Chapter 1: Party

September 13th, 2005

I was ninety-nine-point-nine percent sure I was dreaming.

Two things tipped me off. First, I was surrounded by bright, warm sunlight, the sort that we almost never got in Forks. After a few blinks against the blinding light, I recognised where I was; the glass wall at the back of the Cullens' house reflected the sun back, filling their lawn with sunshine right to the edge of the trees.

The second hint was my brother. I heard him before I saw him, his familiar laugh echoing in that odd way that voices sometimes did in my dreams. A moment later, he appeared from the trees on the far side of the clearing, bounding across the grass with his girlfriend Edythe hot on his heels. He turned back to catch her in a hug and twirled her around; as they came fully into the sunlight, both of them began to shimmer, matching pale skin glittering like crystal as they moved. They continued walking gracefully across the lawn towards me, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes, both pairs of which were soft gold. My heart soared to see such happiness, but it put more proof on the side of this being a dream – the last time I'd checked, Beau wasn't a vampire, at least not yet.

"Bella?"

It wasn't my brother who called my name; the voice came from somewhere off to my right and caused an entirely different reaction in my heart. I'd have to be dead not to respond to that voice – even then, it might manage to make an impact. I knew who it belonged to without having to look, but I turned anyway, as eager to see him as I always was.

Edward.

Like the others, the sunlight reflected off his skin and cast rainbows into the grass. His bronze hair gleamed like a new penny and his eyes were the colour of butterscotch, his mouth pulling up in his trademark crooked smile. I tried to move towards him, knowing that my bliss would be complete if I could only be folded into those safe, secure arms. But for some reason, my movements were sluggish and slow, like I was wading through treacle. I managed only a few steps, shaky and uncertain, and an unpleasant feeling began to build in the pit of my stomach.

"Careful there, sis," Beau said; when I turned, I saw that he and Edythe were suddenly right beside me. "Don't want you to hurt yourself, especially today."

I frowned and was about to ask him what he was talking about, but then Edward was there too, his arm sliding securely around my waist and distracting me from everything else.

"Let's get you inside," Edythe said sweetly, shimmers of light flashing from her hand as she gestured towards the house. "We have a party to get to."

Edward turned us around and began gently guiding me forward, still at that slow, dragging pace. But after a few steps, I came to an abrupt halt. Because as we had moved, the sun reflecting on the window-wall had shifted; it no longer shone blinding in my eye, nor could I see inside the house. Instead, the angle was such that the whole sheet of glass was like a giant mirror. In it, I saw the three immortals standing around me, perfect and beautiful and eternally young. In their midst was not another beautiful shimmering figure as I had hoped. It wasn't even me as I was now, a pale and depressingly plain human teenager. The woman Edward was holding reminded me strongly of my Gran – soft, weathered skin, folded in tiny creases, barely clinging to the bones beneath, thinning white hair falling in gentle waves to the shoulders. But where Gran had shared the blue eyes that she had passed on to my mother, this woman had eyes that were a shockingly familiar shade of brown.

The joyful dream turned instantly into a nightmare, horror taking hold as that odd feeling in my stomach was suddenly amplified tenfold into something like the sensation of hitting a drop on a rollercoaster. As I stood, reeling from what I was seeing and unable to go forward, I watched the reflection of Edward lean in towards the old woman, felt his cold lips touch my cheek as I watched them meet hers.

"Happy birthday," he whispered.

I woke with a start, breathing heavily and instinctively sitting halfway up out of bed. I blinked a few times, adjusting to the shift from bright sunlight to the usual grey glow of an overcast day in Forks. My hands flew to my face, where they felt the same smooth skin that had been there yesterday. Pulling my hair forward, I saw it was still dark brown and thick enough to thread my fingers through. I ran my palms over my arms, feeling the soft pale surface, the tiny bumps of moles, the shiny ridge of the scar on my left hand that was always a little colder than the rest of me. Everything was as it should be.

Just a dream, I told myself, taking a deep, slow breath. My alarm began beeping, making me jump, and seconds later, there was a loud banging on my door. Catching sight of the date showing on the clock, I groaned, knowing exactly who was on the other side, and why he was making such a racket.

Sure enough, my brother shoved the door open without waiting for an invitation, a wide grin on his face, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

"It's today," he announced in a vaguely menacing manner.

"No." I shook my head in denial, even though I knew he was right.

"Oh yes, it is, little sister." His smile grew impossibly wider. "No escaping it. You know what's coming."

"Please don't," I groaned, not even bothering with my usual 'two minutes' retort – there was something far worse in store if I couldn't stop him. "It's bad enough down the phone, I'm not sure I'll survive a live performance."

"Too bad, you're getting one." He cleared his throat and drew himself up straighter, before singing in a voice that was both loud and just enough off-key to make me cringe. "Happy birthday to you…"

I dived back under my quilt, but his singing carried through the fabric as he went on.

"And happy birthday to me, because today is our birthday, so let's go have cake!"

Beau flipped the duvet off my head on the last line, beaming at me like the cat that got the cream.

"That song was maybe cute when we were five, and that's a big maybe," I informed him flatly. "Now, it's just embarrassing."

He stuck his tongue out at me, then pulled me up into a hug. "You love it really. But seriously, happy birthday, Bell."

"Happy birthday, Beau," I replied reluctantly.

I might have only dreamed my sudden advanced age, but my subconscious had got one thing right – it was September thirteenth, our birthday. We were officially eighteen years old.

I had somewhat complicated feelings about this day. On the one hand, I was genuinely looking forward to spending it with Beau for only the third time in our entire lives. On the other, my complete hatred of surprises and attention had attached a measure of dread to this date that I hadn't been quite able to shake. If I'd had my way, no one outside of my immediate family would have any clue that today differed in any way from any other day. Unfortunately, Beau was one of those people that got very excited about his birthday – one of the small handful of ways that we were not alike in the slightest – so all of our friends were well aware of when we were turning eighteen. I'd put out a general request for no presents and absolutely no fuss, but I had no idea whether any of them were going to listen to me; I could certainly think of one that definitely wasn't planning on letting the day pass uncelebrated.

Beau hustled me into the bathroom and dashed off downstairs, stumbling in his excitable hurry. I deliberately took my time over my morning routine, studying my reflection carefully for signs of any changes, no matter how small. I'd been doing this a lot over the last few months – the most perfect, wonderful months that anyone had ever had, a statement I never would have associated with a summer in Forks before this year. Yet spending nearly every day with a gang of flawless immortals tended to make one hyper aware of the gradual daily process of aging. Today was different though, because today had a number. I wasn't seventeen anymore, and that one little change, a change that Edward would never go through, loomed large in the back of my head. But just as I'd felt nothing but smooth skin when I woke up, the only wrinkle I could see in the mirror were the ones formed by my deep frown which I knew would go away if I could just relax enough.

When I couldn't waste any more time, I got dressed in my usual jeans and t-shirt and headed downstairs. After a quick breakfast (I couldn't muster much of an appetite), Charlie bashfully handed over our presents from him and Renée.

"I claim no credit whatsoever," he warned as Beau began ripping off the paper while I took my time with it. "Everything was your mother's idea. She thought it might be nice for the both of you to have a way to document your senior year."

"This is awesome!" Beau enthused, turning over the new camera and scrapbook he'd unwrapped.

In truth, the leather-bound journal and calligraphy pen set I'd been given were both really nice. I unwound the thick cord holding the book closed and thumbed through the pages; each sheet was lined on one side and blank on the other, so there was space to both write and draw. I wasn't exactly an artist, but I did like to doodle, and I was sure I could convince Beau to make me some extra copies of any photos he took so that I could stick them in.

"Thanks, Dad," I said, and genuinely meant it.

Still, I was glad when we headed off to school and I could relax the forced cheer for a little while. I had a feeling today was going to be tiring as I did my best to show the socially acceptable level of gratitude for the well-wishes I would surely receive, even as I felt like crying every moment. On top of that, my dream was still playing on my mind; the image of the old woman with my eyes (I couldn't seem to acknowledge her as me) would not go away, no matter how I tried to focus on other things.

"You okay over there?"

Beau's voice brought me out of my abstraction with a start; I was glad I wasn't driving the truck, or we might have ended up running into something.

"Yeah," I said, trying to shake off the dark thoughts. "I'm fine."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow at me and gave me his best sideways look. "Because 'fine' doesn't usually involve such an intense thinking face. Come on, spill."

For about two seconds, I considered trying to downplay it or tell him to butt out. But I'd been the one to insist that we stop keeping things from each other back in March, and it felt wrong to go back on that agreement quite so soon.

"I had a bad dream," I admitted. "I've been trying to shake it, but I can't get it out of my head."

"Maybe I can help?" he offered. "What happened?"

I made a face. "Well, nothing really happened, per se. It wasn't exactly scary. Actually, until the end, it was kind of nice. It was our birthday, and we were all over at the Cullens' house – you and me, Edythe and Edward."

"Doesn't sound so bad," he mused.

"It was nice," I agreed. "Except…"

"Except…"

I sighed. "You were a vampire, and I was… old."

"Ah." His expression turned knowing, although he kept his attention on the road. "Now I think I see the bad part."

"Yeah," I laughed weakly. "Pretty stupid, right?"

Beau shrugged. "Hey, it's your anxiety, not mine. I still think we'll bring Edward around someday. But I'm sorry you're so rattled by it, especially today."

"I'm handling it," I assured him. "Mostly through probably very unhealthy repression, I admit, but what else can I do?"

"Hmm, I don't know, maybe talk to your boyfriend about it?" His tone was genial and sarcastic, but with an undercurrent of genuine concern that was undeniable.

I shook my head. "No, you know that will only start another fight, and I don't want to do that today. So, can you please at least try to keep this between us?"

One unfortunate side effect of being completely open with my brother was that whatever I told him had a much higher chance of getting back to Edward. I might be immune to my boyfriend's unique ability to hear the thoughts of everyone around him, but Beau very much was not and despite his assurances to the contrary, I had a feeling he wasn't quite as good at controlling his train of thought as the rest of Edward's family was. Still, he tried, which was all I could really ask of him.

"Locking it down," he promised now, making a gesture by his temple as if turning a key. "Weird dream, what weird dream, I don't know anything about a weird dream."

I smiled at his silliness. "Thanks, Beau."

We were quiet for the rest of the short drive to school, but the talk and my brother's goofy behaviour had actually made me feel better and I didn't get lost in mulling over the dream again. Even the dread of all the attention I was anticipating at school stayed more muted, right up until the moment we pulled into the parking lot. Thankfully, before it could build up too high, I caught sight of the familiar silver Volvo, Edward leaning against the door waiting for me. The figure of him in my dream had been a pale, imperfect reflection; even after six months together, my subconscious couldn't quite recreate him exactly. It was still utterly mind-blowing that he was waiting there for me, that I was the reason for the soft smile that began spreading across his face as Beau pulled into the empty space next to him. Our dilapidated '53 Chevy truck was a stark contrast to the shiny car, but by this point, our classmates were more than used to seeing the two parked together, and I was sure some of them were leaving the space vacant on purpose. The only change from the end of last school year to the beginning of this one was that the third car in the group, a white 2002 Impala, was now absent. The four Cullen siblings in the year above us – Rosalie, Eleanor, Jasper and Edythe – had all graduated, leaving only Edward and Alice making the daily trek to and from Forks High School. Of course, their supposed ages were all fabricated, and none of them were actually related except for Edward and Edythe, who had been brother and sister since their birth around the turn of the twentieth century and had come into immortality only a year apart from one another. Still, to those in the know, like Beau and I, there were a number of similarities between all of them that marked their true nature. I catalogued them now, looking at Alice and Edward standing side by side: the stunning beauty, the pale skin, the golden eyes ringed by dark shadows.

As I looked at Alice, a few other things registered – namely, the way she was bouncing on her heels, the excited smile, the eager glint in her eyes, and the wrapped parcels in her hands. Just as I'd expected, she was ignoring me.

"Happy birthday, twins!" she squealed as soon as we were out of the truck, dancing forward and beaming widely beneath her dark pixie cut hair. "Do you want presents now or later?"

"Never," I grumbled, at the same time Beau crowed, "Now, now, now!"

Alice handed over his package with a laugh, then turned a disapproving look on me as he started tearing into it. "I still don't understand this reluctance to let us celebrate, Bella. Most people seem to like their birthday, you know. Gifts and fuss and everyone having to be nice to you…"

"All things my sister hates with a passion," Beau pointed out, finally pulling away the wrapping paper to reveal a small gilt-edged photo frame. "Woah, thanks, Alice. This is beautiful."

"I thought it would pair nicely with the camera and the scrapbook from your parents." Of course, Alice knew what our presents were already; with her unusual talent for seeing the future, she would have seen what Charlie and Renée planned to get us as soon as they decided it themselves. She turned back to me, waving my gift under my nose like it was some kind of treat. "Are you sure I can't tempt you with yours? It's from both of us."

I narrowed my eyes at Edward, who had been staying out of the conversation so far. He stepped forward, a tranquil smile on his face, and slid one arm gently around my waist. Even with the mood I was in, I couldn't help the thrill that went through me at his touch – or the way my heart responded.

"It was all her idea," he said, his expression shifting to the softly pleading look that I had mentally dubbed his 'Forgive Me, Bella' face. "I had very minimal involvement, I assure you."

I made a few disgruntled noises that were quickly silenced as he cupped my face in his other hand and leaned in to press a gentle kiss on my lips. After many months of practice, I was getting better at not getting so overwhelmed by his kisses that I did silly things like forget to breathe, nor did I lose control and attack him – at least not in this moment. But the electric rush that surged through me whenever his lips met mine had not diminished in the slightest, and I was still chasing him as he pulled back, trying to make it last just a few seconds longer.

"Will I be forgiven," he murmured, a knowing smile pulling up the corner of his mouth, "if I keep to our previous agreement and don't wish you a happy birthday?"

"Maybe," I hedged. "You could seal the deal by getting me out of whatever your sister has planned for tonight."

"Absolutely not!" Alice cut in. "I've been planning this party for weeks, and you will not spoil all my work."

"I never asked for you to do anything," I reminded her.

Beau had finished stowing his present safely in his backpack and re-joined the conversation properly. "Come on, Bell, it won't be that bad. Besides, we've already got the afternoon off work, we might as well make good use of the time."

I made a face at him; the only reason I had the day off was that he'd made a point to remind Mrs Newton it was our birthday when he'd picked me up from my shift at the sporting goods store yesterday. If I'd had my way, she would have remained none the wiser, and I'd be spending a few quiet hours at Newton's Olympic Outfitters. Instead, she'd cheerily wished me 'happy birthday' and insisted I not show my face anywhere near the store today.

"We can be right over as soon as we've dropped our stuff at home," Beau told Alice.

"I can't," I protested, trying desperately to come up with a new excuse. "I've still got to watch Romeo and Juliet for English."

My brother scoffed. "You've had that play memorised since we were eleven."

I wasn't giving up that easily. "But Mr Berty said we have to watch it, that it's supposed to be performed, not read. And he insisted the sixties version was the best, and I haven't seen that one."

Alice narrowed her eyes at me. "Bella, I really don't want to make this difficult for either of us. I'm sure you'll enjoy it once you get there, as long as-"

"Relax, Alice," Edward interrupted her as her tone turned vaguely threatening. "It is Bella's birthday, after all. If she wants to watch a movie, she can."

I allowed myself a smug smile, but unfortunately, he wasn't done.

"Besides, you'll have more time to get everything organised if I bring her over around, say, seven?" He had the nerve to meet my shocked and betrayed face with a serene smile.

Alice giggled, the sound like a silver bell. "Perfect! See you later then!" She darted forward and pecked me on the cheek, then hurried off towards her first class, her walk more like a dance across the blacktop.

I gave both the boys my most pitiful look. "If my birthday is supposed to be about what I want, why am I being made to go to a party? You both know I hate this kind of thing, I'm just going to be miserable the whole time."

Beau looked like he wanted to argue, but Edward beat him to the punch. "Why don't we save this discussion for later, when we aren't at risk of being late for class?"

We went our separate ways for the first hour, Beau making a beeline for the Science building while Edward and I headed to Calculus. While my shared classes with my twin were still scattered and random, Edward was another matter; a few well-placed smiles and soft words to the female office staff back at the start of the year had switched around our original schedules until they almost matched. Mr Cope probably would have seen through the act, but of course, Edward had chosen a moment when he wasn't in the office. We no longer garnered the same ogling that we once had, our classmates now more than used to seeing us walking to class and taking our seats together at the back of the room. Beau had been a little grumpy that we'd apparently got less staring than he and Edythe had in their early days, until I pointed out that this was entirely their own fault – the concept of a Swan and a Cullen together was already an established fact thanks to them, so we were less of a fascination to our peers than we might otherwise have been. Even McKayla Newton had stopped pestering me for every tiny detail of our dates and other interactions, thanks in part to her sour feelings over her split from Jeremy Stanley over the summer. She'd cut her pale blond hair into a long bob in the aftermath, giving her a more mature look that, according to Beau, was making Jeremy desperately regret his impulsive choice to break up with her.

As the day went on, a scattered handful of people wished me happy birthday, although most of them did so as an afterthought when I was walking with Beau, after already offering their well-wishes to him. I would have been perfectly happy for all of them to forget that we shared the day, and did my best to let Beau soak up most of the attention while I silently schemed over ways I could get out of whatever horror show Alice had orchestrated for the evening. I knew it was going to be a family only affair and so theoretically just a small gathering, but that almost made it worse – it meant intense, concentrated attention and nowhere to hide. Not to mention the dreaded gifts.

I wasn't necessarily opposed to presents as a concept; I'd just always been uncomfortable with lavish spending on my behalf. Growing up with a kindergarten teacher for a mother and a small-town police chief for a father, both of them supporting a child on a single income and doing whatever they could to help each other out, frugality and careful money management had been a fact of life for me since I was old enough to understand what money really was. By some miracle, I'd found my job at Newton's for a bit of personal income, so I wasn't relying too heavily on my dad now that he had both of us under one roof. A town this small had limited employment opportunities for the teenage population; Beau had had to call in a favour from one of Charlie's old schoolmates to get his job stacking shelves at the library on Fridays and Saturdays. Both of us put every penny we earned into our meagre college funds, minus a few dollars a week towards keeping the truck gassed up. College was my Plan B and Beau's Plan Maybe. I was still pushing for Plan A – both of us becoming vampires – but Edward was absolutely dead set on me staying human; meanwhile, his sister Edythe had no such reservations and had agreed to change Beau whenever he was ready after he left home. Whether he had a degree to his name before that happened was still up in the air.

The Cullens, in contrast to our family, had so much money they'd probably never spend it all, even with eternity ahead of them. When you were immortal, your mother was a doctor, and your sister had an uncanny knack for playing the stock market, money apparently just built up almost without effort, and began to lose much of its meaning. All of them bought just about anything they wanted, from clothes to cars, with the same casual indifference most people showed when picking up their weekly groceries. Edward was completely perplexed by my objection to him spending any of this money on me; he couldn't understand why I was so uncomfortable in fancy restaurants or boutiques in Seattle, why I was content to keep sharing the truck with my brother even after he'd offered to buy me something with a bit more speed, or why he wasn't allowed to even contribute towards my college tuition (he was all for Plan B and was happy to pay for all of it if I would let him). He kept his complaints to a minimum, but I knew he thought I was just being difficult for the sake of it.

In reality, it came back to the conversation we'd had in his car on the way to Prom back at the end of last year. Our financial situations were just one way we were already hopelessly out of balance. I had no way of reciprocating his endless generosity; when he had already given me him, anything else was just too much. Honestly, I was still reeling from the shock of him wanting to be with me at all.

Lunchtime rolled around, and we sat at our usual table with the small gang that had all been Beau's friends in some capacity since their pre-school days. Although we'd already run into most of them over the course of the morning, there was a fresh round of exuberant 'happy birthday's from the entire group. Well, most of them; while Logan was just as cheerful in his greeting of my brother as any of the others, he ignored me as thoroughly as he did most days. I had absolutely no problem with this, not only because it was one less person paying me any attention but also because I knew friendship between the two of us was a lost cause. Ever since I'd realised that his hostility towards me stemmed from his hidden crush on Tyler Crowley, a crush he was terrified of acting on in case he was ostracised for his sexuality, Logan had treated me like a bomb that might go off at any moment. He certainly wasn't making any attempt to smooth things over between us, and I wasn't going to make the effort to get closer to someone who wasn't willing to meet me halfway.

Instead, I'd put my energy into making friends with Angela's boyfriend, Ben. Unlike McKayla and Jeremy, their budding relationship had made it through the summer unscathed. Angela had finally admitted – after much cajoling – that she'd been wanting to get together with him for years, but had been holding back purely because he was shorter than her. It almost made me jealous; what I wouldn't give for a problem that was so easily surmounted. But, as nice as he was, Ben wasn't even in the same league as my choice of partner. Erica and Tyler rounded out a group that existed in an odd state of tension at that lunch table. Without all their older siblings around (especially Jasper), Edward and Alice were a far less intimidating prospect than they had once been. Still, our human friends seemed to have an instinctual aversion to them that they couldn't quite shake, and though the line that had formed on the table last year was a bit more permeable these days, Beau and I could only count on being fully included in the conversation on sunny days when the Cullens vanished on one of their 'hiking trips'.

Or today, apparently.

Only Angela and Ben had honoured my request for no presents (and Logan, though he was probably trying to be insulting rather than kind). The gifts from the others were small and hardly full of thought, but I did my best to look grateful. Beau didn't have to try so hard, meeting every new trinket with a warm hug and genuine thanks. He had always been the more outgoing of the two of us, and this group was the place he was most comfortable in the world. As he happily drew their focus, I curled as close into Edward's side as I could while sitting on adjacent chairs. He was never bothered by the way the others avoided even looking at him; on the contrary, he was mildly disturbed by the fact that I could stand to be so near to him. He had this ridiculous idea that he was going to hurt me, an opinion I was working very hard to change.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly and without incident. Edward kept his promise not to mention my birthday while I continued calculating exactly what it would take to convince him to let me stay at home. Would a well-placed 'please' or two be enough, or would I have to resort to actual crying? I didn't think it would take much to summon up enough anger to get my tear ducts working (they'd always been hot-wired to my temper rather than just a sign of sadness) but he'd once claimed I was a terrible actress, and I wasn't entirely certain I could pull off the act; he'd see through it in seconds.

The Volvo was already gone when we reached the parking lot at the end of the day. Beau had made it out of his last class a little ahead of us and was already waiting by the truck; he clambered eagerly into the cab when we were still a few yards away. Edward held the passenger door open for me, then made an unmistakable 'scoot over' motion with his hand.

I gave him a dour look. "I'm not going to make a break for it, you know."

His face was serene. "I know. It just makes sense for me to ride with you, since I'm going to your house. Besides, my sister has abandoned me, and I don't have another ride." He shifted to a pleading expression. "You wouldn't leave me stranded, would you, love?"

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Like you actually need a car," but shuffled across the bench seat to make room for him. He beamed like I'd handed him some amazing award and pressed a soft kiss on my cheek when we were both settled.

We had, however unintentionally, ended up in much the same arrangement as that horrible night back in March, when we'd been fleeing from a murderous vampire intent on making me his next meal. The mood in the car today could not have been more different, my own bad temper notwithstanding. My brother was bobbing his head to the rhythm of the music from the stereo, although this was made a bit difficult by the fact that Edward fiddled with it almost the entire time.

"The reception on this is truly awful," he complained at one point.

"Drive your own car if you want a nice stereo," I snapped petulantly. The truck had been Beau's car first, but I was just as fond of it as he was – and just as protective when our partners started pointing out its flaws.

Still, it was probably a bit of an extreme reaction to get so angry at him over such a tiny thing. It was a symptom of my overall black mood that I was being so peevish with him at all; usually his presence alone was enough to make me feel better about almost anything. My attitude now made him purse his lips and turn away to hide a smile, but at least he left the radio alone.

I was a little distracted from my grumpiness when Beau pulled up outside our house, gave a joyful whoop and practically leaped out of the truck to charge up the drive towards Edythe, who was sitting on our porch step like she owned the place. Much like her brother, my subconscious hadn't done her justice. Her face was like a porcelain doll, every line perfectly sculpted and smoothed, her round eyes fringed with thick dark lashes. Her hair, the bronze shade identical to Edward's, fell in long waves past her shoulders; today she had the top half tied back, just a few delicate strands hanging down to frame her face. Her beaming smile as she stood to meet Beau's exuberant hug was utterly heartbreakingly beautiful.

I hadn't seen as much of Edythe since school started back up, to my great disappointment. The official line was that she couldn't settle on which college to go to, so she was living and working in Seattle while she thought over her options rather than following her other siblings to Dartmouth. It was a pretty open secret that she was waiting for Beau to graduate so they could go together; what no one knew was that she hadn't actually gone anywhere at all. She spent as much time as she possibly could with him – usually within the confines of his bedroom – but was only openly around at the weekends. Sadly, the necessity of hiding from Charlie meant she was more often than not hidden from me as well.

Edward's oldest sister was by far my favourite of his siblings; although I adored Alice, she demanded things from me in a way that Edythe didn't, her friendship full of expectations – like letting her use me as a life-size Barbie doll. Eleanor was nice enough, but I was often the target of her teasing, which I found I couldn't brush off quite as easily as my brother did. Jasper, the only other brother, was the newest to switch over to the Cullens' unusual dietary preference for animal blood over human, and so tended to keep his distance from Beau and I, purely to avoid temptation. And Rosalie… well, she had taken a dislike to both of us almost instantly and had never been convinced to change her mind. According to the others, it stemmed from concern over the danger of humans knowing the family's secret and the potential risk to their safety that we represented and had nothing to do with us as individuals. Yet it was still difficult for me to believe that even this could be enough to garner so much hatred from the beautiful blonde woman.

I went to get out of the truck but found Edward still blocking my way; before I could protest, he took my face in his hands gently, like I was made of the most delicate glass and would shatter if he exerted too much pressure. Which, given his strength and my relative fragility, wasn't entirely inaccurate.

"You should be happy today," he said softly, his tone one of frustrated confusion. "I accept that you'd rather not have a big celebration, but could you at least be in a good mood?"

I wanted to be annoyed, but it was very hard to focus on anything as petty as that when his cool, sweet breath was blowing in my face and making my head spin. "Maybe I'd be more cheerful if you let me go say hello to Edythe," I mumbled half-heartedly.

He smiled just slightly. "She's a little busy at the moment."

Sure enough, when I looked sideways (only able to turn my eyes while he still had hold of my face) I saw our siblings were engaged in their usual mode of greeting – namely, multiple ardent kisses that just barely stopped shy of being indecent.

"Speaking of which…" Edward murmured, reclaiming my attention as he leaned in closer. His nearness made me even more dizzy, and by the time he actually kissed me, I was too busy trying to remember how to breathe to be thinking about any of my worries. Exactly what he intended, no doubt.

Unlike the kiss from this morning, this one lingered, deepening just a little even as the touch of his lips to mine stayed gentle. He was always especially careful when it came to physical affection, afraid – always so afraid – that he would hurt me in a moment of inattention, and had therefore put very careful boundaries in place to attempt to keep this from happening. Although I thoroughly disagreed with his opinion that failure was inevitable, I usually did my best to help him by controlling my reactions and not overwhelming him; unfortunately, it was often very difficult to do this when I was overwhelmed by his frankly masterful kisses. Sometimes I struggled to believe I was really the first person he had ever had this sort of relationship with — he was just so good at it.

With no audience beside our otherwise occupied siblings, I couldn't help matching his intensity and getting a little too carried away with the kiss; almost without my permission, my arms went around his neck, and I threaded my fingers through the soft strands of hair at the back of his head. I pulled myself closer to him, our bodies pressed together from hip to chest, my lips parting in what I hoped he would take as an invitation. No such luck; instead of the gentle touch of his tongue I had been wishing for, I felt his mouth curve up into a smile as he gently but firmly eased me back away from him, reaching back to loosen my grip and pull my arms back down to my sides.

"Be careful, please," he murmured, allowing us both one more soft kiss before he pulled away completely.

"Careful is no fun," I retorted, my breathlessness taking some of the snark out of my tone. My heart was absolutely hammering, and I laid my hand over it as if I could slow it down through physical pressure alone. "Do you think my heart will ever stop trying to break out of my chest every time you touch me?"

"I really hope not." Despite all his talk of caution, he looked very pleased with himself.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Move please, I want to go see your sister."

Edward smiled but finally opened the door and climbed out of the truck, offering his hand to help me down. I kept hold of it as we walked up the drive to meet Beau and Edythe, who had thankfully also retreated to a slightly more modest distance from each other – that is, still practically glued to each other's sides, but no longer fused at the mouth.

Edythe broke the hold Beau had around her waist to step forward and hug me. "Happy birthday, Bella."

"Shush, sister," Edward protested playfully. "We aren't acknowledging her birthday."

She rolled her eyes at him. "That was your foolish promise, brother. I can do as I please. Including give her my present." She picked up a large flat package wrapped in the same silver paper as Alice's gifts, which I hadn't noticed sitting on the step behind her.

"Hey, where's mine?" Beau complained, pouting at her.

Edythe giggled and pecked him on the lips, turning the pout back into a goofy smile again. "You get yours later, my love. Besides, I thought Bella might like something new to wear for tonight."

"You didn't have to get me anything," I assured her, feeling somehow more guilty about rejecting her gift than I had Alice's. "Really, none of this fuss is necessary."

To my relief, she didn't look hurt or upset. "Something you will learn about us Cullens, Bella, is that we love any excuse to celebrate. Birthdays have rather lost their meaning for us over the decades – when you live as long as we do, counting the years doesn't matter nearly as much as it does for humans. But for you two, getting older is a genuine change, and one that deserves to be recognised."

"That's the problem," I said morosely.

Edward and Beau both let out frustrated sighs, but Edythe's expression was sympathetic. Back in June, she'd made a pledge to help me try to change Edward's mind about Plan A, so I knew she understood where I was coming from.

"I know it isn't exactly how you want to spend your evening," she reasoned. "But it's only once a year. Just let Alice have her fun tonight, and then you'll get a reprieve until at least your graduation. And I really would love to see you in the dress I got you. I just know you're going to look amazing."

Something about the pleading look in her eyes was so much like her brother, and just like with him, I found I couldn't say no. "Alright." Before my brother could get too excited (he was already happily pumping his fists and dancing around the driveway) I hastily added, "But I still want to watch that movie before we go."

Beau was abruptly grumpy again, but Edythe jumped in before he could speak. "Of course, it's your birthday. You can do whatever you would like. May we join you?"

"Sure," I agreed easily, a smile creeping onto my face despite myself as she hooked her arm through mine and started leading me into the house. "Let's go watch the Montagues and Capulets hack each other up."

"Oh, I love Romeo and Juliet," she enthused. "Baz Luhrmann or Franco Zeffirelli?"

"Zeffirelli, of course," I said as if it should be obvious, and she laughed, the sound like the ringing of a bell.

"How does she do that?" I heard Beau ask from behind us, disbelief and a bit of jealousy in his voice.

Edward sighed. "I wish I knew. I could probably save myself a lot of arguments if I had her tricks."

Edythe and I exchanged a look, both rolled our eyes and fell about laughing again.

Edward made himself comfortable, stretching out across the little sofa in our living room while Beau put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and I started the movie, letting the opening credits roll rather than fast forwarding through them to give my brother time to get himself organised – not that he would probably care about missing any of it. Edythe perched on the arm of the recliner, sliding smoothly into Beau's lap when he finally appeared and took his seat; she plucked a piece of popcorn out of his bowl and threw it lightly into his mouth, making him grin in that doting, hopeless way he always looked when she was around. He might be seeing more of her than I was, but I knew he still missed her desperately during the day now that she wasn't at school with us anymore. When I tried to squeeze myself into the space Edward had left on the couch, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me snugly against his chest. It was probably a bit like trying to use a marble statue as a pillow, but I was happier there than I would have been in the world's softest feather bed. Before I could get too cold against the icy chill of his chest, he pulled the blanket off the back of the sofa cushion to wrap around me. This was one of his fussy habits that I actually appreciated – it rather spoiled the romance of an intimate moment when my teeth started chattering.

"I've never quite understood why this is viewed as the pinnacle of all love stories," Edward commented as the movie properly began.

"Oh, here we go," Edythe groaned, letting her head fall back onto Beau's shoulder in exasperation. "Are we going to be treated to another lecture on the many failings of Romeo?"

"What's wrong with Romeo?" I felt irrationally insulted on behalf of one of my favourite fictional characters.

"Almost everything," Edward deadpanned, his tone making me frown.

Beau snickered. "Oooh, now you've gone and done it, Edward. The only person who Bell loves more than Romeo is you."

I wanted to argue with him, but I was also self-aware enough to admit that he wasn't far wrong. Instead, I leaned my head back as far as I could to quirk an eyebrow at Edward. "Well?"

"Well," he began, his expression deeply put-upon. "At the start of the play, he's claiming to be head over heels for this girl, Rosaline. Then two seconds after he sees Juliet, it's like she's chopped liver and he completely forgets she exists. It doesn't give the best impression of his ability to commit, wouldn't you say? And even if you make the argument that Juliet is different, they've been married for mere minutes when he gets into a fight and kills her cousin."

My brother gasped dramatically and put his hands over his ears. "Hey, don't spoil the story!"

Edward ignored him. "I'll admit, he does try to do the right thing, but he can't seem to help making mistakes, and everything he does steadily destroys any chance he has for things to end happily. It really shouldn't come as a surprise that it all falls apart for him. He's far too foolish to ever be considered a hero."

"He is only sixteen," Edythe pointed out. "Boys his age aren't exactly known for their stellar decision-making skills."

Beau gave her a look that was clearly meant to seem affronted, but was too amused to pull it off. "Wow, babe, tell me how you really feel."

She smiled and cupped his cheek in one white hand. "You would be an obvious exception, my love. You were very mature for fifteen."

He beamed proudly and she chuckled, pecking him on the nose.

"One might think that Shakespeare would have thought to remove such human foibles from his male lead," Edward mused.

"But that's the point," I argued. "He's just an ordinary person trying to navigate the situation he's found himself in as best as he can." When he still didn't look convinced, I sighed heavily. "You don't have to watch it if you think he's that terrible."

"Don't worry, I'll mostly be watching you, anyway." He brushed my cheek with his knuckles and kissed the back of my head. "Will you cry?"

"Probably," I admitted.

"Definitely," Beau said through a very obvious fake cough.

I rolled my eyes at him while Edythe took a handful of popcorn and shoved it in his mouth, which effectively shut him up for a few minutes.

Between my brother's sarcastic commentary and the light touches that Edward kept brushing along my arms, it was actually rather difficult to pay attention to the movie at first. But eventually, in large part thanks to Edward reciting Romeo's lines softly in my ear, it did finally capture my interest, and I got thoroughly engrossed in the tale of doomed star-crossed lovers – though his velvet tones put the actor on the screen to shame. And I did indeed cry, much to everyone's amusement, when Juliet awoke in the tomb to find her husband lying dead beside her.

"I have to say, I am a little envious of him at this part," he murmured as he gently dried my eyes with the blanket.

"She's a beautiful girl," I sniffled.

"She's also only thirteen," Beau pointed out. "Everyone seems to forget that."

Edythe rolled her eyes. "I doubt it's the girl that my dear brother is jealous of. Although I, for one, do not like the alternative." The look she was giving him was a warning, the sort of expression that always made me wonder what she was telling him in her head that the rest of us couldn't hear.

Whatever it was, Edward seemed to ignore her. "No, it isn't the girl." The world came out disdainful, as if he were offended by the very suggestion.

I frowned. "Then what?"

"The suicide," he admitted quietly. "It's so easy for humans. One little vial of poison… one sharp stab…" He gestured to the screen, where Juliet was speaking her final lines, dagger poised to plunge into her heart. "It takes almost nothing for one of you to end it all, but it isn't as simple for us."

I sat up and turned on him, feeling the horror on my face. "What in the hell are you talking about? Why would you even have to think about that?"

His face stayed serene, but there was a tension creeping in around the corners of his eyes. "Back in March, when you almost…" He swallowed hard, unable to finish the sentence. "Of course, I wanted to get to you before that happened, but part of my mind was coming up with contingency plans. I knew from Carine's experience in her early days that it would be a difficult thing to do. I told you there aren't many ways to hurt vampires, and only the one sure way for us to die."

That I did remember, both the conversation and my brush with death at the hands of James, a sadistic vampire who had decided I would be his next meal, come Hell or high water. Even after running away to my childhood home in Phoenix, James had still managed to track me down and trick me into thinking he had my mother, threatening to hurt her so I would go to him with none of the Cullens to protect me. I'd arrived to find her nothing more than a face on a screen and a voice from a speaker, an old home movie hijacked to manipulate me. Thankfully, Edward had ignored my note begging him not to come after me, instead racing across the city to save me. He and his siblings had torn James apart and burned him to ashes, taking the rest of the building with him for good measure. Not that I was aware of any of that at the time, my mind occupied with the blazing fire of the venom seeping through my veins from the bite on my hand; my fingers instinctually traced the cool scar left behind by James' teeth, where Edward had drained the venom out and kept me from becoming a vampire myself.

I shook my head, bringing myself back to the here and now, the memory of pain replaced by an unpleasant sinking sensation in my stomach. "What do you mean, 'contingency plans'? What were you going to do?"

"Well, I didn't plan on living without you, not for any longer than I had to." His tone was maddeningly calm, as if I shouldn't be the least bit surprised by this revelation. "Even imagining it… the pain was too much. I thought of a few different options. I knew none of my family would help me…" His eyes flashed to his sister, then back to me. "So I decided my best bet was to go to Italy and appeal to the Volturi."

I blinked a few times, taking a moment to process exactly what he was talking about. I didn't want to believe he really meant it, but there was no sign of a joke in his eyes as he spoke. Perhaps because the only alternative was a pain too deep to even contemplate, my instinctual reaction was an angry one.

"The who?" I snapped, crossing my arms.

"The Volturi," he repeated unhelpfully, then quickly elaborated at my narrowed eyes. "They're another… family of our kind. An ancient, powerful family. They made the law that says we can't tell humans what we really are. They're something like royalty for us, in the old-world model of absolute monarchs. Carine lived with them for a while in her younger days, remember?"

I nodded, easily able to summon the memory of the enormous canvas hanging in his mother's study, depicting a wild party and five figures raised above it all, angelic in their beauty. Edward had only described them as patrons of the arts, never mentioning this 'Volturi' name; Sulpicia, Athenadora and Marcus had stood beside Carine in that painting, Mele, the little thief, seated at their feet. At the time, he hadn't elaborated any further.

"They are brutal in their enforcement of the law," he went on now, his eyes still distant. "So I was sure it wouldn't take much to convince them to end me once I told them about you. The only problem would have been ensuring they didn't come after Edythe, too."

I looked across at our siblings in the other chair. "Did either of you know about this?"

Both of them shook their heads, deep frowns creasing their foreheads.

"But I hate that I'm not precisely surprised," Edythe commented icily. "Really, brother, are there no limits to your dramatic idiocy?"

"Yeah, man, what is wrong with you?" Beau added, pulling her a little tighter to him and running a soothing hand down her suddenly tense spine. I was a little surprised by the intensity of his reaction; Beau and Edward liked each other well enough, but I'd never thought they were that close. My brother sounded almost as angry about this madcap scheme as I was.

"A life without Bella isn't worth living," Edward said matter-of-factly. "I won't apologise for merely thinking about what I would do in those circumstances, especially as those plans turned out not to be necessary. Besides, it's all moot anyway – I refuse to put her in danger again."

"Put me in danger?" I was properly furious now, my voice rising steadily louder. "We agreed that the whole mess in Phoenix was James' fault and no one else's. You are the reason I'm still alive, and even if I had died, how dare you even consider doing something like that on my account!" I took hold of his face, wishing I was strong enough to really press my fingers in, to drive my point home with pain if I had to, just to make sure he understood. "No matter what might happen to me, you are not allowed to even contemplate hurting yourself. Do you hear me?"

"What would I do without you?" he countered, still infuriatingly calm, laying one icy hand over mine.

"Whatever you've been doing for the last century before I came along and turned everything upside-down," I shot back. "You have a whole family to think of, remember? Do you really think I want that on my conscience? You lose me, so they lose you? That isn't fair, Edward!"

"They would understand."

"We might," Edythe cut in. "But Bella's right, it isn't fair of you to expect that from us. Reverse the situation – would you want her to react in the same way?"

He winced, but shook his head, bringing my hands away from his face and holding them loosely in our laps. "It isn't the same."

"Like hell it isn't," Beau argued, but was kept from saying anything further by the rumbling of an engine outside.

Edward immediately shifted our position so we were sitting side by side, and Edythe darted across to squeeze in on my other side. From their reaction alone, I didn't have to ask to know who had arrived, and sure enough, Charlie bumbled noisily into the hallway moments later, appearing at the living room entrance with a large pizza box in his hand.

"Hey there, kiddos," he said, his grin slipping slightly and then widening again when he saw our company. "Hi Edythe, this is a nice surprise. We don't usually see you around at this time of the week."

Edythe gave him the beatific smile that always turned Beau to goo and had almost the same effect on our poor, helpless father. "Oh, I couldn't miss the birthday celebrations. My boss has a very generous policy when it comes to vacation days."

He nodded as if this made perfect sense. "Well, you know we're always glad to have you. You all hungry? I thought the twins deserved a night off from cooking and dishes."

"Birthday pizza!" Beau cheered, leaping up and charging for the kitchen, nearly bowling Charlie over in the process.

"Thanks, Dad," I said, following him at a more sedate pace, dragging Edward along by the hand; my dad wasn't exactly happy about our relationship, and we tended not to be too affectionate when he was around, but this he could deal with.

Edward and Edythe politely declined the food, which Charlie was more than used to at this point and didn't even bat an eyelid at. I kept hoping he would bring up some plan for the evening, some birthday tradition that would keep us at home rather than going over to the Cullens' house. I'd never spent a birthday with him, at least not here. On our first birthday, we'd still been living in California with our grandmother, and he'd come down not just to celebrate, but to complete the divorce paperwork and pick up Beau. When we were ten, the pair of them had visited Renée and me in Phoenix, fitting in around our usual modest restaurant dinner. The only real tradition we had was the phone call, typically just after school or just before bed, when Beau sang his ridiculous song and we spent a few minutes wishing each other happy birthday; obviously that wasn't necessary this year.

But sadly, no such comment came. When we were almost done, Beau glanced at the clock.

"We're headed out in about thirty minutes, Dad."

Charlie gave a knowing smile. "Party at the Cullens' place?"

"How did you know?" I asked, trying not to sound too morose. I wasn't ashamed to admit I'd been avoiding telling him about it.

"Alice has put something together for Beau's last two birthdays," he explained. "At this point, I don't even try to make plans. The Mariners are up against the Red Sox tonight anyway, so I was never gonna be good company." He grabbed Beau's new camera from where it had been left on the counter and passed it to him. "Make sure you take pictures. I'm sure your mom will be asking for copies."

Beau switched the camera on and turned it on the rest of us, snapping the first picture. "One down, a few hundred to go."

I made a face at him, which he just took another photo of.

Edythe laughed and took my hand. "Come on, Bella, let's go make sure your present fits."

I let her drag me away upstairs to open her gift, finding that I did really like the dark green dress with black velvet roses clustered on the hem and dotted across the bodice. Edythe smiled happily when she saw it was a perfect fit and helped me hunt through my chaotic bedroom for the right accessories to complete the look.

"Let's do this little cardigan, and these shoes, oh, they're cute, you should wear them more often," she commented, handing me a pair of black ballet flats that were barely scuffed.

"I don't get much chance, they aren't exactly waterproof," I joked, but even I could hear how flat it sounded.

She sat on my bed next to me as I wriggled my feet into the shoes. "It won't be so bad, really. I promise to pull Alice back if she gets too excitable."

I smiled weakly. "Thanks, but… that's not really what's bothering me right now."

A sad understanding crept into her expression. "You're still thinking about Edward's contingency plans?"

I nodded, threading my fingers together. "I just can't believe… I mean, for him to even think about it…" I shuddered. "Just the thought of him no longer existing, even if I were dead… I hate it."

Edythe put her arm around my shoulders and squeezed. "I know. I feel the same. And I promise you, we will make sure it never happens. If I have anything to say about it, you and my brother will be driving each other crazy for many, many, many more years to come." Her fierce determination shifted into a playful yet somehow menacing smile. "I propose we start by shoving cake in his mouth if he tries to say anything else monumentally idiotic."

I couldn't help giggling. "That sounds like a waste of cake. Anyway, doesn't human food taste like dirt to you guys?"

"Precisely why it will be such an effective deterrent," she reasoned, and we both fell about laughing.

I quickly retrieved my present for Beau from where I had hidden it under my bed – I didn't want any gifts, but that didn't mean my brother had to go without – and we headed back downstairs to meet the boys. Of course, Beau's eyed locked on the parcel I carried and he made grabby hands at it, a look on his face not unlike a puppy begging for scraps of food. I just tucked the gift behind my back and shook my head; he pouted but didn't comment further.

Charlie waved distractedly from the living room as we left, already engrossed in the TV. Beau tossed me the keys to the truck, which he should have known was going to end in disaster; neither of us had the coordination to pull off the pass neatly. Edward snagged them as they tumbled off the end of my fingers and kept hold of them, opening the passenger door for me again. At another time I might have argued with him over driving, but I knew I would have more trouble than usual finding the tree-shrouded turnoff to his house in the gathering dark. Edythe's car was quickly out of sight ahead of us as we headed north through town, and Edward sighed loudly as he pressed the accelerator to push past fifty miles per hour, eliciting some concerning noises from the truck's engine.

"Be careful," I cautioned. "You know Beau will throw a fit if you break his baby."

He was completely unconcerned. "He would get over it. There are some real beauties in this year's Ram line that would make excellent replacements if he's really set on driving a pickup. And I think you would love a little Audi coupé, quiet, powerful…"

"We like this truck," I reminded him; we'd had this argument half a dozen times over the summer. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, and we don't mind sharing. Speaking of unnecessary expenses, that present you had 'minimal input' on better not have cost too much."

"Not a penny," he promised, smiling angelically before his expression shifted to something more serious. "And since I've been so careful to adhere to your wishes, may I request a favour in return?"

"You may request whatever you like," I said, completely failing to match the formal flow of his words. "But I reserve the right to deny it until I know what it is."

"It's nothing outrageous, I assure you. Just please, try to enjoy yourself tonight." His eyes were soft and a little sad. "It's been seventy years since any of us had a real birthday. Having your brother around the last few years has reminded all of us why it is such an important occasion, and we're all excited to celebrate this big milestone with you both. And Beau would never admit it, but your mood is starting to dampen his enjoyment of the day, too."

His sincerity threw me a little off guard. I'd realised that my behaviour today wasn't exactly what most people would expect from a girl on her birthday; I hadn't quite appreciated the impact it could have on others. I was more than happy to celebrate my brother's big day, of course, and I'd thought that would be enough. But it was our day, not just his, and naturally he would want me to be as happy as he was. That the Cullens would be just as eager to observe the occasion was a little more of a surprise, yet perhaps it shouldn't have been. With the exception of Rosalie, the whole family had welcomed me with open arms from the first day I'd visited their big house in the depths of the woods.

"Alright," I mumbled.

Edward gave me a slightly concerned look, then wisely changed the subject, nodding to the package I held in my lap. "At least you got him a gift. That ought to smooth things over."

I rolled my eyes, smiling a little despite myself. "I think he might have staged a one-man riot if he didn't get every present he feels he's due. Really, it's nothing special. That photo frame from Alice probably cost more."

"It's from you. He'll love it, no matter what it is." He brought the truck to a stop outside the house, pulling in smoothly next to Edythe's car and reaching out to take my hand. "I doubt he'll be comparing price tags."

I gave him an affronted look. "You think I'm silly enough to leave the price on?"

Edward laughed as he got out of the truck and came around to open my door for me. As I took his offered hand and climbed down, I took in the state of the house properly for the first time. There were wide glass bowls lining the steps up to the front door, pink roses floating in the shallow water and green ropes of ivy circling the rims, and paper lanterns were strung between the beams of the porch, giving the whole clearing a soft orange glow. Edythe and Beau were waiting at the top of the stairs, my brother bouncing impatiently on his heels. I gave him a quizzical look as we approached.

"Alice wouldn't let us in until you got here," he explained, impatience clear in his tone.

"Really?"

Edythe laughed breezily. "You know how she loves a grand entrance. Speaking of which…"

She turned Beau to face the door and gently guided me forward to stand beside him; he reached out and took my hand, squeezing it tightly.

Do it for him, I told myself firmly. You can put on a cheerful face for a few hours, for his sake. Then this horrible day will be over, and life can go back to normal.

Edythe pushed the door open, then stepped back to let us go first, and Beau eagerly pulled me inside. Almost immediately, there was a loud chorus of 'Happy birthday!' from the Cullens assembled in the living room, making me blush while Beau beamed. To my surprise, the entire clan was present; Carine and Earnest stood nearest the door, with Eleanor and Rosalie just behind them, Jasper keeping his distance on the far side of the room and Alice skipping forward happily to greet us. The two older girls had been gone for several months, and the last I'd heard, they were on an extended tour of sub-Saharan Africa. Apparently, Edward had neglected to tell me they were back.

The room was full of pink candles and more bowls of roses wreathed in ivy. On the raised section of the room, fighting for space with Edward's piano and Edythe's violin on its music stand, was a table covered with a long white cloth and holding a pile of silver presents, two more bowls of roses and an unreasonably huge cake iced in pink with pale green edging, plus a stack of small glass plates.

It was nearly as bad as what I had been imagining; I could only comfort myself with the fact that Alice had stopped short of an actual banner.

Edward stepped up behind me and put a gentle arm around my waist, giving me a reassuring squeeze and kissing the top of my head.

His parents approached us first, giving both Beau and me warm hugs. It struck me every time I saw them just how beautiful they both were, and how young; at least, they looked young, far too young to have teenage children, even adopted ones. It was a miracle that anyone believed they were in their early thirties. They were like the parents in an old sitcom, effortlessly glamorous and always perfectly put together, not a caramel or golden blonde hair out of place.

Carine cupped my burning cheek gently. "We tried to rein her in," she stage-whispered. "But you know how Alice gets."

"Hey, I'm not complaining," Beau said, still grinning widely.

Earnest chuckled good-humouredly. "Of course you aren't."

Alice reached us then, filching the camera from Beau. "At least someone appreciates my work. Now smile, cuties!"

She started snapping without waiting for anyone to respond. I curled in closer to Edward while Beau started making faces and monopolising her attention. It was exactly what I needed, because while everyone was laughing at him, they weren't looking at me, and perhaps that would give me a chance to get my blushes under control before someone – probably Eleanor – could comment on my current resemblance to a tomato. It seemed to mostly work; when I glanced around, only Rosalie was looking at me, thankfully not glaring for once, just a keen, analytical look that made me a little uncomfortable. A second later, a wave of calm washed through me, and I shifted my gaze to Jasper, flashing him a small but grateful smile. His ability to manipulate emotions had become very familiar to me when we'd been trapped in a hotel room together in Phoenix, and I appreciated it now as much as I had back then. He returned the smile with a tight nod and the slightest upturn of his lips, but still didn't come any closer.

"Alright, alright," Edythe finally said, stepping forward to push down the camera. "Is this a party or a photoshoot? Shall we get to the presents?"

I wasn't sure who looked more excited – Beau or Alice. She was bouncing again while he made a beeline for the table of gifts, grabbing my hand and dragging me along with him.

Eleanor chuckled. "Impatient much, Beau?"

My brother shrugged, completely unphased. "What can I say? I love birthdays. Now, where to start?" He rubbed his hands together as he surveyed the hoard, prompting several more laughs from the others.

"Here," I said, holding out my gift; the contrast between the plain brown paper wrapping and the shiny silver packages on the table was stark, and was sure to reflect the gulf between the contents too. "You'd better start with mine."

He grabbed it eagerly and quickly removed the paper, revealing a copy of Ursula Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea. I'd found it in a second-hand store on a random shopping trip to Port Angeles a few weeks earlier; from what I could tell, it was a first or second printing and probably older than both of us, the pages yellow and the cover faded, but he beamed like I'd handed him the greatest treasure in the world.

"I know you said you read a bit of her stuff on your breaks at work," I explained, trying not to feel self-conscious. "So I thought you could start at the beginning."

"It's awesome, Bell," he enthused, pulling me in for a hug. "Thank you. You have mine now." When I gave him a look, he waved it away like he was swatting a fly. "Yeah, yeah, you said no presents, but I'm invoking brotherly privilege and ignoring you. Here." He wormed his hand into the back pocket of his jeans and retrieved a tiny package that turned out to be a small blue and white striped paper bag, sealed with a sticker bearing the logo of the Port Angeles department store – he'd obviously taken advantage of the in-store gift wrapping service.

I carefully peeled up the sticker and peeked inside the bag. Then, when all I could see was a pile of coiled chain links, I reached in and pulled out a delicate silver bracelet. Three plain silver charms hung from adjacent loops in the chain, two letter Bs on either side of a tiny swan.

"It's beautiful," I admitted, smiling a little despite myself. "Thank you, Beau."

"Look at it as another way of marking memories," he said with a shrug. "I figure you can add charms for anything big that happens. See how fast we can fill it up."

I started to put the bracelet on but struggled to work the clasp one-handed and happily accepted when Edward stepped in to help. Meanwhile, Beau was back to scanning the presents again, settling on the largest box in the pile.

"That one's for both of you," Eleanor piped up, grinning. Sure enough, the tag was addressed with both our names and signed from her, Jasper, and Rosalie. Beau quirked an eyebrow at me and held out the gift in invitation; I gestured for him to go ahead, happy to step back slightly and lean into Edward's embrace while he tore at the paper. Inside was a cardboard box, something electrical if all the numbers in the name were anything to go by. Beau opened the box and slid out a bulky black box with wires protruding from the back.

"A new stereo for the truck," Jasper explained, probably off my perplexed look. "Mostly so we don't have to keep listening to Edward and Edythe complain about how terrible the sound quality is. One of us can get it installed before you leave if you'd like."

"Thanks, guys," Beau said, sliding the stereo back into its box. I remembered Edward's comment from the drive home and realised it might not have been as random as I thought.

"Mine next?" Edythe offered, picking up a big flat box similar to the one my present had come in.

Beau took it happily, then gave me a slightly guilty look. "You want to do another one first?"

I shook my head. "Go right ahead. I can wait." Or you can open all yours, we'll forget about mine, and we can go home quicker.

That was definitely wishful thinking.

Edythe's gift turned out to have two parts: a personalised Mariners shirt with 'Swan' and the number eighteen on the back, along with a baseball she'd had embroidered with his name and date of birth in the team's colours. He was predictably thrilled and gave her a very enthusiastic thank you kiss before setting the box aside carefully and reaching for two identical long flat packages, leaving behind only the parcel I had refused to take from Alice this morning and one other.

"One for you and one for me," he said, holding one box out to me as he read the tag. "Both from Carine and Earnest."

"They go together, so you might as well open them together," Earnest chimed in, smiling kindly as I took a step away from Edward to accept the gift.

Perhaps it was my impatience to have the whole spectacle over, or perhaps I was distracted by watching my brother open his present at the same time I was trying to open my own. Whatever the reason, I wasn't fully paying attention to what I was doing; as I slid my finger under the tape and pulled up on the folded paper, I felt a sharp edge slice across the skin of my fingertip.

"Ouch!" I yelped, quickly pulling my hand back out and holding up the offending digit to examine the damage. It was a tiny cut, but a deep one, a single drop of blood beading up and looking set to drip down my finger.

Everything happened extremely quickly after that.

"NO!" Edward roared, diving forwards and shoving me back over the table. It toppled under my weight, sending the cake, plates, flowers, and remaining presents flying. I landed amongst the mess, vaguely aware of my brother also being propelled away from the rest of the room by a blur of bronze that had to be Edythe.

Jasper surged forward from his spot in the corner faster than I could follow, slamming into Edward and Edythe with a boom like a minor explosion going off. The two of them wrestled with him, holding him back by an arm each as he snapped his teeth just inches from their faces, snarling ferociously and pushing against them.

Seconds later, Eleanor grabbed him from behind, pinning his arms to his sides with her own enormous biceps. Though he had a few inches on her in height, she clearly more than made up for it in sheer strength. Alice dived into the fray, taking hold of his face in both hands, but he didn't even seem to register her presence, his eyes wide, dark, and further from human than I had ever seen him, intent on me as he continued to struggle.

A low voice moaned in pain somewhere to my right, and for about two seconds I was focused on my brother sprawled on the floor just in front of me, clutching the back of his head. Then a stinging, burning sensation drew my attention to my arm. In the tumble over the table, the bowls and plates had fallen to the floor and shattered; when I had instinctually tried to catch my fall, I had gone straight into the shards. Now the tiny slash across my finger had been joined by a giant gash running from my wrist all the way to the crease of my elbow, already oozing an alarming amount of blood onto the pristine white floor.

Still struggling to understand exactly what was happening, I looked up from the pulsing red, the smell already making me dizzy, into the dark eyes of seven suddenly ravenous vampires.