Family Portrait (A Jasper's Sister Story)

09: Introducing Me

**EDITED: 5/16/17**

Seth and I talked the entire walk about anything we could think of while we went to a small house near the edge of the woods. It had a certain homey feeling to it that I haven't been around in a long time. Not even at the Cullen's home.

"So this is it," Seth gestured to the house. "Don't worry, they'll like you." I smiled at Seth. I had told him how I was slightly worried about them not liking me and possibly killing me because of what I am...er what I used to be? I'm not sure anymore; am I a vampire or am I human? How long were the effects going to last?

"Oh, and don't stare at Emily. It makes Sam angry," I frowned, but followed him anyway. Why would I stare at Emily?

Seth opened the door, holding it open for me. I walked in, immediately greeted by the smell of something baking. I could hear people talking from somewhere in the house, I guess the pack is here then. Seth led me through the house and into the kitchen. There was a woman standing with her back towards us, her long black hair cascaded in waves down her back.

"Hey, Em. I'm back," Seth said, catching Emily's attention. She turned around and looked at me in surprise before smiling. I noticed three long scars running down the side of her beautiful face. The scars didn't take away from her beauty, if anything they added to it.

"You didn't tell me you brought a friend," she glanced at Seth before turning her attention to me.

"I don't mean to intrude." I rubbed my arm self-consciously.

"Oh, it's a pleasure to have you here." Emily smiled. "My name's Emily," She pulled me in for a hug, surprising me for a moment before I hesitantly hugged her back.

"I'm Annabelle, but I go by Belle." I smiled back at Emily, her brown eyes shined with warmth that I had only seen in my mother's eyes. My heart ached for a moment, suddenly feeling overwhelmed at the amount of love I had been shown in the past couple days. I was so used to the cold castle in Volterra, that I almost forgot the feeling of being loved.

"It's nice to meet you Belle," she glanced at Seth before turning her gaze back to me. "I hope you're hungry, you came just in time for dinner." I smiled and nodded, noticing that I had my appetite back too.

"Dinner sounds lovely, do you need any help with it?"

"I've got it all under control. Thank you," she smiled and returned to cooking. Seth grabbed my hand and led me out of the kitchen and into the living room. I stared at our hands. They seemed like polar opposites. My pale, cold hand clashed against Seth's tan, burning hot hand. They were so different, yet they fit together like a puzzle piece.

"Seth!" My gaze snapped up from our hands when a high pitched voice rang through. I watched as a small girl leap off the lap of one of the many boys in the room. Her long black hair flowed behind her as she ran at us as fast as her little legs could carry her. The girl couldn't have been older than 4 years old. She latched herself onto Seth's legs, grinning and giggling as he released my hand to pick the child up and swung her around.

"Hey Claire! I didn't know you were visiting today!" He laughed, putting her down as she squealed for him to let her go. I smiled slightly at the sight, noting how good Seth was with the little girl.

"Aunty Emwy let me cause I wanted to see Qwil," she explained. Her brown eyes fell onto me and her face turned into one of confusion. I could feel everyone's eyes on me as Claire examined me. My face grew hot and I tucked a strand of hair behind my ears.

"Claire, everyone, this is Annabelle," I looked up at Seth's introduction and gave a small wave.

"You can call me Belle," I smiled, feeling awkward as two of the guys exchanged looks with prominent smirks on their faces.

"Like from Beauty and Beast?" I looked down at Claire who's eyes were as big as saucers as she stared up at me.

"Not quite," I laughed nervously. I was not good around children. I never was. I'm afraid that they'll break if I so much as touch them. Jasper used to tease me when we were younger that my biggest fear was children, and he wasn't necessarily wrong.

"But you pwetty like Belle," she stated causing me to blush. "You Pwincess Belle! Aunty Em! Pwincess Belle here!" Claire ran out of the room, chanting at the top of her lungs.

The rest of the people burst into laughter as I stood there, unable to form any words from my sudden declaration as a Disney Princess. I was anything but a Disney Princess.

"You'll have to excuse Claire, she has a big imagination." The guy that had Claire on his lap spoke up and stood, walking toward Seth and I after the laughter died down. He, like all the other guys in the room, was a tall, muscular tan guy with cropped black hair. He held out his hand towards me, "I'm Quil."

"Nice to meet you," I shook his hand. So he must be the one who Claire was talking about earlier. He put his large arm around my shoulder and pulled me further into the room, away from the spot by the doorway. I noticed that unlike Seth, who felt like a warm fireplace on a cold winter night, Quil's body temperature was like the blazing sun on a hot summer day. It was almost unbearable. I glanced back at Seth who was leaning against the wall, who sent me an encouraging smile and nod. I sighed, knowing that I was on my own. I was literally being thrown to the wolves.

"These are the guys," Quil pulled my attention away from Seth. "That's Embry," He started with the guy at the end of the couch. He smiled and nodded at me and I returned the nod. "Jared," The next guy grinned at me, his arm around a girl with long black hair and caramel colored skin.

"I'm Kim," She introduced herself before Quil was able to. She stood up, making Jared's arm fall to the couch, and pulled me out from under Quil's arm. She wrapped her arms around me into a hug. I stiffened for a moment before slowly hugging her back. I'm not going to lie, it was one of the most awkward hugs ever. I was not a hugger, especially when meeting new people. "I hope we can be great friends,"

"Yeah, I hope so." I smiled and watched as she went back into Jared's embrace.

"Anyway," Quil nodded to the last guy who had taken Quil's spot on the couch. "That's Paul."

Paul smirked, his gaze made me shift slightly.

"If you ever get bored of Seth, I'm a pretty good entertainer." He winked and rested his arm on the back of the couch. I heard Seth growl behind me. I ignored the growl and gave Paul a disgusted look.

"In your dreams," I spat and shook my head, crossing my arms.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums up Paul." Quil laughed, causing everyone else to laugh with him. I glanced back at Seth to make sure he wasn't still mad at Paul, smiling when I saw that he was laughing with everyone else. His nose scrunched up in an adorable way as his shoulders shook with laughter, his innocent face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"What's everyone laughing at?" A woman appeared next to Seth, her face set in a frown. She had dark hair that ended at her strong jaw line with equally dark eyes. Standing next to Seth, they resembled each other in the slightest way. Both had the same nose and angled features.

I heard Claire's footsteps quickly approach us and watched as she squeezed past Seth and and the girl, launching herself against my legs. I stumbled slightly, putting my hands against her head so she didn't bump it against my knees, moving them when she was settled.

"Seth's gonna marry a Pwincess, Leah!" She giggled, clutching my leg. My jaw dropped slightly at Claire's innocent announcement.

The girl standing next to Seth, Leah, looked from Claire to me, her gaze turning into a glare as her eyes settled on me.

"What are you?" She asked, her voice filled with snark as she crossed her arms.

I frowned, giving her a glare of my own. "Excuse me? Who do you think you are?"

"I'm Leah. Seth's sister."