"Why do I feel like he's going to do something dramatic?"
Lily's side comment caused Emmett to snort. "Cause you've met him."
Esme walked around the head and smacked Emmett lightly on the back of his head, "Be nice. This is big for him. It's big for all of us, really. We never had a human know before."
"Really, mom? I'm right here."
Esme waved to Lily with a slight hand motion as Alice plopped into the seat next to her. "You don't count, Lily. No offense, but this is a non-Cullen human."
Lily rolled her eyes as her family slowly congregated in the kitchen. Edward had left moments earlier to drive Bella to school. Any disruption in routine was exciting to the vampires who were settled into decades of routines. Lily presented some variety in their routine, but soon, she too became a staple in their lives. Her human quirks were to be expected.
Emmett and Alice were more exuberant than usual. Emmett, having found a new way to tease his brother, had not stopped making side comments over the past 24 hours. To be honest, he thought little of the consequences that could become Bella. He had slipped up in the past, but he accepted that as a part of life. It wasn't that he was unremorseful, he just didn't think it was a big issue.
On the other side of the spectrum, all of Alice's excitement came from Bella Swan. Lily guessed she could understand the enthusiasm. It must be hard knowing the future and knowing the friendship that will be formed but having no actual interaction with the person in question. Edward had done his best to keep the two girls away from each other, but those days were coming to an end.
Lily still felt conflicted about the whole situation. Bella and she were almost opposites in every way. Bella had an alluring odor that tempted the entire coven while Lily's scent was faint and easily ignored. Bella had the advantage of privacy from Edward's and Alice's powers. Lily, while distant and hard to focus on, could become susceptible to their powers if they concentrated enough. She had to admit though, she didn't see many positive outcomes from this. Her family fought hard against instincts to never turn another human. On some level, Lily thinks Carlisle regrets changing some of the family. If Esme wasn't his mate, he would've stopped after Rosalie's turmoil over the process.
Rosalie. She was still a vocal advocate against Bella's and Edward's budding relationship. Lily slowly found herself unable to bring herself to disagree with the blonde vampire. Lily put up with her almost constant ranting over the topic. It was healthy to vent even if it did feel draining to the human. She occasionally spoke in Bella's defense but never Edward's. She agreed he should know the consequences of his actions. Bella, of no fault of her own, wanted to get closer to Edward as any teenager wanted to get closer to their crush. She would end up desiring this life. It was inevitable, but it was destructive. Lily, even as she desperately wanted to protect herself from the upcoming separation from her family, felt herself getting pulled back into their warm and loving nature. She wanted to stay but knew she had to leave. She needed to prepare her mind and heart for that reality. Even so, she would laugh with them or carve the warm embrace of her cold mother.
Or she would catch a glance of Rosalie curled up in a chair reading, working in the garage with a smear of grease on her cheek, or shimmering slightly as she drove in one of the cars and she knew that she would almost give up anything to have more moments like these. What she would give to have these moments for eternity.
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"I told you guys!"
"No one was arguing with you," Jasper commented as he stood beside Lily.
Alice curled into his side, "I, for one, find it endearing. He opened the door for her and everything."
"He also has a shit-eating smirk on his face too." Rosalie's voice added dripping with distaste.
Emmett laughed as he walked past the four teens clustered together. "Think of it this way. We can do anything today, and no one will even notice. I think I'm going to dunk today in gym. Still won't be bigger news than the two lovebirds."
"You will not" Rosalie hissed as she walked forward and grabbed his arm. Lily rolls her eyes but follows the pair inside leaving Jasper and Alice to enjoy the last minutes outside alone.
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Emmett wasn't wrong. The whole school was abuzz with the news that the standoffish Edward Cullen was now dating the new girl. Instead of thriving under the attention, Bella seemed miserable at the new wave of attention. Lily wasn't even surprised to see Bella rushing to the back of the class to their seats.
"Please talk to me before Jessica comes in. I cannot answer her questions right now."
"Bella, breathe. I'm taking it you don't enjoy being the hot new topic?"
"How do you handle it?"
"I mean, to be fair, it's worse for my family than me, but you will get used to it."
"I doubt it. It's like every single movement is under a microscope."
"Everyone feels that way at some point, Bells." Lily rolled her eyes at her dramatics. "Anyway, are you sitting with us at lunch?"
"Oh, Ummm. I don't know. I guess we haven't talked about it. I mean I would love to sit with Edward and all of you. Do you think he'll ask me?" Lily couldn't help but laugh at her friend's blushing face.
"Bella, you think too much. It's fine. It would just be nice to have someone else split Emmett's weird lunch, that's all."
This seemed to calm her down. Bella risked a glance over at Mike and saw Jessica dragging him into some sort of conversation. The sight made her relax even more.
"Geez, Bella. You can't avoid her forever. It may be better to get the interrogation over with. It will show her you care about your friendship. She's probably hurt she didn't know before everyone else."
Bella had least had the decency to look ashamed. "I will. I'll text her tonight. I just can't do it right now. How are you so good at this?"
"What? Understanding people. I live with seven other people and an empath. You pick things up quickly."
"An empath?"
"Ughh. I'm going to kill Edward. Talk to him tonight too. If you are going to be hanging around, you should know everything."
"Thanks. How is your family taking it? I swear Rosalie was plotting my death when I passed her in the hall earlier."
Lily waved a hand, "I don't doubt it. There is some disagreement over the whole human aspect of things. Nothing for you to worry about. She may hate the idea of this and you, but she won't act on it."
"Comforting," Bella retorted sarcastically. "Shouldn't they be used to the idea?"
In response to Lily's questioning look, Bella continued, "Everything with you and Emmett? I would've thought the whole thing was normal. You guys have been together for years?"
Lily's face turns bright red. While she knew the rumor was still around, it had definitely lost traction over the years. Or maybe it hadn't and her siblings just decided to leave her in the dark about it.
Before she could correct her, the bell rang, and everyone headed back to their desks. Their corner of solitude was no longer empty. In a last-minute plea, Lily gets out, "Bella. I am begging you. Please, just talk to Edward. He can explain everything."
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Lily swungs the door open and surveyed the bustling cafeteria. She quickly found her family and noted the man of the hour missing. A quick scan confirmed her suspicions. Bella and Edward were seated together at their own table. At least I can eat in peace, she thought. She was only slightly disappointed to lose her human lunch buddy.
Before she could even sit down, she caught the end of Alice's rant.
"All I'm saying is it's not fair. I have waited months for this moment, and he just decided to eat alone with her. I will be her friend. This is just pointless."
"Alice, trust me. The build-up may be more exciting than the real thing."
"Be quiet Lily. You already know her. This is going to be so much fun."
Rosalie didn't even bother to hide her eye roll.
Lily, remembering her reason for annoyance, let her lunch drop onto the table and sat directly across from Rosalie in Edward's usual spot. If she had looked closely, she may have seen a flash of hurt in Rosalie's eyes at the abandonment of her usual spot on the bench with Rosalie next to Emmett.
"Was no one going to tell me that the Emmett relationship rumor was still going strong?"
Alice's voice, chirpy as always, was unaffected by Lily's tone. "It has died down, but it's still there. Why? Nothing new or exciting has happened with it. Just the occasional age or incest comment."
"Well then Alice, pray tell, why Bella knew about it? She thought our family was used to vampire human romance because of us." Lily sounded scandalized while Emmett laughed like the best joke ever told. A good portion of the cafeteria heard and turned to look at the noise including Bella herself.
"Lighten up. It's fun. I must say, we would be an amazing human vampire pairing if I do say so myself." Emmett laughed again. Then, he pulled her closer to him on her bench leaving only the gap of the two benches between them. He swung his arm over her shoulder and shook her a bit.
Lily tried and failed to lift his arm off her. She chances a glance towards Bella and Edward. Edward's eyes shone with joy. At least one of us was having fun. Her attention was turned back towards her table when Bella and Edward started talking. She hoped he was explaining the fake rumor to her.
"Get off me you lug." Lily tried again to lift his arm unsuccessfully. She huffed in annoyance.
"Then, how would people know you're my girl?"
"Get." An unsuccessful duck. "Off." An unsuccessful shake. Emmett pulled her closer, unaware of his vampire sister beside him growing angrier by the moment.
"She said get off."
Rosalie's voice was low but scathing. She grabbed his free arm and yanked. He lifted both his hands up in surrender.
"Damn Rose! A little more warning next time? I would like to keep my limbs during the school day."
Rose could barely hear him. Her eyes were looking between Emmett and Lily. Logically, she knew there was no reason for her to be so angry. Was it a manifestation of her trauma? No, she didn't think so. She had not thought of Royce at all during the interaction.
"Thanks." Lily smiled at her appreciatively. She gave a tight nod in response.
As the conversation started up again, she allowed her mind to wander. What set her off? Bella? No, she wasn't even at the table. She remembered seeing red when Emmett swung her arm around Lily, but it started before that. She recalled the sinking feeling and the burn when Emmett talked about them being together. She remembered the uncomfortable feeling at hearing that Bella asked about Emmett's and Lily's relationship.
Then, it must have been Bella that started it. She didn't like the fact she was snooping on their family. That had to be it, she reasoned with herself.
If she had bothered to ask Jasper sitting next to her for help, he would've been able to identify her emotion immediately. It was jealousy. Nothing burned quite like it.
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The interest in the new couple did not dissipate over the week. In fact, it made the student body more emboldened in their attempts to interact with the Cullen family. By the time Friday rolled around, Lily was over the not so subtle flirting attempts. Rosalie was the quickest to shut down her new wave of admirers. At least her frustration towards Bella could be directed in a more positive way. Emmett had a fun time making some of the girls blush but was able to make his disinterest clear.
Lily was at her breaking point. Edward was still actively keeping Bella away from the family. She was getting all of the downsides of Edward's and Bella's relationship with none of the positives. She had to hear Alice lamenting over the lack of interaction. Rosalie was constantly on edge. Jasper was unhelpful as always, not that she could blame him. She was still forced to be the sole recipient of Emmett's odd food choices.
Lily cringed as she bit into the raw baby carrots. "Really Emmett!? Just baby carrot. You couldn't pack ranch or anything?" The large bag was laid in front of her. She had gone back to her normal spot between Rosalie and Emmett leaving one bench completely empty. Edward's absence was glaringly obvious.
"It's healthy. It's important to eat vegetables. Anyway, ranch is just unnecessary garbage."
Lily pretended to be scandalized by Emmett's comment. "Rose, did you hear him? Did he call me fat? Look at me. I am perfectly in shape."
Emmett rolled his eyes at her dramatics, but Lily didn't play him mind. Her attention was solely on watching Rosalie scan her body. While, yes, she did tell the vampire to, it was rhetorical. Lily wasn't prepared for the vampire to actually do so and was that a hint of appreciation in her glaze? No, Lily, she thought. This is not the time. She can't. Her thoughts, locked away until she can process them later. She needed to think fast.
"Alice." Her voice was a little louder than usual, but it was quickly dismissed. "I just remembered I need to get some more practice clothes. Do you mind coming with me? It feels wrong to go clothes shopping without you."
"I don't know. Edward may have something planned this weekend. He hasn't decided."
Lily groaned. "Fine, but it's almost too warm now for my winter clothes. I'm tired of training in long spandex."
"You can wear them for the next two weeks before it's too hot. You'll be fine. Quit being dramatic." Emmett added. He failed to mention that he was relieved the switch could be delayed a few weeks. He wasn't blind to the attention his youngest sister could receive. The family did their best to shield her and were mostly successful.
"I will be as dramatic as I so, please. Thank you very much. Talking about dramatic, I'm tired of the love birds sitting alone. When are they joining us?"
"Lily, you would know if I saw anything," Alice added.
"Well, I'm gonna put the ball in motion." Rosalie grabbed her hand before she could stand. "Rosalie, it's going to happen at some point. It looks strange that we aren't sitting together."
She felt Rosalie reluctantly drop her hand, "Fine. Go spend time with the girl."
Lily didn't have time to deal with Rosalie at the moment. Sometimes they were fine, other times it was like Rosalie closed herself off. "It's not like that Rose and you know it."
Lily turned without awaiting a response and walked straight towards Bella's and Edward's table. Their surprise was evident in their eyes. Lily dropped into the bench at the table across from them.
"You know, if you are the only two at the table, you should spread out more if you don't want people to join you. Is there any particular reason why you two are sharing one bench when there are clearly 4?"
Lily smirked at Bella's blush. "What are you doing here Lily?" Edward sounded annoyed. Good.
"Can't a girl visit her brother?"
"They can, but you don't. Seemed to me like some didn't want you to leave."
Lily tried to fight a blush off her cheeks. "You've known Rosalie for longer. She's just like that. Anyway, I didn't come to talk to you." Lily directs her attention towards Bella, "So, Bella, how are you?"
"Um, good?"
"Awesome. No need to question it. I am glad you are enjoying Ed's company," Lily ignored the quiet growl she could hear. "But you see, we have a problem."
"No, you don't," Edward said but was ignored.
"I am still the only person eating at my table, as you know. Do you know what Emmett brought today? Carrots. Just carrots. I don't think I can look at another carrot for a month which stinks cause they are good. If you were there, we would have split the burden. Now, there are still ten minutes of lunch, and I must insist that you join us."
Bella didn't respond. Instead, she looked at Edward. Edward looked at Lily and she groaned already knowing his response.
"Fine, but next week we are all eating together." Lily leveled her own impressive glare.
"Okay." Edward stated. He knew at some point he would have to join them anyway.
"Glad we could have this talk."
Edward and Bella relaxed as Lily walked back towards the Cullen table. Emmett and Alice weren't even hiding their smiles. Lily grabbed the bag of carrots and waved bye to her family. Edward's annoyance was clear as day on his face as Lily took back the spot she just left.
"I never said I was leaving. Bella, eat some carrots. It's punishment. I have nowhere to be for the next seven minutes." She flings the bag across the table.
Lily chatted with the couple for the rest of lunch. She secretly hoped that the small interaction would allow Bella to feel more comfortable when she had to sit with the entire family. Under Lily's watchful eyes, Bella finished the rest of the carrots.
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Lily didn't fully realize how much of an impact her actions had until the next morning. Saturday mornings were usually reserved for peaceful work or hunting trips. Lily usually completed any outstanding work she had while listening to music before working out. This was usually followed by a disapproving comment from Carlisle about how scandalous music was these days, however, Esme would kindly remind him that Lily was growing up and had freedom over her music.
Unlike most Saturdays, Alice had barged into her room after only being awake for an hour.
"Bella is coming! We are leaving for the store soon for some food."
"Wait, what? When is Bella coming?" Lily responded still slightly tired.
"Tomorrow. Edward is asking her right now, but she's not going to say no."
"Don't we have food?"
"Yes, Lily, but don't you want to make something special? We are having a visit! I can't wait to meet her!"
"I'm glad. I still don't see how this involves me. Mom always shops."
"I know that, but you know what tastes good. Esme wants to make a good impression. We all do. Everyone is pitching in. Do you think she'll like Italian?"
"I think she will like anything Mom makes." Alice's face slightly dropped at the lack of enthusiasm. "Fine. Let me get ready and we can go. Who's all going?"
"Just Esme, you and me. I think Rosalie may come if you are with us." A hint of something in her eyes that Lily couldn't place.
"I think the last place Rosalie would choose to spend her time is a grocery store." Lily laughed.
"Stranger things have happened. Not like she has anything going on here. Emmett and Jasper left earlier to hunt. Carlisle switched shifts at the hospital so he could have tomorrow off."
"I'm glad he'll be here, especially if things happen to go wrong."
"Nothing is going to go wrong, Lily. Jasper is perfectly in control."
"I'm sorry, Alice. I wasn't just talking about Jasper. I know he's good, but most everyone has slipped once or twice. I feel like the house is the one place everyone lowers their barriers. I would just hate it if something happened."
"I understand. I understand Rose's hesitation too, but honestly, we are better than we have ever been in the past. I think you have a lot to do with it. Your scent is so slight, it's easy to ignore, but it's still there. It's like low exposure therapy."
"Well, glad I could be a lab rat." Lily's annoyance seeped into her voice slightly. Alice's face fell slightly. She forgot how cold her words could sometimes come off, but Lily interrupted her before she could finish. "I know what you were saying. It's fine. I'll be downstairs soon."
Alice could hear the dismissal and left her human sister to her musing. She had noticed her strange behavior as of late. She had been meaning to ask Edward and Jasper about it, but she kept getting distracted. It was as if one moment she was the same girl who had lived with them for years and the next she was trying to do everything in her power to pull away. She had gone back to driving herself most mornings. The only exception seemed to be when they knew greater attention was going to be cast on the family. Lily, who had started eating with her other friends, had immediately returned to their table when Bella and Edward started growing closer.
These days, more often than not, she could be found next to Rosalie. Actually, it may be more accurate to say Rosalie was wherever Lily was. It was not uncommon for Rosalie to spend the nights tucked away in the girl's desk chair. Alice was a bit taken aback by the new fondness. Rosalie had always been protective of the girl, but never close. She tended to push the girl away and to another family member. Since the move to Forks, something appeared to have shifted between the two and not just on Rosalie's side. Lily was now quick to defend the blond vampire. In her free afternoons, she would sit out in the garage and watch her work. It was all very strange to Alice.
Alice, in her free moments, had sometimes looked to find what the future held for their blonde human. She hadn't been able to do so recently. Her attention being demanded to check on the Bella situation. Lily's future was constantly changing. Sometimes, she was old, surrounded by grandchildren. Other times, she was met with glowing red eyes. This future scared her. It was unspoken but common knowledge that the Cullen's did not plan on turning the girl.
Occasionally, without the knowledge of the person in question, the family would talk about the girl's fate. When hunting, Emmett may back a comment about missing Lily, or Esme would wonder about her well-being out loud. Edward, Jasper, or Rosalie were quick to bring up that it was for the best she wasn't here. That she wasn't dead or damned. Emmett and Alice herself both wanted the girl to be changed. They did not see the harm in it. Esme and Carlisle would look at their bickering children with fondness and underlying sadness. The entire coven knew that Carlisle was in charge of changing humans. He would never change someone unless they were going to die. No one wanted a situation for Lily where that decision had to be made. Carlisle, deep down, knew he would not be able to stop himself from changing the girl who he saw as his child. Thinking back on the latest argument, Alice recalls Rosalie's uncharacteristically silent stance on the topic. Rosalie had a harder time than most accepting what she had become and she thought hard to save human life. No one had thought it was odd at the time, but it was. Rosalie, however, was like a haunted house or maybe more accurately a rubix cube. You could work for hours getting everything in place and for a moment, everything becomes clear, but as soon as that moment happens, everything is thrown out of alignment and unreadable. Rosalie was a constantly shifting puzzle that no one had fully worked out.
Lily was solving it at the moment, it seemed. With each moment between them, they were able to read each other more and more. This development made Alice think of one of her visions. It was a personal favorite of hers. She had carefully guarded it with her family so Edward could not steal it from her. Jasper could only feel the happiness it brought her. The vision was simple. It was her family walking in an open field. Jasper was next to her holding her close. Carlisle and Esme were leaning against the Jeep laughing as Emmett tried to balance the bases, ball, gloves, and bat in his arms. In front of them looking at the spectacle were Rosalie and Lily. They were both bent over slightly with the strength of their laughter. Rosalie was looking more relaxed than her sister had ever seen her. Lily tilted her head to meet Rosalie's eyes and smiled. Then, Lily turned her attention to Alice. She can't remember what Lily said to her, but she remembers one thing. The warm golden eyes on Lily's face looking back at her.
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"What am I even doing here?"
To say Rosalie was annoyed this Sunday was an understatement. Even though she ended up accompanying them to the store, she had not embraced the idea of the Sunday meal.
"It's just salad, Rose. You have to mix it." Lily added trying to help. She was currently over the stove browning the meat.
"That's not what I meant."
"We are doing this for Bella as a family. This is important to Edward." Carlisle tried to reason with the girl.
Rosalie huffed before turning her attention back on the task at hand. Even with Rosalie's bad mood, you could feel the excitement in the air. Anything new or different was bound to wind the family up. Esme, more than most, knew how excited her children could get when a new situation was presented to them. Emmett, who usually avoided the kitchen like the plague, had taken to smashing tomatoes to create his own sauce. Esme already knew it would more than likely turn out unusable, but he needed to channel his energy into some task. There were enough jars of pasta sauce in the pantry to cover any of their needs.
Edward had recently left to pick the Swan girl up from her house. Jasper and Alice, who had taken an early morning hunting trip, had yet to return to the house. The other five Cullens were hard at work in the kitchen. After the meat finished cooking, Lily moved over towards Rosalie and was leaning against the island. Esme had not failed to notice the two girls' new friendship. Esme was happy that Rosalie had overcome whatever barriers she had created when it came to Lily. She avoided her when they first lived together, adamant that she would never be her sister. While Esme never said anything out loud, she was secretly disappointed in her eldest daughter. She was glad she had grown some. She also did not miss how desperately her youngest daughter wanted to spend time around the vampire as a child. Now that she was older, she still sought out the blonde vampire's time. As she passed the two girls, Esme sent Carlisle a knowing look that he quickly returned. While the two didn't mettle too much in their children's lives, they occasionally enjoyed speculating. She walks to join her mate as they prepare the layers of the lasagna. Even though everything smelled unappetizing to the vampires, Lily was already asking when the food would be done. Esme was optimistic that it would taste good even as she had to replace the fresh tomato sauce with the can of Ragu.
As they slipped the lasagna pan into the oven, the unmistakable sound of a car pulling into their drive appeared.
"Smell that, boys. That's all human." Emmett stated while taking an exaggerated sniff. Carlisle and Esme chuckled at that their son's declarations. Lily could feel Rosalie tense next to her.
"Rose, everything's fine. I'm sure she'll want a tour of the house first. Relax." Lily reached for her cold hand. "Let's finish the salad. I'll help you." Lily hoped to convey the fact that she was talking about more than just the pile of lettuce in front of them.
Rosalie looks down at the girl and evaluates her. She nods and lets her body relax slightly. Together, the two girls finish prepping the salad. Lily forced the vampire into a conversation to pull her attention away from listening to Bella and Edward move about the house, occasionally dragging in Esme, Carlisle, or Emmett to comment.
They were only interrupted by the sound of metal hitting the stovetop as Carlisle took the lasagna out of the oven. Rosalie glared at their father figure as he made Lily jump next to her.
"Sorry about that, everyone. I must say I'm not too used to cooking."
"Here they come." Emmett pulled the family towards the couple making their appearance down the stairs.
Esme turns towards the two and takes a step forward to greet the two. "Bella. We're making Italiano for you."
Before Bella can respond, Edward introduces her. "This is Esme, my mother for all intents and purposes."
Esme's kind eyes looked at Edward at his remarks. She adored her children. Bella's gaze moves away from the freshly prepared food and back to Esme.
"Bon giorno?" Her voice sounded timid.
Esme smile grew, "Molto bene!"
Bella looked past Esme towards the other family members. Her eyes lit up in recognition as she spotted Lily at the counter. Lily offered the girl a wave as Rosalie picked up the salad bowl and moved to the other side of the counter.
Carlisle was the next to speak. "You've given us an excuse to use the kitchen to cook a proper meal. We never have a reason to, with Lily here."
"Remember the one year we decided to have a proper Thanksgiving?" Emmett said with a hint of amusement.
"I remember only eating only Turkey for a week and a half because ~somebody,~" She glarred at Emmett, "decided that one teenage girl needed a twenty-pound turkey for herself."
Emmett raised his hands in defeat.
"Anyway, I'm glad to see you, Bella."
"Thanks, Lily."
"I hope you're hungry." Esme's voice entered the conversation again.
"Oh, absolutely." Bella smiled up at the maternal figure.
Bella started to move forward but stopped as Edward informed them, "She already ate."
Bella gave Edward a look, but before she could protest, a glass shattered on the ground. All attention was now on Rosalie and the broken glass scattered across the floor.
"Perfect." Rosalie's voice was scathing. Bella cowered slightly just at the tone and Edward tppl a step forward.
Bella stood still and talked quickly, "I just assumed -- because you don't eat, you know.."
Esme was still looking at the girl with no less affection. "Of course. That was very considerate of you."
Lily was the next to pipe up, "It's no big deal. Let me just clean this up."
Lily started to bend down but was stopped by Rosalie's grip on her shoulder. "No."
"Well, someone needs to clean it up and I'm right here if you haven't noticed," letting her annoyance seep into her voice.
"Rosalie is right. All of you out. Emmett, come clean this."
"Mom. I can clean some broken glass." Lily tried to protest.
"That's dumb, even for you Lil. You are literally the only one who can bleed. Think next time." Emmett said as he moved and started picking up the glass with his hands.
Rosalie turned and walks out of the room. Her anger was still evident. Lily shoots Bella a sheepish smile and Rosalie pulls her from the room.
Edward and Bella move from their spot of observation and into the living room after the two girls.
"Ignore her. I do." Edward said in a dismissive voice.
Lily whipped around to have a comeback, but Rosalie beat her to it. "Yes, let's keep pretending this isn't dangerous for all of us."
"I would never, ever tell anyone." Bella looked at each of the Cullens present individually.
"She knows that," Carlisle said, trying to reassure the girl.
Emmett's voice floats in from the kitchen, "The problem is, you two have gone public now, so..."
Esme's voice raised in warning, "Emmett."
"No, she should know." Rosalie's anger was still simmering just below the surface. Her grip on Lily's shoulder tightened, causing the girl to wince. Rosalie's eyes flashed over to her slightly panicked as she quickly drops her hand to her side. She felt the guilt wash over her before she remembered the cause of her frustration. She balled her hand and turned her attention solely on Bella. "The entire family will be implicated if this ends badly."
"Badly?"
The question hung in the air for a beat. And then another beat. The family was waiting for her reaction.
"Oh. Badly. Like, where I become a meal."
Emmett tried and failed to hold back his laugh as he entered the room. Esme and Carlisle held back their own chuckles more effectively. Edward wrapped his arms around Bella with a warm smile on his face. Annoyed by the display, Rosalie rolled her eyes and headed back into the kitchen. Lily looked between Bella and Rosalie, torn.
"Hi, Bella!" Alice comes into the room from the balcony with flowers and all. Lily smiled at her sibling. She really had been too excited about the girl visiting. She saw Jasper following behind her.
"Um, it was nice to see you, Bella." She turned slightly so she was facing her parents. "I'm just gonna go.." Her eyes gestured to where Rosalie had just left and entered the kitchen.
Esme nodded in understanding, but it was Carlisle who spoke. "Yes, that's probably for the best. Emmett should've cleaned up in there by now."
"Thanks, dad. Again, a little bit of glass is not going to kill me."
Lily leaves the room, but can still hear Alice greeting the new girl.
"I'm Alice. You do smell good." Lily laughed to herself. "It's alright, Bella and I are going to be great friends."
The smile fell off of Lily's face slightly as she saw Rosalie pacing in the kitchen.
"Hey, hey. You're going to wear down the flooring." Lily grabbeded the vampire's arm.
"You know Alice is in there telling her that Jasper won't hurt her. Is she really that naive?"
"Rose, you know that isn't fair. She would've seen if Jasper was going to slip."
"She said it herself. She can't see things clearly when it comes to Bella. We can't trust her visions."
"With how you're acting, I'm more concerned about you losing control than Jasper."
Rosalie looked at her slightly offended by this. Lily continued, "It's an exaggeration. I know you haven't tasted human blood. My point is that Jasper seems calmed all things considered while you are here pacing. You know part of the reason Jasper's thirst is so bad is that he can feel all of your thirsts?"
Rosalie knows the girl is right and sighs a little. "We are playing a dangerous game. This is worse than playing with fire."
"Nothing we can do. You've made your opinion known. Bella can make her own choices. Now, I'm going to eat some lasagna if you care to join me, or you could pack some for Bella to take home. Lord knows I'm not eating lasagna for the next week. I don't care how good it is."
Rosalie ignored the instructions and instead served Lily a plate. The two girls fell into a comfortable silence as she ate.
Once she was finished, Lily cleaned her plate and the two girls headed into the living room. Carlisle and Esme were looking out of the window. Seconds later they could hear Edward's laughter and turned to see two figures moving up the tree.
"Show-off," Rosalie muttered making Lily laugh.
"She's brought him to life." Esme stated.
"He's been alone too long, but how can it end well?"
Lily was glad at least her dad saw the potential repercussions.
"Alice has never been wrong before."
"Not often."
Esme turned towards her mate, her voice more determined, "Carlisle. Bella is what he wants. It will work out. Somehow."
"You always were a hopeless romantic." Carlisle chuckled as Esme backed him into a wall. Carlisle leaned forward to meet her lips.
"Ew, really? We are right here."
Carlisle hung his head, looking at the floor, and laughed.
"Sorry about that Lily," Esme said kindly and took Carlisle's hand to lead him out of the room, obviously not that sorry.
"You know, Lily," Emmett came back into the living room from where he was staying before, "Vampires are said to have a higher sex drive."
"No. No. Nope. I simply refuse to hear this." Lily covered both of her ears. Lily blushed and met Rosalie's glaze. The vampire quickly turned away and went to pick out a book to pass the time. "If you keep talking like this, I will leave."
Emmett laughed at her embarrassment. "All done."
Lily removeed her hands from her ears and sat on the opposite side of the couch that Rosalie was occupying. Emmett takes the chair next to her and turns on a movie. Alice and Jasper soon join them.
"Overall, that could've gone a lot worse."
The other hummed in agreement. The first hurdle crossed.