AN: Thank you for all the support and all the reviews! I had four hours of homework yesterday, only in my two math classes. I found time for this chappy this afternoon, but don't expect this often. I updated all my stories this past weekend and the chapters were all decently sized. I am proud of that… Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Do I sound like I wrote five books?

I was starting to wake up, mind and body, but I hadn't realized who or what or when or anything. I shifted my head from one side to the other hoping the unwanted voices would go away.

"That was close!"

"Emmett!" Several voices whispered harshly.

"The veins spinning off her crescent and down her body from it are all sparkling. It appears to be only in the veins. I wonder why…"

"It's strange, Carlisle."

"Indeed it is."

8. What's Happening?

There were voices and I was aware of it, but I didn't know who they were or anything about them. I had fallen asleep. When I registered a booming voice, a booming familiar voice, I jumped up in a flashing movement and spun around. "What are you doing here?!" I hissed. Wait. I hissed? I looked down and I was crouching low to the ground; it looked like I was ready to pounce, like a cat. I shook my head, stood up, and brushed my shirt down. "Why are you here?" I asked in a normal voice.

"When you didn't answer your phone, we decided to come and check on you, dear," Esme said. I couldn't be mean to Esme so I let out the breath I had been holding, closed my eyes, and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"I'm fine," I said through gritted teeth. I dropped my hand and added, "Really."

"You look wonderful, dear," Esme said, motioning to me. "But are you okay on the inside?" I thought about that and tilted my head to the side in a fast movement. "Esme, you remind me of my mom," I said. And then I just started crying out of nowhere. I heard Alice gasp and I looked up, wiping a tear off my face. I looked at it and it was red. It was blood.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that," I said with a sigh, defeated. The Cullens could all hear, but I didn't care. Then I laughed. I didn't know what was so funny but I was laughing. I looked down and saw the veins in my arms sparkling. This just sent on more laughter. Something was definitely wrong with me. "I sparkle," I whispered.

"Yes, you do!" Alice squealed. I looked up at her and folded my arms across my chest in a protective gesture. "That's not all, is it?" She asked.

"I don't know what you mean," I responded.

"Oh, Bella, you do know what I mean. You sparkle! And you have seemed a bit… different these couple of days," she said. She was, well, bubbly, but she looked like she was confused and edgy for some reason. What was up with her, I mean the edgy part; she is always bubbly. Looking up, I saw that her family were all looking at me. What stood out to me was Rosalie's expression. She was sympathetic and… sad, really.

I did yet another fast head move to the other direction while examining Rosalie. She gave me a sad smile while I looked at her. She looked down and then back up to meet my gaze. Her eyes were pained and I wondered why she was looking at me that way. I narrowed my eyes in confusion. And then it happened. I saw things more clearly than I had ever seen them. I could depict every small line with absolute clarity. I looked up at a tree next to the house and it was defined and clear. There were colors that I had never seen before in the dust particles. I gasped as my eyes raked over members of the Cullen family. It was like I had never seen them clearly. Rosalie was even more beautiful, Alice was smiling widely as if I had just confirmed something for her, and Jasper was… wow. Jasper's scars were so clear that I bent over slightly while looking at him, ready to pounce- what was up with that word?- again. My new "sight" didn't last long enough to see the entire family; it went "out" or "off" or however you want to phrase it. I frowned.

They were all looking at me intently. I risked a glance at Edward and his face was pained like Rosalie's was, but his eyes had a subtle happy look. "What?" I asked. No one answered and I looked directly at Rosalie and said, "What is it?" She didn't meet my gaze. I looked back and forth from each of the Cullens and pulled my arms tighter to me. I felt fragile and weak. "You haven't decided to eat me, have you?"

"You would think of that to say right now, you silly human!" Emmett yelled.

"Well it's true, isn't it? I mean, your eyes aren't red, but that doesn't mean you don't want to drain me of my life, does it?" Edward looked me in the eyes, then, and I was frozen; it wasn't that I couldn't look away, it was that I wouldn't. I wanted to drown in his eyes, in him. I blinked and forgot that I was supposed to be staying away from him, all of them. "You never did tell me the real reason you came here," I said.

"It was as Esme said, we wanted to make sure you were alright," Edward said. His voice was velvet and it was soft as a blanket around my shoulders. In that moment, I knew that I couldn't stay away anymore, even if I wanted to and I wasn't sure that I did. Yes, I had been harmed by a vampire that I had trusted fully before, but something about this family just reeled me back in and I found myself thinking that if they were to hurt me, I would mind it so much more.

I was willing to take that chance.

"Edward," I said. It was low and timid, but I tried to convey all my apologies into it. Our eyes were still locked and I wasn't sure how long they were connected that way.

"Do you have a multiple personality disorder?" he asked. I was hurt, but he gave me his special crooked smile and I was gone. I think I fell in love.

"Not at the moment," was my reply. I tilted my head, thought about it, and continued, "Well, maybe." I was still feeling extremely weird about everything that had been happening to me these past few days. Between the ears, eyes, and feet, I didn't know which one was more thought-provoking in me. They were all bizarre, not to mention the red tears and the sparkling.

I suppose I knew deep-down what has happening to me, then, but I didn't let myself mention it as anything plausible.

"Bella, I am sure you don't remember as you were passing out, but I should ask. Do you remember the last thing you said to me last night?" Carlisle asked, intent on my answer. I saw every Cullen lean forward a bit, anticipating my answer.

"No," I began. "I didn't."

"Didn't?"

"Well, don't act like you don't know," I said.

"Yes, that was quite a display last night. When it was happening at the hospital this week I didn't know what to think, but then my children told me it was happening to them at school as well. It's quite fascinating," Carlisle said. He was still looking intently at me. I shifted uncomfortably, still holding myself.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"It's quite alright, Bella. I was merely wondering what exactly we experienced," he said. Alice was bouncing, "Please, Bella! I want to know so badly! We won't do anything and I promise we will understand! Please," she pouted. How could I refuse that? And Edward was looking expectant. These vampires would be the death of me.

"I can control time." How could I do that?! How could I tell them? Hadn't I sworn to myself that I would avoid them at all costs and not get involved? Well, it was too late now. I smacked myself mentally for what I had just done. Though I had said it in a small voice, they were vampires and they heard it.

"That's why!" Alice screamed. I didn't have time to reply because she attacked me! My adrenaline ran in again and I strongly pulled her off of me and took a step back. She looked at me, amazed. I folded my arms in again.

"Why- I mean what? What's why?" I asked. It didn't make much sense to me but Alice knew what I meant. She was smiling wider than I had ever seen. It looked like her eyes were going to bulge out. I grimaced.

"That's why I haven't been able to see since you arrived here," she said. She was still smiling but you couldn't miss the sadness in her voice.

"See?" I asked.

"I can see the future, Bella," she explained. It took a minute to process. It made sense! Whenever she mentioned anything about me she had seemed a little down-trodden. It made sense now.

"That makes sense," I said.

She smiled, "Jasper's an empath."

"Well, that makes sense, too," I said. Jasper seemed to know what I was feeling whenever I was feeling it; it was because he was! It was all coming together now, but I wasn't sure why Alice was telling me all of this.

"I knew that out of seven of you, at least one would have an ability," I reasoned.

"How did you know that?" Carlisle asked.

"Well, it's logical. I mean, the Volturi," when I said this, their eyes all popped, "The Volturi have large numbers. Jane and Alec have extroadinary abilities and Renata is a shield; that's rare. Your family has a large number. It's logical," I finished.

"How do you know about the Volturi?" Edward asked. This story would require some things I wasn't ready for yet. I couldn't tell them everything about myself and my past right now. They would have to wait for my trust.

"I can't tell you that, Carlisle; I'm sorry, really," I said. I looked down and a single red tear escaped my eye and landed on the grass at my feet. I saw the Cullens all look at it from under my lashes. Edward was upset, I could tell. It upset me more than it should have.

"I answered your questions-"

"Not all of them," Alice replied. Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and Esme were staying pretty silent. They were just watching the conversation more than taking a role in it.

"I can't."

"Well, why not?"

"Just let it go, Alice. Please," I begged. She nodded but I could tell that this conversation wasn't over. I would have to tell them when the time came, but I silently hoped it never would. "So what's up with the golden eyes, seriously?" Alice just grinned, shook her head, and rolled her eyes.

"I already told you," she said. I thought back and remembered she had said that they didn't eat humans.

"So you are- what, an animal drinker'?"

"We call ourselves vegetarians," Emmett offered with a huge grin.

"Huh," I was thinking. "Well, it's better than what I thought you were."

"We aren't bad and we won't harm you," Esme added with a small smile.

"I'm sorry for thinking that you would, but," I stopped and took a breath. I smiled apologetically. A part of me wished for nothing more than to tell them everything about me, but the other half was telling me that they would hurt me and they didn't care about my past.

"It's okay, Bella," Alice began. "You can tell us when you are ready."

I smiled gratefully, "Thanks, Alice."

"Who bit you?" Jasper asked.

"Jasper, she doesn't want to talk about it yet," Rosalie said. I couldn't believe she was acting this way. She was upset for me and standing up for me. Maybe I had misjudged her. Jasper was looking confused. What could it hurt to give him a name? I turned around and lifted my hair to show the Cullens my scar. I could feel the sun on it and it felt wonderful. The sun no longer hurt my body when it hit my back and shoulder, not like it had in Pheonix. Now it tingled and it felt incredible.

"I was bitten by a vampire-"

"Well no duh, Bella!" Emmett boomed. I giggled a bit.

"Do you want me to tell you or not?" I challenged him. He made the hand motion of "zipping his lips and throwing away the key". I grinned at that.

"I was bitten by a male vampire. His name is…"

AN: I hope it was worth the wait. Don't expect these updates as often.

Review.

~Sylvia