A/N: And we have a new update. I've been thinking of making my chapters slightly shorter to speed up updates, but if you still want the long, slow ones, just tell me.

Tytus: Told you so…you didn't think I could do it, but I showed you!

Disclaimer: I've realised that my last chapter (or last few) didn't have a disclaimer on it, so I'm just going to say I own nothing, nor will I ever own anything, just in case I forget again.

BPOV

It smelled nice.

That was the first thought that wound its way through the fog of my mind and into my consciousness. It was a subtle scent, yet powerful. Like one of those fine perfumes that cost about as much as a plasma screen TV for a bottle the size of a baby field mouse.

The second thing I noticed was how darn comfortable I was. It wasn't any specific thing that made it comfortable, but a myriad of smaller things. For one, the bed was soft and fresh. Two, I could feel Sanderson, always there when I slept, curled up beside me. Three, the pillow I was resting on was oddly hard and cold, yet still adding to the overall pleasure of my situation.

Blinking my eyes open, I took in my surroundings. The light coloured, sketch covered walls, the open walk-in closet that contained enough outfits to clothe a small army, the dressing table atop which sat a yellow rose wrought from fine glass.

Upon taking in all of these things, I came to the brilliant conclusion that I wasn't in my own room. That was probably what spurred me towards consciousness, because I knew for a fact that my own pillow at home was fluffy. It also didn't move.

"Hey there sleepyhead, I thought you'd never wake up," a chime-like voice whispered in my ear.

Now, waking up in a strange bed with a stranger would have freaked me the hell out, but thankfully, I remembered the events of yesterday. Meeting Alice's family, kissing Alice, watching movies, the Quileute's, kissing Alice, healing Billy, promising Sam that I'd heal his mate, telling the Cullen's about me, more kissing Alice, falling asleep in Alice's bed. With Alice.

I lifted my head up and met twinkling golden eyes, framed by spiky black hair and pale skin. "Um, hi?"

Her tinkling laughter washed over me and I couldn't help but smile in return. She reached out a finger and brushed a lock of hair off of my face, tucking it behind my ear. "Hi."

I didn't notice for several more seconds that I had both arms wrapped around her waist and had been using her shoulder as a pillow. "Oh, God, sorry." I carefully extracted myself from around her, managing to avoid squishing Sanderson in the process. I did uproot him from his spot, prompting him to give an indignant meow and hop off the bed, making his way downstairs while his displeasure was made known. Loudly.

"Don't apologise, Bella, I rather enjoyed myself last night." She had a smirk on her face and I was reminded forcefully that I had a nasty habit of talking in my sleep.

I flopped onto my back and groaned. "What did I say?"

"Say? Why, whatever do you mean?" Her face was a picture of devastating innocence.

"Please put me out of my misery and at least tell me I didn't say anything embarrassing?"

Her smirk widened. She tipped her head to the side and said in a passable imitation of my human voice, "Alice, oh Alice, kiss me, Alice."

I'm pretty sure my face turned beet red at that point. "I didn't," I gasped, mortified beyond imagining.

This time her laughter was full bodied and thoroughly amused. "Nope." She leant forward and gave me a peck on the lips. "I just love making you blush." She jumped off the bed and walked over to her closet. "Now get up or we'll be late for school."

I huffed. "That was mean, you really- wait, what do you mean 'late for school'?"

She nodded towards the clock on her wall, the one that read eight o'clock. I bolted upright. "Holy Mother! How long did I sleep?"

She shrugged. "About fifteen hours."

I just sat there, gaping. I hadn't slept in a good while, and I had been pretty wiped after healing Billy, but I didn't think I had been that tired. Then another thought occurred to me.

"Oh, Alice, you didn't sit here for fifteen hours doing nothing, did you? It was supposed to be a nap, you should have woken me. I'm really sorry."

She flitted over to me and took my hands in hers. "Bella, really, I didn't mind at all. As for the waking you up, you looked exhausted and I thought I should let you sleep. I also called your family to let them know you'd be staying over and they said that you should sleep too." She frowned. "Although, I'm curious, do you always get that tired after healing something, because you were fine when you healed that rabbit?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, thankful that it doesn't muss when I sleep, thus saving myself from Alice seeing me with bed-head. "Supernatural beings are tough to heal and I get a bit tired afterwards, but usually with humans or animals, I'm fine."

"Then what happened?"

"I guess it was because it was such an old injury. Healing a fresh one means re-knitting torn flesh and putting things back where they're supposed to be, but this was already healed, with scar tissue and everything. I had to get rid of that, then let his spinal cord reattach, not to mention fixing his atrophied leg muscles so he could actually use his legs. I've never done it before, so it took a lot of effort."

"Well, it was a pretty impressive thing you did."

"Yeah, I just hope it doesn't come back to bite me in the ass." I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up, stretching.

"How so?" Alice asked, voice full of curiosity.

"Well, what if another one of them gets hurt and they all keep coming to me for help? I mean, I'd want to help them, and I probably would, but I really don't want this getting out to any more people."

"But you told my family without any preamble."

I scratched the back of my neck as I thought. I had spent a long time deciding on whether or not I should tell Alice's family about me and it all depended on what I saw when I came over yesterday. I may not have had my mom's ability, but I was still a good judge of character, something that had never once failed me, and I trusted Alice. If she thought her family could know, then they could.

"Well, it wasn't a spur of the moment thing, I thought a lot about it first. You see, the main problem I have with vampires finding out, is that they would know that there was something else out there and might tell the Volturi. However, from the first moment you met me, you knew that I wasn't human, vampire or shifter, so therefore, I was something else. At that point, the damage was done, and could only be solved by us killing you, which is just crazy. Me trying to keep what I was from you after that was futile, but I did it anyway because I've never told anyone before and it was a habit. Telling you was necessary, because I wanted to be in a relationship with you and it wouldn't have been fair to keep you in the dark."

I took a breath to continue. "Now, your family, I hadn't met, so I was still reluctant for you to tell them until I had met them and got a feel for them. But even then, they had no reason to trust me. They knew I was different, but not what I was. I could have been a danger to them, or to you, so by putting a name to what I am, I don't really do any damage to myself that hadn't already been done on our first meeting, but I do put them at ease that I don't mean you any harm, thus preventing them from going to the Volturi out of fear. Besides, I figure if any of you had intended to go to the Volturi, then you would have gone when you first met me." I crossed my arms and nodded. "Did that entire rant make any sense?"

Alice took on a thoughtful expression. "Yes, yes it did. So if we didn't know that you were anything other than human when we first met you, would you have told us by now?"

"Most likely not. I mean, I would have been drawn to you either way, so I would have told you eventually, but definitely not so soon because if I chose to, I could have just pretended to be a human and you wouldn't have known."

Alice nodded slowly. "I can see your point." She glanced at the clock and jerked. "Oh, sorry, we have to get ready for school or we're really going to be late." Flitting into her closet, she came back out with jeans and a dark blue shirt and tossed them to me. "Here, these should fit you. The shower's down the hall."

I caught the clothes. "But, I…"

"Quickly now, go, go, go."

She shooed me into the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

I stood there for a few moments in silence, contemplating the fact that I had visited Alice's house once, and had ended up staying the night in her bed cuddling with her, using her shower in the morning and wearing her clothes to school. A sigh escaped my lips. Jesse was going to have a field day with this one.

By the time I had washed myself, thoroughly amused to see that Alice used a brand called 'Sudsy Soapy Shower Scrub', and gotten dressed in the clothes she had provided, she was back knocking at the door.

"Bella, Esme wants to know what you want for breakfast," she called.

I opened my mouth to tell her that she didn't have to go to all this trouble, when she spoke again.

"And before you tell me that it's too much trouble, you should know that Esme is terribly excited to be cooking something and is currently standing beside the oven, with a skillet in one hand and some kind of kitchen utensil in the other."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, given the mental image in my head, so I walked over to the door and opened it. Alice stood outside, hands clasped behind her back, rocking on her heels like an idle child.

Eyes widening as she saw me, she stopped rocking. "You're all wet."

Now, I don't consider my mind to be a particularly dirty one, but for some reason, it went straight to 'Inappropriate Land' at that otherwise innocent statement. The choking laugh from downstairs didn't exactly help my quickly spreading blush.

"I, um, meant your hair! It's still wet, because you were just in the shower, where there's water, which…wets…people…" She face-palmed and let out a low groan. "That was intelligent. Water wets people, way to go Alice."

"Well, at least it's true."

Her lower lip puffed out in the most adorable pout I've ever seen, and I couldn't resist catching it between my teeth and tugging on it gently before pulling her in for a deeper kiss. Humming happily against her, I felt my hair dry out almost instantly from the heat and reluctantly pulled away. "I'm really beginning to enjoy that way too much."

"It's not exactly a chore for me either," she mumbled. "What was it you wanted for breakfast?" Her eyes took in my newly-dried hair and her smile became a bit smug, no doubt because she knew exactly why it was dry.

I shrugged. "I've always liked pancakes."

"Ok, dear," Esme called from downstairs. The sounds of eggs cracking and rapid whisking soon followed and I smiled at the excited sound of her voice.

After making a quick detour into Alice's room to pull on my shoes, we made our way down the stairs and into the kitchen. The first thing I noticed was Sanderson with his face in a little dish full of milk, the second was the assortment of Cullen's gathered in the kitchen, watching Esme with varying shades of interest. Their attention was automatically switched to me as I walked in and perched on the chair beside Emmett.

Over the last fifteen hours, they seemed to have mellowed out a little and had gotten used to the fact that they had an angel under their roof. Now, as opposed to shocked speechlessness, they just seemed extremely curious. Yay.

"Good morning, Bella. Your pancakes will be done in just a moment," Esme said, flipping one deftly.

"Thank you Esme, it smells great." I blushed slightly. "Sorry for conking out on you guys last night."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," Carlisle said, looking up at me from where he had been watching Sanderson. "When we called your parents to inform them that you would be staying here for the night, they told us that healing is strenuous for you."

"Occasionally, yes."

"Besides, I'm sure Alice didn't mind," Emmett stated, grinning madly. "And from the things you were saying, I'm guessing you didn't either."

And the blush was back. "Wh…what do you mean by that? What did I say?"

"Oh, it's nothing that you should be concerned about."

"Bu…wha…ack," I stuttered, looking at Alice beseechingly, only to be met with a cheery smile.

"Now, now, leave the poor girl alone," Esme said, placing a plate of pancakes down in front of me. "Would you like some juice? Tea? Milk?"

I forcefully pushed thoughts of embarrassing mumblings out of my mind and chose instead to savour the smell of freshly cooked pancakes. "Juice is fine, thank you."

She went to the fridge to get me my drink and I cut off a corner and placed it in my mouth, chewing thoughtfully. She seemed to have taken after my mother, in that she had been a vampire for decades, yet could still cook like some kind of chef equivalent of Jesus.

"How is it? I haven't cooked in an awfully long time." Esme placed a glass of apple juice in front of me, glancing at me apprehensively.

"It's fantastic," I told her enthusiastically, meaning every word of it as I scooped up another forkful.

She smiled at me in obvious relief, moving over to sit beside her husband. Normally, one would feel awkward sitting in a room eating breakfast with a bunch of people who couldn't eat, but I had plenty of experience.

"What's it taste like?" Alice asked, watching me with avid fascination.

"Pancakes," I said, taking another bite. I was always hungry after healing, and I hadn't eaten for fifteen hours since healing Billy.

"Why thank you, Bella, that answer was a great help," Alice deadpanned.

I took a sip of my juice. "Well, I can only explain how a food tastes in relation to other foods, and I've never tasted blood, so I don't really know how to explain it." A thought struck me and I grinned. "Here, why don't you try a piece?"

She looked intensely at my fork for a few moments, nose twitching as she scented the air, then leaned over and closed her teeth around the proffered food.

"Ewww," Emmett groaned, his mates face mirroring the sentiment.

I watched in amusement as Alice's face went from curious, to regretful, to downright disgusted in a matter of moments.

"Ack! How on Earth does that taste good to you?"

I shrugged and ate another chunk. "The same way blood tastes good to you, we all have our own tastes."

"A person would have to have no sense of taste for that to be good," she insisted.

I smiled and finished the last bite of pancake, chasing it down with the last of my juice. "Thank you, Esme that was fantastic."

She smiled once again and looked at my empty plate. "Are you sure you don't want some more, I have plenty of pancake mix?" She gestured behind her towards the counter. I looked over her shoulder and immediately groaned.

"Um, mom, no you don't," Emmett mumbled. When she turned to look at him, he pointed to the counter, where Sanderson had decided pancake batter would make a nice second course.

We stared for a few moments at the cat, his front paws resting on the edge of the mixing bowl, his entire head and shoulders foraging its depths.

I sighed. "You've never had cats before, have you?"

She opened her mouth to reply when my phone chose that moment to ring. Glancing down at my happily vibrating pocket, I pulled it out and pressed the answer button.

"Hello?"

"Mornin' Bella." Jesse sounded awfully chipper.

"Good morning Jesse. Dare I ask why you're calling?"

"Oh, nothing important. Just to tell you that we'll bring your stuff to school so you don't have to swing by and be late."

"Thanks."

"So, have a nice night?"

I narrowed my eyes, fully aware that the Cullen's could hear me. "Yeah, it was fine."

"Only fine? Reeeeally?"

"Don't even go there, Jesse. Nothing happened." I could feel my blush spreading and getting deeper and I desperately wanted this phone call to be over.

Her tone changed drastically from teasing to intensely relieved. "Oh thank God. Dad spent the entire night pacing, I swear he was on the verge of running over there and stealing you back."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said dryly.

"We knew you weren't going to do anything, but you know Micheal, he's convinced everybody with a libido is trying to get at you. He's just being a father."

"Okay then. Oh, by the way, in case you're wondering where Sanderson is, he followed me to the Cullen's house."

"Huh, I was wondering where that little monster went. Wait, is that him I hear slurping on something?"

"Yes."

"Let me guess, pancake batter?"

"He has a problem. I'll see you in school."

"Later."

We hung up in unison and I peeked at Alice from under my lashes, seeing her expression of intense amusement.

"Yeah, you're laughing now, but you won't be when dad takes you aside to have a little chat with you about boundaries." I took great pleasure in seeing the smug smile slide off her face.

"You do know that unless we leave right now, we'll be late," Jasper stated, standing up.

"Being late for something we've done a thousand times before?" Rosalie asked with obvious sarcasm. "Perish the thought!"

Emmett pouted. "But I didn't get to ask Bella any questions."

That was true, they had let me enjoy my breakfast without pestering me in the least, despite how curious they must be.

"Well, you guys could always swing by my place tonight, I know that my family have been dying to meet you, despite appearances," I suggested. Now that they knew, we had no reason not to have an introductory meeting between the two families. Also, they were bound to be anxious now that I had told the Cullen's, and letting Clare 'scan' them would really put them at ease.

A delighted smile spread across Carlisle's face. "That's a marvellous idea. Vegetarian vampire covens are a rare occurrence, it would be a pleasure to meet another." Alice tugged on my hand slightly and made her way over to the door, waiting for me.

"And they'd definitely enjoy meeting you." I stood up from my seat and regarded my cat. "Um, Esme?"

"Yes dear?"

"Would you mind if Sanderson hung out here for a little while and could you maybe bring him with you when you come over tonight?"

She looked over at the cat, who was sprawled on top of the counter beside the mixing bowl, one paw resting on it lazily. "Of course. He'll be nice company."

I walked backwards with the Cullen teens, heading towards the garage. "Thanks, and if he tries to sit on your face, it just means he likes you."

I said my goodbyes and followed Alice out the door connecting with the garage. As I went, I pulled my ring out of the pocket I had put it into, and slipped it on. The familiar tingle swept over me and I resigned myself to another day of feeling like I was surrounded my bees. Alice looked over at me and her eyes widened slightly. I guess I should probably tell her when I was going to change my whole appearance.

The garage was big, full expensive cars and on the far side, there appeared to be a work shop, with various types of equipment lined up along its shelves, as well as spare parts littering the tables. I looked around curiously as Rosalie and Emmett got into a red Mercedes, although the exact type eluded me. Cars were not where my interest lay.

Alice took my hand again and pulled me over to a silver Volvo, which Jasper and Edward were already entering. "Come on, we'll be going in Edward's car."

My eyebrow rose. "Where's yours?"

Somehow I knew, as I followed her into the silver car, that she would be blushing if she could. "Um, well, I wasn't used to driving without my visions, and I sort of crashed."

I winced, knowing full well that she had crashed because I had screwed with her power. "Sorry."

"Well, in both our defences, the other guy was drunk," she said, shrugging. Edward started the car and drove out of the garage at a leisurely pace, unlike Rosalie, who drove like the hounds of hell were after her.

My eyebrows shot up in alarm. "Other guy? Was he okay?"

"He was fine, I didn't have visions, but I still had vampire reflexes. I swerved. My car on the other hand, needed a pile of new things, so I decided that while it was in the shop, I'd get it fully upgraded. It should be done in few days." She actually clapped her hands together like a child.

I smiled at her behaviour and slid over to her, sighing in contentment when she leaned against me.

Edward chuckled at us in the rear-view mirror.

"What's so funny, Chuckles? I've seen you do it with Jasper at least four times since I came to your house," I said, looking between the two guys in the front seats.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that you two act like you've been in a relationship for years, instead of a few days," he replied.

I looked down at Alice and met her golden eyes. Did we? I mean, I felt damn comfortable around her and we seemed to have completely skipped that nervous 'start-of-relationship-jitters', where every move you made was scrutinised in case you offended your prospective partner. I had read many books and watched TV shows that told me as much.

Alice wrapped her arm more snugly around my waist. "That's because we complement each other so well. Like you and Jazz."

I frowned at that. "Speaking of you and Jasper, last night you said we would be Forks' first same-sex relationship. What about you two? Does nobody know about you?"

Jasper smiled and patted Edwards hand affectionately. "We used to keep it a secret several decades ago, because of the negative views on homosexuality, but since the eighties, we stopped bothering. But even so, we're both very private people and we don't engage in much PDA. It's not that we hid it, if someone were to ask, we'd tell them, it's more that nobody seems to have noticed."

Alice scoffed beside me. "Or they just didn't want to believe it. If Jessica found out that you two were gay, she'd take it upon herself to show you just what you were missing."

Edward visibly shuddered, slowing down slightly as though he wanted to prolong the ride so he wouldn't have to deal with her.

Unfortunately for him, even going slowly, Forks school filled the windshield in a few minutes in all its glory. Students were getting out of their cars, talking to their peers, or just wandering around like lost sheep until the bell rang. I knew I probably should have been apprehensive about this, but I wasn't. What would happen, would happen and there was nothing I could do to stop it, short of pretending Alice and I weren't together and that was just stupid.

"Oh, there are Jesse and Lee," Alice said, pointing towards my two siblings. They were leaning against our car, watching the surrounding students with disinterest. Lee held my messenger bag in his hand along with his own.

Edward pulled into the space beside them and turned off the ignition. I could see Emmett and Rosalie making their way over towards us, so I opened the door and slipped out. By the time Edward, Jasper and Alice had gathered around me, Emmett and Rosalie had arrived, all of us standing in a circle regarding each other warily. Or at least, everyone else was.

I sighed. "Ok, before everybody starts pulling out the pistols, you're all at least over fifty years old, so let's all try to get along, shall we?"

Both Jesse and Lee glanced at me, taking in my determined expression before sighing in resignation.

"Fine, we'll behave," Lee stated, handing me my bag. I watched as they all relaxed slightly and stopped looking so defensive.

"See, isn't that better?" I nodded decisively pulled my bag strap over my chest. Gesturing between the two families, I said "Okay, now make friendly."

Emmett pushed past Jasper and walked over to my brother, holding a hand out. "Hey, I'm Emmett and the drop-dead gorgeous blond is my mate, Rosalie." Alice's sister smirked slightly at this, but stepped forward and held out her hand also.

Lee wasn't a petite guy by any means, but even he seemed small compared to the walking tree-man that was Emmett. He reached out and returned the shake, looking slightly bewildered by Emmett's friendly attitude. He shook Rosalie's hand next. "Hello Emmett, Rosalie, I'm Lee and the redhead is my mate, Jesse."

It was obvious that they already knew each other's names, but for the sake of first time introductions, they chose to reaffirm them.

Jasper bobbed his head in their direction. "Jasper, and this here is my mate, Edward."

Alice giggled beside me and leaned against my side. "Well look at you, making peace wherever you are."

"Is it wrong for me to want my family and the family of my girlfriend to get along?" I asked her, ignoring Jesse's snort.

The bell rang before she could come up with a suitably insulting comment, so we all agreed to meet up at lunch and see how the human's reacted to that little bit of gossip gold.

Alice and I shared AP English, so we made our way towards the class-room hand in hand. On the way there, nobody seemed to connect our joined hands with any kind of romantic relationship and I began to wonder how to go about this.

"Hey Alice," I asked, opening the door to the English room, ushering her in before me. It was almost full, soggy students sitting as close to the radiator as possible while still being in their seats. A few spaces were left open, but only one with two chairs available side by side, coincidentally the same one we sat at on my first day here.

"Yeah?" She practically floated her way over and sat down delicately, drawing her usual admiring stares. This probably should have bothered me more than it did, but Alice, being a vampire, was the monogamous sort, so I had no reason to worry about competition. Still, it didn't mean I liked the more lustful gazes. Admiration was fine, leering was not.

"How exactly do we come out to Forks? Nobody seemed to click with the hand-holding, probably because you seem like a very touchy-feely person to begin with, but outright kissing on a table in the cafeteria seems kinda tacky."

She thought about that for a moment. "Well, I've never come out to a school before. I guess we just act like ourselves and wait for them to catch on."

I nodded, watching as the teacher came in and began setting up his projector. Seemed simple enough.

XXX

Of all the fruits of the world, bananas would have to be my least favourite. It wasn't that I didn't like them, it was just that I liked them the least. Their taste just didn't do it for me, and the general appearance of them irked me for some reason. After learning of my newfound sexual preference, Jesse was convinced that my putting bananas at the bottom of my fruit pile held some Freudian significance, something I chose to ignore whenever she brought it up.

I didn't usually spend hefty amounts of time mulling over the existence of the yellow fruit, but I found myself doing just that, mainly to avoid busting a rib laughing over the scene taking place beside me in the cafeteria line.

"Yes Stephen, I meant it that way. Bella and myself are in a relationship, she is my girlfriend, ma petite amie, meine freundin, la mia ragazza. Are there any other languages you'd like me to say it in before you get it through that surprisingly thick head of yours and stop hitting on her in that crude and disgusting manner?"

Alice could be surprisingly intimidating when she put her mind to it and the stunned guy she was growling at was finding that out the hard way.

After deciding to 'just act like ourselves and wait for them to catch on', Alice had lasted approximately two hours and thirty-six minutes before cracking and yelling at the third guy to proposition me. Stephen Bradshaw, local quarter-back and notorious ladies-man had been the most persistent so far, suggesting a whole manner of inappropriate activities that would only be suitable for people who had been in a relationship for a long time and felt a deep and abiding love for one another. Unfortunately, I had discovered that most humans didn't share my sentiments in that area and frequently went at it like rabbits whenever they could.

When he first made a play for my attention, I had politely told him that I wasn't interested, tightened my grip on Alice's hand and went back to perusing the food selection. Both my siblings, whom I could see out of the corner of my eye, had been sending their best death-ray impressions in his direction, something to which he was painfully oblivious. I had reached the fruit section and noticed the bananas, when Alice had cut the young Mr Bradshaw off during his third, and thus far, most vulgar suggestion. In her defence, she had been cordial when she told him I was spoken for. At least the first time.

However, Stephen didn't seem to think that any girl would turn him down to be with another girl in 'that way'. Alice had taken offence at that, and here we were. Understandably, several people in the line with us, as well as some who were seated, were watching with morbid interest.

"Whoa, chill lady, I was just asking if she wanted a good time," he groused, crossing his arms over his expansive chest and trying to look tough. If he knew that the diminutive girl he was squaring off against could rip out his spine and beat him with it, he probably would have been more terrified than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

"Well if your idea of a 'good time' involves the back seat of your car, then she's not interested," Alice stated, unmoved by his macho attempts.

He huffed in disgust, looking past her at me. "Well, I guess we know who wears the pants in your relationship."

My brows furrowed and I looked down at my legs, then at Alice. "We're both wearing pants."

He tossed his head, light brown hair flying in all directions. I could tell that Alice's glaring was getting to him, what little self-preservation instincts he had warning him against her. "Whatever, when you're ready to be with a real man, let me know."

I cocked my head to the side. "The fact that I'm with Alice in a romantic relationship should tell you that I don't want a man. Why would you assume otherwise?"

He didn't seem to know how to reply to that one, so he merely gave Alice a dark look, turned on his heel and stormed away, pushing a freshman out of his path as he went. Everything was silent for a few moments before the whispering started, although to us it really wasn't that quiet.

I picked up my tray and placed an orange on it beside my salad and milk carton. Glancing beside me at the still irate Alice, I remarked casually, "So, act like ourselves, huh?"

She looked at me, then back at the door Stephen had left through, then back again, looking a great deal more sheepish each time her head moved. "Uh, sorry?"

I smirked. "Oh, no need to apologise. I thought it was rather romantic, you defending my virtue and all that." We both paid at the counter and made our way towards the table that now held the Cullen's and my family. "Besides, that was one way to come out to Forks."

The sound of snickering reached my ears and I looked up to see Emmett trying to muffle his laughter and failing miserably. The rest of them were looking at Alice with sympathy and understanding, even Jesse.

Alice put her tray down and plopped into her seat, looking despondent. "You guys never said it would be this bad. I'm never jealous!"

I took the seat beside her and looked over at Lee in question, who turned to face me. "You know how when vampires are newly mated, they're all giggly and happy one minute, but if anyone tries to hit on one of them, they turn on that person like rabid dogs?"

I paused, forkful of salad half-way to my mouth. "I do now."

He looked frankly surprised. "Oh, did we not mention that? Must have slipped our minds."

I stared at him incredulously. "Slipped your minds? It's sort of an important talk to have, don't you think?"

"Well I'm sorry, but do you have any idea how many talks are required when raising a child from infancy?" He held up his hand and began ticking off fingers. "You need the 'don't talk to strangers' talk, the 'don't play with dangerous equipment' talk and the dreaded 'sex' talk to name just a few. Not to mention the fact that you weren't exactly a normal baby, so we had to add even more, like the 'no powers around humans' talk, the 'stop bringing home pet mountain lions' talk, the 'don't fly out of the country without telling us first' talk. Some are bound to slip through the net."

I considered that briefly. "True."

"When did you fly out of the country?" Edward asked, looking at me curiously.

I chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of my neck. "Oh, I, um, flew to Tahiti when I was twelve."

The Cullen's made various noises ranging from a strangled duck to a strange sort of squeak.

"You flew to Tahiti when you were twelve?" Rosalie asked.

"Well, I was going through puberty and I was a little miffed," I hedged. "And a lot of kids run away for a little bit."

Emmett snorted. "Yeah, but they usually don't make it into the next town, let alone skip the entire continent."

"Man, did we have a major freak out over that little incident," Jesse reminisced, gaze distant.

"You must have been a blast to watch grow up," the burly vampire continued.

Lee laughed. "That's one way of putting it." He nudged his mate. "Hey, remember that time we were staying at that little fishing town and we rented that boat?"

Jesse smiled hugely. "And we went out on that really long ocean cruise?" He nodded, snickering.

"What happened?" Jaspers soft voice was heard easily over their laughter.

Hands waving, Jesse scooted up in her chair. "Okay, so Bella was about three at this point. She could already run faster than a human and was able to fly, so we didn't have to worry about her all that much. So we get out there, no humans in sight and we're just chilling on the water, when we see the dorsal fin of a shark.

"We automatically turn the boat in that direction to go see it. Turns out, it was a great white attacking a large school of fish. We pull the boat up at a respectable distance and sit back to watch. After a few minutes, the shark goes under and we notice that Bella isn't with us and is in fact no longer on the boat."

Alice leaned forward earnestly, listening to Jesse tell one of the many stories from my childhood. I merely rolled my eyes and took another bite of salad, watching the students around us give up their pretence of not openly staring at us and just openly stare at us.

"So anyway, there we are frantically searching the ship for the little miss when Clare turns around and screams in pure reaction. All of us spin in the direction she's facing, expecting to see the worst and in some ways we do."

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see one of the braver students make his way towards us, only to be met with an almost vicious glare from Rosalie. He backs away swiftly and I raise an eyebrow at her.

"I want to hear what happens next," she said unrepentedly, shrugging.

Jesse grinned at her and continued. "We finally spot her, out in the open water, little feet kicking to keep her afloat and her hand resting on the damn shark's nose."

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Alice breathed, turning her wide-eyed gaze in me. "You did not make friends with a friggin' great white."

"I knew she wasn't going to hurt me and I liked making new friends when I was younger," I replied, pulling off an orange segment and popping it into my mouth, enjoying the rich tangy flavour.

Lee scoffed. "When you were younger? Did we or did we not find you snuggling with a grizzly a few months ago?"

"Hey, leave Clarence out of this."

"Clarence? You named a grizzly bear Clarence?" This came from Edward as he picked apart his bagel. Why did the Cullen's spend lunch in the cafeteria if none of them ate anyway. Surely they could just go home for lunch, or to the library?

"Well, yeah. When I first met him, I had this little bell on a charm bracelet and he kept poking at it to hear the sound."

"And that led you to name him Clarence because..?"

"It's A Wonderful Life. You know, "Atta boy Clarence!"

It finally clicked and he nodded his head in understanding. "How apt that you should watch a Christmas movie about an angel."

"Hey, that's a feel good movie and one of the most inspirational films to date, I didn't just watch it for the angel."

"That's it, next time you're over at our house, I'm gonna pick the best angel movie I can find and we're all watching it," Emmett said, draping an arm around Rosalie.

The sound of footsteps moving in our direction distracted me before I could say anything, and I turned to see Katie making her way towards our table with determined strides. The whispering around us ceased almost immediately as they all watched her approach. Her heartbeat was a bit accelerated, her nervousness at coming over to the infamous Cullen table showing through.

Stopping beside me she waved slightly at the other occupants. "Hello."

Edward relaxed minutely beside Jasper and smiled back at her.

"Um, Bella, we were just wondering if maybe you could swing by our table for a minute?"

"Sure, lead the way." I stood up and followed her across the cafeteria, glancing back at the others for a few moments. They seemed apprehensive as to how this would go and I couldn't say that I didn't feel the same way.

The table she led me to was the same one I had sat at when my family and the Cullen's had gone hunting for that sunny week, and the people sitting there were still the same. Angela, Tyler, Ben and Eric sat on one side, while Jessica, Lauren and Mike sat on the other, with two empty seats left for Katie and I.

I sat down on the seat between Angela and Eric and waited patiently for them to start the conversation.

Tyler began it by resting his arms on the table and speaking slowly, almost hesitantly. "So, you're gay, huh?"

I knew that wasn't entirely accurate. I didn't prefer women so much as I preferred Alice. "I guess so."

Everyone was silent as they digested that for a moment. Then Eric spoke up. "And you bagged Alice Cullen? Nice."

I laughed a bit at is expression, equal parts awed and jealous. "Yeah, she is."

Angela nudged me and I turned to her, noting her smile. "When we were at La Push, you told me you were sort of involved with someone. It was Alice wasn't it? You don't have any other girlfriends or boyfriends stashed away anywhere do you?"

"Now why on earth would I need anyone else? You have seen Alice, right?" I heard laughter from my table and looked over to see a smug grin on Alice's face.

Eric whistled. "Hell yeah I've seen her. Gorgeous in every sense of the word, tiny waist, built like a model and with curves that just won't stop."

I levelled him with a mock glare. "Hey, you eyeballing my woman?"

"Bella, Bella, Bella," he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "You're one of the guys now. That means you gotta notice these things on a woman, whether you're dating her or not. Now don't worry, the guy code strictly prohibits stealing another guys girl, but as my dad always says, 'if it's there, you gotta stare'".

"Why am I the guy?"

He shrugged. "Because you're taller, that's why."

"And we've never seen you in a dress or skirt, unlike Alice," Katie put in. "Therefore, you've been allotted the status of 'guy'. Stereotypical, I know, but what can you do?"

I regarded the four who had yet to say anything, Ben, Lauren, Jessica and Mike. "And what about you guys? Do I have to worry about being shunned by you for who I choose to date, or can well all just get along?"

Ben smiled at me. "As long as you don't put those moves of yours Angela, I'm cool with it."

I gasped in mock horror and turned to look at the furiously blushing girl in question. "I wouldn't dream of it!"

She grinned over at me shyly. "What about you, when did you and Alice start going out?"

"Well, we actually went on our first date last Friday." I smiled at the memory. ""It was awesome."

"Well, I don't have a problem with it either, I suppose, and I'm not ashamed to admit that you've provided me with enough juicy gossip to last the rest of the semester at least," Jessica put in, surprising me with her statement.

Mike and Lauren were the only ones that hadn't said anything yet so everyone turned my head to face them.

Scratching the back of his neck, Mike cleared his throat. "I'm not going to pretend that I'm okay with this, Bella, because I'm not. But I can be honest enough with myself to admit that it's not just because you're gay, more because I'm jealous."

"Well, I didn't expect everyone to be okay with it, and I'm positive that a lot of people will be firmly against it, but I can appreciate your honesty."

He bobbed his head once and went back to eating his fries and meatloaf.

Lauren scoffed and glared at me. "Bella, I don't like you, and I doubt I'll ever like you, so I don't really care who the hell you go out with, as long as you keep your eyes off me." That was surprisingly mature of her. She didn't dislike my preferences, she just disliked me. How consistent.

I easily heard Alice let out a low growl, almost over-run by Emmett's booming laugh and I resisted the urge to look over at her.

"Okay, now that all the serious stuff is out of the way, give me some details. Have you guys kissed yet?" Eric was enjoying this way too much, but I couldn't fault his enthusiasm.

I remained sitting at their table for the remainder of lunch and bade them goodbye when the bell rang, making my way towards my fellow non-humans. As soon as I reached them, Alice wrapped her arm around my waist and leaned into me, placing gentle kiss on my lips. The students surrounding us as they left the cafeteria responded to this with various responses, from smiles, to indifference, to outright disgust. However, none of the latter group said anything, mainly because there were seven vampires around me and they subconsciously knew that antagonising our group would be a bad idea right now.

""You okay?" she asked.

I smiled at them in reassurance. "I'm fine, everyone was cool with it and Lauren just dislikes me for the sake of disliking me."

"She's actually very jealous of you, but what she said was true, she doesn't care either way," Edward noted, looking at each face as they passed, likely reading their thoughts for any signs of hostility.

Jesse pushed between Alice and I, wrapping her arms around us both. "Okay, if anyone gives you two lovebirds any trouble, just send 'em my way. I'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget."

I shook my head at her. "Jesse, while your threat is equal parts ominous and endearing, there will most likely be a lot of opposition and I'd prefer not to have to worry about anybody getting the crap kicked out of them. Everybody is entitled to their own personal opinion and if we tried to force our own views onto them through violence, we'd be no better than they are."

She gave a little growl of frustration. "You know, sometimes I really dislike your understanding attitude. Fine, I won't use physical violence unless they do it first, but I will use my superior knowledge and verbal fighting skills to give them a thorough tongue-lashing."

Emmett crossed his huge arms over his chest as we all made our way to the double-doors. "I reserve my right to beat on anyone who tries to pick on you two."

My sister perked up at that, trotting over to look up into his eyes beseechingly. "Oh, can I stand on the side-lines and heckle them while you hurt them? Please?"

Emmett grinned at her, clapping her on the shoulder approvingly. "I can see that this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship." More worrisome words were never spoken.

The rest of the school day passed uneventfully, with the exception of my Maths teacher, Mr Hansson, a portly man with greying hair, acting more than a little chilly towards me. It was to be expected, so I didn't let it bother me. I could only imagine the reaction I'd get in gym tomorrow.

By the time the final bell rang, I was in the mood for a bowl of chocolate ice cream and a giant glass of milk, cookies optional. The Cullens and my siblings were all grouped together beside our respective cars when I arrived and Alice immediately leapt into my arms.

"Hello Alice, did you have any problems today?" I inquired with a smile.

She shrugged, resting her chin on my shoulder. "No one tried anything yet, and other than the whispering, everything was fairly okay." We both knew that the likelihood of problems arising in the future was high. Once the students overcame their surprise, the crap might hit the fan, but everyone I cared about was fine with it so I couldn't care less.

"So when are you guys coming over tonight?" I asked, directing my question at the girl attached to my hip.

"Say what now?" Jesse looked between us in confusion.

I clapped my hand to my forehead. "Sorry, I totally spaced. I invited the Cullen's over tonight so we could have everyone meet each other."

"Sounds like a good idea," Lee said. "I assume they'll be bringing Sanderson over?"

Alice nodded. "Yup, we'll be over at around seven. That good?"

I leaned down and pulled her into a kiss, then pulled back after a few delicious seconds. "Very good."

I would have gone in for more, but Lee broke in. "Okay, okay, we should go before you two start making out on the car."

I pouted. "I have more class than that…we'd make out in the car."

Emmett, Edward and Jasper all chuckled, even Rosalie smiling a bit, and opened their car door, piling in while my siblings did the same until only Alice and I were left outside.

I ran a hand through her spikey hair and watched as it sprang back up. "Did I ever tell you that I think you have fantastic hair?"

Her tinkling laughter cut through the surrounding sounds of car exhausts and wind, as well as the occasional whispered comment. "No, but thank you."

I tightened my arms around her as she laid her head on my shoulder, both of us swaying together gently.

"We probably shouldn't be doing this in the school parking lot," she commented, after a moment of comfortable silence.

"Afraid of harming their fragile sensibilities?"

She smiled into my neck. "Nope, I'm insanely lucky to have you and I intend to show you off as much as I possibly can."

"Likewise, Alice, likewise."

A honk of a car brought me out of my Alice-haze and I turned to glare at Jesse, who looked completely unrepentant. I sighed and took a step back, untangling my arms from around her.

"I guess I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah, tonight."

Neither of us moved.

"Oh for God's sake, you'll see each other in three hours! It's really not that long," Rosalie grumbled, sounding extremely exasperated

"Alright already, I'm coming." Alice pressed her lips to mine one last time and walked backwards to her car, eyes on me the whole time. I did the same and only broke eye contact when a cold hand wrapped itself in my shirt and pulled me off my feet and into the car.

"Quick Lee, drive! Before she realises she's more than five feet away from Alice and panics!"

"Oh shut up." I sat back into my seat and looked out the window, spotting Alice's face as she did the same in her car. Our eyes remained locked until we were out of sight of each other and I resigned myself to three hours of no Alice until her and her family came over tonight.

Man, I had it bad.

A/N: And another chapter comes to a close. I was meant to have this up several days ago, but I couldn't write for some reason. Anyway, hope you liked it and if you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I would have liked for this chapter to be all fluffy, with rainbows and unicorns and butterflies, but, alas, some people are just narrow-minded and if there was no conflict, it would not be realistic. Not that a story about angels and vampires is realistic to begin with, but you know...

As always, I live on your reviews, so R&R. You know you want to…