Renewal [Emmett Cullen] (1)

[17- Vampires]

I glanced up at Emmett and he carried me to his Jeep, firmly strapping me in.

"Did you enjoy tonight?" he asked as we drove back to my house.

"Yeah definitely. Your house is amazing and Esme and Carlisle are so nice. I hope they liked me."

He smiled, "Esme wouldn't care if you had a third eye and webbed feet. All this time she's been worried about me, afraid that there was something missing from my essential makeup, that I was too young when Carlisle changed me... She's ecstatic. Every time I talk about you, she just chokes with satisfaction." I felt my cheeks redden. They talk about me?

After Emmett dropped me off, I couldn't stop thinking about him. It seemed so odd that he was a vampire. He seemed so... human. When vampires came to mind, I thought of coffins and moats but Emmett loved video games and sports. He seemed so ordinary but at the same time extraordinary.

Emmett explained it to me one day after school, "As predators, we have a glut of weapons in our physical arsenal — much, much more than really necessary. The strength, the speed, the acute senses, not to mention those of us like Edward, Jasper, and Alice, who have extra senses as well. The strength and speed is pretty awesome. I could have never run even a fraction of the speed I could run now." I couldn't help but frown, I use to be able to run. He noticed and quickly changed the topic.

"We have another fairly superfluous weapon. We're also venomous," he said, his teeth glistening. "The venom doesn't kill — it's merely incapacitating. It works slowly, spreading through the bloodstream, so that, once bitten, our prey is in too much physical pain to escape us. Mostly superfluous, as I said. If we're that close, the prey doesn't escape. Of course, there are always exceptions. Carlisle, for example."

"So you said that Edward, Jasper, and Alice have gifts. Do you have any gifts I should know about; flight or invisibility?" He laughed but at this point, he could tell me he could turn into a bat or grow feathers and I probably would believe him.

"Nope none of those kinds of gifts but I am the strongest," he added with a smirk. "Carlisle has a theory though, he believes that we all bring something of our strongest human traits with us into the next life, where they are intensified — like our minds, and our senses. I was pretty strong when I was turned so it was intensified in this life. Edward must have been already been very sensitive to the thoughts of those around me. And that Alice had some precognition abilities in her human life."

The following days at school became more bearable with Emmett. He was one of the only person that saw past my disability. Most people at school that I talked to focused on my accident, what I could and couldn't do. Emmett, as well as Jasmine, looked past it. My disability didn't define my personality and they were the few that saw it.

So many people had conversations over my head, as if I wasn't there. Emmett was one of the few that always made me feel included, like my opinion was just as valid as everyone else's. In a weird way, spending time with him allowed me to express myself in a way I couldn't after the accident.

I split my time between sitting with Jasmine, Sophia, and my other friends and Emmett's family. When I went over to the Cullens house, which was becoming a daily occurrence, I had grown close to all the family members, especially Alice. According to her, my wardrobe needed drastic modifications. As soon as we would come inside, she would beg me to try on clothes.

"Esme has her own style and I've been dressing the boys since 1950 and it's getting boring. Please?" Despite my best efforts, I could never say no, I guess it was another vampire gift, persuasion.

Likewise, Carlisle and I bonded. Like all vampires, he had perfect recall and was more that willing to not only share stories from his past but discuss almost any topic. We quickly developed a strong relationship.