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Okay everyone, here's the next chapter. EPOV YEY! It's the kiss yippee! Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Enjoy the chap and don't forget to review this one too!!

EPOV (the kiss)

Oh, no. It was Robert and Clare, again. Oh, Bella, soon you shall be mine. Oh what I will do to you when you are mine! I will… I cut him off there and did my best to drone out his disgusting fantasies, how I would love to rip his throat out! Unfortunately, once I tuned out Robert's, Clare's rushed right in. Ooh, Edward that feels soooo good! Oh god, don't stop! I quickly blocked her too. Such disgusting thoughts! Oh, I think I'm going to be sick. Why can't they leave me alone with their incessant thoughts?! Oh, Clare was talking. What did she say? She was looking at me expectantly so I carefully looked into her mind. Oh, you've got to be kidding me! 'That's a very generous offer, Clare.' I said. 'But you're wrong, I couldn't do better. So I must decline. So sorry.' I said, not sounding at all sorry.

'Ugh! You two make me sick. I bet you're not even going out. You don't even kiss or anything. Edward probably just pities you, you're pathetic! That made my blood boil, figuratively, of course. Who did this girl think she was? I put my hands on Bella's waist and pressed my lips to hers. I think that I shocked her at first but then she began to move her lips in response to mine. Her hands moved to my hair and I started to feel something bubble up in the pit of my stomach. All too soon, I had to pull away. I looked to Clare and smirked. 'Do you believe us now?' She just huffed and walked away. I shrugged and turned to my unappetizing meal.

I could tell that Bella was about to speak so I began before she could. 'The reason I kissed you was that nobody believed we were really together. Like Clare said, all we ever do is hold hands or I put my arm around your waist. They won't believe us if we don't even kiss.' Was that true, was that the only reason? Really? Truthfully, I did not know.

'Okay. Um, what are they thinking now?'

'Well, it mainly goes along the lines of 'wow, the prudes Bella and Edward are actually doing something for once', or something to that effect.' I grinned at this; some of their thoughts in response to our kiss were quite amusing.

'Nice of them', she said sarcastically. I smiled to myself at that.

BPOV

It seemed that college was destined to be a replay of our four years in high school, only in a larger setting. How tiresome. I was growing impatient with human males. For all they knew, I was 'taken', and they still insisted upon seeking me out. The females were no better. Were there not others that were actually interested in being with these people? Apparently not.

Except for the inconvenience posed by these persistent, hormonal humans, college was great. Our house was nice and cosy. There were enough rooms for us to have a sitting room, a bathroom, a bedroom each, a library and a room specifically for the piano Edward had purchased and his sheet music. One of my favourite pastimes was to listen to Edward as he played while I curled up by the fire with a good book.

There were plenty of animals in the area to keep our thirst at bay. Edward's control had got even better over the years. His thirst for blood had become nothing more than a dull ache.

College classes never ceased to excite me. Call me whatever you like for it, medicine would always interest me immensely. Edward loved his music course, to be able to engulf himself in what he loved. It was the same way I felt about medicine. He loved to play piano most, and to compose his own music.

The years went by, melding into one another. It was one day, like any other, when it happened. When I met...the Cullens.

I was currently in medical school; I had nearly reached the end of my medical education. As medical students, we had to work at the hospital at certain times to learn from experience. Not that I minded in the least of course, this was why I wanted to become a doctor, to study medicine. I wanted to help people, to make up for my inhumanity by saving lives that could have otherwise been lost.

We, the medical, students were practicing simple procedures that were no problem to me with my advanced vampire senses, when our current instructor entered the room. 'Hello, class. I have some news. We have a new doctor in the hospital, Doctor Carlisle Cullen. He shall take over your instruction for the rest of your medical learning career. He is a very talented doctor, and you should show him the same respect you've shown me over our time together.' And with that, Doctor Lawler left the room.

The class erupted into excited chatter, wondering who the new doctor was, spreading rumours and gossip. I, of course, had no interest and continued with my work. Really, were doctors not supposed to be more composed than this? The inane chatter suddenly stopped. The new doctor had apparently arrived. I had been too engrossed in thought to notice his arrival. I looked up and felt my jaw drop. He was beautiful, inhumanly so. He had blonde hair, so fair it was almost white. His skin was so pale, it was almost white. His body and face appeared to be chiselled out of stone. His eyes were a light topaz. And, most importantly, he was a vampire.

I carefully smoothed out my features into a mask of disinterest. I kept up the calm demeanour on the outside while I was panicking inside. Was he a threat? Did he hunt humans? What was he doing here? What should I do? No, he didn't prey on humans; his eyes alone were proof of that. Well, that was a relief. Though he could still be a threat. I endured the remainder of the class. For once I couldn't wait for it to be over.

After what felt like an eternity, the class finally ended. I left the room and stood to one side by the door. Doctor Cullen loitered in the room for more than was strictly necessary, undoubtedly avoiding the inevitable. He eventually came out of the room and walked towards me. 'Hello,' he said, 'As you know, I am Doctor Carlisle Cullen, and what might your name be?'

'I'm Isabella Swan, but please call me Bella.' This conversation was so strained and awkward, as you would expect it to be. It's not exactly like we could go up to each other and say something along the lines of, 'Oh, hey, I noticed that you have no heartbeat and I cant hear or smell any blood coursing through you veins. So you must be a vampire. I thought I'd just come up and tell you that I know you are. It's okay though, because guess what? I am too! Small world, eh?' That'd go down like a house on fire, wouldn't it?

'Well, Bella. It's lovely to meet you. Are you alone?' I knew what he meant. Was I in a coven or alone.

'No, I am with another, Edward.'

'Lovely, well I have to go now. But I and my wife, esme, would love to speak with you and your Edward. Are you free later on?' I agreed to talk to him and his mate. I gave him Edward and my address and told him we'd see him later. He said goodbye and walked off to continue his work in the hospital.

I was done with classes for the day so I left for home so that I could warn Edward about our 'visitors' for the evening. I walked in the door and was met with one of his heavenly melodies drifting from the piano room. I made my way there and quietly entered so as not to disturb him. He finished playing and looked at me quizzically. 'What is wrong Bella? You look troubled.' He approached me with a look of concern on his face.

'Nothing is wrong Edward. I just have something to tell you. Today at the hospital, I met another vampire.' Edward sucked in a breath in shock. 'He wants to talk to us. I invited him and his mate over later. I'm almost certain that they share our diet Edward. I don't think that they are anything to worry about.' But I wasn't certain and Edward could tell, after all our years together. He put a reassuring arm around my shoulders. 'Don't worry Bella. If they are a threat, I'll protect you, okay?' That sent an inexplicable tingle through my spine, which I chose to ignore. 'Thank you, Edward.'

We spent the rest of the afternoon trying to make the time go by faster. I listened to him as he played, but it wasn't in the same fluid, natural way that he normally played. It had an edge of tension to it. His shoulders were tensed. It seemed that he was bracing himself, but for what? Even if the newcomers were a threat, he wouldn't fight them would he? I wanted to avoid that at all costs. Time continued to drag on; I thought that they would never arrive. Then, suddenly, a knock sounded on the front door. Edward's shoulders tensed up even more, that really shouldn't have even been possible. He stood up and I realised something. Edward could be quite formidable when he wished. He wasn't freakishly muscled, but he was well toned and well over six feet. Right now he had a look in his eye that I was extremely glad was not directed at me. He put his arm around me and headed towards the door. He opened it and looked upon the occupants of our front steps.

I instantly felt foolish. How could I ever have been afraid of these people? Fear of the unknown, I guess. But now that I looked at him, Carlisle Cullen had a distinctly fatherly air to him. His wife, Esme, was the epitome of motherhood. She had caramel coloured hair and a kindly face. She was beautiful. Of course, she had the tell-tale eyes of an animal blood drinker, a light shade of topaz. These people were not to be feared. I felt Edward's grip on my waist loosen, but he never let go completely.

He extended a hand to Carlisle who returned the gesture and shook it. 'It is very nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen. I am Edward Masen, and of course, as you already know, this is Bella Swan. Please, come in.' Had his voice always been so velvety? We all went in and sat down in the living room. An awkward silence descended upon the room, what was there to be said, really?

'Well, Edward, Bella, how long have you been here?' I answered him. 'We've been here since we started college. We'll leave next year when I've finished medical school to avoid suspicion. We've stayed here quite long and, as we do not age, people have started to suspect. One more year won't make much difference though. We're thinking of maybe taking a year away from the high school routine. Go somewhere remote, maybe Alaska. For a bit of peace.' I squeezed Edward's hand and smiled. I earned his signature crooked grin in response. Now that I think about it, it was a nice grin, a very nice grin. Whoa, where did that thought come from? I recomposed myself and looked away from Edward to see Carlisle and Esme beaming at us. What the..?

I looked to Edward for an explanation. He was the mind reader after all. However, he just grinned in response. Okay, now that was stating to annoy me. My irritated thoughts were interrupted by Esme's voice. 'Edward, Bella tell us about yourselves.' 'Well,' Edward started, 'I can read minds, except Bella's. And I love to play the piano and compose music.' 'Really, mind-reading, that is a very handy gift, I would guess,' Carlisle said. 'But I wonder why you are unable to read Bella's mind?'

'We guess that it is a type of shield, though we are not overly worried. Do you think that it could harm her?' Edward asked worriedly. 'No, quite the opposite actually.' Carlisle said. 'Oh, good.' Edward sighed in relief. 'And you, Bella?' Esme asked.

'Well,' I responded, 'I love medicine, it awes me. How it has progressed over the centuries since I was human. I become enraptured. I'm in my last year of medical school; I hope that I can become a doctor. But since I was changed at seventeen, it's very hard to look thirty. I've barely got through medical school without rising suspicions. I would have to move a lot to pull it off.'

'Well I think that you have found a kindred spirit in Carlisle.' Esme laughed. We all laughed a bit at that. When the laughter died down, the air became serious again. Esme started again.

'Edward, Bella this may come as a shock to you. You may even be a little offended, but we would love if you would consider our offer. We would love for you two to join our coven. We've always wanted children, and of course, as vampires, cannot have them. We'd love for you to join our family.' Oh my goodness, are they serious? Carlisle spoke quickly, 'Of course, you don't have to answer straight away. We'd like you to seriously consider our offer. Now, we'll leave so you can think it over. Oh, and by the way, you're a lovely couple! It was lovely to meet you.' And then they left.

'Edward, do they think we're together?'

'Yes, they think that we are mates, and well suited mates at that.' He grinned.

'Wow, thanks for the warning', I said sarcastically.

'Well, are we going to set them straight?' I continued.

'I guess we'll have to, if we're going to be living with them. What do you think about their offer?' Edward asked. 'I think that we should seriously consider it.'

'Are you serious, but we don't even know them!'

'Uh, Bella, mind reader, remember? Everything they said was sincere, they are kind at heart, and it would look a lot less odd to the humans for us to have parental figures. Remember how strange they thought us for our lack thereof in Portland?'

We spent the rest of the night engulfed in an in-depth discussion regarding the pros and cons of accepting the Cullens' offer. By the morning, we had reached our decision. We would accept their extremely generous offer. I made my way to the hospital for work and also to inform the kind-hearted doctor of our decision.

Hope you liked it! Don't forget to review! 20 and I shall update. Don't forget to check out my twilight story competition.

Thanks,

Kate

Xxxxx