Chapter Seven

Now I'm looking up the Bible
Trying to find a loophole.
Yeah I'm living for revival,
Dying for a new soul.
Now there's no light to guide me on my way home
Now there's no time to shine my rusty halo.
It's been a long time coming,
It's been a long time.
It's been a long time coming,
Yeah it's been a long time,
It's been a long time coming.
Been so long
But I gotta shine, shine, shine
My rusty halo.
Gotta shine my rusty halo,
Gotta shine my rusty halo.

~Rusty Halo by The Script~

Edward Cullen

Alice was out of the car almost before I'd parked it in the garage, running to the house.

"Carlisle! Carlisle!" She called and he appeared on the porch, looking worried.

"Alice? What's wrong? Is everything alright?" Did Jasper…?

"No." I assured him and he closed his eyes in relief before looking at the excitable Alice.

"Alice, tell me." He said patiently.

"Carlisle, we saw a ghost!" She squealed and Rosalie gave an irritated sigh, slamming the car door behind her.

"She's been giddy all the way home. Please tell her ghosts aren't real." She said dryly. This statement was more to annoy Alice than convince us of her lunacy.

"Jasper and Edward saw her too! Tell him!" Alice turned on us, her excitement like a tidal wave knocking into us.

Carlisle looked at me and I raised my eyebrows.

"There was a girl at school. I bumped into her and knocked her down. She was… upset and when she stood up, she walked through a wall."

"Through it, Carlisle!" Alice repeated for emphasis and Carlisle put a hand on her shoulder to calm her.

"She was dead, Carlisle. No heartbeat. Edward can't hear her thoughts." Jasper added.

"I couldn't see her properly until halfway through the period after lunch. I don't know what happened but suddenly she was cemented in our future. Well… Edward's future, anyway." She smiled.

"Alice." I gave a warning growl and Jasper scowled at me. Esme, who had arrived just in time to hear Alice's statement, looked at me in astonishment.

"Edward, who is she?" She asked wonderingly and I pinched the bridge of my nose, tension prickling in my neck.

"I have no idea. Alice is being ridiculous. I'm going to hunt before we meet with the Quiluete."

Without another word I took off running, taking pleasure from the pounding of my feet on the damp earth. It was like returning to my roots, becoming the basic animal that nature had intended me to be. I heard footsteps behind me and Jasper's thoughts, but I ignored him, covering several miles easily until I got a whiff of grazing deer. Four of them. I didn't bother to sneak up or play hide-and-seek. I took the largest easily, using years of technique to claw away a lump of fur and seek access to the pounding vein. I heard Jasper take another and we drank in silence. The warm blood filled my mouth again and again and I focused on being an animal, a hunter, unaware of any dramatic occurrences that were unravelling around me.

Jasper had no such intentions. The moment I'd dropped the deer he turned his gaze on me.

Did running away help?

"What do you want, Jasper?" I said quietly, dragging the corpse to a tree and stuffing it under the roots. Jasper tossed his carcass to me and I buried that too.

Your emotions… do you even understand what you're feeling?

I didn't reply, planting the tree back into the ground. I took a little longer than necessary kicking the dirt back into place and I heard Jasper's irritated sigh.

Why're you so afraid, Edward? You scared that you might actually find someone? Alice told me what she saw-

"She's wrong." I said flatly, "And I'm not afraid because nothing is going to happen."

You weren't just afraid. You were confused and upset too. Ain't no bad thing to be loved, Edward. Just remember that.

He took off running and I stood staring at the tree in miserable confusion.

~*~

Thankfully no one brought the subject up again that evening. Alice, Jasper, Carlisle and I climbed into the Volvo and drove up to the border of La Push in silence. I knew Alice wanted to bring up the subject again, but restrained herself and I was grateful for that. We were a few minutes early and Carlisle turned to look at Alice and Jasper.

"We want this finished quickly. Don't speak if you don't have to, just sign the treaty and we'll leave."

"You think they'll try something?" Jasper asked and I shook my head.

"I doubt it. This is more for their benefit than ours. They want reassurance that we aren't feeding from humans."

We fell silent, standing in a line as we heard them approaching. One set of feet and the creak of a wheelchair. I watched as the two men appeared.

Only four of them? I thought there were more. Don't like Billy being here. He can't get away easily. Mind you, I'm hardly in the best state of health. Couldn't bring the young'uns though…

No reason why this can't go peacefully.

The last thought came from the man in the wheelchair. He had leathery brown skin and his long dark hair, peppered with grey streaks, was loose about his shoulders. The standing man was much older and he had a walking cane, although he stood tall and with pride.

There was silence and Carlisle took a small step forward, nodding his head.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with us. I am Carlisle Cullen. These are my sons, Edward and Jasper, and my daughter, Alice. Jasper and Alice have come to sign the treaty."

"I'm Billy Black," The wheelchair man said and gestured to his companion, "Quil Ateara Senior." They were both names I recognised from the original treaty, Black and Ateara. Two of the oldest names in Quiluete history and no doubt brought out now to impress upon us the importance of this meeting.

"You consider the treaty intact?" Quil Sr asked and Billy watched closely as Carlisle nodded again.

"I do. My family and I will abide by the terms previously set out and we are willing to compromise if you wish to add to it. We will not hunt on Quiluete lands."

"You will not kill humans." Billy added sharply and the Quil nodded shortly. Carlisle spread his hands in a friendly gesture.

"My family and I do not feed from humans."

"Your… children…" Quil looked revolted by this familial term, "They are attending Forks High School? That's a lot of fresh blood."

"We are fortunate enough to be able to foresee problems."

I looked at him abruptly. I hadn't realised that he intended to reveal Alice's gift but he gave me a reassuring glance before gesturing to her.

"Alice can see the future and you are aware of Edward's ability of mindreading. Between them they can see any potential problems and avert them, although it is not something they need to do. We can resist well enough."

I could feel the tension pouring off Jasper. As the weakest member of our family he was often miserable at the thought of letting us down. But Billy and Quil were focusing on Alice who smiled serenely.

"A psychic?" Billy questioned and she nodded.

"Yes."

"Hmm." Billy considered this for a moment. Another gift on their side. If they chose to attack…

"We sign the treaty to show our peaceful intentions, Mr Black." I said in a respectful tone, hiding my disgust at his attitude. Billy narrowed his eyes, realising what I'd heard before reaching into the bag that hung from the back of his chair. He pulled out an old piece of paper, delicate and thin. Carlisle moved forward and took it from Billy's outstretched hand. Both men flinched at his approach but Carlisle ignored this, carrying the treaty back to Jasper and Alice. Alice pulled out an ink pen and carefully signed the bottom of the paper before handing it to Jasper. He too signed and Carlisle wrapped the paper back up carefully before taking it back to Billy.

"Thank you again for meeting with us. I'm grateful that we can maintain the peace." He said charmingly and the two men turned to leave.

We watched them go in silence and then Carlisle sighed, smiling at Alice and Jasper.

"Well, that's done. Let's get home before Esme starts to worry."

~*~

Alice was kind enough to keep her thoughts to herself that night and I finished my homework quickly before spending the evening reading. Rosalie and Emmett finished up in the garage before disappearing out to the woods for what Esme delicately referred to as 'couple activities'.

I am one hundred and seven years old. I can bear to hear the word 'sex'.

Alice was sat at the computer, examining the upcoming fashions from Paris and scoffing at the ones she didn't like. Jasper was watching television – he enjoyed the Natural History programmes and Esme was watching with him whilst Carlisle finished his paperwork for the hospital.

None of us referred to the ghost again, although I knew we were all waiting to see what might happen the next day.

~*~

I drove again and Rosalie and Emmett took off the moment we arrived at school, apparently uninterested in our paranormal friend. Well, Rosalie was uninterested, I could tell that Emmett was curious. Alice looked around and then smiled.

She's here, Edward!

I frowned, wishing she wouldn't insist that I take notice. It merely encouraged her ridiculous vision but I looked around. Sure enough, sat on the low wall outside the school doors, was the girl, hands stuffed into the pockets of her hoodie. She was watching us and as I looked over she glared and stood from the wall, walking inside by the unconventional method of going straight through the side of the building. Alice sighed happily and I looked at her.

"What?"

"You're going to talk to her today. At least, that's what I can see. You should. She hasn't had anyone to talk to in a long time." Alice said, her voice turning sad and thoughtful.

~*~

I went to my classes, paying as much attention as I could, because most of my attention was focused on Alice's words. Nobody had talked to her in a long time. Presumably humans couldn't see her. So since her death… she hadn't been seen, heard, touched. I couldn't imagine that amount of isolation. Even when I felt alone, I was constantly aware of my family around me. I might be the single one in the family, but they were always available if I needed to talk, needed advice. This girl had had no such luxury.

We were sat at lunch and all of us were waiting although no one wanted to admit it. Alice was positively vibrating with excitement and Jasper touched her hand, sending a wave of calm. She smiled at him and then gasped quietly.

"There she is!"

We all looked up and saw the dark-haired girl standing by the door to the cafeteria. She was looking at a table of our classmates, Angela Weber and Jessica amongst them. Hesitantly she glanced around to look at us. Alice giggled delightedly and I heard Rosalie give an impatient sigh. The girl looked away quickly and began to walk to Angela's table before pausing. I was trying to work out why but was distracted by Jessica hissing to her friends that we were looking their away. My siblings turned away and the girl scowled in our direction as Alice laughed.

"Don't go giving Jessica ideas, Edward. She wants you to ask her out anyway!"

I frowned faintly, watching as the girl crossed to an empty table, falling into a pulled out chair. Ah, so that was why she hadn't sat at what I assumed was her usual table. She could hardly go around moving random pieces of furniture. She was glaring at the table in front of her, her arms folded across her chest and I took a moment to examine her for the first time. She wasn't remotely transparent and I wondered which ghost myths were true. Probably as many as vampire ones, I thought in amusement. She was pale though, with dark brown hair and shapely brows over expressive brown eyes. She was wearing jeans and a hoodie, but different ones to the set I'd first seen her in.

Seventeen minutes after she'd sat down, her eyes flickered towards us again. Emmett chortled and grinned widely.

Aw, she's cute, Edward! For a dead chick, I mean.

The girl blinked and frowned, looking utterly bemused. She wriggled in her seat, tightening her arms across her chest as she watched us uncertainly. Emmett laughed quietly and lifted his hand, giving a ridiculous little wave. The girl's eyes widened and I looked down at my tray of mangled food. I wanted to walk away. This was ridiculous but Alice was twisting in her chair to look at the girl.

"She's watching you, Edward."

Glaring at you, actually. Emmett added. I looked up and the girl met my eyes. We stared at each other for a minute before the girl got to her feet quickly. She turned and began to walk towards the nearest wall but glanced over her shoulder, still looking painfully uncertain.

Alice beamed at me.

"I like her!"

"You don't even know her, Ali-kins." Emmett said, grinning and Alice rolled her eyes at the nickname that only he used for her.

"No, but I'm going to. Besides, Edward's going to talk to her during Biology."

I gave her a flat look and she smiled fondly at me. Rosalie, who had been tapping away on her blackberry the whole time, looked at me.

"What's the issue, Edward? Just talk to Casper and shut Alice the hell up. I haven't seen her this hyper since shoulder pads went out."

~*~

When I arrived in Biology, the girl was sat at my desk. She glared at me, as though daring me to go and sit by her. I moved to the chair beside her, without looking at her. I took my time arranging my books and pens, carefully lining them up before staring straight ahead. The girl was watching me and then turned to look at the front of the classroom. I made no move to look at her. What would happen if I decided not to talk to her today? Would Alice's vision fail to come to fruition?

Did I want it to fail?

The memory flashed through my mind again of this girl smiling at me, telling me that she loved me. A spot low down in my ribcage began to tingle and spark at the thought. It made me uneasy and I closed my eyes, trying to will it away as Mr Banner set up a projector and started a crackling old movie on mitosis.

I took a quick look at the girl beside me. She was looking at the projector screen, but didn't seem to be paying attention, with her chin resting in her hands. She had a faintly miserable expression on her face and when she moved to brush a stray lock of hair behind her ear, that intoxicating scent hit me again. It was like a battering ram, pounding my head and chest. The venom burned my throat but it was a different burn, not for blood but for something unspecified. Something I hadn't felt before.

I pulled a piece of paper from my notebook and scribbled a note down, sliding it towards her.

What are you?

I watched as she looked down and then looked at me, a scowl on her face before she leaned over and picked up my pencil, scribbling a reply before shoving the paper back at me. I looked down at it to find it announcing that she was a Virgo and that I was a chair stealer. I repressed a smile and began to write again, her sense of humour amusing me.

I introduced myself on paper, excusing my apparent theft and requested permission to ask another question. Her reply was surprising.

Why not just read my mind?

How in the name of all that was holy did she know about that? I was immediately tense and looked at her. She looked back unflinchingly before raising her eyebrows questioningly and shrugged. I began to write again. I admitted that I couldn't hear her and asked how she knew, before leaning back in my chair watching as she read it.

But when she wrote back it was with an entirely different question.

You're not human, are you?

I asked why she thought this and she listed a set of reasons, ranging from body temperature to the fact that I could touch her.

It struck me then that my arm hitting her had been the first physical contact that she'd had in unknown years. This seemed wrong somehow; too violent, too painful. I felt burning guilt in the pit of my stomach as I looked at her. She was thin and fragile, with delicate looking limbs and features. She was tapping her fingers softly on the desk as she waited for my reply. She looked human. She looked like she should be alive. Only that telltale absence of a pumping heart gave her away, but she looked human

No. I was not human and I told her so.

This time she took a few minutes, thinking about this carefully. She was strangely patient – she had not demanded answers, only the confirmation of what she already knew, which only led me to wonder how she knew what she knew.

I reached for the paper again.

What is your name?

She looked at me then, her eyes full of mysterious expression as she examined my face before writing something and slipping out of her chair, disappearing through the nearest wall. I felt the ache of her absence and almost shuddered at my own weakness as I looked at the piece of paper.

Bella.

I took the piece of paper and folded it carefully, slipping it into my pocket as I collected my things, preparing for Spanish.

~*~

I told Alice to drive my car home, saying that I wanted to spend some time in the library, although I was fairly sure she knew what I intended to do. Mrs Price was shuffling around putting books back on the shelf and I darted behind her desk to the computer, logging on to the school database. She'd left her ID signed in, so that saved me time having to read her mind to find out the password. I typed Bella into the student database search, but nothing came up.

Bella could be short for something. Isabella seemed likely so I put that in instead. I set it to search back for twenty years, hoping that would be long enough. Only two matches came up.

Lincoln, Isabella. (2002)

Swan, Isabella. (1999)

I closed down the system and moved around the desk as Mrs Price appeared, looking suspicious. I gave my warmest smile and the blood rushed to the librarian's face.

"Mr Cullen… how are you settling in at Forks High?"

"Very well, thank you, Mrs Price." I smiled. Oh, what a handsome boy!, "Could you direct me to the old yearbooks?"

She gestured wordlessly to a far corner of the library and I thanked her, moving away at a reasonably human speed. The yearbooks were slightly dusty and I selected two, the one from 2002 and the one from 1999. I flicked through the most recent one first to find that Isabella Lincoln was a freckly blonde with slightly large front teeth. Most certainly not the girl I had been talking to. I put the book to one side, reaching for the older volume.

Isabella Swan was not listed amongst her classmates. I paused before scanning my eyes down the contents page.

Pg 17. Isabella Swan, RIP.

I turned to page seventeen and there she was, my ghost girl, smiling up nervously from the pages of the yearbook. There was a slightly pink tinge to her cheeks and I couldn't help but smile a little. She was so young and lovely. I read the brief note beside her.

The graduating students of 1999 dedicate this page to our friend, Isabella Swan, who was taken from us by tragedy. Isabella was a good student, a good friend and a great person.

We remember you.

No details, but then again, this wasn't exactly a police report. I closed the yearbook, putting both copies back on the shelf before leaving the school and running home through the woods.

Alice was waiting for me on the porch, smiling excitedly at me.

"Bella?"

"Bella." I confirmed and she laughed, jumping forward to hug me.

"Oh, Edward, I can't wait to meet her!"

"Calm down, Alice. You don't even know for sure that she'll want to get to know us." It was a foolish thing to say and I regretted it instantly as she narrowed her eyes at me and sent a replay of her vision at me.

"I love you, Edward."

A name sprang to mind for the curious sensation in my chest. It was hope and something that I hadn't felt in many years. Alice smiled at me before turning to go inside.

"She'll talk to us on Monday, Edward." She promised. I turned and walked away from the house, keeping my head ducked as I thought about the ghost girl.

This was not what I had foreseen and it unsettled me. I had a set vision of my future, despite Alice's gift. It involved being alone, watching my family, loving them and accepting that I was not the same as them. Indeed, I had already accepted this fact and Alice's vision made me incredibly uncomfortable. I did not like feeling that I didn't have a choice, that the ghost girl and I… Bella and I… that our future was decided. I know as well as anyone how easily that future could change. I could not afford to get emotionally invested in Alice's version of the future, I would not.

The sun had long set by the time I returned to the house. Carlisle was on the porch, waiting for me and he gave me a shrewd look. I arched my eyebrows.

"Alice has caught you up?" I asked and he smiled faintly.

"You're upset."

"Not upset." I murmured, moving to stand beside him on the porch. He put a hand on my shoulder, his fatherly concern shining through. He filled the role so naturally.

"Edward, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Maybe you shouldn't fight it."

"Have I ever complained of being unsatisfied with my life?" I asked tersely and Carlisle sighed.

"You know that's not why I'm saying it, Edward. We're your family; we want to see you happy. Not just satisfied."

"And you think that pursuing this… girl, for lack of a better word, will bring me happiness?"

"Alice believes it will."

"Alice believes what she wants to believe." I said dryly and Carlisle laughed softly.

"That's true. But maybe it wouldn't hurt for you to believe her either."

~*~

I went hunting that weekend, avoiding spending time in the house. It was too tense, too expectant and I was sick of hearing Alice probe into the future, trying to pinpoint Bella. It was difficult and apparently she could only find her when she was interacting with a member of our family. Carlisle had a theory on this.

"She's dead. Her future was halted when her life ended; perhaps she wasn't supposed to have a future until she found out that she could interact with us." He suggested.

I came home in the early hours of Monday morning and went for a shower. The hot water rained upon on my icy skin and I let it wet my hair, knowing that it would never style in a reasonable way anyway. Alice had already been in my room by the time I came out of the shower and set out an outfit of beige pants and a long sleeved green shirt. I had grown used to her randomly assigning me clothes for the day and woe betides anyone who ignored her selection.

She was reciting the national anthems of every country in Europe that morning and I didn't bother trying to read her thoughts. I drove to school in tense silence, giving off enough anxiety to make Jasper tetchy. He glared at me as we pulled into the parking lot and I shrugged my apology.

The morning was achingly slow and the rest of my family made it to the cafeteria before I did. Bella was sat at the deserted table, her eyes fixed on Angela Weber, although I learned from Emmett's thoughts that she had been looking at my family shortly before. I sat and watched her, wishing I could hear her thoughts as she watched Angela. She had a thoughtful expression on her face and there was affection for her fellow student there. She tore her eyes away from the noisy table and looked directly at me. I didn't look away, even as she stood and began to walk towards us, looking extremely uneasy.

She stopped by our table, twisting her fingers together uncertainly. I kept my eyes on hers, not caring if people thought I was staring off into space. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"Uh… OK, so I need to talk to you." She began, her voice low. It faded away as we stared at each other and shifted uncomfortably, looking down at her shoes as she requested permission to visit our house.

Bella. In our house. Where Alice's vision had taken place. The thought filled me with bizarre emotions and I was tempted to ask Jasper to explain them but I kept looking at her.

If you're just going to stare at her like an idiot, I'll do it!

Alice's tone was impatient and I glared at her. Bella looked even more uncertain at this reaction until Alice announced that we would be seeing her at the ridiculously precise time of 7:42. Bella accepted this in puzzlement before practically running out of the room.

I gave Alice a flat look and she shrugged innocently.

"You were taking too long. She's going to be my friend too, Edward. You're going to have to learn to share."

~*~

Carlisle and Esme were excited to hear that Bella would be coming over, Carlisle because he was fascinated at the idea of a ghost and Esme because she wanted to meet the girl that Alice insisted I was going to spend eternity with.

No pressure.

I sat in my room until 7:35, duly ignoring every stray thought of 'getting changed' and 'make yourself look presentable' and 'oh for god's sake, Edward, at least try to brush your hair!' that Alice sent my way. As I walked downstairs, I saw that Emmett, Jasper, Esme and Rosalie were gathered in the entrance hall. Rosalie's thoughts were ones of unsettlement, not wanting to allow this potential change into our set way of life.

Alice and Carlisle were stood out on the porch and I joined them, standing on Carlisle's right side whilst Alice stood on his left. We waited in expectant silence and, sure enough, just a few minutes later, a slender figure appeared from the overhanging trees that lined the road to the house. Bella walked towards us, her eyes moving from one figure to the next. She stopped a few paces away, her hand tucked into the pockets of her jeans as she examined us. Alice greeted her warmly and Bella nodded silently, her eyes wary. I introduced Carlisle and then gave him her full name.

Bella started, turning her large dark eyes on me in a mixture of annoyance and astonishment.

"How did you…?" Her voice faded away as she eyed me suspiciously. I couldn't help but smile at her indignation as I looked at Carlisle.

"Bella is dead." I said delicately and she scoffed, glaring at me as she folded her arms across her chest.

"So are you. What's your point?" She said defensively and I wanted to laugh but Carlisle beat me to it, chuckling kindly as he invited her in, but she didn't move, fixing her eyes on my father. And then she asked if we drank human blood.

I was shocked at her forwardness but then again, what reason did she have to hide her feelings? No one had witnessed them in years; her social skills had developed in unusual ways. But once reassured of the nature of our diet, she came inside, the wary look back in her eyes. As she passed by me, her scent struck me yet again and I inhaled deeply. Carlisle noticed and gave me a fleeting smile.

Esme moved forward, hand outstretched to greet Bella. My mother looked delighted, almost ethereal with happiness but Bella had tensed and almost stepped backwards, away from Esme. Her mouth was open as she stared at Esme's pale fingers, as though she had been offered a bomb. We all stared at her for a moment before Carlisle understood.

"People… humans… can't touch you, can they, Bella?" He asked softly. She tore her eyes from Esme's hand as my mother lowered it quickly, mentally apologising to me for upsetting her as Bella shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Bella. Alice said that Edward had-"

"I don't know why. I don't know how. No one's been able to since I died." Bella said abruptly. Her hands were stuffed back into the pockets of her jeans and I could almost see the shield that had flared up around her.

How can she talk like that? Like it's nothing! I looked at Rosalie, who was staring at Bella as though she had ascended from the very pits of hell. She muttered that she was leaving and Emmett gave Bella a sad look before following his wife.

We adjourned to the sitting room and Bella promptly occupied a single armchair, sitting on the edge of the seat and looking nervous, as any normal person would when in a house full of vampires. I stood by the fireplace, watching her, taking in the contrast of her dark hair and eyes against her pale, almost translucent, skin. She was chewing her lip, the pale pink caught between pearly white teeth and her fingers pattered against her denim-clad thighs.

Carlisle began, eager to discover more. He was like a child at Christmas, desperate to gain new knowledge.

"So, Bella… you're deceased?" He said tentatively and she nodded.

"Yes."

"I hope you won't think me insensitive, but-"

"Ten years ago and hit by a speeding car." She said, almost airily, "I hit the pavement and then I got up and walked away. Part of me, anyway."

"You remember your own death?" Jasper interrupted and she gave him an amused glance.

"It's kind of hard to forget, to be honest. One of those pivotal moments that tends to stay with you. Like the first day of high school, only messier."

I fought the urge to smile at her flippancy. I did not understand this girl in the slightest, her breezy attitude to her own demise. I turned my attention back to the conversation to find that she was the daughter of the Police Chief. And then she mentioned La Push.

Careful, Edward. We don't want to make it seem like we're here to start a fight. Carlisle thought.

Bella had watched closely for our reactions and a cheeky smile adorned her face as she saw our tension.

"Yeah, they're not so keen about you guys up there." She said almost teasingly. Carlisle confirmed this fact, explaining that it was because of what we were. Instantly her face became serious.

"Vampires." She waited for confirmation and then fell back in the armchair when Carlisle gave it. For a few long moments she examined us, her face pulled into a thoughtful expression. She raised a hand to her face and rubbed at her chin, brow furrowed.

"OK, I know I should probably be fine with this. I mean, I'm a ghost so technically I shouldn't exist either but… you're vampires!" She said with a smile, gesturing at it as though to convince us that we were real. Alice laughed lightly, amused by her 'new friend' and Carlisle admitted that he was rather bemused by the situation as well.

They agreed that some questions were in order and Bella went first, eyes darting to me and demanding how I found out her name. I felt a little embarrassed at the lengths I'd gone to, to find out who she was and muttered about the yearbooks. To my surprise, she praised my initiative and moved swiftly on to asking about how we figured out what she was. Whilst Carlisle and Alice explained about Alice's gift, Esme caught my attention.

She's lovely, Edward but she's so lost. So lonely. She's like you, that way.

I flicked my eyes at Esme's to let her know I'd heard but offered nothing more than that. Bella was speaking about her reactions to her death.

"I was freaked out at first. I kept screaming at people, trying to get someone to see me but… well, nothing happened, obviously. I tried to get back into my body and that didn't work either. Then I started thinking about 'unfinished business', but no joy there either. So I just accepted it."

I was struck once again by how easily she could talk about her death. Each of us was filled with pain and bitterness at the circumstances of our turning and yet this girl, who had lost her life to the most mundane method of being struck by a car, just a single decade ago, had surpassed us all on the road to enlightenment.

And then she grinned at us.

"Hey, it could be worse. I don't have to drink blood and I don't catch fire in sunlight, right?"

We stared. We disbelieved. We were astonished. She smiled back and then Alice began to laugh. Carlisle and Esme joined in. Even Jasper cracked a smile. I simply stared at this ridiculous, incredible creature who was breaking down our barriers one by one without even realising it. And now I was more uncertain than ever.

Carlisle's laughter faded away as he beamed at Bella. She smiled back, seemingly more relaxed and he tilted his head.

"I'm going to enjoy getting to know you, Bella. I think we could be very beneficial to each other."

"Agreed." Bella nodded and spread her hands, "So, fellow Undeadians, what's your story?"

Undeadians?

She caught our questioning gaze and winced.

"Sorry. I developed a pretty poor sense of humour after I died and you're unfortunate enough to have to hear it now. I'll try to restrain myself."

"Please don't. It must have been a lonely existence, not having anyone to talk to." Esme said comfortingly and Bella chewed her lip again before looking back at Carlisle.

"I want to know about vampires."

A/N: Well, what a long chapter that was! Edward certainly had a lot to say!

I wasn't going to post this chapter. See, I have a deal with Sarah, my beta. I'm currently writing chapter 13, so I'm a little ahead. The deal is, whenever I finish writing a chapter, I send one of the older ones to Sarah, she goes over it and I post it. This stops my posting all in one go and you having to wait eons for the newest one. As yet, I have not finished 13, but I'm having a pretty crappy day, am currently snowed in and need some cheering up. And I figured seeing some reactions to a new chapter would do the trick!

Enormous smooches to Sarah, for keeping me sane throughout university, obsessions with fandoms and this ridiculous weather. You keep me going, my dear. And as for the weather… for god's sake, this is England! South east England! We don't get snow! OK, Maybe a couple of flakes, once every few years but we do NOT get 20 centimetres! Tis madness, I tell you!

Rusty Halo – A very Edward song, in his search for redemption. He's been trying to find a way to make his existence worthwhile and his whole family thinks Bella is the answer.

Reviewers will receive a tropical island. That's right, an ISLAND. Purely so I can get away from this frozen hellhole and get a nice hot Jacob to warm me up.

Love

Katie