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𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐒: 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐀 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐃, 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐕𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒.

Carlisle is the coven leader, almost the patriarch of his chosen family. He was special not just because he was the oldest, over 300 years old, but because he had impeccable control. My doctor was also kind, compassionate, and had never killed a human, fighting to save instead of hurt. He was honorable in many ways. It was sad to hear that he thought he was unworthy of anything for many centuries, especially since he was just so sweet to everyone.

Esme is like a mother to the rest of the Cullens. Sweet, loving, and could cook much better than anyone else (although Edward was a close second. He made me a smoothie with pineapple). Esme loved with her whole heart and had actually met her mate at the age of sixteen. Carlisle let her go, thinking he was not worthy of a mate. Thankfully, she found him again and remained in love with him, being turned into a vampire by none other than her own mate.

Emmett was not there when his immortality was revealed, but he came home soon after. His main superpower was being strong, which made sense. A big teddy bear, I suppose. I didn't know much about him, but I wanted to learn more.

Rosalie. God, she's so damn hot. I don't think I've ever seen a woman with her type of elegance. Perfection lingered in every strand of platinum blonde hair. Her presence was dominating, which didn't bother me one bit. She could step on me with those heels of hers and I would thank her for the attention.

Alice is like an energetic squirrel. No, seriously, that's the best way I can describe her. Then again, I love squirrels. She's a cute squirrel. I can tell she wants to get to know me. Carlisle said her gift is predicting the many possible futures and she says that we'll be happy together, so I guess I'll believe her until proven otherwise. She's a bit innocent in a way. Super sweet, though.

Jasper was sweet enough to make me some mango today, so I have nothing but good things to say about him. He told me he can sense and manipulate emotions. Sounds nice for making sure things stay calm in a huge household, or coven. I don't think he'll use it on our relationship. That would be cheating, and just really dickish.

Now, Edward. The mind reader extraordinaire. I was a bit wary about the mind reading at first, but he said he can't control it. For the most part it seems to help him learn things about me. He seems to know my music taste now, which is just a mix of really stupid popular songs and Queen. Some rock and roll and punk here and there. He's also cute, making me food and asking me how I'm doing. God, the bar is set really low for people. Would that make him average? No, he's definitely above average.

I had come to the conclusion that none of my mates were normal, but they were sweet, meaning that being with them wouldn't be too hard. If my own disabilities didn't get in the way, this could be a good thing for me.

Lord knows I need some more good things in my life.

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𝐈 𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑, 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐄𝐃𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐃 𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄. The black coat was made from leather. I couldn't tell if I liked it better on me or him. Of course I had to admit that I looked adorable wearing his oversized jacket.

"Stay close to us, Fenella," Alice chirped, helping me out of their car. "Jasper, let's go to class! We have English! I think we're studying Shakespeare this week. Do you like reading?"

"What else do I do with my endless time?" I joked. She smiled and took my hand in hers. "Are any of the teachers here mean or strict? Sometimes I have to go out and if we're doing something that involves bacteria I can't be in the room. Everything makes me flare up at this point. I don't want to be called a germaphobe because I'm not. I also can't be near anyone who appears sick under any circumstances. You know, cause I could die."

"Carlisle already explained everything to our teachers. Nobody questions Carlisle, lest they not get a doctor's appointment." My cheeks became a dusty pink as people walked around. Students seemed to take notice of the new girl in school, which at the moment was me. "If you want, you can pose as my best friend and Edward's girlfriend. They already know I'm with Jasper and I don't know if you'd be ready to come out of the closet just yet."

"Edward's never been able to have a girlfriend." Emmett laughed, wrapping his arm around my much smaller body. "I've never been able to see him get weak at the knees for someone. I don't think he's ever kissed someone before!"

"Emmett!" Edward exclaimed, embarrassed. I mean, neither have I. Too dangerous.

"What? It's true." Emmett lugged his backpack over his shoulder and kissed our mate on the cheek. It's going to take me some time to get used to that. "I'll see you after first period, Fennie!"

"See you!" I giggled before looking back at Alice. "Well, Shakespeare doesn't sound too bad, does it?"

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𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐃 𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐎𝐓𝐘𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘. Really nice, clearly liberal teacher, learning Shakespeare and going deeper than needed, and the focus of the day was the true meaning of Romeo and Juliet. We all knew the story, had heard it in so many different ways that they all blurred together. It wasn't like I didn't yearn for everlasting love, but the whole star-crossed lovers' deal wouldn't be my cup of tea. I'm too much of a goody-two-shoes.

"It's just so beautiful," Alice whispered, looking dreamily at the movie that was being played during class. Guess she's into the romantic stuff. Is this a kiss scene. Yeah, this is a kiss scene. Why do I feel Jasper's eyes burning into the back of my head? Jasper please, we're practically watching a comedy, not an R-rated sex scene! His eyes are completely black and I can't tell if they do that when they're hungry or something else.

"Now I understand why she was jealous of Romeo," I heard Jasper mumble. Alice sent him an annoyed look before turning back to the beautiful film.

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𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐄𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐄, 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐒 𝐖𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐌 𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐔𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃. The class itself didn't look hard, but the teacher droned on and on. Emmett and Rose sounded fluent in the language (they said they'd been to high school so many times and that vampires have a perfect memory, so it made sense), helping me with the worksheet I had been handed. That sheet was going to be worth quite a bit of homework points, so I finished it quickly.

About halfway through the class we had a fire drill. Why? I don't know, but we went outside and had to wait out on the lawn.

"Thank goodness it's not sunny today," Emmett said, holding Rose close to him. I smiled as Alice skipped over to us, holding Jasper's hand. "Alice! Where's Edward? He always comes over during these dumb things."

"Right here." I blushed as Edward stood behind me. "How has class been so far, Fenella? Any problems?"

"Just Shakespeare and some Spanish movie." Edward chuckled. My heart rate increased at his close proximity. "I wish it was lunch already, although I'm happy I can see you now. What classes do we have together again?"

"Biology and PE, although I always skip that last class. Can you do PE?" I shrugged. For the most part my teachers just let me sit down and draw. Whether or not this teacher would be the same would remain a mystery until then. "Maybe we can go somewhere after fifth...?"

"Ooh, asking her out on a date already?" Emmett teased. My flushed cheeks burned a bright red at the idea. I've never been on a date with anybody.

Edward took my hand in his, making my heart beat at the speed of light. The Cullens all laughed, with Jasper giving me a sweet smile. Wait, if they're vampires with heightened senses, they can hear my heartbeat. Oh lord that's going to be embarrassing. I... What have I gotten myself into? Just a day in the life of Fenella Nash, now a shared mate and will be becoming a vampire soon. Just lovely.

"You're always so sarcastic in your head," Edward noted. "It's cute."

"Someday you're going to meet someone who you can't read and I'm ready to be best friends with that one person." The look on Edward's face made everyone burst out into laughter. "There has to be one person that you can't read. A single person perhaps in the entire world. I need to see it and I need to relish in the fact that they've hindered you."

"Fenella... why?" Edward almost pouted. Emmett had to hold one of the rails where we were standing to control his laughter. I was sure that at some point he would fall to the floor.

"Because as much as it helps, it's annoying," I explained. "Having people in your mind at all times, with a single look, is weird. People aren't used to that. Don't worry, I know it's hard for you to not pry."

"Finally someone is willing to say it," Rose said.

"I don't want to look at your mind and I would stay out of it if I could," Edward deadpanned. "Fenella, would you be willing to skip our last class to go to a little place near my house?"

"It sounds like you're trying to kidnap her," Emmett jokes. Edward rolled his eyes and rubbed his cold hand against my cheek.

Going on a date. With him being so handsome, I should be proud of myself. A handsome man wants something to do with me, the girl who types her essays with three fingers. Me, the girl who has bleached hair. Of course I'll go on a date with you. Just make sure that Carlisle and Esme know that you'll be taking me out.

"Great━" Edward was cut off by a girl with brown hair and eyes made for gossiping stepping in front of me. The auburn-haired vampire almost snarled as he protectively held me closer to his chest. Even with him clearly not liking this girl very much, he remained polite. "Jessica Stanley. What do you want?"

"Just wanted to meet the new girl. We haven't seen anyone new here in Forks since your family." Her voice reeked of fake niceness, making me want to stay as far away from her as possible. "Since you've all been hogging her and nobody has had a chance to say hi, I wanted to get to know her. Maybe we can hang out after━"

Edward cut her off. "I'm taking her out after fifth, sorry."

"Maybe some other time." No. Never talk to me again. I've met girls like you before and it never ends well. I don't want to be your pity friend. Oh, poor Fenella, she has a shorter lifespan than the rest of the world. Oh no, she can't do much of anything and needs to live near a hospital for the rest of her life. Boo hoo. So sad.

Whether it was her taunting tone of voice or the way that she seemed to look at Edward like a piece of meat I didn't know, but I didn't like this girl one bit. She wouldn't be in my life. I wasn't just some sick puppy to play around with.

As much as I like to stay positive and happy for everyone, I couldn't find any love for this girl. Never waste your time on girls who won't drop everything to visit you in the hospital, my Mom told me when I was younger, Those are the people who use you. If they don't make time for you, they aren't worth your heart or time.

"Everyone back to class!" A teacher yelled at everyone. "Drill's over!"

"I'll see you at lunch."

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐅𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐀 𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐄𝐀𝐓, 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐄𝐒𝐌𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐌𝐄 𝐀 𝐋𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐇 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘. Her smoothies were the best I'd ever had. How she managed to cook up such good things when she didn't need to eat herself astounded me. Well, I guess since vampires have perfect memories they only have to watch a few videos or take a single class to get this good. I'll have to ask her later.

Emmett and Rose walked with me to the table where Alice and Jasper were already sitting. They waved and I brought out the smoothie from my backpack, happy that it hadn't completely melted. The thermos kept it cool enough to drink, but it wasn't as good as it would be if it were fresh.

"So, only one more class for you today," Alice teased, scooching herself over to sit closer to me. "After you and Edward get home, can we all watch a movie? There's this new one out that Jasper and I have been meaning to see, but the weather hasn't been working in our favor. An at-home movie would be safer."

"Of course. Will Carlisle and Esme be home?" She nodded. "Good. I haven't been able to see much of Carlisle. Esme's always here in the mornings, but Carlisle's already at work by the time I wake up."

"He's trying to take less shifts in the early morning so he can see you, but he's currently one of the only doctors at the hospital because one of the other doctors just had a baby," Jasper explained. "Believe me, he wants to see you. It's frustrating for him. He does say goodbye in the morning but you're fast asleep."

I knew that Carlisle worked hard. Hell, he works so hard that he allowed someone into his house to receive treatment.

Edward sat down next to me as I took a sip of my smoothie. "What did I miss?"

"Just a fight between two kids in government. You know how those go," I said. "What do you think we're doing in Biology?"

"Boring things I've done fifteen times before." I sighed, taking another sip of my strawberry smoothie. "I think you'll be fine. You can sit next to me, of course. News of us has already spread. Jessica Stanley does a lot of gossip, makes sure everyone knows the details of other people's lives. She likes to know things."

"Yeah, well I would rather she not analyze me like a lab rat."

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𝐄𝐃𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐍'𝐓 𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐀𝐍 𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐌. People wouldn't stop staring at me during class. I know that Forks is a small town, but this level of spread is extraordinary. This is celebrity level spread. This is the Black death in the 14th century. Or some other virus that infects people. God let's hope we don't get any new viruses in America because we would be screwed. Some of the population believes that the moon landing was faked, I bet they would believe a deadly virus is fake too.

Biology wasn't a class I cared about that much. For the most part it was an annoying requirement to pass high school. Of course, I would be getting an A or a B, but still.

"Fenella, is it true that you live with the Cullens?" A blonde boy asked. I slowly nodded before turning back to my assignment. I'm not used to being the center of attention, so please make him leave me alone. Edward, help please. "So you're dating the guy who you're staying with? Why are you at his house?"

"Mike, please stop." Edward tried to diffuse the questions. "It's not polite to ask people about their private lives when you aren't friends."

The boy mumbled an apology before turning to do his work. I wasn't good with conflict. A people pleaser at heart. If I could avoid anyone's feelings getting hurt, I would do whatever it took to keep everyone happy. Chaos wasn't fun for me. If I said something rude, they definitely deserved it.

I sighed as the teacher started another lecture.

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𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤, 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟.

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