I woke up to an extra heartbeat in the house. Which, considering whose house I was in, could only mean one thing.

Dad.

I awkwardly untangled myself from my blankets and sheets, and quietly tiptoed around the mattresses on the ground that still housed my peacefully sleeping friends. I silently opened the door to my bedroom, then closed it behind me with a soft click. My bare feet moved along the hardwood hallway with soundless steps as I followed the sound of my dad's heartbeat as his familiar and comforting scent filled my lungs. I followed the sound easily, and didn't even bother knocking as I entered Carlisle's office.

To my surprise, he wasn't alone.

Charlie sat behind Carlisle's large desk, with Rosalie and Jasper standing on the other side, with their arms crossed and matching stern expressions on their pale faces, they had never looked more like twins than they did in that moment. When I came into the room, Rose turned her head and arched a perfect brow. "I didn't think you'd be up so early. You had a late night." She remarked.

"Werewolf." I shrugged in reply with a snarky smirk. Rose's mouth twitched slightly as she fought back a smile.

"I'm glad you're up." Jasper scowled. "Now you can explain why you thought it was a good idea to send Carlisle off with one of Victoria's spawn, one capable of mind control, at that."

I frowned at Jasper's bad mood, I had just woken up and it was far too early for me to be dealing with an irritable vampire. I padded across the Persian rug and slumped down on the fancy, leather tuxedo sofa, lounging back casually I looked at my dad who was watching me with an amused smile. "Where's Edward?" I asked, instead of answering Jasper's question, which only served to annoy him further.

"Edward, Alice, and Esme went out to hunt and check on Carlisle and the fledgling." Charlie answered lightly. "Edward thought it best to be well fed before he and Alice were stuffed in a gym filled with sweaty teenagers." He continued jokingly with a teasing smirk.

Jasper and Rosalie were apparently done being ignored. "Speaking of the fledgling." Jasper interrupted icily. Jasper's golden eyes were hard, his jaw was set, and his glare intense. This was not the Jasper I was used to, and I was beginning to understand why he had once been called the God of War. "Do you care to explain yourself?"

I felt my hackles rise at the accusation. "What's there to explain?" I sneered. "Don't you trust me, Jasper?"

Jasper's lips twitched for a second before they fell into a flat line, an obvious sign he was fighting back a toothy snarl. "It ain't you I have a problem trustin'." Jasper drawled bitterly. "How can you know that you can trust that vampire?"

"The same way I know I can trust you!" I snapped back. Jasper flinched as if I had slapped him – and honestly, I may as well have. With a twitchy hand, Jasper subconsciously tugged at his shirt sleeve, as if trying to cover up as many of his war wounds as he could. "Aw, shit, Jazz." I sighed as I got up from the sofa and went to stand in front of him. I ducked my head and tried to catch his eyes but he was studiously avoiding my gaze. "I didn't mean it like that." I mumbled apologetically.

Jasper's eyes flashed in anger as he finally looked at me. "Then what the hell did ya mean?" He bit out.

I looked to my side, shooting my dad a look – a look that very clearly said, 'hey, wanna give me a hand here?'. One side of Charlie's mouth quirked up in a mocking smirk, his eyes gleaming as he inclined his head just so, and I got the message – you're on your own, kid.

"I mean that… well… I just know!" I huffed out and fought back the urge to stamp my foot in irritation.

"That ain't exactly reassuring." Jasper drawled, his southern accent that he usually hid so well was bleeding more and more into his voice as our argument continued.

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair which was still a tangled mess. "I know it the same way I knew that James was a threat, the same way I know none of you are a threat." I folded my arms over my chest as I shifted my weight. "It's like… Edward said that James was leaving when I attacked, and yeah, sure, whatever." I rolled my eyes with a snort. "He was leaving but he was still a threat, I just knew that he would be back, and that he wasn't gonna stop until he got a fight. It's just… it's instincts, ya know?" I huffed.

"No, no I don't know, darlin'." Jasper shook his head with a tired sigh. Well, pet names, that was a good sign. Right? "We vampires have instincts too, but that don't mean we can't be wrong." He continued softly, like he was talking to a child.

My guilt evaporated quicker than a puddle in the Arizona desert. "Do not patronise to me, Jasper." My jaw clicked as I ground my teeth, my eyes narrowed in a bitter stare.

"I wouldn't have to, Bella, if you weren't behaving like a damn child." Jasper hissed.

Charlie sat up a little straighter in Carlisle's oversized office chair, the twinkle of amusement faded from his eye, no longer entertained by our bickering he levelled us both in his stern gaze. "Okay, that's enough of that." He grumbled. "What Bella is trying to explain is that werewolf instincts are ineffable."

"Ineffable." Jasper deadpanned.

"Yes, ineffable and almost infallible."

"Almost, being the key word their, Chief." Jasper grunted, turning his scowl from me to my father.

Charlie sighed, "Look, I get that it's hard for you to understand. You're a vampire, I don't really expect you to understand." Charlie scrubbed a hand down his face. "But when it comes from telling friend from foe, a werewolf's instincts are never wrong. How do ya think I survived this long?" He arched a bushy brow. "I have faith in my daughter, and her instincts. If she says that this fledgling isn't a threat, I trust that. End of discussion."

Jasper looked like he wanted to argue, but Charlie's tone was final, and not even a war worn vampire like Jasper wanted to argue with Charlie when he sounded like that.

XxXx

By the time the humans woke up, Rose and Jasper were long gone, along with Charlie to go meet up with Carlisle and Bree. I could hear my friends shuffling around and mumbling groggily as I finished plating up the last of the eggs and bacon. I had just placed the final plate on the dining room table when the duo shuffled in, bleary eyed and yawning. Jess' mousy brown hair that usually fell in tight ringlets looked like an actual bird's nest, and Angela's dead straight black locks were frizzed and crimped from sleep.

"Smell's good." Jess grumbled as she sunk down onto a chair, grabbed a piece of crispy bacon with her fingers and took a large bite. "Coffee?" She grunted around her mouthful.

"Manners, Jess." Angela chided tiredly.

"God, Ange, you take your roll as mom-friend too seriously." Jessica spoke around a yawn.

"It's not too much to ask that you use cutlery, Jess." Angela huffed out.

"There's coffee." I interjected. "But Esme has this fancy machine and I have no idea how to work it." I continued, and when my friends looked up at my with hopeful, tired eyes I sighed and said, "I'll go see if she's awake."

I left the dining room and slowly ascended the stairs to the second floor, I hadn't heard Esme return, and it made sense that she would stay out with her Mate, but I at least had to pretend that everything was normal and everyone was completely human – I had to do my part to protect my human friends from the truth.

I made it to the landing when I saw Edward's bedroom door open from the corner of my eye. I turned with a growing smile already on my face that only got bigger when I saw Edward standing in the doorway.

"Good morning, love." Edward murmured as I stepped into his space and pressed my face into his chest.

"Morning." I hummed happily in return as I burrowed my face into Edward's sweatshirt, shamelessly rubbing my cheek against the soft fabric – it smelt good. It smelt clean, like the floral laundry detergent Esme used, and I could still detect a hint of Esme's sweet scent on there from where she had handled the fabric, but most of all I could smell Edward, all warm and earthy, basil blooms and Petrichor – all mixed together it smelt like home.

"Esme is still out. Do you need help with the coffee machine?" The words were mumbled against the top of my head.

"You know I do." I mumbled in reply.

Edward pulled away gently and looked down at me with a soft frown. "Is something wrong, pet?" He cupped my jaw tenderly and I leaned into his touch.

"I think Jasper's mad at me." I mumbled lamely. I felt stupid, saying it out loud.

"Hmm," Edward hummed thoughtfully. "I'm sure he is more concerned about Carlisle, than he is mad with you."

"How do you know." I grumbled childishly.

"Mind-reader." Edward reminded me with a playful smirk as he gestured jokingly towards himself.

"Sassy." I quipped with a smile as I took his hand in mine and began to walk back downstairs.

"What can I say?" Edward retorted with a tight squeeze to my hand. "You're rubbing off on me."

I bit my bottom lip and shut my eyes tight as I traversed the stairs by muscle memory, it took everything in me not to respond to that comment with a dirty innuendo. Sometimes I think Edward did it on purpose, said things that he knew could be taken the wrong way, or things I could easily make a dirty joke out of, just so he could act all scandalised when I said something crass. I managed to make it back to the dinning room without falling prey to his linguistic mousetrap.

"Esme was still sleeping." I announced as I walked into the dinning room. "But I found Edward and he knows how it works."

"Our hero." Jess sighed around a mouthful of buttery toast.

"I live to please." Edward replied. God damn it, there he goes again. Seriously, there was no way he wasn't doing this on purpose. "What would everyone like? Esme's machine is more or less professional grade, so whatever you want I can probably make."

"Latte." both girls answered in unison.

I smiled at my friends as I sat down to eat my slightly cold breakfast. "Just a black coffee." I answered.

We had just finished rinsing our plates and stacking them in the dishwasher when Alice appeared. She had done a very convincing job of ruffling her hair to make it look as if she had actually slept. When her eyes fell on Jess' hair she let out an indignant squeak.

"Your hair!"

Jess sighed. "I know. Usually I braid it before bed but we were up so late and I was so tired." She attempted to run her fingers through her hair but they became snagged and tangled a few inches from her scalp. "I totally regret that now."

"It's a good thing we have plenty of time. Come on!" Alice danced over to Jess and dragged her from her chair.

Angela and I followed behind with bemused smiles on our faces and arrived back at my bedroom to see it transformed. The mattresses were gone, and Jess' and Angela's overnight bags were neatly placed near my dresser, three large mirrors had been carted in and propped up against the far wall, with a high-back chair placed in front of each of them.

XxXx

Alice was annoyingly correct that it would take us all day to prepare ourselves for prom. Really, I should've known better than to doubt her. Once we were dressed and properly styled, I couldn't help but think that we were going to be the three best dressed people at prom. Jess and Alice were wearing matching pink dresses, although they weren't the exact same shade of pink lest they were too matching. Jess' dress was a dusty pink, floor length gown with a neckline so low it made me blush, while Alice's gown was slightly darker, more like a rose pink colour, and it had a much more modest neckline and off the shoulder sleeves and a swishy skirt that fell around her ankles. Angela's dress was a fetching lavender colour, and she assured Alice that her boyfriend Ben – who had driven down from Seattle for the event – was going to be wearing a matching tie.

Embarrassingly, it took Alice's help for me to get into my prom dress. The back of it laced up intricately like a corset and gauzy sleeves that did nothing to actually hold the dress up fell over the sides of my shoulders and upper arms – I felt horribly exposed, even though the dress covered everything and wasn't all that revealing, I couldn't help but worry since the tightly laced bodice was the only thing holding everything up. I stared at myself in the mirror and marvelled at Esme's workmanship and her ability to turn Alice's design into reality. The skirt of the dress had too many layers to count, and I didn't even want to think how long it took Esme to sew it all together, vampire speed or not, it was truly impressive. For all the layers it had, it wasn't overly poofy, only flaring out slightly at my waist as the fabric cascaded down to the floor. The top layer of fabric was almost sheer and had constellations of little gem stones that I hoped to the Goddess weren't actual diamonds sewn into it, starting from the hem of the gown and working it's way up to the bodice. As I looked closely at myself in the large mirror, I noticed that the patterns of glittering gems formed actual constellations – I could easily see the constellation Ursa Major as well as Ursa Minor, along with a number of others. My mouth opened slightly in shock as I realised my dress was in fact a map of the night sky.

"Holy Shit." I heard Jess' voice mutter and I looked up to see that she and Angela had come back into the room after having changed into their dresses elsewhere. "Your dress is amazing." Jess gaped and I couldn't help but nod silently in agreement.

"Now all that's left is to finish our hair and makeup!" Alice chirped as she began to produce makeup palates and different tools seemingly out of thin air.

Jess handled her own makeup and hair before helping out Angela, and Alice wouldn't even think about letting me attempt my own as she began her work. When everything was said and done, I was more than over it. Fortunately, the promise of Edward waiting for me downstairs kept me calm and stopped me from fidgeting endlessly while Alice pinned my hair into place. Alice had put some sort of product in my hair that made my naturally curly and wavy hair curl even more, before she pinned pieces of it up against my head to frame my face prettily.

Finally, finally, we were finished and the four of us were walking downstairs – not together, no, of course not. Rose (who had 'returned' from college for the weekend) was waiting at the bottom of the stair case with a camera, so we had to descend as Alice instructed. First, Alice and Jess went, arm in arm, since they were going together, to have their photo taken, then Angela went down after a minute or two. At last, it was my turn. I kept one hand on the banister so I would not trip over the length of my dress as I walked down the winding staircase.

When Edward came into view, everyone, and everything else melted away. Edward looked like a vision, standing in the foyer wearing a black tuxedo with a dark blue bow-tie – Navy blue my mind supplied. His bronze hair was perfectly coiffed, parted at the side and swept back away from his face. I didn't even hear the click of the camera as I made my way to Edward's side.

"You look very dapper." I murmured softly a moment before my lips met his.

Edward rested his forehead against mine. "You look… there are no words." He breathed.

I kissed him again, and as I flicked my tongue into his mouth I could taste a hint of his earlier hunt – the tiniest tang of metallic copper. My animal instincts wanted to delve deeper into his mouth, to lick all traces of the taste from his tongue, but unfortunately, I was aware of our audience, so I forced myself to retreat.

XxXx

I was a little bit worried that our group was overdressed for a small-town prom, but as I walked into the Forks High gym I realised my fears were unfounded. Apparently everyone took senior prom very seriously.

The gym was transformed with glittering lights and balloons, there was a live band and people were already busy dancing. Edward wasted no time and pulled me onto the dance floor. A wide grin spread across my face as we danced, and when the music shifted to a slow ballad I took the opportunity to grab Edward and hold him close.

Edward didn't seem to mind in the slightest as he curled one arm around my waist and tugged me snug against his body was he swirled us around the gym. As we danced, it really hit me how far Edward and I had come, both emotionally and physically. Edward always liked to bemoan how as a vampire he was unchanging – a corpse frozen in time. That he has always been and will always be what he was, that by the very nature of his being he was incapable of change or personal growth. I thought that was bullshit. The Edward I had first met over a year ago was a very different vampire than the one I was dancing with at senior prom. Riddled with angst and self-loathing we were two sides of the same coin, two supernatural beings at odds with their natures, in a constant battle with their instincts and desires to be human. Now… now we had grown into ourselves, and as Edward helped me to embrace my more savage nature, it seemed to allow him to do the same. Now, when we hunted, there was no hint of doubt, no effort to hold back or hide. And while Edward could not physically change, I could – and in the past year I had.

I had gone through a final growth spurt, and now with small two inch heels on, Edward and I were equal in height. My muscles had filled out and become more defined, and my growth was mimicked in my wolf form – I was almost the exact same size as Charlie now. I knew what this all meant. I would stop ageing, and soon. Probably within the next year, if not sooner. I suppose it was a good thing we were leaving. Just another thing that was changing.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Edward asked with a smile.

"Change."

"Hmm… yes lots of things are changing. Will change."

"It's sad." I mused.

"You get used to it."

I smiled and pressed a chaste kiss to Edward's lips. I appreciated that he didn't try and comfort me, didn't try to lessen the pain of leaving the first place I had truly felt at home – he just offered me the gentle reassurance that the pain would eventually fade with time.

XxXx

I was pretty sure the entire senior year of Forks High had descended upon the Cullen house for Alice's after party. Not that Alice minded, in fact she was ecstatic. The dark and dusty driveway that led to the Cullen house was lit up with an obscene amount of fairy-lights, making it utterly impossible for anyone to miss the turn off. We weren't even the first to arrive, and coming home to see it brimming with humans was strange indeed.

Techno music was pumping, the furniture in the living and dining rooms had mysteriously disappeared which gave everyone plenty of space to dance and talk, and the front parlour had become a den iniquity with dozens of teenagers making out on Esme's overpriced throw pillows. Esme would have a conniption if she saw it, so it was a good thing she wasn't here.

"Can I get you a glass of punch?" Edward asked as we moved outside to sit on the steps of the back porch, the cool night air was a refreshing change from the stifling humidity of the house.

I wrinkled my nose in distaste. "It's already been spiked." I complained, it was a genuine sin against Esme's punch, especially since I couldn't get drunk on the alcohol that had been used to befoul it in the first place.

"Really?" Edward chuckled. "That was fast, what's it been an hour? Two?"

"Never underestimate the power of unattended teenagers." I laughed as I bumped my shoulder against Edward's in jest. "I thought you, of all people, would know that by now."

"Are you calling me old?" Edward ask in mock hurt.

"I'm not not calling you old." I quipped with a cheeky smile.

Edward laughed jovially, his eyes crinkling around the edges, his grin was wide, showing off his white teeth and lighting up his entire face. Edward scooted closer, drawing his arm around my back to pull me against his side with a firm hand against my hip. "In that case, you should respect your elders."

I just snorted in response as I snuggled into Edward's side. I watched the night sky as I listened to the party happening inside, comparing the stars to the constellations on my dress. I'm not sure how long we sat out there, but it must have been a while, as I heard the party beginning to die down inside, some of the party-goers passed out in Esme's parlour and others drove off down the gravel drive.

"How were Carlisle and Bree?" I asked lightly. I felt Edward's fingers twitch against my side at the mention of the unfamiliar vampire.

"They were okay, last I saw of them." Edward replied evenly. "Carlisle is hopeful, which is a dangerous thing."

"You think letting Bree in is a mistake." I stated.

"She's dangerous." Edward spat, his voice was so acidic, so vicious it made me flinch. I pulled away from him, not enough for his arm to slip from where it sat at my hip, but enough for me to get a good look at his face. Edward's previously good mood was nowhere to be found on his scowling face.

"Maybe she is." I replied. "But she's not dangerous to us." I stressed.

"Bella!" Edward huffed exasperatedly. "You… you don't understand. Her Gift is… is just awful, absolutely vile." Edward ran a tired hand through his hair, thoroughly ruffling it and ruining the careful styling. I sat silently as Edward's face flashed through a series of rapid-fire emotions – anger and resentment were unmistakable as they twisted Edward's gentle features into something ugly and unpleasant, something very very vampiric, but then, those fiery emotions melted into something so much worse. Fear. Barefaced fear unlike anything I had ever seen from anyone in my entire life, let along Edward. As wretched and heartbreaking as it was, I had no idea what to do with such helplessness. "I was… I was still in there." Edward whispered weakly. "When she used her gift on me, I tried to fight it, tried to warn you about who she was, but all I could hear was my own voice offering her our help." Edward's voice was a shaky whisper. "It was so disorientating. My Gift, hearing her thoughts, but hers prohibiting me from doing anything about it."

"I'm sorry." I mumbled, my voice thick. I didn't know what else to say. "I'm so sorry that you went through that, but isn't it better to have her onside rather than have her as an enemy?" I prodded gently.

"I don't want her anywhere near my family." Edward growled.

"She hasn't got anyone else." I argued. "Bree's just a kid, a victim of Victoria's crusade, a crusade she is waging against me." I let my words sink in for a moment. "I'm not trying to excuse what Bree did, but can you honestly tell me you would have done any different, in her position?"

For a moment, Edward looked like he was going to argue, but then he deflated – Edward sighed and slumped back, leaning heavily against me he turned his face until his nose was pressed into the exposed expanse of my throat. I felt him run his nose up and down the length of my neck as he breathed deeply, taking comfort from my scent as I had done to him so many times before. "I suppose not." He finally admitted.

It wasn't much, but it was something. It gave me hope that the addition of Bree to our little family wouldn't destroy everything entirely – because I would be lying if I said I didn't feel just a little bit responsible for the girl's situation. Victoria never would have turned Bree if it weren't for me, and now that she was completely alone in a brand new supernatural world, it felt like my duty to help her any way that I could.

Besides, if things came to a violent end with the red-headed psycho, having a mind-controlling vampire on our side couldn't hurt.