Applying a thin coat of rarely used sparkly mascara to her eyelashes, Kit set it down and took a few steps back to look at her full reflection. Due to the freckles that would most likely dominate her face in the future, she didn't wear or own much makeup, but was able to get away with mascara, lip gloss and sometimes eye shadow.
She blinked a few times, getting used to the heavy feeling on her eyelashes and pulled on the hem of her dress, trying to lengthen it out.
The sundress was handmade and tied at the shoulders, the fabric an off-white print with various bright strawberries going in all sorts of directions. She wore red tights and a long-sleeved red cardigan, having buttoned up the red pearlized closures. On her feet she wore scuffed up red patent leather Cutie Pie pumps. Her hair as usual, was left down, her grandmother's locket silver and glinting against her outfit.
She had slept in later than planned, waking up in her parents bedroom. They must have all crashed after watching the movie. It had been a long time since that had happened, but it was much needed as everyone but Indigo seemed to be on edge last night.
She felt better after showering and getting dressed. It was officially Spring Break and she was so relieved, already in a better mood. She wished the break would last forever.
Kit's cellphone ringing brought her out of her thoughts and she answered it after glancing at the screen.
"Long time no talk," she said cheerfully.
"I know," Willa sounded apologetic, "I thought you might be mad at me."
"No," Kit told her, not wanting to talk about it, "I'm not."
"Oh!" Willa gasped, surprised, "Okay, then…Ah, well, we need to hang out this week. You know I'm dropping a few of my classes when school starts."
"We'll do something," Kit promised, appreciating the subject change, "Another sleepover."
"Yeah!" Willa beamed through the phone, "I'll ask my parents."
"Great. What are you up to, today?" Kit asked conversationally, putting the phone between her ear and shoulder, "Anything interesting?"
"Not really," Willa complained, "Homework and breaking in new pointe shoes. My papa thinks I'm going to break my ankles, so that will be entertaining."
Kit snickered, "You've been dancing for a long time. Isn't he used to it?"
"Never," Willa chuckled, "What about you? Anything planned?"
"I'm going over to the Cullens' house for the day," Kit reran her brush through her hair, "That's all I have planned. I might spend time with my family and practice with Nero. I need to step it up, memorize some new pieces," she grinned.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Willa gasped loudly, "Love you Kit, gotta go, bye!"
The line disconnected before Kit could blink and she stared at her phone screen, bewildered.
"What was that about?" she asked herself, wavering as she went to put the cellphone in the pocket of her cardigan.
She bit her lip and left it on the desk, behind her large bottle of leave-in conditioner and hairbrush, making sure to switch it to silent and turn it face down.
Satisfied, she left her room and went downstairs, her heels clicking against the hardwood, making those already downstairs aware of her approach.
"Good after—ahhh!" a bright flash went off in her eyes when she started to enter the kitchen, blinding her and causing her to cry out and crumple to the ground.
"Oh my gosh!" Kit exclaimed, hands covering her eyes, "My eyes!"
"Blake!"
"Always with the theatrics…" she heard her father mutter.
"You know that camera needs to be fixed," Everly hissed, "You're such a child, you can't just play with stuff you find in your drawers! Ugh, I should be telling this to Indigo."
"Is Kitty dead?" Indigo inquired
"No," Kit groaned, rubbing her eyes, "She's very much alive," she removed her hands, blinking rapidly to clear the spots from her vision, "Wow…that was not fun for me."
Blake laughed, placing the camera on the counter and going to help his daughter off the ground, "I'm sorry, Kit Kat. I tested it the first time on your mother when she got out of the shower."
Kit blinked again as she looked at her father, "A-and you thought you'd test it a second time?" she grumbled.
"I tweaked it a little," Blake sighed, "It really was a coincidence. I'll have to take it to a shop."
Kit stumbled to her feet, thankful when her father led her to a chair, "Mom, can you get me a wet paper towel?" she blinked, feeling her eyes burn, "I think I have…mascara in my eyes."
She tried her best to clear her vision until her mother returned from the sink and she accepted the wet paper towel, doing her best to remove the mascara from her eyelashes and wherever else it smudged. Well, so much for that.
"Look how absolutely adorable you look!" Everly praised, taking Kit's hand and tugging until she stood up, "Aww, I remember my mom making me this dress."
"You look like ice cream!" Indigo cried happily.
"Thank you," Kit looked at the paper towel, now spotted with black and up at her mother, "Is it all off?"
Everly smoothed her thumb under Kit's eye, "Yes, now it is."
"Good," Kit went to throw the paper towel away.
"You do look cute," Blake commented when Kit reclaimed her seat at the table. He placed a plate of hash browns, scrambled eggs, and two filled crepes in front of her, "Breakfast for lunch."
"Thank you," Kit smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes as she looked over the plate, "Um, what are you and mom going to do, today?"
Everly glanced at her,"Indigo is going to help me paint," she said, smiling at her youngest, "And your father is going back down to Seattle to review a new painting for an art gallery admission."
"Be safe," Kit warned lightly, pushing aside her hash browns.
Blake exhaled, joining his family at the table with a plate of his own, "I always am. When you get home, we'll have to finish that movie. We all fell asleep."
Kit smiled softly, "It was nice," she defended, "It's been awhile since we've done that."
"I liked it!" Indigo added.
"We'll do it again," Everly promised, cutting up her sausage, "So, Kit, I have a question for you."
"Okay," Kit conceded, sipping from her milk glass.
"Is Emmett your boyfriend?"
"Ooooooh," Indigo teased, "Kitty has a booooyfriend!" The sisters locked eyes for a moment.
"No," Kit corrected with a teasing smile, "I don't. Well, we haven't talked about it. Slow remember?"
"Taking it slow means you can't have a relationship definition?" Everly asked, confused.
Kit made a face, spearing a strawberry on one of her crepes, "Mom, you sound like Willa. I really don't know. Right now…we're dating."
"Ah, young love," Blake shook his head, "You both are so cute, it drives me nuts."
Indigo snickered.
"I'm glad you approve," Kit said sincerely, standing up to bring her plate to the counter, clearing her throat. She went through one of the drawers until she found the cling wrap, planning to put her full plate in the fridge.
"I was right, wasn't I?" Blake continued, from his place at the table, "Twiterpatted?"
"…Yes," Kit admitted, placing her plate in the fridge, "You were right," she trailed off with an over dramatic sigh.
"Yes!" Blake pumped a fist in the air, "I always am, Kit Kat. Remember that."
"You are so obnoxious!" Everly poked her husband in the middle of his forehead and leaned over to kiss the spot, "Quit bothering our daughter!" This elicited more snickers from the youngest.
"That's what I'm here for," Blake exclaimed thorough Indigo's giggles, "Isn't that right, Kit Kat?" he inquired.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, daddy," Kit kissed her father on the cheek before heading out of the kitchen, "I'm going to go brush my teeth!" she called over her shoulder.
"May I be excused?" Indigo suddenly asked, bouncing in her seat impatiently. All the while, her eyes never left Kit's retreating form.
"Sure, Princess," Everly said, looking over Indigo's plate, "Take another bite of your eggs and then you can go ahead."
Indigo shoved a large bite into her mouth and had yet to swallow when she hopped out of her chair, "Done! Kitty, wait for me!"
Kit stopped on the stairs, waiting for her sister to catch up. She held out her hand and led Indigo up the rest of the stairs and into the bathroom they shared.
"You want to watch me brush my teeth?" Kit asked in confusion.
"No," Indigo shook her head, her straight hair flying, "I wanted to talk to you," she looked behind her and dropped her voice to a whisper, "It's important."
"Oh?" Kit squirted toothpaste on her yellow toothbrush.
"I'm having a midlife crisis," Indigo said quietly with a frown.
"Ano'fer one?" Kit said over her toothbrush.
Indigo stomped her foot, placing her hands on her hips, a gesture she had seen her mother do, "I don't know what I want to do with my life!" she threw her hands up, "Do I want to play music? Paint? Draw? Ugh, it's driving me nuts! I'm going completely crazy over here!"
Kit held up her pointer finger, silently telling Indigo to wait. She finished brushing her teeth before she leaned over the sink to spit and rinse. She wiped her mouth off with a towel and left the bathroom.
"Sweetie, you don't need to worry about that, right now," she applied chapstick to her lips and took Indigo's hand, "You can do whatever you want. That doesn't mean you have to commit to something for the rest of your life. You're only eight."
"You're only sixteen!" Indigo protested, being led out of Kit's room.
"Yes, I am," Kit tapped her nose, smiling, "And you will be too. Right before you know it. Patience is a virtue. If you put your mind to it, you can be or do whatever you want. Take your time."
She swooped Indigo up into her arms, carrying her the rest of the way down the stairs. Kit jumped off the last on, making her sister laugh and she looked towards the door when someone knocked.
"Oooooh!" Indigo drawled out, back to her teasing tone, her midlife crisis forgotten.
"Down you go, Indi," Kit placed Indigo back on her feet, ignoring her mischievous look, "Don't you have something to do?" she questioned.
"Not right now!" Indigo shook her head and pushed Kit with her small hands, "Open the door!" she urged excitedly, "Open it, open it."
"I'm going, I'm going," Kit laughed, smoothing out her dress and picking a piece of lint off her tights, "Okay," she breathed, twisting the doorknob.
Emmett smiled widely as soon as his eyes landed on Kit, "Hey, babe. You look beautiful."
Kit laughed breathlessly, "Thank you. You look pretty dapper yourself. Come in." She moved out of the way, closing the door when Emmett was inside.
"Hello, Indigo," Emmett greeted the child, "How are you?"
Indigo glanced at Kit before she scowled, lifting her faint eyebrows, "I'm fine."
Emmett failed to hold back a snicker when Kit's mouth fell open, covering his mouth with his hand. "Glad to hear it," he chuckled, "Are you enjoying school?"
Kit raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," Indigo smiled this time, "I am," she bounced forward and grabbed his hand, not seeming to mind the temperature. If she did, she didn't comment, "Come to the kitchen."
Emmett allowed Indigo to lead the way and Kit followed behind, looking on with amusement and fondness.
"Hello, Blake, Everly," Emmett said warmly, showing off white teeth, "Long time no see."
"Yes," Everly said, "It's been too long. How are you, honey? How are your siblings and your parents?"
Emmett nodded, "Wonderful," he said kindly, earning a slight smile from Blake, "How are you two?" he finished.
"Great," Blake answered. He looked at his watch, "I do have to get going, though. Seattle's a two hour drive. Now, what are your plans for today?"
Emmett knew he'd be asked this, "Introducing Kit to my family," he replied, then paused, "Well, my parents. They're very eager to meet her properly."
Kit bit her lip, holding back a smile at the inside joke.
"That sounds nice," Everly said, "We're very eager to meet them ourselves. Please, let them know."
"Of course," Emmett promised, "Will do."
Everly, satisfied, spoke to Kit, "Have fun, be safe, no drugs, yes?"
"Yes," Kit assured, "I'd love to see your painting later," she tried to change the subject.
"It will take some time to finish," Everly kissed Kit's cheek, "You can help me later."
"K," Kit smiled, "I love you."
"I love you more," Everly replied.
Kit shook her head, "Not possible."
"Yes, possible," Everly touched Emmett's arm, "It was very nice to see you again; it's always a pleasure."
"Pleasure's mine," Emmett insisted, "I won't keep Kit out too late. Goodbye, Blake, Everly, Indigo."
"Goodbye," Blake gave a curt nod, "Take care of yourselves. Kit, do you have your cellphone?"
Kit pressed her tongue to the inside of her cheek, blanching at Blake's disapproving frown, "No, it died this morning. Sorry, I forgot to charge it."
"She can have mine for the day," Emmett offered, taking the sleek black cellphone out of his jeans pocket. He handed it to her, "Here."
"Thank you," Kit turned the device over in her hands, flicking her green eyes up to her parents, "It this okay?"
"Yes," Blake mumbled, putting Emmett's number into his own phone, "You have our numbers memorized, don't you, Kit?"
"I do," Kit confirmed, "And mom, the car keys are on your dresser."
Blake looked from Kit to Emmett, "Okay. See you later, then."
"Bye," Kit said again, blowing Indigo a kiss as her sister waved.
They left the house hand-in-hand, Emmett not speaking until Kit had closed and locked the door.
"Did you have fun with Ali, yesterday?" he asked.
"Yes," Kit said brightly, the tone surprising Emmett, "We went to see a movie and then we walked around town. Window shopping, talking…it was a lot of fun."
"She didn't force you to buy anything?" Emmett closed the door to the passenger side, waiting until he was in the car to speak again, "That's a first."
"We bought some things for her," Kit admitted, buckling her seat belt, "I couldn't really find anything. I have plenty of clothes. Alice didn't take that well."
Kit and Emmett shared a laugh and keeping one hand on the wheel, Emmett reached over and took Kit's hand. He could feel her tense when he sped up.
"Are you nervous?" he asked.
"Kind of," Kit confessed, "This will be different and…can I ask you something?"
"Shoot," he urged, curious about the change in Kit's voice, "Ask away."
"…Rosalie?" she said hesitantly, not wanting to sound rude, "Does—she doesn't like me."
Emmett's lip curved downward into a frown and he squeezed Kit's hand, reassuringly, "Rosie doesn't like anyone outside the family, but she'll come around. We've never let humans into our lives before—I bet you can guess why—and now that we have, it's a big change. It's different and she doesn't like that. She's very protective when it comes to the family and always works herself up, but she'll be nice. Hopefully."
"Hopefully?" Kit said, perplexed.
"Well, I talked to her about it and she said she would try," Emmett grimaced, "Bella and Edward will be there as well and I suppose you could say that she's more accepting of us...than them. It's personal," he glanced at her, waving a careless hand, "You don't need to worry about him, either. Edward will be excited to see you."
Kit still couldn't hold back her surprise, her voice going up an octave, "Oh."
"Yeah," Emmett snickered, "You 'saved' Bella," he used air quotes and rolled his eyes, "You know, by saying you would rat him out. It's unusual, I know, but like Alice told you…he's weird…about everything."
"Oh," Kit mumbled, unsure of how to react, "I-I don't know what to say to that," she said, her voice nonchalant, "But I am glad that they're both safe."
Emmett laughed at that, "They're both fine. Would you believe that I'm his favorite brother?"
"Really?" Kit tilted her head to the side.
"I know. Judging by our personalities, it doesn't seem like we'd have much in common," Emmett laughed again, "And he thinks I can be a little much sometimes—doesn't really appreciate my dark humor, but we always wrestle together and practice martial arts. Which I've said is always a challenge when he can read my mind. I prefer to play with Jasper."
"Do you ever play with your sisters?"
When Emmett snorted, Kit took that as a 'no' and she waited patiently for him to go into further detail.
"No," Emmett said, brows wrinkling, "Well, it depends on the game. We don't wrestle around. Alice would see my decisions and actually, Rosie could hold her own no problem. If I was gentle, she might actually win, but unless it's with her cars then she hates getting her hair messed up. Besides, even with my brothers, Esme always frets when we really go at it. So, we'll play chess, but that can get rough. Pieces go flying, people lose limbs."
"I'm kidding, kidding," he said, smirking at the look on Kit's face, "It never goes that far, never will," he ran his fingers through his curly hair. When he saw Kit shiver, he reached over to turn on the heater, "Are you cold?"
"I'm sorry," Kit said automatically, not even sure herself what she was apologizing for. She looked out the window, eyeing the gray sky. She didn't mind the cold or the lack of sun, but always forgot to dress for it.
"The sun is a rarity," Emmett reminded, watching her, "A couple years back, it snowed in August."
"It did not!" Kit gasped, "Really?"
"Really," Emmett confirmed, turning his blinker on, "Only for a couple days. That was entertaining. Snowballs can last days in our hands. This past snowfall, I was in the house and aimed for Jazz. I hit Esme instead and was grounded for a month."
Kit gaped at him when he grimaced at the memory. It was still a hard concept to grasp, that vampires couldn't get hurt by things like that. She rubbed her hands together in front of the vents, holding out her palms.
"What happened to your hands, this time?" Emmett took one of them, turning it over to see her palm. There were small blisters on her fingers and one on her palm.
"No biggie," Kit promised, reaching up to smooth the frown from his face, "It's from Nero. I upped my practice time and I pressed the string too hard. Don't worry, they'll go away. It happens sometimes."
Emmett kissed her palm before letting go, "They don't hurt? How long have you had your current violin?"
"They don't hurt," she promised, "And I've had Nero a long time. He's the only one I have, but I love him to death."
"I find it fascinating that you've given your inanimate musical instrument a whole identity," Emmett said with a slight shake of his head.
"A lot of people do," Kit told him. A thought struck her, "It's sort of like when people name their cars. Do you have a name for your Jeep?"
"No," Emmett said. He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, "Though, perhaps it's because I like it."
"What does that mean?" she asked
Emmett didn't speak for a long moment, thinking hard.
"Your violin is a part of your life—who you are," he mused, "My Jeep…it's just a toy to me, it's not a necessity. It's big and fast. It does come in handy on occasion and believe it or not, it can blend in. I like it, but I have no real attachment to it."
Kit let the words digest. Before now, she had never thought of how much money the Cullens really had. It was inappropriate, so she wasn't going to ask, but it was an interesting thing to ponder—their difference in values and material things.
"Is there something that you do have real attachment to?" she asked quietly.
"You."
The word was spoken with so much sincerity that butterflies fluttered in Kit's chest, her cheeks pinking. She wasn't sure was she expected him to say. Most likely his family.
"Me?" she echoed to herself.
"Mhm," Emmett nodded once, "My family too, but that's different."
"I-is it?" Kit regretted the words as soon as she had spoken them.
"It is," Emmett confirmed, treading carefully, "The way we bond is much different."
Kit cleared her throat, gently picking a piece of invisible lint from her tights. Hesitantly, she peeked at Emmett and saw his gaze still on the road.
"Will you tell me about it?" she asked, just a trifle bit nervous, "The bonding?"
She could see Emmett tense and the hesitation on his face. She remembered the day when she had met Peter and Charlotte. Jasper had introduced her as Emmett's mate and while she had questioned him on the meaning behind that term, he had been adamant that it wasn't important. Yet.
"If it's not something you're willing to divulge…" Kit added, her hand twitching as she resisted the urge to bite her nails, "I didn't mean to pry or be nosy. I'm sorry."
"You weren't," Emmett said, "And you have the right to ask. The bonding—it might sound intense and I don't…" he chose his next words carefully, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
"Mmm," Kit hummed.
"What?" Emmett chuckled, looking over at her, "Did you just 'mmm' at me?"
Kit giggled, "Yes, I was thinking. That's just…very sweet of you."
She left it alone after that, not wanting to push Emmett if he wasn't ready to talk. After all, he tried his best not to push her when she didn't want to talk about something, no matter how irritating she was being about it.
Out of his peripheral vision, Emmett watched Kit play with her necklace. It was the same locket she always wore. He never saw her without it unless she was sleeping.
"Did your grandmother play the violin too?" he asked curiously.
"No," Kit shook her head, "She played the piano on occasion," she looked at him, surprised at the sudden question, "Why?"
"I saw your locket and I was curious," he said, "If no one else in your family played, then why did you start playing?"
"Mmm," she hummed, trying to think of a way to shorten the long story, "Ah, I guess I was never interested in brass or percussion instruments," she began, "So, it was between string, the flute, or the piano. Then, just piano and string. I loved the piano, but as a child I thought it was too big and couldn't figure out how it would fit through the door of our apartment at the time," she chortled, "I couldn't carry a piano around with me and I wanted something of my own that I could keep in my room. I guess the violin was just the right size for little me."
"That's…adorable," Emmett finally said. He smiled, trying to picture Kit as a child, "I was thinking it'd be a different story, but I definitely like yours a lot better. So, to summarize: you picked the violin because it met your room and portable size expectations?"
"Exactly!" Kit nodded, very proud, "And I've stuck with it ever since. I made quite the racket when I first started," she sighed longingly, "Ahh, good times."
"Sounds like it," Emmett quipped, pulling into the garage, "Welp, here we are."
Her door was already open by the time she had unbuckled her seat belt and Emmett held out his hand, pulling her gently to her feet.
"Thank you," she mumbled as they walked to the front door. She could hear a river close by and it soothed some of her nerves.
As soon as they walked in, Esme appeared in the grand living room, a motherly smile on her face.
"Kit," she greeted stepping forward to hug her, "It's nice to see you again. How have you been?"
Kit pulled away from the hug, feeling comforted by Esme's warm gaze, "I've been fi-
"Kit!"
Kit squeaked in surprise when when another pair of icy arms enveloped her, Alice squeezing her gently as if she hadn't spent time with Kit the day prior.
"You're late!" Alice scolded with a scowl. She held Kit at arm's length, "You should have been here an hour ago!"
"I'm sorr-
"But look how cute you are!" Alice cried, interrupting Kit again, "I don't remember seeing this, yesterday."
"Alice," Esme scolded halfheartedly, "Let the poor dear get a word in."
"Hello, Alice," Kit chuckled, "It's nice to see you too. Uh, I'm sorry I'm late and I found the dress in the back of my mom's closet."
"We're not late," Emmett interjected, but no one listened to him.
"Are you hungry?" Esme asked, wondering if Kit would like a sandwich or something, "Would you like something to drink?"
"No thank you," Kit declined politely, "I just had lunch."
Kit smiled, feeling welcome and warm inside, a nice change from her recent emotions. Her eyes flicked up to see Jasper standing some feet away and she smiled widely at him, "Hi, Jasper!"
"Hello, Kit," he dipped his head, grinning, "I take it you're well?"
"Yes," she nodded, "I'm fine. How are you?"
"Good," Jasper said, his eyes moving slightly upwards.
Edward was descending the stairs, Bella by his side, "Hello, Kit."
"Hi," Kit smiled, but faltered a little, unsure if Edward was mad at her or not, "It's…nice to see you."
"You too," Edward smiled a crooked smile, winking at her, "Thanks for keeping Bella safe for me," his smile turned into a full grin, "I really appreciate it."
"Anytime," Kit muttered, easiness washing over her. In her relaxed state, she took a moment to look around the room, taking it all it. It was just as beautiful as she remembered.
"I'm taking Bella home for a bit, but we'll be back," Edward told them. He held out a hand towards Emmett, "Keys."
They were in Edward's hand before Kit blinked and she offered Bella a small wave which the brunette returned with a shy smile as she was led out the door.
"Ah, Emmett, that reminds me," Alice beamed, bouncing where she stood, "Guess what? There's going to be a real storm tonight."
Emmett grinned widely, showing off his dimples. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning, "Awesome! Ball?"
"But of course," Alice nodded and looked at Kit, "You'll come as well, won't you?"
Kit didn't understand, "Go wher-
An ear-splitting crash coming from somewhere in the house that caused Kit to cry out softly and she jumped almost a foot in the air.
Immediately, calm flooded the room and Emmett was by Kit's side, pulling her away from Alice and closer to him.
"W-what was that?" Kit asked, still trying to pinpoint where the noise had come from.
"That was Rosalie," Esme explained softly, "Don't worry, Carlisle's speaking with her."
"Rosalie, knock it off," Emmett muttered, sounding irritated, "You promised."
Kit pursed her lips, worried despite the calm she felt and she peeked up at Emmett. Should she not have come? She didn't want to mess things up and if Rosalie was that protective, then it had to be for a good reason.
"You're fine, Kit," Jasper muttered to her, having felt the change in her emotions, "You can stay."
Carlisle then appeared next to Esme, smiling a little too kindly, "You are more than welcome, Kit. Please, make yourself at home."
Kit nodded and she pressed herself closer to Emmett, still unsure.
"It's a pleasure to see you again," Carlisle continued, "How are you?"
"I'm fine, thank you," Kit said shyly. Carlisle's eyes, she noticed, grew concerned.
"Are you sure?" it was Alice who asked, her eyebrows knitted together.
"Yes," Kit answered with a smile, "I'm fine."
Alice huffed, patting Kit's cheek, "Of course you are."
"Would you like to come with us to play baseball?" Jasper asked, coming to Kit's rescue.
"Sure, that sounds fun," Kit said. She paused for a moment and shifted her weight, "Er…but I don't…know the rules…" she trailed off when light laughter bubbled around her.
"You can referee with Esme," Emmett told her, entertained, "A storm's the only time we can even play. You'll see why."
"Okay," Kit agreed.
"Would you like to see the rest of the house?" Emmett asked, meeting Carlisle's gaze so quickly that Kit questioned if she had actually seen it.
Kit nodded mutely, her hand automatically going to grasp Emmett's. She turned briefly, noticing that only Carlisle and Esme were in the room, now, "It was nice seeing you all again."
"You as well," Carlisle smiled, "Emmett, I'll be in my office if I'm needed," he took Esme's hand and they were gone from the room too.
"It's so beautiful here," Kit commented, her gaze sweeping over the room again, "Open."
"I suppose you can get a better look when there aren't red-eyed vampires in the room trying not to kill you," Emmett said casually, "C'mon, let's go upstairs."
"Peter and Charlotte," Kit remembered, her hand following along the satin-smooth handrail, "How are they?"
"You remember their names?" Emmett asked, looking at her in awe. When Kit nodded, he continued, "And you want to know how they are?"
"Well, yes," Kit nodded, unfazed by his tone, "They're all right, aren't they?"
"They're fine," Emmett said, amazed, "They'll make their way here again—this Alice and Jasper's room, Esme and Carlisle's, the library, Edward's room. Room, room, room, room, blah, blah, blah."
"Wow, what a tour guide," Kit quipped sarcastically, "Five out of five stars, Em."
Emmett laughed, simpered by the nickname, "A bunch of bedrooms and some studies," he clarified through his laughter, "Really, it's not that fascinating. We have a basement, too, but it hard to get to unless you're a vampire. Ah, and here's my room."
Emmett's bedroom was large and 'L'-shaped, painted white. Kit could see a bathroom at one end and a closet at the other. Like the rest of the house, the entire South wall of Emmett's room was made of glass. There weren't many decorations besides a small bookshelf and a TV with a video game console. There were a couple of black plush armchairs and even though she knew vampires didn't sleep, the lack of bed surprised Kit.
"You know we don't sleep," Emmett said, having noticed the look on her face.
"Yes, I know," Kit said. She looked Emmett up and down, "It's just…well, you don't have to sit or anything?"
"I could stand here for one hundred years if I chose to do so," Emmett led her over to one of the armchairs, "Thousands, actually."
"Without moving?" Kit asked, fascinated, "And you wouldn't get tired?"
"No," Emmett shook his head, "Not even a little bit. However, it's become a habit to sit, now, living among humans as my family and I do. Standing for days on end would feel just as relaxing as—well, let's see...you lying down on a really comfortable bed. And even after all that standing, we'd still be as indestructible as ever."
"Wow…" Kit drawled out, trying to fit that image or imagine what that would be like. She couldn't picture it.
"Are there vampires that do that, then?" she asked instead, "Stand for thousands of years?"
Emmett stiffened beside her and a tense silence settled between them.
Kit rubbed her hand up and down Emmett's chest, feeling him relax under her touch.
"I'm sorry," she frowned. She was always asking questions and wondered if it was finally getting on his nerves.
"No, no," Emmett mumbled, staring straight ahead, "You're fine, babe. Um, yeah…there are vampires that do that—have done that…The Volturi."
"The Vol…turi," Kit repeated.
"They're the largest and most powerful coven of vampires to exist," Emmett said, knowing she would ask, "They enforce the laws of our world…they're our royalty, very influential. They reside in Volterra, Italy and they've existed for over 3,000 years. Our laws are passed down from vampire to vampire. They're rather obvious rules," finally, he looked at her and smiled, trying to lighten the mood, "Guess."
"Guess your rules?" Kit's eyes widened, "Gosh, I don't know."
"Try," Emmett urged, "It'll be fun."
"Fun," Kit repeated wryly, "You just want to laugh at me," she gave in with a sigh when he did just that and thought for a beat, "Okay...I guess, drawing attention would have to be one, wouldn't it? It's why you act human."
"One down, sixty-three to go!"
"Sixty-three?" Kit cried, "Nuh-uh."
"No," Emmett chuckled, "There's no where near that many. Another one is about hunting, but that doesn't quite apply to us considering our diet. Hunting is forbidden in Volterra, but it's not like we go there every other weekend—Carlisle lived among them for a couple of decades before moving on. There's a couple regarding some other creatures. False witness is punishable by death…still with me?"
"Yes," she said, "I'm listening, keep going."
"Ah, we can't be noticed in open sunlight—I know I still need to show you," he smiled when she lightly smacked his chest, taking her hand and kissing her palm, "A creator is responsible for their newborn's behavior and teaching them the laws. Vampires' interaction with-
Kit looked down at Emmett at the abrupt halt in his sentence. He looked deeply troubled, his head turned slightly towards his ajar bedroom door as if he was listening to someone or something.
She turned her head to see, but no one was there as far as she could tell. It was just her and Emmett in his room.
"What?" she asked softly, worried she would startle him, "Is something wrong?"
"No, I was thinking," he muttered absently. He gestured for Kit to stand, then copied the motion, "It's time to go."
Kit eyed him oddly, looking back at his bedroom door, then back at Emmett, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, babe," he smiled at her, eyes crinkling, "Fine," he smirked when Kit flicked her eyebrows up, "Good," he corrected, "Alice is getting impatient, that's all."
Kit knew Emmett was trying to distract her and she was still curious about the other laws. The Volturi. They sounded kind of scary. She had a lot of questions bubbling up about them, but she forced them to the back of her mind, not wanting to be annoying. It's not like he constantly asked her questions about being human. Then again-
"Are you okay?"
She jumped, startled by the sound of Emmett's voice and having been lost in her thoughts.
"Yes," she said, "I was spacing out for a moment. Are we going?"
"Yeah," he nodded, pulling on his jacket. He eyed her attire, "Are you going to be warm enough?"
Kit nodded, looking out the window, "Yes, I think so," she took his hand when he held it out, "How do we get there?"
"Run," Emmett said simply, "I'll carry you."
"Run—what?" Kit asked hesitantly, "You're going to run…and carry me?"
He arched a single eyebrow and smiled teasingly, "I've carried you before."
Kit's face flushed at the memory of their first date, and as they made their way past the rooms back downstairs, she heard another thing break in the house.