until we all agreed that we'd done enough work for a day.

I realized they were all very smart. I learned that Jasper was a history-crack, Alice a fashion freak and good at art and Edward seemed to be very advanced at biology and mathematics.

So, yes, they were all very smart in their own way.

"Bella, come on!" Alice exclaimed. She was obviously very happy to be done with schoolwork and Esme had just called for dinner so Alice had made it her goal to personally drag me down the stairs and into the dining room. In the process I, of course, almost tripped and fell down these darn stairs.

When we finally arrived in the dining room I took a moment to take in my surroundings. The rest of the family was already seated and now looking up at Alice and me as we entered.

I quickly looked down as I started to blush from all the eyes on me.

"Bella, I would like to introduce my husband to you." Esme walked over to me and gently put a hand on my back, bringing me closer to the table. Esme's husband stood and took a step toward me. He was handsome, blonde hair and shining blue eyes with a hint of gray in them.
"It is very nice to meet you, Bella. I am Carlisle." He smiled warmly at me and gave my arm a light pat. It seemed awkward at first but I realized that he didn't want to hug me because it might have been even more awkward. Or maybe it was just me making it awkward.

'You have a very nice name.' I signed, blushing yet again.

"Well, thank you, Bella. It certainly is a very rare name." He replied, again smiling and offering me a seat in the process.

"I hope you like pot roast." Esme said as she sat down and started to serve everyone.