I think this is the longest chapter yet so I hope you enjoy it. xD.

Chapter 8 - Explaining

There were three vampires standing in the garden and as soon as they heard us, their heads whipped round to look at us...

I could tell from my visions that the three vampires were Carlisle, Esme and Rosalie. I was going to point them out to Jasper but then I remembered that he knew which two were missing so he could probably guess who they were.

Rosalie was sitting reading a book under a tree. Carlisle and Esme were standing, holding hands, by the river that ran through the garden. They all shifted into hunting positions when they saw us, ready to attack if they needed to.

"We haven't come to hurt you or your family Carlisle, We want to join your coven" I said carefully. Confusion swept across all of their faces.
"How do you know us? Who are you?" Carlisle asked, returning to his normal stance. I couldn't think of a good way to start.
"Is there somewhere you would be more comfortable talking to us?" I asked.
"I would rather we stayed out here"
"Okay, well it's a long story..."I started.
"Would you just get on with it?" Rosalie snapped. I smiled at her.
"You must be Rosalie. We're going to be good friends" I told her. Her eyes widened.
"How can you be sure, dear?" Esme asked me. She had also returned to her normal stance. Her voice was friendly but wary. She just wanted to keep everything calm.
"I have visions of the future" I told her simply. She looked at Carlisle with a look on her face that said 'what?"
"Could you please explain why you have come here and what it has to do with your visions?" He said.

Jasper, who had being completely silent during the conversation, squeezed my hand encouragingly. I turned to smile at him before I explained everything.

"My name is Alice and this is my soul-mate Jasper. I don't remember anything about my human life.. I woke up in a dark room, completely alone" I heard Esme gasp quietly, and she looked sympathetic, as did Carlisle. Rosalie looked disgusted, she thought I was lying.

"What's that got to do with us?" Carlisle asked calmly.
"The first thing I saw was a vision of you, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Edward, Jasper and myself. I also had a vision of me becoming a total savage. "
"So you're dangerous?" Rosalie asked me with a bit of venom in her voice.
"No, my visions are very subjective. When someone changes their mind, the vision changes. For example I wanted to find out what was going to happen to me, and when I first saw you I was going to ignore the vision and just go on instincts, so the vision changed to me becoming a savage. I didn't want to kill people so I decided to look for you instead. But I decided to look for Jasper first. I saw that he would be my soul-mate. It took me weeks, but he eventually turned up in a diner where I was waiting. We fell in love. He has never left my side since I found him."

Jasper kissed my cheek and whispered 'I love you' into my ear. I returned the kiss with a smile. I turned back to face Carlisle.

"We've been searching for you and your family for weeks. We only found your address less than an hour ago" I admitted
"Where did you get information?" Esme asked.
"The hospital" she nodded.

It was silent for a few moments. I looked at my feet.

"Where did you get the scars?" Rosalie blurted out. She obviously meant Jasper's battle scars. Vampire eyes couldn't miss them.
Jasper stiffened. I knew this was going to be hard for him. He was still under the impression that all vampires would hate him because of his past.
"Rosalie! Don't be rude!" Esme scolded her.
"It's okay. She's only curious." Jasper said. I squeezed his hand. "I used to be involved in vampire battles. When I was changed, it was what I was taught. I thought that was the only way to live like a vampire." He sounded sad, ashamed. "I understand if you want me to leave."

"We understand. Don't worry. You were just taught differently to us." Esme comforted him. I whispered 'I told you so' in Jasper's ear. He grinned at me.

Esme looked at Carlisle like she was asking him something. Funny, I thought Edward was the mind-reader. Maybe they just understood each-other very well. Carlisle grinned and nodded.
Esme walked up to us until she was only a few inches away.

"You want to join our coven?" She asked.
"Yes, but only if it's ok" I knew it was going to happen but I still tried to be polite.
"Of course. You seem to be honest and trustworthy. We have only one condition..."
"I know. We can only drink the blood of animals" I heard Jasper gulp. I knew he still struggled to only survive off animals."It won't be a problem" I assured her.
"Have you drunk human blood before?" She asked.
"I haven't, but unfortunately Jasper never knew that he could drink animal blood so when he was changed he survived on human blood. But for the past few weeks he has been hunting animals with me. " I added the last part because I could see that Rosalie was about to protest.

Carlisle walked to Esme's side.

"How much do you know about our family?" He wanted to know.
"Well, I know that you and Esme are like the parents, you move around a lot and there are two more of you, but they are currently hunting. I know that Carlisle started the coven, but I don't know about your human lives."

Carlisle looked satisfied. Even Rosalie relaxed. Jasper must be using hid gift. I looked at him from the corner of my eye and he grinned.

"Well, in that case, I see no reason why you can't join us. 'll have to come up with a story, we only recently moved here, I don't think we would like to relocate again"

"No problem. what's the story at the minute?" Jasper asked.

"Me and Esme are a married couple. Rosalie is posing as Esme's younger sister needing a place to stay because their parents recently died. Emmett and Edward pose as Esme and Rosalie's cousins. Their mother died when they were babies, their father left them because he couldn't handle it and they have always lived with us. That way Emmett and Rosalie and Me and Esme can still be happy couples"

Jasper thought about how we could fit into the story.

"Why don't I pose as Edward and Emmett's half brother that they never knew they had. We can pretend that my father recently died and I came looking for them and I dragged my girlfriend, Alice along?" It was a good story and Carlisle seemed to think so too. He and Esme were looking at each-other and grinning. Rosalie cracked a smile too.
I was glad that Jasper was trying to make an effort.

"It could work Carlisle. There's no gaps to fill." Rosalie pointed out. She still hadn't moved from her spot under the tree.
"It's a fantastic idea. I'll go to the school on Monday to get application forms for you both. We'll also need false documents. That might take a while"
"I know someone in Washington that does false documents. I could get them done really quick." Jasper offered.

I knew he was talking about the man who had made our fake doctor certificates.

"That would be wonderful, but don't these thing normally take a few days?" Rosalie asked. Wow, she was actually talking to us nicely.
"I can control people's emotions. It's my gift. So I can make him feel particularly helpful while I'm their. That's why you're all feeling so relaxed. I didn't want there to be a fight"
"Nice gift" Rosalie Commented. I noticed that her hair shimmered slightly.
"You have wonderful hair" I told her. I walked over to her and ran my fingers through her blonde curls.
"Thank you" she replied.
"Do you mind if I put it up?" She looked confused, but pleased to have someone else that was into hair and clothes.

I'd secretly being desperate to do more shopping since I met Jasper, but I could tell that he wouldn't enjoy it. He had given me some money and I took him once, just to buy some clothes for him but he didn't enjoy it. For the past few weeks I had done very little shopping and the clothes that were in my rucksack were in great need of a wash.

"Sure, I'll just get my brush and clips" She ran into the house to get her things. I turned to Jasper. He was talking to Carlisle about documents, money and stories.

Esme came and stood by my side. She gave me a warm smile which I returned.

"You've been through quite a bit" She pointed out. "It must be horrible to not remember your human life.
"A little, but I found Jasper and in a way it's better because you can't miss what you can't remember" I told her.
"I'm glad you came to us. I think we're going to get along" She said glancing over her shoulder. I followed her gaze to Jasper and Carlisle, who were laughing. It was good to see them bonding.

"I think so too."
"You really like him, don't you?" She asked, seeing my dazed expression as I looked at Jasper.
"Yes. I can't imagine a world without him. He's everything to me. And so are you. Thank-you for accepting us so easily"
"Not at all. It's always nice to have someone join the family. I see it as gaining two extra children, like Rosalie, Emmett and Edward"

I hugged her. She felt like a mother to me, and seeing as I couldn't remember my mother it was nice to have one. She hugged me back. I could see some good times ahead.

Our moment was interrupted my someone clearing their throat. I turned my head.

It was Rosalie. She had returned with eleven different types of brushes and combs, a dozen hair clips and a camera.

"I believe you wanted to do my hair" She said, smiling.
"What's with the camera?" I asked her, inspecting all the combs.
"I thought I could do your hair too, and then we could take pictures. Edward can develop them when he gets back" We were really going to get on.
"Excellent Idea, Esme would you like to join us?" She shook her head.
"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll go and talk to Carlisle and Jasper" She looked at Rosalie with an expression that said 'be nice',and then walked over to join Carlisle and Jasper's conversation.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. I think she's beginning to like me. I took the hair combs and clips from her hands, and motioned for her to sit on the grass. I put down my rucksack and then set to work on her hair. It was like silk. I brushed it into a ponytail, leaving some strands free to frame her face.

While I was doing her hair, she told me about Emmett and Edward. I couldn't wait to meet them.

When I was done she stood up and ran inside. When she came back, she had a mirror. She was admiring her new hair do.
"Thank-you, it's lovely" She complimented me. "Now let me do yours"

I didn't have to sit on the grass, I was short enough to stand.
"We'll have to go shopping some time" She said.
"That would be great. I haven't being shopping for ages.

She combed my short hair quickly and then she clipped it back behind my ears. When she was done we got the camera and took turns taking pictures. We did some silly poses and by the end of it we were on the floor laughing.

When I looked up I noticed Jasper, Carlisle and Esme laughing with us.

Well, so far so good, but would Emmett and Edward take a liking to us so quickly? I would have to wait a few hours to find out.

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