"Good morning."

The smooth, almost music-like voice was not what Kit had been expecting to greet her when she got out of her car. She hadn't even heard the person approach, but when she looked up and saw who it was, she smiled widely, her eyes bright.

"Good morning, Emmett," she greeted, "Where did you come from?"

"I go here," Emmett deflected with a smirk. In reality, he had used his vampire speed as there weren't many people in the parking lot, but if there had been, he was positive that he would have been able to get away with it.

The right side of Kit's mouth quirked up, "I see," she said shortly, "Did you enjoy your weekend?"

"Spent it with my brothers," Emmett shrugged, "Like usual. What about you?"

Kit smiled and shrugged, "Spent it with my sister and my parents. Like usual."

Emmett snorted and rolled his eyes when Kit giggled, "Cute."

Kit held out her hands, catching a raindrop, "It's starting to rain."

"It's Forks," Emmett said obviously.

"I don't mind the rain," Kit said, not wanting to sound like she was complaining, "I like it."

Emmett shrugged. The rain didn't feel like much on his granite-like skin, "It's all right."

Kit moved her gaze from the cloudy sky to look at Emmett, "Have you always lived here?"

"No," Emmett shook his head, "Moved here from Alaska a few years ago."

"Alaska? Really?" Kit breathed, "Wow, wasn't it cold?"

"It snowed a lot," Emmett supplied.

Kit leaned against the back of her car, "That must have been nice, if you like the snow. Does it ever snow here?"

"Ahh, you just missed it," Emmett smiled apologetically, "It snowed in January."

"Dang it," Kit sighed, "Oh, well. Maybe it will...um..." she trailed off, biting her lip. From across the parking lot, she could see Lauren pull into a spot and Jessica arrive right behind her.

Kit shifted uncomfortably. The name-calling at school hadn't stopped like she had hoped. She had thought of telling her parents, but she didn't want them to worry in case things got better. Besides, they were just words. They weren't supposed to hurt and she didn't want to overreact.

"Okay?" Emmett asked, placing a hand on her shoulder before he could stop himself.

"Fine," Kit replied immediately. She looked up into his gold eyes again and forced a smile, "I'm fine. Just being a space cadet."

Emmett knew she was lying. He could hear her heart rate pick up in anxiety, but he knew better than to call her out on it. He removed his hand from her shoulder, deciding to move on, "What's your first class?"

"History," Kit told him.

"Why don't I walk you?" Emmett offered. He glanced briefly at Edward's Volvo, in time to see the looks on his siblings faces. Alice looked relieved, Jasper looked surprised, Edward irritated, and Rosalie's kept her face controlled. He'd have to talk to her later. Make sure that everything was good between them.

"You don't have to do that," Kit reassured, "Don't you need to be with your brothers and sisters?"

Emmett waved her off, "They'll survive. C'mon, I don't mind," he grinned, "What, are you scared of me?"

Kit looked appalled, "No, of course not!"

"Why not?" Emmett demanded, his face falling.

An incredulous look came upon Kit's face and then she chuckled, "You're not scary. A little intimidating, but not scary."

Emmett grunted, pulling down Kit's hat, "How disappointing. C'mon."

"Hey!" Kit exclaimed, her hands going to fix it.

She wore a denim blue colored A-line dress with a scoop neckline, princess seams, pleats, and a tan bow-adorned belt. She didn't wear any leggings despite the chill in the air and her shoes consisted of a pair of two inch tan lace up faux suede heels. The Chapeau hat that Emmett pulled down was dark tan with a black bow-tied band and in her ears, she wore a pair of antiqued gold ornate filigree earrings with clear rhinestones in the middle. As always, around her neck, was her grandmother's locket.

She hurried to keep up with Emmett, falling in-step beside him when she caught up.

"You have really pretty eyes," she told him without hesitation.

Emmett smirked. A girl who spoke her mind. Another thing he could work with, "Thank you," he told her, "You do too."

"Thanks!" she beamed at him, pulling on her fingers. Those three words meant a lot. She had always hated her too-green eyes.

She didn't know what else to say after that, and she couldn't believe that Emmett was walking her to class. They had only experienced one verbal interaction and it had been very brief, but the current silence was okay too. Comfortable.

Emmett slowed down his steps so that he could walk beside Kit, "Is history your favorite subject?"

"My second favorite," Kit corrected.

"Right," Emmett said, cursing himself, "Art is your favorite."

Kit frowned for a moment and she looked up at Emmett, her eyes confused, "I didn't tell you that."

Crap.

"I overheard Alice talking to my mom, Esme," Emmett explained smoothly, "Something about your parents being artists."

Kit relaxed and she nodded, "Oh, okay. Yes, that's right. I was telling her about my parents and she mentioned her mother dabbling in photography. Oops, I'm rambling. Um, I'm sorry. Yes, you're right. Art is my favorite."

"I don't mind your rambles," Emmett promised with an amused grin when Kit blushed, "It's very entertaining," he stopped by the side of the classroom door, "Here we are."

"Thank you for walking me," Kit smiled, her eyes on his as she tried to ignore the stares they got, "It was nice chatting with you."

"Likewise, Kit," Emmett said casually, "Don't be a stranger."

A cold hand reached out to touch her cheek, a thumb swiping over her cheekbone. Kit froze, but just as quick as the touch came, it was gone and Kit watched as Emmett's gaze became more intense, a crease developed in his smooth forehead.

"Hmm," he hummed softly to himself. His eyes trailed over Kit's form, "Okay."

"Okay, what?" Kit breathed.

Emmett hesitated, his head cocked to the side, "...I needed to check something."

Kit should have said something. Maybe something cute and flirty, but she had no idea how to flirt. So, she settled for standing there like an idiot, trying to think of a response as the seconds ticked by and more students walked past her to enter the classroom.

Eventually, Emmett sniggered, the corners of his eyes crinkling, "Cool," he said, walking away.

Kit stood there for a few more seconds before she opened the door to the classroom, going to take her seat. She was early, but that was okay. It would give her a chance to catch up on some more work.

"Good morning, Ms. Algren," Mr Jefferson called from his desk, "How are you this morning?"

"I'm fine," Kit replied automatically. It seemed like 'fine' was her new catchphrase, "How are you?"

"Fantastic," Mr. Jefferson said with little enthusiasm, "I'm glad you're here. I was planning to speak to you about your grade after class, but we can do it now."

"My grade?" Kit asked worriedly, "Is it bad?"

Mr. Jefferson smiled when Kit approached his desk. He spoke in a low tone, as to not be overheard by the other students in the classroom, "No, of course not. In fact, you have an 'A'. The highest in the class. Your love for history really shows. I wanted to tell you, that you don't need to rush to get all those assignments done. It's rare, as you probably know, but when students transfer in the middle of the year, past assignments go in as 'Satisfactory'. It's strange to hear a teacher say this, but you don't need to do the assignments. I just thought you'd like to look them over for review."

"I didn't know that," Kit frowned, speaking in the same low tone, "Wait, then what happens when I turn them in? I won't be graded?"

"You will," Mr. Jefferson said slowly, "But if you don't do them, your current grade will not be affected. Am I making sense?"

"Yes, Sir," Kit nodded, "Thank you, that actually helps a lot."

"Glad I can be of some help," Mr. Jefferson murmured, focusing his attention back to the paper he was grading.

Kit returned to her individual desk and sat down, pulling out the purple notebook labeled 'History'. She flipped it open to a blank page and grabbed a pen. While she was skimming through her history textbook, her phone rang and she gasped loudly. The loud chime had scared her.

"Phone's off or at least on vibrate, Ms. Algren," Mr. Jefferson said, his voice tired and irritated, "You should know the rules, by now. Though, school has yet to start."

Kit removed the phone from her satchel, "Sorry, Mr. Jefferson, I forgot. I'll do that now."

She pressed the volume button until the small device vibrated in her hands and doing so, caused the screen to light up. A notification said she had an unread text message. She had to click through a few buttons in order to read it, and when she opened the text—well, she wished she hadn't.

'Shacking up with the Cullens, now? How sleazy can U get, slut? XOXO!'

Kit frowned. It was still a number she didn't recognize, but it was obviously from someone who had been watching her interact with Emmett.

The frown remained on her face until the final bell rang and slowly, other students trickled in, hanging their coats on a hook and talking amongst themselves.

When Katie took her usual seat, Kit turned her head, "K-Katie? Katie? Katie, please."

"What do you want?" Katie asked, rolling her eyes. She clutched her pencil so hard, she was surprised it didn't break, "We're not supposed to be talking during class."

Kit drew her eyebrows together, "I need to ask you something."

Katie scoffed, "Then ask."

"Did you..." Kit took a deep breath, "You didn't give anyone my number, did you?"

Katie's eyes widened a fraction and she ran her tongue over her bottom lip before she bit it, "What?"

"My number?" Kit repeated. She was starting to get anxious, "I-I mean—well-

"Spit it out!" Katie snapped.

"I've been getting these text messages," Kit blurted, "And I just—I wanted to know if you-

Katie interrupted, "You think I'm sending them? Are you freakin' crazy!? I can't believe you-

"I didn't say that!" Kit hissed, trying to keep her voice down, "Gosh, what's with you, lately? Did I do something to make you mad at me?"

"Whatever," Katie straightened up at her desk, "Look, I like you, Kit. We just—we shouldn't be friends. Stop talking to me."

Her voice shook at the end and Katie focused a little to intensely when Mr. Jefferson called for attention. She felt awful for being so mean to Kit, but she had no desire to be made fun of for hanging out with someone who dressed like their grandmother. Well, she actually didn't mind the way Kit dressed, but her other friends did and majority rules.

Right?

"You're going to sit with me at lunch, today."

Kit had been on her way to the library when a cold hand wrapped around her wrist. She knew who it was before she even turned around.

She grinned up at Emmett, who looked amused as well, "Am I?"

"You are," he gave a curt nod, but a goofy smile was still on his face, his tone implying that he wouldn't be offended if she declined.

"But my homework," she protested weakly.

"You can do it later," Emmett tugged on her wrist, freezing when he realized what he had done. He stood still and closed his eyes, waiting for Kit to scream in shock and pain or burst into tears at the feeling of shattered bones. Maybe she'd go into shock, first.

"What's wrong?" Kit asked, "Are you okay?"

Emmett's eyes flew open and he looked at Kit, his shock still evident, "I—you're okay?"

"Yes," she looked at him oddly and then gave a polite smile, "But can you let go of me, please? You're cold."

"Sorry," he raised his hands, "Was outside running laps in gym."

"Aw, we're running laps?" Kit groaned.

Emmett was still too appalled to respond. He really hadn't hurt her? He couldn't believe it. Yes, he was comforted by the fact, but perhaps blending in with the humans had caused him to unconsciously know how to control his strength. Whatever it was, he was grateful for it.

He had decided the day before to suck up his destiny and do what Alice told him to do. One, because he was having a lot of fun irritating his brother. Two, because he didn't want to make things harder on Alice who was already struggling with Edward's future. And three, because he annoyingly found himself drawn to Kit as cliché as it sounded. Alice had informed him that Kit would take the vampire-thing strangely well. He had no plans as of yet to tell her, so he figured that he might as well try to have fun with it and he liked seeing his sister happy.

"I guess my homework can wait," Kit said, her eyes narrowing as she thought, "Yes, I think it will be fine. Are you sure you want to eat lunch with me?"

"Why do you do that?" Emmett asked. He jerked his head, a gesture for Kit to walk with him.

"Do what?" Kit asked.

"Doubt," Emmett answered, "Like when I asked to walk you to class, you said I didn't have to. I know I didn't have too, but I wanted to. You're not an obligation."

Kit flinched at his tone, "I-I'm sorry."

Emmett's shoulders relaxed. Way to go, he had scared her and let his instincts take over again, "Don't apologize."

"Okay," Kit was beaming once more.

Emmett chuckled at how fast Kit's attitude changed. Edward had been right, she really was like a mini Alice, "How's your day been?"

Kit scrunched up her nose, thinking back to the text message and Katie ending their friendship. It had made her sad and she didn't know what to do. The way Katie had reacted, made a part of Kit think that Katie was sending the text messages or at least knew who was doing it. But Kit knew better than to make assumptions.

"It's been fine," she finally said, "Nothing too exciting. You?"

But Emmett didn't answer. Something about her tone threw Emmett off, but once again, he wasn't going to pry.

"Boring," he answered, seeing as though she was still waiting for him to do so.

They fell into another comfortable silence and he was surprised at how well Kit ignored the obvious stares that people were giving them. She kept her head up high and her eyes forward, but she occasionally would allow her gaze to flicker over to him just as he did with her.

He knew they looked strange walking side-by-side. He was extremely muscular and towered over her by a foot and an inch. Though, she was a bit taller with heels on, it didn't make much difference.

He led her to the cafeteria line and that's when he broke the silence, his eyes returning to her face, "Do you want anything?"

She shook her head politely, "No thank you. I pack my lunch."

Emmett filled up a tray, glancing at Kit, "You're always one step ahead, hm?"

"Something like that," Kit teased, waiting patiently.

When Emmett had finished putting together his tray, he led her over to a table at the far end of the cafeteria, pulling out a chair for her. They had walked past the table where Kit usually sat, and Kit had lowered her head when she saw the glares. But Bella and Angela had smiled at her encouragingly.

"Thank you," Kit managed a smile and took a seat, blushing when he pushed in her chair.

"You're welcome," Emmett took his own seat and began to pick at his food.

Kit pulled out a bento lunchbox and a water bottle. For lunch, she had a small serving of a simple caprese pasta salad, sliced strawberries, and half a veggie wrap.

When she looked up, she saw that Emmett was watching her and she smiled almost self-consciously, "I'm a vegetarian."

Emmett grinned and he laughed softly as if he had his own joke, "Are you?"

"I try to make it a point in my life to downgrade the number of deaths I cause," Kit said, taking a bite of her pasta.

Emmett stared at her, his eyes impossibly wide. Like he had done this morning, he glimpsed back to look at his siblings and could see the awe on their faces too. Jasper actually looked smug and approving. It was definitely something that Emmett would tell Carlisle about, knowing his adoptive father would find Kit's comment 'intriguing'.

It was another minute until he reacted, his booming laugh causing a few people to look over or jump.

Kit had jumped, but she laughed as well, finding Emmett's laughter to be contagious. She was one of those people that laughed at everything and it didn't seem like Emmett was bothered by it. In fact, he seemed to be one of those people too.

Having calmed down, Emmett laughed once and then spoke, folding his arms atop the table, "Now you have to tell me. I'm curious. How many deaths have you caused?"

"Mmm," Kit hummed thoughtfully, "I don't know. I've been a vegetarian since I was ten, so that's a good nine years, give or take. And if I ate meat twice a day—you know, lunch and dinner—wouldn't that be over a thousand if it was everyday for nine years? And that's not counting animal products like gelatin...and I guess it depends how much I eat and the portion size. Over two thousand, maybe?"

She was rambling, a habit that was a tell for when she was nervous. She was appalled when she had made that comment about minimizing deaths, but it was too late to take it back. It was a joke her father constantly went on about, but her family had a somewhat dark sense of humor and she couldn't believe she had actually said something like that aloud. She was such a dork. Emmett must have thought she was a total wackadoo.

A blush on her cheeks, she peeked up at Emmett and saw that he was still looking at her with the same entertainment. Wow, she hadn't scared him off?

"You like animals," Emmett said. It was a statement, not a question.

"I..." Kit blinked. That's what he had gotten from all of that? Maybe he had tuned out her rambles. Talking extremely fast was another tell for when she was nervous and most people found her hard to understand, "Yes, I like animals."

"What's your favorite?" Emmett asked.

"Leopards," Kit answered, taking a sip of her water, "Snow leopards."

"Snow leopards?" Emmett asked, "Seriously?"

That was not what he had been expecting. He had assumed she would say something like chipmunks, bunnies, puppies, e.t.c. Cute animals that most of the girls at Forks High fawned over.

Kit pulled her fork out of her mouth, "Yes. What about you? Do you have a favorite animal?"

Emmett laughed again. That laugh that signaled there was something hidden beneath his answer, "Grizzly bears."

"Oh?" Kit asked, finishing off the last of her strawberries.

Emmett hesitated with his answer, trying to think of something that would actually sound human, "I'm very interested in their behavior."

That was true to an extent. By behavior, he had meant that he loved to irritate them once it was the end of hibernation. It was fun to rile them up and make them think they actually had a chance to get him. He was a firm believer in playing with his food and getting revenge for what a bear had done to him all those years ago. He had a bit of a grudge.

"That's interesting," Kit said sincerely, "What's your favorite color?"

Emmett snorted, "My favorite color?" he scoffed.

"Yes," Kit insisted with a smile, "Do you have one?"

It was a simple question, but Emmett didn't have much of a reply. If anyone else would have asked him, he would have said it was stupid and maybe flipped them off, but like he had stated before: he was trying to make things easier for Alice and that included playing along and answering Kit's questions.

"Green," he answered. He cringed as soon as he said it. He could hear Jasper and Edward guffawing from their table. Green, he had said. The color of Kit's eyes. It was annoying, the feelings that were coursing through him—how human he felt when he was in Kit's presence. He wondered if Jasper was messing with him since he had beat Jasper at chess the day before. Yes, that had to be what was happening.

This hadn't been something he had planned to take seriously. It was all for Alice and for fun. That was supposed to be it.

"Green," Kit repeated, looking out the large glass cafeteria windows. She smiled, "Everything here is green."

"What's your favorite color?" Emmett asked, picking apart an apple. It was way too easy to make it look like he had actually eaten something.

"Yellow," Kit grinned, "It's a happy color."

Emmett arched an eyebrow, "That's why you like it?"

Kit nodded, replacing the lid to her bento box. She would eat the rest later, "Uh-huh. Yellow represents sunshine, happiness, and warmth."

"You sound like a greeting card," Emmett said.

Kit looked at him, shrugging her right shoulder, "I suppose I do. Think I should go into business, then?"

Emmett laughed, "Why not? You might have to quit school."

The bell rang and Kit returned her lunch and her water bottle to her school bag, "It's something I'll consider," she joked.

Emmett was in disbelief at how amazing Kit was. He hated to think about it, but that other human had been right. Kit was something else.

"Thank you for joining me," he said, standing from his chair.

"You're welcome!" Kit said, "It was fun. An interesting conversation, don't you think?"

"Yes," Emmett agreed charmingly, "We'll have to do it again sometime."

Kit bounced slightly on her toes, "Okay. Bye, Emmett."

He raised a hand, still smiling, "Bye, Kit."

Kit smiled at him once more before she turned on her heel and walked away, her heels clicking against the floor.

"Bella!" she called, seeing her up ahead. When Bella stopped, Kit hurried to reach her and grinned, "Hey."

"Hi," Bella greeted, resuming walking, "You look happy. How was lunch?"

"Lovely," Kit answered, "You?"

"Good," Bella smiled shyly, "Talked to Angela the whole time. Mike too."

"I see," Kit mused, "I wanted to thank you for the help with my biology homework. There's a test next Friday."

"It's no problem," Bella promised, "I bet you'll ace it."

"I sure hope so," Kit waved and continued on her way to English, "See you in gym!" she called.

While she was walking, someone forcefully bumped into her shoulder and she squeaked in surprise, stumbling forward, barely managing to catch herself.

"Watch where you're going," Lauren snapped, "Bitch."

A girl Kit recognized to be in one of her classes—Ashley—laughed at Lauren like it was the funniest thing in the world and Kit sighed, smoothing out her dress before she continued on her way.

She really didn't understand what she could have done wrong.

Emmett found Rosalie in her room. As per usual, the blonde was admiring herself in her large gilt-frame mirror, her perfectly manicured hand occasionally running through her equally perfect blonde hair.

"Knock, knock," Emmett mumbled, tapping lightly on the door frame.

Rosalie rolled her eyes playfully, "I don't know why you do that."

Emmett snickered and walked in, taking a seat on Rosalie's large bed. She didn't sleep, but she did whatever she could to feel human.

"Did you want something?" Rosalie asked, darting to sit next to him.

"Are you angry with me?" Emmett countered softly.

"What?" Rosalie gasped, horrified, "Why would you ask me that? I'm not angry!"

"You're not mad because I sat with Kit at lunch?" Emmett clarified, "I like to think that I know you better than that, Rosie."

Rosalie huffed at the childlike nickname. She was at her large closet in the blink of an eye and began to sort through her clothes, pushing hangers aside and sniffing fabrics.

"I would hate that girl if it wasn't for you," Rosalie growled, "Obviously, I can't hate anyone that brings you happiness. I don't like the idea of two humans being involved with us. It's risky. Too many additions to our coven."

"They may not become vampires," Emmett argued, "You never know what they'll decide. Really, Rosie, if Bella and Kit—for whatever reason, turn into one of us, it's probably not going to happen for a long time and then we'll leave. You're worrying about things that don't need to be worried about."

"Excuse me for being concerned about the well-being of my family!" Rosalie snapped, glaring at him.

"And that's appreciated," Emmett soothed, "But it's not necessary, right now."

"It's always necessary," Rosalie snarled, "Especially with how careless you're being."

"Where did that come from?" Emmett demanded, "Explain to me my carelessness."

"Dropping those stupid little hints with that mortal-

"Kit," Emmett corrected.

Rosalie ignored him, "Running over to her as fast as you did, talking about grizzly bears, and that stupid look on your face when she said she was a vegetari—it's not funny Emmett!"

Emmett couldn't help but snicker again. Humor was a great way to diffuse tension, but that didn't mean he didn't know when to be serious, "You need to calm down," he said, pursing his lips. He nodded his head towards the door, "Should I get Jazz in here?"

Rosalie didn't answer, cursing when she snapped one of her hangers.

"I'm being careful," Emmett promised, "Just trying to have a little fun. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Whatever," Rosalie snapped.

Emmett sighed, as he ran a hand over his face, "And, I was trying to make things easier for Alice. Edward has his future all scrambled. I don't need to add to that."

"You're so noble," Rosalie rolled her eyes for the millionth time.

"Will you give it a rest, please?" Emmett begged, "And tell me what's really bothering you?"

Rosalie allowed her shoulders to slump. Damn Emmett for knowing her so well, "Have you been lonely?"

"Lonely?" Emmett repeated, "What do you mean?"

"Do I need to spell it out for you?" Rosalie requested, going to stand in front of him. She folded her arms across her chest, "Answer the question."

"I'm not lonely and I never have been," Emmett promised, "Sure, Jazz and Al look pretty damn happy. Carlisle and Esme too. Yeah, I want that, but I'm pretty content being single as well. I knew eventually I'd find my mate—or I guess Alice would have the vision. That's it. I don't have a preference, but I'm excited about this nonetheless. As long as I still have my family, I think I'm going to be okay. Are you lonely?"

"No," Rosalie said after a moment, "Not as long as I have you and the others."

"And I don't plan on going anywhere," Emmett stood up and pulled Rosalie into his arms, kissing the top of her head, "Do you know how special you are to me? Angel."

Rosalie let out a trilling laugh and looked up at him, "It's been awhile since you've called me that."

"It has," Emmett agreed, releasing her from his arms, "Now, can I ask a favor?"

"Of course," Rosalie nodded.

"Be nice to Kit," Emmett said softly, "Please?"

Rosalie's lips became a thin line. She really couldn't stand the two humans who were bound to upturn all their lives. The small tolerance she had for Kit was only due to her being Emmett's mate. Being nice sounded like quite the stretch.

But she knew she would do it, for Emmett.