“I’m off!” I yelled as I dropped the broom on the floor and quickly darted out of the door. I hid in the bushes behind our yard and held my breath. Leah appeared at the window few seconds later, cursing under her breath as her eyes scanned the house’s surrounding.

I let out a sigh of relief when she finally disappeared into the house. Quickly stripping myself down, I tied the clothes to the black band on my leg and turned into my wolf form, dashing off into the forest.

It was a beautiful day today; the sky was a rare baby blue. It would have been a good start to a lovely day, but now my mood was ruined by the devil sister of mine.

Stupid Leah. Made me finish all the house chores before I could leave the house. Now I’m running late for the party. I grumbled to myself as I dashed past the boundary lines.

It’s not my fault that I’m invited to the party. Leah got invited too, but she refused to go to a party with bloodsuckers. So she tried to keep me from going too, by making me do all the house chores. She had threatened to tell Mum that I had been skipping school for the past couple of days.

I hated it whenever she called the Cullens bloodsuckers. I mean, the Cullens were pretty decent people (okay, vampires). They did not hurt a soul. (Okay, they killed some vampires, but that doesn’t count. They were evil man!)

Yeah. Yeah. We all know how much you love those leeches. Now can you please shut up? Embry’s voice interrupted my train of thoughts.

Hey dude. Ever heard of privacy? Stay out of my head! I thought furiously. Now I’m getting more annoyed. There went the last of my good mood.

What privacy? Is this your first day as a werewolf? Oh, come on! Embry retorted back. I was about to take out my vexation on him when another voice appeared.

Alright you two. Stop squabbling. Sam disrupted our little war.

Seth, cool down before I pull you back for patrol duties. Embry, meet me down at Emily’s, Sam ordered.

Gotcha. Embry replied, and it fell silent again. Ah, finally. Peace and quiet. The wind blew past my fur as I ran through the forest. It helped to release some of my irritation. I was feeling better by the minute.

Forks slowly came into view. I slowed to a jog and stopped in the woods outside Chief Swan’s house. He was going to be discharged today, so Bella had thrown him a welcome back party. Okay, technically, it was Alice who had insisted on throwing the party, not Bella. Anyway, whoever the idea belonged to, I don’t really care. I’m up for anything that could get me out of the house; away from Leah.

Quickly phasing back into my human form, I got dressed and dashed across the road. I was about to knock the door when it suddenly opened, revealing a smiling Bella behind the door. She invited me in.

“Wow. It smells so good.” The whole house was filled the delicious aroma of food. My stomach growled. I had not eaten a single thing since morning. Dear Leah had made me work non-stop since the moment I had woken up.

Bella gave a quick glance over me, pursed her lips, and ordered me to wash up before I could have anything to eat. I grinned sheepishly in response as she went to rejoin others in the family room. I got a glimpse of the rest of the guests on my way to the kitchen. Alice and Edward were talking animatedly; Jacob was playing with little Nessie by the couch, with a slightly grumpy Chief Swan sitting beside them.

I frowned. Why was he looking all grumpy? He was supposed to be happy, now that he was finally discharged. Oh yea, I forgot Charlie was a party-hater like Bella. I snickered quietly to myself as I thought of the countless parties Alice will be throwing in the future. I absolutely loved going to parties, especially the ones thrown by Alice. Forks and La Push were pretty much like dead towns, nothing exciting ever happened. Without the parties, I would probably die of boredom.

I paused outside when I heard soft humming coming from the kitchen. I rubbed my hand in glee as I plotted out a scheme to scare the person inside. But before that could happen, I must know his/her identity. I took a sniff; and my forehead creased with confusion. It was not one of the Cullens, nor was it a familiar scent.

Who else’s invited? I thought, racking my brain for the names of possible guests. I was deep in thought when my focus was disrupted by a crash in the kitchen.

“Hey, everything okay in here?” I rushed into the kitchen, momentarily forgetting about my confusion and doubts. I found a girl in a white dress, kneeling on the floor. I took a step closer, and saw that she was cleaning up the remains of what seemed to be pasta sauce.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the girl snuck a peek at me. I caught a glimpse of her face as she hurriedly looked down and continued wiping the last of the spill. Her face was heart-shaped, with shoulder-length brown hair like Bella. Her skin was pale, but looked as smooth and soft as silk. I don’t know why, but I was attracted to this girl I had never met before. I wanted to lift her chin up, and get a full look at her face.

Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll scare her. I reasoned with myself. But yet, I couldn’t kill the growing curiosity and burning desire in me. Before I could do anything stupid to embarrass myself, the girl finished clearing up the mess.

“Yup, everything’s under control.” The girl finally looked up and gave me a smile.

“I’m such a klutz.” She giggled softly; her laughter was like the tinkling of bells, so pleasing to the ears. I gasped when I saw her beautiful face. She looked so much like Bella, alike enough to be her twin. She was beautiful, like an angel. But yet, it was more; her beauty was beyond words.

I couldn’t describe the feeling that was overwhelming me at that moment as I looked into those lovely, warm chocolate eyes of this beautiful angel. It was as if nothing else in the world matter anymore, I couldn’t see anything else besides this bright, shining star in my night sky. It was like she was the reason, the oxygen that had kept me alive.

It was the first time I had set my eyes on this beautiful stranger, and I knew with all my heart, she will be the reason of my existence from this moment on; the centre of my world.

“Edward, I’m leaving. See you guys later at Charlie’s house.” Juggling three full trays of food in my hands, I gave a peck on his lips before dashing to the main house. I took Edward’s car again and left for Forks. Five minutes later, I pulled into the driveway of Charlie’s house.

“Hey Faith, it’s me!” I rapped impatiently at the door; we were running late. Charlie’s finally going to be discharged today, and we were supposed to pick him up. Another reason Faith had to be with me was because of the surprise welcome back party we were throwing for Charlie. And it comes to parties; Alice had to be in the equation. No was not an option. So in order not to give my cousin the fright of her life, I decided to take her along.

Faith opened the door at my fourth knock. I followed her into the kitchen. I put the trays of food down on the kitchen table and leaned against the counter. Faith was still busily preparing food for the party later.

“You don’t have to prepare so much food. You know, Alice and Edward don’t eat much.” I remarked as I watched her busied around in the kitchen.

“Better safe than sorry. And didn’t you say the Quileutes boys can eat a lot?” Faith dipped a spoon into the pan and scooped up a tiny portion. She tasted the pasta sauce she was cooking and her lips curved in satisfaction.

“Well, yes. But...” I was cut off before my sentence was finished.

“Okay. I’m done.” She announced, the dirty pots and pans clanked loudly as she dropped them into the kitchen sink. “Just give me a sec while I go and change.” She took off the apron she was wearing, threw it over the chair and dashed up the stairs. I heard the door slammed a few seconds later.

I sighed and shook my head in defeat when I turned and saw the mess she left the kitchen in. Unlike me, Faith was not particular about cleanliness. Not that I was a clean freak either. I still remembered the state of my room when I was still human. Clothes strewn all over the place, books lying in a pile on the floor, and homework scattered all over the desk. Well, I was a typical teenager then. But now, I’m somebody’s wife and a kid’s mother, so certain things changed.

I picked up the dish towel on the floor and did the dishes in slow human speed. But I was irritated by the slowness that I gave up after a minute or so. I was drying them and putting them back in place when I heard the staircase creaked. I slowed down my speed to the normal rate.

“Wow, you are so quick at cleaning. You should start a company.” Faith appeared at the doorway moments later, grinning. She was wearing her favourite dress, a knitted number with lacy hems, and a silk ribbon around her tiny waist which was finished as a bow. She looked completely different from the first time I saw her in the hospital; now more she's like the Faith that she used to be.

“Ha. Ha.” I laughed sarcastically as I put away the last of things.

“Let’s go let’s go! We’re late!” She shooed me out of the kitchen and into the car, excited that the party was only an hour away. But right now, we needed to get the key person back before we could do anything else.

She chatted nonstop on our way to the hospital, thrilled that she was feeling going to meet the Cullens and some of my friends from Forks. I smiled a little as I stole a glance at her from the corner of my eye. We looked so alike, but yet we were so different.

“Are you sure the house will be ready by the time we got home?” Faith asked; uncertainty in her voice. She had asked me this question for the umpteenth time today. She wanted to stay home and prepare the stuff for the party, but I reassured her that everything was taken care off. Faith was puzzled by my confidence and the amused expression on my face, but she did not question it.

Charlie was already waiting in the lobby when we reached the hospital. Carlisle had been kind enough to help me settle the administrative stuff for Charlie’s discharge, so I can avoid unnecessary contact with the hospital staff. He got onto the car and we chatted happily on our way back.

When I opened the front door, both of them were shocked to the extent their jaws were hanging wide open. The interior of the house had been transformed by the many party decorations put up by Alice. Truly, it was rather impossible to be done in such a short period of time. It had only been less than fifteen minutes since we left this place.

“Bella! Charlie! You’re home!” A super excited pixie-like girl rushed towards us, causing Faith and Charlie to take a startled step back. I, on the other hand, was expecting this so I took it rather well.

“Hey Alice. Let me introduce, this is...”

“Oh! You must be Faith! Bella had been telling me so much about you. We have so much in common. We should get to know each other better! Let’s go in!” Alice dragged a still surprised Faith into the house. Charlie just stood there, blinking in surprise, unsure of what to make out of the scene that had just took place in front of him.

"You'll get used to this someday." I patted his back lightly and he grimaced. I laughed and led him in.

As predicted, Alice and Faith hit off well. They were practically inseparable throughout the party, always talking about some upcoming fashion trends of this season. Jacob and Edward were having an intense discussion about cars, with a curious Nessie listening intently at their side. Everybody was enjoying themselves, well except for Charlie, who was slightly gloomy because of the surprise party.

“Well, I think everyone should be hungry. I’ll go get the food.” Faith announced and headed into the kitchen.

“Bella, I think you might want to go get the door. I think I hear someone coming.” Alice flashed a smile at me after a sudden glazed look in her eyes. She then interrupted the guys and began talking with Edward. Jacob and Nessie started to tickle each other.

I turned and walked out of the room. I opened the door and found Seth with his arm outstretched, about to knock the door.

“Hey, Seth. Come on in.“ I smiled and invited him in.

“Go wash up before you have something to eat. Kitchen’s over there.” I pointed him the direction and went to rejoin the others in the family room. I just sat down next to Edward when he suddenly took a sharp breath as his head snapped up and looked in the direction of the kitchen.

“Beep!” The horn blasted through the quiet neighbourhood. The curtain in the second storey bedroom shifted suddenly, and a pale face peeked out. It fell back into its original place and the house was still again. The front door opened few minutes later, and a messy haired brunette scrambled onto the walkway.

“Bella! Sorry, sorry! I overslept!” Faith exclaimed breathlessly as she climbed into the passenger seat. She fumbled around with the seat belt for a while before she finally got it. She heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed into her seat. I smiled as I sped off to the hospital.

Faith and I had been keeping up a daily routine of visiting Charlie at the hospital every day. After our daily hospital visits, we would head back to Charlie’s house and spent the rest of the day catching up on the lost times.

“Anyway, how did I get up to my room last night? I thought we were watching Titanic downstairs?” Faith asked, as I turned into the lot next to the hospital. Last night, we did a movie marathon of our favourite old movies. We were watching Titanic when she finally fell asleep at 4am. I took a liberty of carrying her upstairs to the room before leaving. Thanks to the super vampire strength, it was easy as carrying my biology textbook.

“You went up yourself.” I lied smoothly. I was getting the hang of it; I no longer had that nagging guilty voice talking at the back of my head. “You really have very poor memory, don’t you?” I teased, trying to change the topic as I parked the Volvo.

“Oh, really?” Faith scratched her head, and shrugged. “Well, I guess I take after my cousin.” She grinned. I switched off the engine and turned to face her. I was about to tease her back when I saw Faith’s face for the first time today. I could not resist a small laugh from escaping my lips.

“What? What’s so funny?” Faith demanded. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out her mirror. Her eyes widened when she saw her reflection.

“Oh my gosh! I look terrible!” She moaned. She turned once more into her bag and pulled out her bag of cosmetics. She began to dab furiously at her face. I laughed as I watched her desperate attempts to cover her panda eyes.

After ten minutes of teasing and countless reassurance, we finally left the car. I hid my face under the cap as usual. Faith was used to my secrecy and had even helped to steer away the prying eyes by saying that I was her sister from California. Though not many had believed, they had stopped questioning my regular visits.

***

We reached home at about one in the afternoon. I threw my bag at couch and plodded down next to it while Faith went straight into the kitchen to make some lunch for herself.

“Are you sure you don’t want some?” Faith offered for the third time; her mouth full of the potato salad she just made. I just shook my head and she raised an eyebrow in question. All the time that I was with her, I had not eaten or drank a single drop of water in front of her.

“Then again, I think I’m a little hungry.” I quickly admended.

Faith smiled, satisfied. “Great. Lucky for you I had made extras.” She jumped off the couch and headed back into the kitchen. She passed me a small bowl of the salad.

“Mmmm. Yummy.” I forced a smile as I tried to swallow the nasty things down my throat. It was like forcing kids to eat their veggies. Or even worse, capsicums. I shuttered.

I continued to plaster the fake smile on my face as Faith polished off her lunch. I quickly volunteered to do the dishes when she was done. Carefully keeping the contents of my bowl out of her sight, I slipped into the kitchen and poured the remains out of the window. I shivered slightly as I think of the puking I need to do to get those horrid stuff out of my body. Yuck.

“So, what are we going to do today?” Faith asked when I rejoined her back in the family room. She raised an eyebrow as I pulled out a photo album from my backpack and passed it to her. Her eyes sparkled with excitement when she flipped open the first page.

“Are they..?” I nodded as she squealed in delight. She began to flip through the album eagerly. She had been pestering me for the past few days, asking questions about the Cullens. I had tried my best to answer them, but some details are better left unsaid.

Faith kept commenting about the inhuman beauty that the Cullens had as she looked through the photos. I had somehow managed to pick out the “relevant” ones and complied into one album. Alice had protested a lot when I only picked out three photos from her personal collection. To appease her, I allowed her to decorate Charlie’s place for the welcoming back party. I regretted instantaneously when Edward reminded me of the previous parties she had thrown for us.

“Um, I have something else to tell you.”

“What is it?” Faith asked; her eyes still glued to the album.

“Well, my sister Alice, that’s her over there,” I pointed at the photo we took at graduation ceremony, “she had this idea of throwing a welcoming party for Charlie this Friday.”

“Really!” She squealed again, excited at the idea of the party. “This Friday... It’s only two days away! There’s so much we need to prepare!” She closed the album and began to blabber on about the stuff we need to get for the party. I smiled as I watched Faith jotted down the list of things to buy. I have a pretty good feeling that Alice was going to be right about her and Faith being the best of friends.

***

I reached home with mixed feelings. Jasper was polishing his bike when I reversed the Volvo into the garage. He sensed it the moment I stepped out of the car. I gave him a small smile to let him know that I’m alright. He shrugged and returned to his task.

Nessie had gone on a last minute shopping trip with Alice, Rosalie and Esme. So the whole house was only left with the guys. I heard a soft, familiar music coming from the house. I smiled as I followed the lovely notes of the heavenly tune, finding a smiling Edward by the piano.

“Welcome home, love.” He smiled as he played the ending notes of my lullaby. Edward got up and gave me a passionate kiss that caught me off guard.

“AHEM.” Someone cleared his throat. I had a pretty good idea who it was. So did Edward. We did not stop.

“Please people. There are others in this house too you know!” Emmett said after another minute, now annoyed. We finally broke apart, laughing. Edward took my hand and we went upstairs. He closed the door behind him and turned round with a mischievous glint in his eyes. I caught on to his mood instantly. Well, you could imagine what happened next.

“OH, COME ON! CAN’T I WATCH A GAME IN PEACE?” Emmett roared. We heard the TV’s volume being turned up, and it got even louder by the second. Even Jasper came out of the garage to see the commotion. He had to shout over the noise to ask what’s going on.

“YOU ASK THE TWO UPSTAIRS! I WAS ONLY TRYING TO WATCH MY GAME!” We heard Emmett shout over the racket. We stopped and look at each other; we wore the same grin on our faces. We ended up laughing like crazy when we heard Emmett swore. Mission completed.

The commentator’s voice boomed through the house as the game went on. I learnt to tune it out after a while. Propping my head up, I used my free hand to draw loop de loop on Edward’s chest. He smiled as I traced the line from the chest to his lips. I let out a small sigh. Edward lips turned down in a frown.

“What’s wrong, love?” Edward turned on his side, now facing me. I released my shield and ran through today’s event. His expression was a mix between amusement and worry.

“Hmm, interesting. Why Alice couldn’t see her coming?” He remarked. I was wondering about the exact question too.

“Maybe she did have a single vision about Faith, and she kept it from me on purpose. But she didn’t seem to be blocking me these few days.” Edward suddenly stood up and got dressed. He was buttoning his shirt when he turned around and threw me my clothes. I caught them and sat upright.

“Oh, except for the welcoming party she had planned for Charlie.” Edward smiled.

I groaned as I slump back down. That pixie-like sister of mine will be the death of me one day. Alice never misses out any tiny, insignificant reason to throw a party. I was about to pull the sweater over my head when the room door suddenly flew open.

“Hey! You are not supposed to tell her!” Alice suddenly appeared in the doorway, her hands over her eyes. I hastily grabbed the bed sheets up and pulled them up to my chin, flabbergasted.

“When did you get back?!” I screeched. She wasn’t supposed to be back this early. And the stupid TV did not help either.

“SCORE!” Emmett cheered loudly in his booming voice. The crowd cheered in the background.

“Edward!” I pleaded, desperate to be safe behind the closed door again. He laughed, and pushed Alice out of the room, closing the door behind him. I quickly got changed and went downstairs.

The house was finally back to the peaceful quiet as before, and I quickly found out the reason why. Rosalie was flipping twenty channels in a second, looking bored at the couch, while Emmett’s face was crestfallen now that he could not finish watching the game. I found Nessie curled up, asleep in the armchair; Edward and Alice were talking animatedly by the window.

When I went up to them, Alice was finished with what she was saying. She gave me a wink, turned, and skipped happily up the stairs.

“What were you guys talking about?” I asked Edward as he slid his arm around my waist.

“I was telling her about Faith. She really didn’t have any vision about her.”

“Oh.” I sort of knew that when Edward told me just now. So we were back to square one.

“But we did talk about some theories.” I looked up, surprised.

“The best one we could come up with was that she had some of your gift too. But so much stronger that she blocks out Alice’s visions too.” Edward explained.

“Hmmm.” Edward had told me before that he couldn’t fully hear Charlie’s “voice” too. So Carlisle had this theory that this shield thing runs in my family. Maybe this was the answer.

Just then, Alice skipped back down, holding a white box in her hand.

“This is not another gift for me, I hope?” I said as Alice handed me the box.

“Open it up.” I lifted the cover off and saw many photo albums inside. I raised my eyebrow and pick up one randomly. It was full of Alice’s photos, posing in every position imaginable.

“What’s this for?” I asked dryly. I had no idea why she wanted to give me photos of herself. I practically see her every day.

“Well, you better tell Faith about us before the party this Friday, because I’m planning to be there. I want to make another new friend.” At that precise moment Alice whirled around and threw herself into a surprised Jasper as he walked into the room. Their fingers intertwined; and they glazed fondly into each other’s eyes.

I shook my head. Alice may be annoying at times with her crazy antics and the constant party planning, but she could be so thoughtful and loving as well. I smiled as I watched the two of them head out of the house. I will never trade anybody for this wild, pixie-like sister of mine.