Sorrows The Seas of My Heart

Chapter Three: Meetings

A half hour passed, and all the adults were still running around like crazy. What more is there to do, I thought silently to myself. The teenagers and the little kids were sitting on the bleachers; every single head was slowly drooping. They were all tired, and the guests of honor hadn't even arrived yet.

I spotted Angela on the other side of the gym, her brothers' heads were on her shoulder, and they just added on to the list of the weary. Time was passing very slowly, and before I knew it, my own eyes were slowly closing, and my body was leading over to the right side. I caught myself just in time. How embarrassing that would have been.

Through the high gym windows, I saw a quick flash of red and blue; Police Chief Swan had arrived.

"Everyone! They're here!" Mrs. Stanley announced after noticing the lights, too. Everyone acted quickly in response, finishing up what they were currently doing, then either taking a seat on the bleachers or standing near the door to be able to greet them.

After that, multiple things happened in what seemed like a fraction of a second. First, the doors of the gym burst open, and Charlie walked in. Second, seven strangers walked in behind him. Third, I heard my breath catch in my throat - and everyone else's.

Seven absolutely beautiful and pale people stood next to Charlie, and even he seemed a bit dazed by their presence, too. I couldn't be sure, since my world just froze before my eyes, but I think it actually was silent for a minute or two - before Mrs. Stanley spoke, that is, snapping me out of my trance.

The noise was back. The commotion was back. People began to talk. People walked up to the new family and greeted them. People whispered excitedly amongst themselves. People strutted around, while their footsteps reverberated through the gym. Nothing was silent, except for me. As I noticed all this, my eyes were still on the family, like glue. Someone wolf-whistled. Please, don't tell me it was Charlie.

"Everyone, meet Carlisle Cullen and his family." He told us in a loud voice, then turned to them, "Dr. Cullen, meet … everyone." He grinned sheepishly.

"Hello, everyone." Carlisle grinned; he was stunning. With his blonde hair, golden eyes, and perfect complexion, you would've never thought he was a doctor if you'd just met him. No, absolutely not. He looked more like a male model, that all the other male models probably envied. "I'm Carlisle, and this is my wife, Esme." He gestured to a caramel-haired woman, looking just as gorgeous as the others, only with a more motherly feel. She smiled.

"These are our children," Carlisle continued, and introduced them all one by one.

"Rosalie." He said, and a blonde-haired girl stepped forward. She was one of the most beautiful people I've ever laid eyes on. Her facial expression was bored and uninterested, but she slowly gave a smile; it was forced, but it was better than nothing. Behind her, a tall, blonde-haired boy stepped forward next to her. "And her twin brother, Jasper."

The three others stepped forward, almost as if in a line. One by one, Carlisle introduced them as well. Alice was very short; even shorter than me. Her hair was short, black and spiked at all different directions. Although she seemed shy, she was the only one who said a word. "Hello, everyone." She smiled. Her voice was musical, like ringing bells, only more pleasant.

Emmett was big; not in the way monsters are big, but he was bigger than the rest of them. His muscles bulged from his shirt sleeve. I thought he was probably a serious weightlifter. His attitude, however, was no different than Alice. Although he didn't speak a word, his huge ear-to-ear grin was hard to find uncomforting.

"Bella!" someone whispered. It was Jessica, and she called me to come up to her row on the bleachers. I turned my back and carefully, overcautiously, climbed the bleachers, so as not to trip, but I did. "Be careful, Bella." Jess said, and I was blushing fervently, looking down on the ground.

"And this is my youngest son, Edward."

As I brought my head back up to take a peek at the youngest Cullen, my breath caught in my throat again. He was looking at me, right at me. And his expression was furious. My face got redder, and I felt it burn. I looked back down from the intimidating boy.

His hair was bronze colored and amazing. The angles of his face were so perfect, almost inhuman. The picture of his piercing eyes, the color of dark coal, stuck in my mind. I shuddered. If looks could kill, then he'd probably my murderer. When I looked up, however, his expression was smooth, calm, and relaxed. His eyes were no longer on me but on his animated sister, Alice. I couldn't tell if they were talking or not, but it was a form of communication nonetheless.

"Oh my goodness, Bella. I think I just had a stroke!" Jessica explained as she giggled. "He is so hott!"

She didn't give me a chance to talk, not that I even wanted to, before her mom called for her help. "Be right back," she promised, but I walked away, in search for Angela, who was still on the other side of the gym.

My clumsiness didn't help. I stumbled through the crowd of people on the gym floor and accidentally bumped into someone - although it felt like a giant boulder. I fell back and used my hands to support me on the floor.

"Ow." I grumbled.

"Oh, I'm truly very sorry." The boy said. It was Emmett Cullen, the weightlifter.

"It's fine," I said as I pulled myself off the ground. "Emmett, right?"

"Yes, I am." He smiled. "Sorry again, Miss …?"

"Call me Bella."

"Alright, Bella."

"Would you excuse me? I have to find my friend, for a minute."

"No problem. Carlisle's got a million people on line waiting to meet us." He rolled his eyes, and I giggled. The way he called his father by his first name seemed to portray the closeness of his family. As I walked to Angela, I saw that her brothers had already woken up and began parading around the gym once again. I heard her sigh as she watched them; then, she saw me.

"Oh, hello, Bella." She smiled.

"Hey." I said and took a seat next to her. I saw Charlie walk over the Carlisle and talk to him, then he saw me.

"Bella!" He called and motioned for me to go over. I groaned; I'd just arrived to Angela's spot. She laughed beside me, hearing the noise I just made. "I'll be back," I told her.

She just giggled. "There's plenty of time to talk. I'll be around here somewhere."

As I approached Charlie, I could see that what he had planned: it was time to personally meet the Cullen family.

"Ah, Carlisle, this is my daughter, Isabella." Charlie announced. A warm smile appeared on Carlisle's face as he held out his hand. I shook it, and it was incredibly cold. Someone had called Charlie over to help them; Charlie was glad to oblige.

"Good evening, Isabella." Dr. Cullen said.

"Please, call me Bella, Dr. Cullen." I repeated for the umpteenth time.

"Please, call me Carlisle, Bella." He replied. I nodded. "Your father's been telling me about you." My eyes shot wide open, and I blushed. What had Charlie said?, I thought to myself. Carlisle saw my sudden expression and chuckled.

"Nothing bad, I hope." I managed to mutter. Carlisle just shook his head and continued to grin.

"Oh, forgive me, would you like to meet my family? I mean, you probably saw that big introduction earlier, but in-person now, maybe?"

"Sure," I told him, and followed behind. We approached his young and beautiful wife, who was standing with Alice.

"Esme, dear. This is Bella Swan, Chief Swan's daughter." He told her. His voice was barely audible to me, over the noises of the large crowd, but somehow she had heard him.

"Hello, Mrs. Cullen. Welcome to Forks," I said, in a hospitable manner.

"Thank you, Bella. Call me Esme." She said. What is it with all the first-name basis?

"Alice, come meet, Bella." Carlisle told her. She looked very energetic and happier than her other siblings to be her in Forks or more specifically, this party.

"Hello, Bella!" She said and hugged me. It was very straightforward, but it felt very comfortable. I giggled.

"Nice to meet you, too, Alice." I told her, when she let go.

"Excuse us," Esme said, speaking for herself and her husband. "There's quite a lot of people for us to meet."

"Knock yourself out," I told them. They smiled in return, leaving Alice and me alone.

"So, Bella, what's it like here?" she asked, as we started to move through the crowd to take a seat.

"Hm, very rainy." I told her, and she chuckled.

"What about in winter? Does it snow or rain?"

"I'm not the best person to ask." I told her. She was confused by my answer.

"You're as good as any other person here." She said, still not understanding.

"I don't live here." I told her, and she muttered an 'oh.' "I live in Phoenix, actually. I'm only here for a month, just like every other year."

"Well, that sucks." She said. It was my turn to be confused. "I needed a new friend." I smiled; her face fell.

"I won't be leaving for another twenty-eight days. That's plenty of time for us to get to know each other." I told her, and Alice looked jubilant. I turned my head and saw the positions of the rest of her family.

"You sure have a big family," I whispered, not thinking she heard. She smirked.

"Well, we're all actually adopted." She said, looking at her family as I was. I was a bit surprised at that, though. "Except for Jasper and Rosalie, none of us are blood related."

That's not surprising. The two blonde, teenage, beauties of the family looked very much alike, appearance-wise. Jasper turned to look at us when Alice said his name. He walked towards us as if being beckoned.

"Hello, Alice." He said, and gave her a big affectionate hug. …A big affectionate hug?, I thought.

"Bella, this is Jasper, my boyfriend." I whistled in my head. It wasn't strange at all, since they weren't actually blood related, but I wonder how it felt, living with your boyfriend for the rest of your life.

"Hello, Bella." He greeted flashing me a killer smile.

"Hi," I shyly said, intimidated by his very presence.

"Have you seen Edward?" He asked Alice, suddenly. However, her face held no emotion. Her gaze seemed distant and far-away; as if she was in another world. I was worried, though, for I thought Alice got paler than she already was. Jasper wasn't worried at all. In fact, he actually grinned.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, frantically.

"She dozes off from time to time; a real daydreamer." It made sense, I think.

Then, Alice just shook her head and blinked. "Augh, I did it again, didn't I?"

Jasper just looked at her and smiled. "It's quite alright."

"Hey, Bella," she turned to me, regarding my presence. "Have you met Rosalie yet?"

"She's not … available right now, Alice." Jasper told her, and cringed a little.

"And Edward?"

"Edward is currently available." He began walking away, and Alice grabbed my arm.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"We're introducing you to our brother, silly." She said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I rolled my eyes but let her drag me away nonetheless.

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A/N - Thanks for the reviews, guys. : I tried to hurry this chapter up. I had a lot of fun writing this one, though. Edward's officially coming … don't worry. Of course, I wouldn't mind a few more reviews.