Blake whistled a soft tune to himself as he walked down the hall, swinging his leg around dramatically to pivot and plant himself in front of Kit's ajar door. Considering they hadn't had dinner yet, he knocked and figured her to be awake.

"Kit Kat?" he called into the wood, "Hey, I wanted to talk to you about your doctor's appointment."

He rocked back on his heels, waiting patiently for her to say "come in" or tell him that she was doing something, but he got no answer.

He knocked again, then placed his hand flat on the door, preparing to push it open,"Kit? I'm coming in."

Pushing open the door and poking his head in, he saw exactly why she hadn't answered him. She was lying on her stomach on her bed, dressed in pajamas with her headphones over her ears as she worked on some homework that she hadn't completed from the day before.

He went further into the room, leaving her door wide open. He leaned against the door frame, waiting for his daughter to notice him.

"Hey, Kit Kat?" he called louder. He waved a hand, "Helloooooo?"

When Kit jerked her head up, startled, he smiled and wiggled his fingers. He pointed to his ear, a signal for Kit to remove her headphones.

She did just that, "Hi, daddy," she greeted, "What's up?"

Reaching into the pocket of his black robe, he pulled out his car keys, hanging them from his pointer finger.

"I thought we could go for a drive," he told her, spinning the key ring around his finger, "I wanted to talk to you."

He watched as Kit looked down, then back up at him with a frown on her face. She was growing up so fast and she looked so much like her mother; she was a perfect replica of her grandmother in her younger days. His heart ached at the latter comparison. He missed Everly's mother very much.

His face screwed up slightly and he shook his head as if to clear away the thought.

"So, how about it?" he pressed, "I promise, I'll bring you back."

Kit didn't react to his teasing and protested, "But I'm doing homework. I need to turn it in tomorrow and what about dinner?"

"We won't be gone long," Blake promised. He jabbed a hand behind him, "Indi's helping your mom out. Ten minutes, tops…maybe more. Probably more."

"But I'm not dressed!"

Blake could hear the anxiety in her voice. Did Kit really think someone was going to see her at this time of night? He was sure, just like Kit, everyone else in town were getting ready to sit down to dinner with their families.

He hoped to comfort her and gestured down to his own attire which consisted of his black robe, "Neither am I; and I'm wearing my glasses. I look like Poindexter. C'mon, Kit," he jerked his head, "Let's go, I want to talk."

He waited for Kit to put on socks and shoes. He was glad she hadn't fought him too hard on staying in, but he could see she was still hesitant to go.

'She's acting like I'm taking her to the slaughter house or something,' he thought, 'I said I would bring her back.'

"Quit looking at me like that," he scolded lightly, "You're not in trouble. Are you ever?"

She blinked at him, "I guess not."

"C'mon," he urged her along, "Seriously, Kit. I really am bringing you back."

"Promise?" Kit asked with a wry smile.

"At least, today," he chuckled and turned to lead her down the stairs, "Eve, darling, we're going out for a drive!" he called, hopping off the last step, "Eve?"

He walked into the kitchen just as Everly turned around. She was standing at the stove, Indigo standing on a chair next to her.

"What's going on?" his wife asked.

Blake wrapped his arm around Everly's middle, letting the weight of his forehead rest on the back of her head. He loved this woman. So much.

"Kit Kat and I are going for a little drive," he repeated, kissing her head, "We have to go visit our other family."

"Well see if your other family has any spinach to spare," he could feel Everly's chuckle, "The bag in the fridge expired last month."

"Do we need it now?" Blake asked. He supposed he could pick some up, but like his daughter, he would admit that he had a slight aversion to walking around in his pajamas.

"No," Everly said, turning to peck his lips, "Just keeping you in the loop."

He felt his lips turn up and then he was grinning, barking out a chuckle.

"Okay, then," he murmured, releasing her, "And how are you doing, Princess?" he asked Indigo.

"Good," Indigo promised him, "Where are you and Kitty going?"

"Around," he told her, "We'll be back soon, don't worry," he was surprised she hadn't asked to come.

"I'm not worried," Indigo corrected, "Dinner will be done soon and we worked hard," she scowled, which Blake found adorable, "So, don't be late."

He drew a lazy salute across his head, "Yes, ma'am," he kissed her cheek, "Bye, honey."

"Bye, daddy."

"Kit's not going to say bye to me?" Everly asked, shocked.

Blake gave her a look, communicating silently. The conversation between the three of them and Dr. Cullen had been the definition of awkward and upon returning home, Kit had rushed straight up to her room for the rest of the day.

With Indigo standing there, clearly listening, he replied, "We'll be back soon. You won't even know that we're gone."

He held Everly's gaze a little longer and then she nodded, turning back to whatever she was stirring in the pot. Some kind of sauce.

"Okay," she said simply, "Be safe. Tell your other family I said 'hi'."

Indigo chipped in, "You don't have another family!"

"No, I don't," Blake agreed with a laugh, "Just one. The best family in the world. Okay, seriously, I'm leaving now. Kit's waiting."

'Unless she escaped back to her room,' he finished, hurrying back to the living room where he was happy to see Kit standing by the door.

"Ready to get this party started?" he asked, leading her outside into the chilly air.

"It's freezing out here," Kit murmured, climbing into the passenger seat.

The silence between the two was already uncomfortable and he hadn't even buckled his seat belt, yet.

He reached over to turn on the heater, "Let me know if you get too hot."

"Okay."

"While you were upstairs in your room, your mom went out and picked out a glucose monitoring kit," he started, then paused, "No pun intended. It's the same one Carlisle showed you how to use except the one you have is more of a starter…package. It comes with more lancing strips, instructions, and a little carrying case. It'll fit perfectly in your satchel."

"I really have to carry all of that around with me?" Kit asked in a tentative voice, "That's ridiculous."

"Yes, Kit," he said, eyeing her when she sighed, "And you need to check your blood sugar at least three times a day—it's that serious."

"I've gone years without checking my blood sugar," she practically sneered, "I think I'll be okay."

"And I think you should watch your attitude," he shot back, then spoke in a calmer tone, "Now, because you're walking around and burning more calories at school, you should probably carry some snacks or candy around with you to keep your blood sugar up; put some in your car. Carlisle put in a prescription for Glucagon in case you have another severe drop, but hopefully, we'll never have to use it."

Kit said nothing, so he continued, "Before school, tomorrow, we'll go over everything, but your teachers are aware of your blood sugar and so is the nurse, so you can go to her if you need to."

"Great, that's fantastic."

"Thin ice, Kit, thin ice," Blake warned at her short tone, "I know this sucks, but it's something we can live with, yes?"

"It's just embarrassing," Kit told him, "What teenager wants to walk around stuffing their face all day and having to stab themselves in the finger? It makes me nauseous."

Blake blinked a few times. This was news to him, "It makes you nauseous? Since when? You've never had a problem with needles or blood before."

"No, it's the sound," Kit corrected. He heard her swallow thickly, "When you press the release button on the lancing device. That little clicking noise or whatever from the spring. Ugh, it's terrible."

"I thought you looked pale when Carlisle showed you how to do it," Blake mused, "Well, he gave us a bunch of pamphlets. We'll see how often you need to check your blood sugar, okay? It's different for everyone."

"Okay," Kit agreed and he wondered what she was thinking.

Blake gave his daughter a long side glance. Of course, in the darkness of the car he couldn't see her that clearly, but he still tried.

Turning on his blinker, he added, "And it's not like you have to eat 24/7. A lot of people have this problem, Kit. It's something you now need to be really cautious about. You'll get used to it."

Still, Kit didn't respond and he took another look at her. She looked distracted by something as she gazed out the window. He couldn't tell what she was looking at. Everything looked the same here.

"I'm not surprised that your blood sugar's gotten worse," he admitted, "You know, you've always been on the thinner side. When you were little, you were thinner than a toothpick and then you lost more weight when you became a vegetarian. Do you remember how hard that was? Dr. Cilia said giving up meat wasn't in your best interest and it wasn't something she recommended?"

Becoming a vegetarian, especially at ten years old, there had been a lot of nutrition deficiency risks and bone density concerns. Kit had wanted to be a vegetarian when she was five and had spent time making charts and lists with coloring crayons to try and convince him and Everly to let her do it, but it had been out of the question. She was lucky that her doctor had even considered it when she was ten.

Kit was a vegetarian that didn't like most vegetables, she hated the fake meat brands and didn't take any multivitamins or supplements. She had tried iron when she was twelve, but it had been too hard on her body and made her feel sick. Since then, she always turned her nose up at any kind of supplements.

This time, he actually got a reply from his daughter.

"I remember," she said with a smile in her voice, "But you and mom let me do it anyway because you respected my morals-

"-And we cautioned you to be careful," Blake finished for her, "…You haven't been."

"I'm not giving up being vegetarian," Kit quickly interjected, "I can't do that."

Blake shook his head, though Kit probably couldn't see him well either. When he stopped at a red light, he turned to look at her.

"I would never ask that of you," he said, "Because you're such a picky eater, it's going to be a little harder. Not only that, but we need to get your weight up."

The light turned green and he was able to linger a little more on Kit's face. There were very few cars out at this time of night.

He watched her wilt in her seat and lightly bite the corner of her lip, another deep frown wrinkling her face.

He turned his attention back to the road and heard her mutter in a dejected voice, "Well, how much weight do I have to gain?"

He pressed his tongue to the side of his cheek. Carlisle had said it wasn't in Kit's best interest not to talk numbers. Basically, Kit didn't need to know that her goal weight was 125-130 pounds.

Kit was at that age, Blake supposed. Worrying about her skin, weight, hair, clothes and other girly things like that. What teenager didn't struggle with that kind of stuff?

"It doesn't really matter," he finally answered, "But I bet you'll feel a lot better when you reach your target weight and you'll look healthier!"

"Mm…"

Blake winced at Kit's dead response to his chipper tone. He and Kit were close, of course, but maybe this was a conversation that was better spoken between her and Everly. So, he decided to move on and let Everly handle the weight conversation. A girl-on-girl talk.

Kit wasn't engaging with him much and it made him feel a little awkward. She usually wasn't one to keep secrets from him or her mother and they weren't ones to keep secrets from her.

He tried again, broaching another topic that had been on his mind, "While we all talked, Carlisle mentioned that you haven't been feeling too great over the last couple weeks? You brushed it off pretty quickly and it's something I'm worried about. You're mother and I were definitely surprised. Do you think you're depressed?"

Her response was faster this time and she sounded exasperated, "No, I've been busy. Gosh, I have so much to do. I have to do Willa's auditions, I'm trying to find a new violin teacher, and I miss New Hampshire more than I thought I would," she took a breath then continued, "It's going to be the end of the year in a few months and Sophomores take finals, and it's almost your and mom's birthday plus Mother's Day. Then I promised Indigo I would fix her clothes, I'm helping out with prom stuff, I want to find a job and I'm a little sad about not going to New Hampshire this summer. Apparently, I can't be stressed out without people saying I'm depressed! I think people here like to over exaggerate," she huffed out a loud, irritated sigh, cutting off her loud rant, "It doesn't even matter. I'm fine, okay!"

In the tense silence, he pondered Kit's words. He felt a little guilty for not realizing how stressed she really was. He knew she had a lot to do—Kit was someone who couldn't sit still. She always had to do something and had been that way her entire life, especially when they had all lived with Everly's mother and Kit had delightfully taken over being Indigo's mother figure while he and Everly worked nonstop.

Keeping his voice even, he said, "Kit, you keep saying you're fine, but you don't sound like it," he let out a sigh of his own, "And you don't act like it, either. What about the anxiety?"

"What about it?" Kit grumbled, "We randomly moved to the middle of nowhere and my first ever boyfriend is one of the most popular and talked-about guys in the whole town. Of course I have some anxiety, who wouldn't?"

Blake could understand that to an extent and sure, people had talked about him and his family when they had first moved here, but that was months ago and the townspeople had moved on to other things. Despite it being a small town, the people weren't a bunch of evil gossips. There were some kind folks, though Blake didn't interact much. There wasn't much of an art community.

"You have anxiety about dating Emmett?" he clarified in a dangerous tone, "Is he pressuring you?"

"Oh my gosh!" Kit cried. Her voice was muffled, "Daddy, I'm not talking about this!"

"You're the one that said dating Emmett makes you anxious," he pointed out.

"It doesn't make me that anxious, oh my gosh," Kit mumbled.

"So, you're not having sex?" Blake clarified, "And if you are, then I think we should-

"I'm a virgin!" Kit interrupted loudly, "You know I want to wait until marriage. Emmett and I haven't even talked about it. We don't need to right now."

"Right now," Blake snorted.

"So, can we go back home?" Kit demanded, "We've been driving forever."

Blake kept one hand on the wheel, reaching out to turn off the heater, "No, okay, wait, I got off topic. I need to know how you're feeling, Kit. I mean, if you're depressed, then you can tell me and we can try to figure it out. There's treatment for this nowadays."

"I'm not depressed," she scoffed lightly, "There are more important things to worry about."

Blake shook his head, "Not when it comes to my kid. Do you maybe want to…talk to someone?"

She sighed loudly, "Thank you, but the last thing I want to do is talk about this any longer. I really just want to go home and finish my homework. It's history and it was due, today."

Blake was at a complete loss. He didn't know what else to say to his daughter, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but in this car with him. He should've scolded her more for her tone and bad attitude, but that wasn't going to help anything.

He racked his brain, going over each time he saw Kit. Did she smile or laugh less? She still played with Indigo and partook in activities that she enjoyed. Like her violin. He often heard her jabbering on the home phone to Willa, Alice, Bella, Emmett and most recently, Jessi.

He turned on his blinker, making a U-turn to head back home, "We all go through stuff, Kit Kat," his eyebrows creased together with thought, "If something's happening, then you can tell your mother and I. We might understand more than you think we do. I can't express that enough. We're always here if you want to talk. I always tell you that."

"You do," Kit confirmed. Her tone was calm, back to its usual softness,"Thanks, daddy, it really means a lot."

"I love you," Blake reminded gently.

"I love you too and I'm sorry for being so terrible."

He tried again. One last time, "Dr. Cullen said that in a few months we could talk about medication; if you're open to it," he reminded.

"I'm not open to it," she said, "I don't want to be all drugged up and I'm worried about the side effects."

"I don't think Carlisle would make you 'all drugged up'," Blake's lips twitched up slightly, "He seems smarter than that—not one of the doctors that write you a prescription and tell you to get out, you know?"

"Yes," Kit murmured, "I guess, but…I think I'll be okay."

"Okay…" Blake repeated through a sigh, "Okay, honey. Let's…go back home, then."

The next day, once again in her father's car; this time in the backseat, Kit huffed and crossed her arms.

"I can't stay home one more day?" she whined. She would get on her knees and beg if it meant she could miss another day of school.

"No, Kit," Blake said, narrowing his eyes at her in the rearview mirror, "I don't know how many times I have to tell you, and I don't understand what you're so worried about. I bet everyone will be really happy to see that you're all right."

Kit said nothing, tracing the cream-colored dots on her red dress. The bottom of the long full skirt that almost touched her ankles consisted of contrasting cream ruffles with red dots. The puffed sleeves were covered by another long-sleeved tie shrug. During their conversation, last night, her father hadn't asked about the scratches.

"Look at it like this," Blake suggested, thinking positive as always, "You passed out in sixth period, so maybe not everyone will know."

"Everyone will know," she moaned, "We could have waffles for breakfast and everyone would know about it. We need to move," she grumbled.

"What was that last part?"

"Nothing," she sighed, sliding lower in her seat as they pulled into the school parking lot, "I'm just in a bad mood. I'm sorry, I'm really nervous."

"It will be okay, Kit," Blake reached behind the seat to touch Kit's leg. He chuckled, "You'll be fine, honey. The first day back from being sick is always the worst. Trust me. I'd tell you all about it, but I have to get to work and I'm scared that your friends are going to break my window and I can't afford to replace it."

Looking up from under her long eyelashes, Kit could spot Ben, Angela, Mike and Willa crowded around Ben's car. Her father was right, they looked ready to rush over to the car and drag her out.

"And I bet Emmett's dying to see you," Blake added causing Kit's heart to skip, "When him, Alice and Jasper brought you home I thought they were going to beg me to sleepover. Emmett didn't want to leave."

"Oh my gosh, that's so embarrassing!" Kit practically squealed, covering her face with her hands, "I can't get out now. Please just put me out of my misery!"

"You're so dramatic. Kit Kat, get out of the car or I will roll down my window-

"Daddy, don't!" Kit gasped, completely horrified.

"And yell to all your friends-

"O-KAY, UGH!" she grovelled through her father's barking laughter. She unbuckled her seat belt and grabbed her bag, "I'm going, I'm going."

"Goodbye, honey, I love you," Blake said sincerely, "And you're going to be fine. Make sure you check-in with the nurse if you feel low. Check your blood sugar and eat your lunch! All of it!"

"I will," Kit promised, leaning forward to kiss her father's cheek, "Bye, daddy. See you after school. Thanks for driving me."

Her heart felt as thought it was going to beat out of her chest, she was so anxious. Her hands were sweaty and shaking and she had to wipe them on her dress. She took her sweet time getting out of the car, buying time by pretending to fix the large button on the side of her leatherette nude peep toe pumps.

"Kit Amara-

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" she thought of stalling a little more by gnawing her nails off, but it didn't seem like she had time for that.

Taking a deep breath, Kit kept her eyes down, shaking fiercely as she climbed out of the car. She had barely swung her legs over the seat before she was pulled out and enveloped into a crowd of hugs.

Through all the sudden chatter, she didn't hear her father's car pull out of the lot.

"Kit!" Willa cried, accent thick. She squeezed tightly, "Oh my gosh, what the heck!?"

"Are you okay!?" Ben placed his hand on her shoulder.

"We were so worried!" Angela gasped.

"We thought you were, like, dead or something," Mike joked through a chuckle.

Kit was glad that Willa was still hugging her as she was sure that her face was red all the way up to the tips of her ears. She had a little trouble making out the words as her schoolmates continued to sling out their concerns.

When Willa pulled away to hold her at arms length, Kit avoided their insistent gazes and cleared her throat before she bit her lip. Her nails dug into her palm.

"Um, I'm fine, thank you—all for your help, yesterday," she stammered. She took a deep breath that made her chest feel tight, "I'm fine, just hypoglycemic."

"Erm…one more time?" Mike asked stupidly.

"It means she gets low blood sugar!" Angela hissed to him as she pushed up her glasses.

"Oh," Mike said with a blink. He scratched the back of his neck, "That blows."

"Mhm," Kit confirmed with a nod. She snuck a peek at them, "It's really not that big of a deal. I just have to be more careful," she forced a small smile trying to lighten the mood.

"Seriously, you scared us all to death!" Ben declared.

"You should have seen Cullen," Mike informed her, "The big one. He looked so freaked."

'Cullen,' Kit thought. She didn't understand why it was so hard to refer to Emmett by his name. Kit knew that Mike was aware he had one.

"No, it was sweet," Angela said softly with a bemused half-smile, "He carried you out and everything."

"Oh my gosh…" Kit partially covered her face with her hand, "I'm so embarrassed. Really, guys, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so much trouble."

"You don't need to apologize," Angela reassured, "You weren't any trouble. We're just glad you're okay."

"And you're with me today!" Willa lopped her arm through Kit's, pulling her close, "Well, until third period, but I'm going to call you, later!"

Kit managed to wave at the others while Willa dragged her away. Another thing Kit was thankful for. She had questions that she felt she could only ask her best friend.

But first, "Um, Willa. I'd love to talk, but I should probably go see Emm-

"Later," Willa huffed, "He gets you all the time. I need to talk to you."

"Okay, but-

Willa interrupted her again, pushing Kit to sit on one of the picnic benches. She angled herself so that she was slightly in front of Kit, something Kit found relieved her anxiety. It was as if Willa was trying to hide her from prying eyes.

"Now," Willa started, all business, "Tell me what happened! You just passed out?"

"Yes," Kit insisted, "That's exactly what happened, but it's fine…" she paused and lowered her voice, "Are people talking?"

"Of course," Willa chimed, making Kit's stomach drop, "People always talk and it didn't help that you missed school, yesterday," her smile was sheepish.

"Hey, I had to," Kit said, affronted, though she wasn't complaining about missing school, "My parents kept me home and I had to go to the doctor."

'Which was loads of fun,' she commented in her head as Willa's eyes lit up with curiosity.

"The doctor didn't say anything bad, right?" Willa asked, cocking her head.

Kit shook her head. Willa didn't need to know all of her drama and decided to keep everything else she and Carlisle had discussed, to herself.

"So, I don't really know about hypoglycemia," Willa admitted, cheeks pinking, "I've heard about it, but what do you have to do?"

Kit winced, "I have to stick my finger and put my blood in this tiny machine that tells me if I'm low or not."

"Ew!" Willa gasped, making a face, "Is that sanitary?"

"I have to make it sanitary," Kit said, recalling the instructions she read in the manual, "And if I'm low, then I just have to drink juice or eat glucose tabs or drink something. If I'm not low, then I just move on with my life."

"Was it low this morning?" Willa asked, again curious.

Kit shook her head, scrunching her nose. Her parents had made her a big breakfast and it weighed heavily in her stomach. She knew they were trying to get her weight up and she feared to see what her mother had packed for her lunch. She had been so full that morning that she almost started crying.

Willa crossed her legs, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "Jessi's worried too. We'll three-way call later if you want. Oh and I bet all the teachers are going to go easy on you, today."

"I guess…" Kit mumbled. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, "I hope they'll accept my late assignments."

"I think they have to," Willa said. She looked at Kit, "Don't look so worried. This will blow over by next week. Not a lot happens around here."

'That means I have to be their entertainment?' Kit sighed and didn't speak her thoughts aloud.

A drop landing on her head caused Kit to look up and she held her hand out, catching a raindrop in her hand.

"It's starting to rain," she announced to her friend.

"Yeah, come on," Willa stood up, "I guess I need to deal with it. It won't be any different in Seattle, will it?"

Kit bit her lip, "So, you're actually moving?" she cleared her throat when her voice came out shaky. She knew why Willa was moving, but she didn't want her friend to go.

"I hope so," Willa admitted, "My family and I are, like, the only brown people in Forks, it's ridiculous. We moved here because it's cheaper, but it's lonely. Some of our family are coming over from India, and they're moving to Auburn."

"When are they coming?" Kit asked, falling in-step next to Willa.

"Not until the summer," Willa said, "That's when we would go. My parents are still trying to find a house and they're trying to work around my schedule too. It would have to be after intensives."

Kit nodded. During their sleepover, Willa had finally picked a song. Entr'acteby Tchaikovsky. The one from 'Sleeping Beauty.' It was the one she had been leaning towards, so Kit wasn't surprised.

As they neared the buildings that separated the classes, the two slowed their steps.

"I'll see you next period," Willa said with a smile, "Let me know what we're doing in history, kay?"

"Mhm," Kit hummed, "I will. See you."

"See you," Willa parroted, going off in the other direction.

As soon as Willa was out of earshot, Kit heaved out a loud sigh, trudging to the history building. Sighing seemed to be the only thing she did nowadays.

School had yet to start, but so far, the day wasn't as bad as she had previously anticipated. Given her history, it would probably get worse, but she was cracking down on how she used to be. She was trying to be positive again, something that had at one point slipped right through her fingers.

She was relieved to see no one outside her history classroom. More specifically, Lauren and her friends. In fact, Kit had been so nervous about going to school, then being occupied by Willa and the others, that she hadn't bothered to look for Lauren.

She left her assignment on the teacher's desk and took her seat, wondering if it was possible that they could all be home sick at the same time. Did it make her a monster for hoping it could be true?

"Ah, Miss Algren," Mr. Jefferson said with a smile, "It's good to see you back in school. How are you feeling?"

"Much better," Kit told him, reaching into her satchel to take out her notebook, "Thank you."

"Let me know if you need to go to the nurse," Mr. Jefferson responded, "Or if you need to eat or drink something, that's okay."

Kit nodded with an embarrassed smile. She wasn't much of a sweets person, but had some soft caramel and granola bars in her bag. If it came down to eating in class, she probably wouldn't do it. Especially not with Katie in such close proximity.

More students began to trickle in and Kit kept her head down, feeling eyes on her the whole time. Dressing the way she did, it's not like she wasn't used to it. In the past, it was like people weren't even staring; she had grown so used to it, but now it felt like all anyone ever did was stare at her.

She didn't want to make it sound like she had a big head or an ego. Maybe she was just paranoid. Most likely. She felt like she was constantly having to look over her shoulder. Worried both about human and vampire troubles. Was Lauren going to shove her into a wall or trip her? Was Victoria going to jump out at her and sink her teeth into her throat or hurt her family?

Kit squirmed at the thought, almost shuddering. She was a little envious of those around her, oblivious to the things that lurked in the shadows. How lovely it must be, Kit thought. While overall she didn't mind the vampire thing, she would admit that she was scared. It was only natural, wasn't it?

The bell rang, again causing her to look up and she moved her pencil closer to her notebook. Frightened as she was, Emmett had promised that she was going to be safe. She was concerned about Indigo and her parents more than anything, but she supposed there was nothing she could do about it.

She hated feeling so out of control.

"You're not avoiding me, are you baby?"

Kit's lips turned up into an involuntary smile when she heard Emmett's musical voice and she looked up from where she was knelt on the ground, tightening the strap on her right heel.

"No," she tried to play off being calm, but her heart was beating too quickly and she knew Emmett could hear it, "I'm not."

She accepted the large hand he held out, letting him pull her up and into his hard and comforting embrace. He was hugging her a little tighter than normal, but not so tight that it was uncomfortable.

"Hi," she said against his chest.

"Hey," he whispered in her hair, "Are you okay?"

"Mhm,"she didn't want to let go, "I'm okay. Thank you."

She felt Emmett shake his head and she tried to look up at him to no avail.

"Don't scare me like that again," he warned her in a grave tone.

Kit felt terrible. She hadn't meant to scare him, or cause so much trouble. She was such a burden. A worthless human that meant nothing, said ever so kindly by Rosalie.

"I-I won't," she promised feebly, "It's all okay, now. I'm fine, really," she shivered, "Um…I'm cold…"

Immediately, Emmett pulled away from the hug and Kit bit her lip as his eyes searched her face. She didn't think she looked so pale anymore, but then again, nothing was pale in comparison to Emmett and his family.

She tilted her head to the side. It looked like he wanted to ask her something.

"What?" she asked, "Do you want to say something?"

"No, just…" Emmett tilted his own head, "Your parents said they were taking you to the doctor."

Kit blanched. She hadn't gone over what she was going to say to Emmett. After returning from the drive with her father, she had reluctantly eaten dinner, then gone back to bed, Indigo waking her up in the middle of the night to sleep with her.

"Yes, they did and it was fine," she told him, trying to be reassuring, "I just need to look out for my blood sugar."

Emmett didn't look too happy, "That's it?"

Kit shrugged, "Basically," she took his hands, "It's nothing you need to worry about, okay?"

When he scowled at her, she stood on her tiptoes, puckering her lips for a kiss. She giggled against his mouth, then went back down on her feet, biting her lip as she gazed up at him.

"Trust me, I'm fine," she said, releasing one of his hands, "Come on, the bell's going to ring for lunch."

"You seem rather eager," Emmett commented, "Are you going to eat lunch, today?"

She tensed. Emmett tended to never call her out when she skipped lunch or only sipped from a water bottle, but that didn't appear to be the case, today.

"I'm going to try," she promised quietly. She squeezed his hand, "I kind of have to…"

Her voice trailed off as they neared the cafeteria and she faltered in her steps. She hated the cafeteria. It was literally the whole school crammed into one room. She missed her old school, where they had two lunches.

"I-" she stuttered.

"It's okay," Emmett promised, pulling her forward, "Just don't look. Trust me."

Kit did, of course she did and it was that day that she realized she probably had the best boyfriend in the entire universe.

Emmett ate lunch with her.

She panicked at first, trying to be discreet about it. She knew vampires couldn't digest human food and she didn't want Emmett to hurt himself or be uncomfortable because she was a total wackadoo.

Emmett wasn't at all panicky and laughed as he swallowed a large bite of pizza.

"I'm not going to keel over or anything," he said through a chuckle, "It's not like my heart is going to stop."

He busted out laughing like it was the funniest thing ever and Kit had to giggle, hiding a louder laugh behind her hand.

For lunch she had a carton of milk, some kind of stuffed flatbread sandwich, spinach salad with feta cheese, nuts, cranberries and dressing and a peanut butter granola bar.

It was…a lot. Instead of keeping it all spread out in front of her, she packed some of it away to eat them one by one. She started with the salad and was still working on it. She had taken one bite at most.

"We need to keep up a better charade, anyway," Emmett said, "At one point, we all just have to suck it up and stuff our faces. We all do it."

"It doesn't hurt?" she pushed away a chunk of cheese with her fork.

"It's uncomfortable," Emmett complained, "But if you think a piece of pizza is going to take me down, then we need to have a serious talk."

"No," Kit laughed, "I have more faith in you. Just don't be uncomfortable all day."

"I'll get rid of it before lunch is over," Emmett told her bluntly, "And then I'll be just as perfect as I always am," he grinned brightly.

"Always," Kit snorted with a playful eye roll, "Okay," she drawled sarcastically.

"Hey!" she batted his hand away, careful not to hurt herself when he stuck her fork in her salad.

"Just trying to top it all off," he made a big show of putting his fork in his mouth.

Kit scrunched her nose up at him. She supposed it didn't matter if they shared food. They already kissed and that was sort of the same thing. Kind of. Just chaste kisses and pecks here and there, but that was beside the point.

Between talking with Emmett, she focused more on eating the cranberries, figuring those contained the most sugar. She didn't think she'd be able to eat her entire lunch, but she would definitely put in more effort when she got home.

"I'll be right back," Emmett said, standing up from his seat. He glared at her playfully, "Stay here. Alice is plotting to kidnap you."

Kit giggled, "I'll try my very best to remain unkidnapped," she waved him off, "Go, go. Do your…thing."

Emmett parted with a chuckle and a kiss on her head and she bit her lip shyly as she looked down at her lunch. She had yet to see Alice, Jasper or Bella that day. They all ate lunch at different tables, busy with their significant others or siblings. Not that Kit minded, she ju-

"This seat isn't taken, is it?"

Kit felt her heart skip a beat and her head snapped up at the snotty voice that pierced her thoughts. All traces of a smile fell from her face as she looked at Lauren who now occupied Emmett's seat, her elbows on the table, chin resting on her folded hands.

Lauren smiled in a way that unnerved Kit. It was a smile that never meant good things with a tongue laced with malice.

"Y-yes," Kit stuttered, "It is. Emmett's sitting there."

"Is he?" Lauren's eyes widened and she looked around, "Well, I don't see him. Unless, you're seeing things that aren't there. I wouldn't be surprised—I mean, we all know how much attention you need."

"Whatever," Kit rolled her eyes, "I've heard that one before. I'm not in the mood."

Lauren smirked, "Wow. Is that what you say to Emmett when he tries to get in your pants? Look, Kit, I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just being honest. All that sleeping around? You think you would be thinner considering that sex burns calories."

Kit felt her cheeks heat up. Emmett had never pressured her into sex or making out or doing anything she didn't want to do. She didn't appreciate Lauren implying that he did.

"Jessica was telling me you passed out because you were pregnant," Lauren continued. She rolled her eyes, "She's so stupid, as if you would be pregnant. Can you imagine? I mean, your children would be disgusting."

Kit dug her teeth into her lower lip. She wasn't going to give Lauren the satisfaction of seeing her get teary-eyed or cry. That was one of the worst things Lauren had ever said to her. The other, making fun of her dead grandmother.

Lauren made a sound of disgust, "Are you going to eat all of that?" she demanded, making a face at Kit's lunch.

Kit frowned, generally confused at Lauren's question. All of what?

"What?" her voice came out watery and she cleared her throat, "It's just a salad. It's…not that much."

"Full fat cheese," Lauren pointed, "Full fat dressing. Do you know how many calories that has? There's, like, five pounds in that whole container. But if gaining a bunch of weight is going to keep you from 'passing out'," she made air quotes with her fingers, "Then I say go for it. I guess Emmett likes big girls. More of you to hold, right? That is, if he can even lift you," she snorted.

Kit didn't know how to react. It seemed like Lauren was just blathering and not really talking to her. Not that she ever had before, but Kit was having a hard time regulating her emotions. She couldn't tell if she was upset, embarrassed, on the verge or tears or what.

"Please, leave me alone," she whispered.

"Please, leave me alone," Lauren mocked, "I'm trying to be nice and you're being a bitch about it," she stood up, glaring, "At least do yourself a favor: stick your fingers down your throat when you're done cramming food into your face. Fat ass."

Kit's mouth literally fell open at Lauren's smirk.

"I'm being nice," Lauren repeated, "If Emmett and his other freaky little family members aren't going to tell you that you're still fat, then who is?" she shrugged, "You should be grateful. Think about it…when have I ever lied to you?"

"Ahem!"

Kit startled at the large frame appearing beside Lauren. She hadn't noticed Emmett approaching. How much had he heard?

"I'll see you later, Kit," Lauren retorted, already turning to leave. Her blonde hair bounced behind her.

Emmett's eyes followed the Junior and then he took a seat, looking at Kit.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded, "Was she being mean to you?"

Still reeling from what had just happened with Lauren, Kit shook her head, feeling off and spacey as she absently placed the top back on her salad container to pack it away.

"No," she said, blinking, "She was being nice."