I know it's been, like, a million years since I updated this fic but I literally hate the one that's up right now. Why I decided to publish it is beyond me. But my writing style has grown and evolved and a lot of people (I hope, judging from the follows and favorites) like this fic so I'm rewriting it with more depth and hopefully it's more enjoyable. I also changed a few things, added a few things, and I'm pretty happy with the way it's coming along. I hope you are too.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight, the songs I mention, or the characters. Anything that looks familiar other than the plot is probably not mine.

Like in the last fic and almost all of my fics, italics are flashbacks

Isabella huffs, rubbing her arms to create some friction as she treks across the uneven terrain. "Stupid Miles…I hope he cleans toilets when he grows up."

Miles Cooper, a scrawny 8-year-old boy with a mop of red-orange hair and more freckles than anybody should have. He's the bully of the orphanage and made Isabella's life a living hell throughout her stay. That night, an hour after lights out, he acted excited about having supposedly seen a wolf and when Isabella went to see, he pushed her out of the window and locked it behind him. Isabella wishes now more than ever to have superpowers so she can make his head explode or something.

She never liked it there anyway. It was a pretty awful place, with food that was barely edible and caretakers who would sooner let you run with scissors than look up from their magazines to tell you to stop.

Really, Isabella would be better off living with wolves.

A blood-chilling scream comes from somewhere off to her left and Isabella freezes in her spot. Now, Isabella's a smart kid. She's reading at a middle school level while she's only in third grade and she can do her times tables without needing paper. But she can't help wondering how smart she really is when her feet begin moving in the direction of the scream.

The only light comes from the full moon shining through the canopy of leaves above her, causing her to stumble more than normal. The darkness doesn't help with her already failing eyesight, either. But her parents died before she could go to the eye doctor and again, the caretakers at the orphanage would rather you poke your eye out than help you like they're supposed to.

Letting out a groan when she trips, Isabella doesn't need 20/20 vision to know it's not a branch that caused her to fall. It's a disembodied leg.

A scream just about pushes its way out of her mouth but dies in her throat when she sees who she assumes the leg belongs to. And again, she doesn't need perfect vision or good lighting to see the black eyes of the most beautiful woman she's ever seen.

"What's a little thing like you doing out here all alone? And so late at night, don't you know it's dangerous?"

The voice is very rough, possibly from the scream Isabella assumes came from her, but it's still a beautiful sound.

"A boy at the orphanage locked me out. I thought I should just run away. Nobody would miss me anyway…"

A perfect eyebrow raises and Isabella can see the strain on the woman's face. It looks like she's going to say something but a pained groan comes out instead and her eyes close tight. "Could you bring me my leg, please, little one?"

Though it's a strange request and she doesn't know why, Isabella complies without hesitation. The leg isn't as heavy as one might think and she has to avoid the clear substance leaking from the end. Isabella wonders if her eyes are just playing tricks on her and it's really red blood instead of some mysterious clear liquid. She's not brave enough to touch it to find out.

The woman expects Isabella to leave the second she places her leg at its rightful place. She's pleasantly surprised when the girl sits down beside her. "I'm Isabella but I hate that name. I like Bella better. What's yours?"

"Victoria. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Bella."

When Victoria whimpers in pain, Isabella puts a hand on her arm and talks again in an attempt to distract her new friend. "How come your blood isn't red?"

The question catches Victoria off guard but she answers nonetheless. She developed a maternal bond with the child beside her, she'd learn eventually. "I am a vampire. The "blood" is my venom."

"How is your leg gonna get back on your body?"

"My venom takes care of that. It's reattaching my leg. Soon I'll be good as new."

For the next hour or so, Victoria answers any questions little Isabella has. It's a welcome distraction from the pain of her leg being reattached. Soon enough, Isabella falls asleep against Victoria; the redhaired vampire lifting her up and taking her to the home she and James have for now.

The sound of her window opening makes Bella freeze, snapping out of her memories and holding in a frustrated sigh. She thanks every deity out there that Edward can't read her mind sometimes, she'd never be able to pretend she's happy otherwise. But to her surprise and delight, it's Jasper.

"Alice asked me to invite you to baseball tomorrow. It would mean a lot to her and Rose if you went to cheer them on."

Bella adjusts her glasses with a quick smile in Jasper's direction. "Sure, I'd love to."

There's a pause, Bella's pencil on her notebook the only noise for a few heartbeats before Jasper speaks up again. "I know you're anxious and a little scared. But like I've said before, you're part of the family; we couldn't leave you. You know whose mate you really are anyway."

Jasper climbs through Bella's window, Emmett not far behind as he head bangs to the music Bella has playing; 18 by 5SOS.

Jasper turns the music down a little as he sits on Bella's bed. "If I wasn't sure Edward would get upset at not just us, but you…I'd let you have a night to yourself."

Bella huffs in frustration, taking off her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, well…I'm his mate. Can't argue with him, right?"

Emmett looks at her in surprise, bordering on offense but not aimed at her. "Is that what he's been telling you? That human mates have to do everything the vampire says without complaint?"

"That's not how it works with human mates?"

Jasper growls, his husband's anger mingling with his own as he shoots up and paces in an attempt to gain control of his emotions. "No, no, no, absolutely not. And if he were really your mate, he'd want to change you so he can be with you forever rather than keeping you human against your wishes for his own selfish reasons."

Running a hand through his shaggy blond hair, Jasper collapses on the bed next to Emmett and lets out an unnecessary sigh at the feeling of his mate's arm around him.

As the song changes to Heartbreak Girl, Bella looks at the couple with hopeful eyes. "So there's a chance he isn't my mate?"

Emmett snorts, arm tightening around Jasper. "Honey, if he's your mate then I'm a bottom."

Bella raises an eyebrow, resting her chin on her arms over the back of her chair. "He is my mate then?"

Jasper chokes, covering his face with a pillow to muffle his laughter so as not to wake up Charlie. Emmett feigns offense but he's really happy he could make his baby sister smile. It's been far too long, what with Edward breathing down all of their necks.

Calming down enough to control himself, Jasper looks at Bella. "You feel it though. The pull you have to your real mates. You're meant to be family, we couldn't leave if we wanted to."

Bella drops her pencil and tilts her head back, glasses sliding up until the top of the rims hit her forehead. "Do they know?"

"Of course they do."

"Then why haven't they said anything?"

Jasper looks at Bella cautiously, knowing his sisters will be very upset if he says the wrong thing and upsets their mate. Finally, he takes a deep, unnecessary breath and blows it out; head hung low at the thought of his sisters' pain. "They think you're happy with Edward. Above all, regardless if you're a vampire or a human, your mate wants you to be safe and happy. They'd walk through fire for you without a second thought to themselves or their safety. So letting you be happy with someone else…it's a no brainer. Even if they're hurting themselves because of their choice…"

When he looks up, Jasper sees tears in Bella's eyes. He reaches over to wipe them away, hoping to offer her some form of comfort in the process. "I didn't know…" She sniffles, smiling at her big brother. "I'll fix things tomorrow. At the game. That way, you can keep me calm and hopefully keep Edward from going on a rampage or something."

Jasper chuckles, nodding as his thumb softly caresses Bella's cheek. "Anything for you, my darlin' baby sis."

First chapter of the rewrite, what do you think? I like it better, but that's probably because my old writing is just cringy to me.

Hugs and kisses to those who want them and love to those who need it xx