Chapter Two: The Ages

Charlotte

Part One: You're not that old; well you don't look it

Part Two: Its not stalking if I know you

((I'm talking 'bout change
You really wanna see the way
But if you wanna see
Then you need to settle down ))

Risky Business

The Cab

Part One: You're not that old; well you don't look it

Present day (16 years later)…

"Time is always a confusing topic to think about. How we age how time moves how to move time. The only problem was time didn't seem to be an issue for my family.

As Beckett, Amelie and I grew and aged everyone else seemed… frozen."

My first year of school was the only time I ever remember Edward Jacob and Bella coming with us to class. I remember being told if anyone asked that we were their older siblings; under no circumstance were we to call anyone them Mum or Dad. Esme and Carlisle had also come under the pretences of our 'parents'. At the time none of us had really understood why.

By the time we had reached the school gates all interest in why we couldn't call them our parents had dissipated from my head and a rush of nerves had replaced them…

From that year on they had never come back. It was always Esme and Carlisle who had joined us. In fact it was Carlisle and Esme that had done everything school related. They had come to our parent teacher interviews, sports days, parent days everything. After a while it had become second nature to call them 'Mum and Dad' at school or in front of any of our friends.

Bella and Edward had told us they looked to young to be our parents and didn't want us to be looked badly upon by the teachers and parents.

It never really worried my either way; they all still managed to come to the important things; school plays and other events but always under the disguise of siblings or family friends. I guess I should have thought more about it back then.

***

It wasn't until I was 12 or 13 that things started to get strange. I started going to my friends houses a lot more and meeting their parents. I always noticed that they always looked so much older. Fine wrinkles adorned their faces and many wore glasses or had a sprinkle of grey starting in their hair.

This was another question no one would ever give me a whole answer for.

By the time I had hit 16 I was getting really concerned. My parents hadn't aged I had flicked through old photo albums and as I looked from photo to photo they looked the same as they had over 16 years ago.

What the hell was going on!?

The more concerning thing was that with each passing day I noticed my siblings and I were in fact catching up to them…

***

"B, have you ever noticed something weird about this family?" I asked one day while we were lying on her bed. I wasn't one to beat around the bush.

She stared at me resting her head in her hands.

"What that none of them are aging?" She said matter of factly.

"Well… yeah exactly."

"They must be VAMPIRES!" She flailed her arms yelling the last word as we collapsed in a fit of giggles.

"They're going to suck our blood!" I screamed as we fell onto the floor with a loud 'thud'.

"But where are the coffins, fangs and capes?" Bridget laughed lying on the floor.

"Oh that's all up in the attic."

"Ah of course!"

"Actually we keep it all in the basement along with all the dead bodies." Edward's voice said which was soon followed with his body as he walked in smiling.

He looked down at us sprawled out on the floor a tangle of laughing limbs with his eyebrow raised.

"So why are we all vampires now?" He asked curiously leaning on the door frame.

I looked to Amelie unsure; what did we tell him?

"Because for the past 16 years of our existence you have yet to age past what looks like 20 years at the maximum." Amelie shot back looking at him seriously now.

He didn't seem startled by this in the slightest.

"Maybe we are vampires after all…" was all he said as he turned around in one fluent movement muttering under his breath as he left. "Looks like they both have Bella's curiosity…

I looked at her open mouthed unsure of how to take what he had said; was he being serious?

Amelie looked back before smiling and laughing.

"Well that explains EVERYTHING!" She said sarcastically. "There's something going on but it isn't vampires." Grabbing a magazine she went back to what she had been doing.

Despite her relaxedness about this all I couldn't shake the feeling maybe it was true… maybe.

Part Two: It's not stalking if I know you

"I had learnt something through out my life. As much as I loved my brother and sister they didn't seem to have the same burning curiosity as I did. When ever I wanted to find something out they usually lost interest quickly. It took me a while but I soon learnt it was just easier to figure things out myself.

I had also learnt I wasn't going to get answers from anyone by asking for them; I was going to have to do my own investigating."

Darkness fell a little too slowly for my liking that night. 12pm chimed on the clock and as per every school night Amelie and I were sent to bed.

Rose and Emmett were lying on the couch watching a sitcom, Jasper was reading and Alice was shopping online. I knew Carlisle was off at the hospital working while Esme was cooking something in the kitchen that smelt very much like cake. Edward and Bella had to force us into our separate bed rooms to sleep and once we were in total darkness their footsteps echoed down the stairs.

I lay in my bed eyes wide open fighting off sleep. Tonight I was going to learn a few things; I didn't know what but there was something big my family was hiding from me.

After an hour there was no movement or signs of anyone retiring upstairs to sleep I silently slipped my window open. Although it was a two story drop to the ground I had figured out after years of practise I found I could shimmy down the drain pipe for about a meter before jumping onto the soft grass safely.

Without a sound I was outside in the cold air. Shivering I walked around slowly to the front of the house careful to avoid detection from my family inside. I found my way to the lounge room window and peeked through. People were moving around and as I watched Emmett and Rose got up looking excited. I frowned watching them as they said something to the others and came out the back door.

I quickly jumped to the side into the shadows as they ran off into the forest behind the house.

This wasn't ordinary running. They moved from the back door to deep in the forest in a matter of seconds. With inhuman speed that made them into more of a blur than real people. Rubbing my eyes I watched a few leaves float back down into place where they had been startled by Emmett and Rose.

What.

The.

Hell.

Okay that was not normal that was… like superhuman power or something.

Pondering this over in my mind I waited in the darkness for them to return. Not a half hour later they came back running as gracefully and quickly as they had left. I stared wide eyed taking in the unbelievable spectrum; this couldn't be real.

The rest of the family got up to greet them on their returned. When they were slow enough for em to see them properly I could see their eyes wide and excited their irises a gleaming golden. The window was unlocked so slowly, making sure not to grab their attention, I slip it open a crack. Their voices drifted out to me as I listened intently.

"What did you catch hunting?" Edward asked casually from the couch.

"The usual a few mountain lions-" Rose began before being cut off by Emmett.

"And even a irritable Grizzly!" He boomed excitedly.

"Shh, you'll wake the girls!" Bella whispered.

"But it tasted really good Bella!" Emmett whined playfully with a soft laugh.

Hang on-

They had gone hunting;

In the middle of the night.

In total darkness.

With just their bare hands.

And caught grizzlies and mountain lions.

And it tasted good?

Holy shit what the hell was going on here!?

Looking down at my watch I realised it was almost 2. From the looks of it none of them had any intention of going to sleep anytime.

I stifled a yawn rubbing at the bags I could feel forming under my eyes.

How could they all look so refreshed and awake still?

Another yawn escaped as everyone went back to what they were doing; they were seriously not going to sleep?

Shivering I gave up on my hunt for the night and shimmied back up the drain clambering into my room.

There was some messed up stuff going on in this family…