A/N – A new chapter! Yay! So, Bella and the Cullens finally meet!

As much as I wish, I don't own Twilight.

CHAPTER 6

"We are here!" Alice announced grandly. I doubt if she really needed to do that.

A pair of very motherly arms found me and hugged me tightly.

"Welcome to the Cullen manor, Bella. We have been waiting for a little while now…. What took you so long?" Esme asked. She had a very homely scent; it felt nice, as if I was back home…

Before I could say a word, Alice jumped up and said, "She has a gift!"

Everyone gasped. "Wow! That's awesome! What is it?" Emmett looked highly impressed. He looked like a huge teddy bear, with short hair.

"Why don't we take this somewhere more appropriate? And, first things first. I'm Carlisle Cullen. Esme is my wife. Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper, and Edward, here, are my children." I saw that everyone was in pairs; it was just Edward who was the odd one here. "We live together as a coven, but more like a family. Why don't we all sit down where you can tell us more about yourself and we can help you out…" He trailed of with a smile.

"Yeah…sure…that would be great!"

"It's settled then" He turned and led me upstairs and then through a dark set of double doors.

Beyond them was a huge mahogany table with 10 chairs around it. For a family of humans, it would have been used as a dinning table, but it was ironic to see it here, in a family of vampires!

Carlisle sat at the head of the table at one end, while Esme sat at his right and Edward at his left. Everyone else sat in pairs, opposite one another, which left me with the one at the end of the table, right opposite Carlisle.

"Why don't you begin first?" Edward said. The fact that this was the first time he had said something since I had come here, didn't escape me.

"Okay…So, I'm Isabella Swan but preferred to be called Bella. My parents Renée and Charlie died in a car accident 3 years 78 days ago. I have been alone since. I was walking back from a friend's place 1 week 1 day ago, when I was bitten…" I proceeded to tell them everything, including what I knew about my new form and the part where I hunted animal's blood and how the scent of human's had almost over-powered me and Edward helped me think past it.

"Thank you for helping me, when I had no idea what to do, Edward" I said as I ended.

He looked at me with those piercing golden eyes and nodded once, showing me, in his own way, that it was nothing.

The silence that continued was awkward.

Carlisle took over after that.

"Vampires can be destructed only by one thing, and that is fire… Either you can directly be touched by it or you can be ripped apart from limb to limb and then the pieces may be burnt. If you are ripped, but the pieces are not set to fire, the pieces can be joined and you may become whole again. This is the only way we can feel pain. We do not have blood in us; the venom is its substitute.

We stay like this forever, we don't grow, and neither do our hair and nails. Female vampires can't reproduce nor do they have their 'time of the month'.

As for the other things, you already know about the speed and strength. I don't think you know that we really don't need to breathe. It's just a necessity. We can go indefinitely without oxygen. We don't feel cold, but to humans, our body temperature is very cold.

Also, there is just one rule for our world, and that is not to disclose to anyone about our world, of our existence." He finished with a tiny smile.

"Really? We don't grow? Wow… How old are you then?" I asked stupidly.

He let out a tiny laugh and said, "For humans, I'm 35 at the moment, but actually, I'm around 365 years."

My mouth fell open. 365 years? That was a LONG time!

"Now comes the soul mate part!" Alice chirped excitedly. "Every vampire has a soul mate. That's the only way we find love. Mine is Jasper, Rosalie's is Emmett and Esme's is Carlisle… Edward hasn't found his yet. It is possible that your soul mate is human", She said, in a 'matter-of-fact' kind of way.

I nodded, a little embarrassed.

"What was the thing about gifts?" I asked hesitantly.

"Well, a few vampires have gifts. I can read minds, Alice can see the future and Jasper can feel and change emotions" said Edward. He was turning more and more beautiful by the second. "So, what exactly did you 'see'?"

"I…saw you…talking to Carlisle…the words were not clear…but I think it was happening at the same moment as I was seeing it…." I prayed to the Gods above that they wouldn't catch my lie.

"Did it happen for the first time?" Jasper asked. "Yeah, I don't even know how it happened…" I replied honestly.

That was when I saw Rosalie glaring at me, as if I had murdered her puppy. Had I done something wrong?

I noticed the sun over the horizon. "Well, I think I need to leave now, gotta get ready to go to school… Thank you all so very much for helping me out…" I stood up with a smile.

"Ah! It was nothing…it was great having you here. You need to promise me to come here every single night. And I am not taking no for an answer", Esme said, pulling me for a hug. "Edward will drop you home"

Edward looked as surprised as me.

"Um…no…I can get home"

"Sure, I'll take you." He cut me of easily.

I hugged and thanked everyone (except Rosalie, she reluctantly shook my hand) and headed out.

Edward came by my side. "Ready?" he asked, smiling.

"Ready!" I smiled back.

We ran silently. I would never get tired of running. It was exhilarating.

When we reached my home, he asked, "Did you really not hear anything?"

This time I couldn't lie, "I'm sorry, but I did. I did hear a part of your conversation with Carlisle…you were talking about me…I couldn't help it, I'm so sorry"

"Never apologize Bella. It wasn't your mistake…"

"Just one question, was it true…what you said about me?"

" Yes…it is, it was and will always be…"

How old are you, I thought

He smiled and said "110 years…give or take a few…I really don't keep a track"

Wow! Is everyone that old? I guess, I'm a newborn here, amongst the oldies, I joked

He laughed. It was such a carefree and contagious laugh, that I had to join in.

Jacob's alarm clock went off…we could hear it as if it was ringing right next to us…

I guess I should get going… I'll see you at school…

"I'll save you a seat at lunch", he said as he turned around and went of as fast as a bullet…

Suddenly, school wasn't that boring anymore….

A/N – So… how was it? Review and tell me! Please? Even if it is just a smiley! You can also PM me!