Author's Note: Well this is the sequel to Ice Makes Passion! So if you haven't read that story, this one might be a little confusing to you! I would like to thank my reviewers who gave me this wonderful idea! I am going to do a series of events that happen in Clare's life, but lots of them so have no fear! And all of you who asked if Edward and Bella were going to be in it, of course! LOL…I tend to like writing most in Edward's POV, so have no fear. I also made this one extra long, to make up for not posting last night!

This is 1 year later, Clare is 5.

Edward's POV

"Edward!"

I heard my wife Bella shout my name from the top of the stairs. The house was in utter chaos today because Clare would be starting her first day of kindergarten. Ever since what happened last year, the fight with the Volturi, and Clare losing her parents, we had legally adopted her. Carlisle had set it up perfectly. We claimed to have stumbled upon the small family hiking, and made it seem as if her parents were attacked and killed by forest animals. We lucked out that she had no other relatives to speak of, and we were able to take her into our family immediately.

When I think about the past year of my life, I always wonder how I ever made it through my years without Bella. I even secretly wonder how I survived when she wasn't a vampire. Now, with her beside me every moment, for eternity as my soul mate, I can't even fathom living any other way. It enthralls me fully that I seem to love her more each day. It is as if we are one person. I smiled to myself knowing our time together had just begun.

The Cullen family household had certainly been entertaining this past year. It was a constant uproar these days, filled with laughter, and no one had ever been happier really. Clare was now a permanent fixture in our lives and we all looked to her as our daughter in a sense. She didn't speak of her parents much anymore, but we kept her distracted. She had grown desperately attached to all of us in her own way, and we to her.

We all played a huge role in her life, albeit in different ways. It could be said that she looked to Bella and I most as her parental figures. When she got hurt from time to time, or if she was excited about something, or if she just needed some quiet time, it was Bella or I that she sought out. Clare would refuse to go to sleep unless she was snuggled between Bella and myself in our bed. But it was only me, who could read her a bedtime story. I knew from her thoughts that she found a great peace in the sound of my voice.

But Clare completely adored Alice. They played together for hours and hours on end. Alice was the only one who gave her a bath each night, and she kept most of her things in Alice's room. Their dressers stood right next to each other, and they were filled to the brim with many matching outfits. It was basically Clare's room too, besides the fact she slept in ours.

However, maybe the main source of her delight was found in Emmett, who she was absolutely enamored with. He was the one who would play any game she wanted, and she could always be seen around the house floating on top of his shoulders, laughing happily. He was always making her laugh, and she often craved his company the most.

She had unmistakably formed a strong bond with Jasper too. She was often plagued by nightmares of her past, and when she woke up, she would look for Jasper. He comforted her the most with his calm demeanor, and every morning, they would go on walks, holding hands, talking about whatever Clare felt like. If Clare did mention her parents, or disclose some of her fears, it would be Jasper who she confided in.

But it was in Rosalie perhaps, that she found her greatest friend. Once Rosalie entered the room, Clare would automatically cling to her. Rosalie was in a sense, most in charge of Clare. She managed her mealtimes, made sure that Clare was growing up as human as possible. She took her on trips to the beach, the zoo, and anything else that she saw fit for a young child to do.

Carlisle and Esme were also a large part of her life, always there, giving her whatever she needed. But they knew how we felt about Clare, and let most of the responsibility fall to us. She did spend time with them on her own accord, but it was safe to say that we hogged her.

"Edward Cullen!" shouted Bella again, snapping me out of reverie.

I smiled, rushing up the stairs as quick as I could. When I got to the top landing, all I could hear was the pitter patter of Clare's tiny feet, running toward me down the hallway. She was wearing her favorite pink nightgown, and her hair was already done up in small little pigtails. She giggled and leaped into my outstretched arms.

"I going to kindergarten!" she told me excitedly, bouncing a bit.

"You are!" I gasped, "What a big girl!"

"Very big girl," she said sweetly. I laughed and switched her onto my left arm and began to walk down the hallway.

"You coming too," she stated firmly when we entered Alice's room. Before I could answer her, Rosalie rushed over and lifted her out of my arms. My entire family was gathered there, and my eyes widened a bit as I took everything in.

Alice was flinging clothes left and right, no doubt trying to find the perfect first day of school outfit. Rosalie was currently touching up her hair, simultaneously saying yes or no to each outfit that Alice would hold up. Bella was surrounded by notebooks and pencils, packing a small pink backpack with multicolored folders. Jasper was deep in concentration sprawled out on the floor, writing her name on each item in perfect script. To my complete surprise, Emmett was standing in front of the mirror, trying on different headbands, with an unsettlingly serious expression. He turned to me sporting a light pink one.

"Pink or white?" he asked seriously, glancing back at the mirror.

I smirked. "Sorry to break it to you Emmett, but I'd have to say that neither color suits you very well."

"They're for Clare," he said without a trace of embarrassment. He quickly replaced the pink one for white.

"No headbands," said Rosalie to her husband. "Her hair looks too cute without it."

"Got it!" said Alice from within the closet. She emerged holding up a little pink sundress and what I knew to be designer sandals. "This is a first day of school outfit," she said, mostly to herself as she walked over to Clare.

I walked up to Bella right as she was zipping up the backpack proudly. I leaned down to kiss her gently, and I felt her smile against my lips. I pulled back, resting my forehead against hers for a moment, before turning my attention back to Clare.

Alice had just gotten her changed and was appraising her with a satisfied smile. "Perfect!" she finally said. Rosalie nodded in agreement, grinning widely as she brushed out her bangs one last time.

Jasper and Emmett were beaming from their positions in the room and I had to admit, she was probably the cutest little thing I had ever seen, besides those baby pictures of Bella that I had stolen from Charlie's house.

"Don't forget this," called Bella, holding out her new backpack.

Clare scurried over and allowed Bella to help her into it. She placed both her hands on the straps and made her way over to the door. I held in my laughter when I saw that the backpack was almost as tall as her.

"Kindergarten," she said happily to herself, turning back to us for a second. "I ready, let's go." And with that she disappeared around the corner. All we could hear was the flip flop of her tiny sandals.

We stood a little shocked for one second, before we laughed and moved to race after her. She was barely down the hallway before Emmett scooped her up and skipped her down the stairs.

Esme was waiting at the bottom with a plastic lunchbox. "Here you are sweetheart," she said, handing it to Clare who grasped it anxiously.

"Thank you," she answered politely, holding on to Emmett's neck with one arm.

"What did you pack her?" asked Rosalie concernedly, making her way to the last step.

"A peanut butter and jelly sandwich, one juice box, half a chocolate cupcake, and apple slices," replied Esme with a smile.

Rosalie nodded once, accepting the choices.

We all made our way outside to Emmett's jeep. I was actually a little bit nervous. We hadn't let Clare out of our sight for this long since she came to live with us. I could tell that the others were feeling the same way from their anxious expressions. I looked down at Bella, who was biting her lip restlessly. I squeezed her hand to reassure her.

Emmett passed Clare to Jasper, when he climbed into the driver's seat. Rosalie sat up beside him, and the rest of us piled into the seats in the back. Jasper and I climbed into the farthest seats, while Alice and Bella sat in the middle, Clare nestled between them.

The engine roared to life, and Clare clapped her hands excitedly.

After smiling back at her for a second, Emmett cleared his throat loudly.

"Clare," he stated a little seriously. "Let's talk."

"Okay," she agreed.

"Now, this is very important. There are going to be little boys there, you should probably just stay clear away from them. If they come up to talk to you, ignore them, or maybe even punch-"

His speech was cut of when Rosalie suddenly pinched him on his leg. Inconspicuously of course so Clare couldn't see. My family had become masters of this of during the past year.

"Don't listen to him Clare," soothed Rosalie softly. "Feel free to make friends with all the little boys you want," she said turning back to glower at her husband. Emmett sat there angrily, but kept quiet for the moment. I could tell by his thoughts that this would not be the end of this particular discussion.

"Especially the cute ones!" whispered Alice. Bella laughed loudly, but Emmett looked absolutely scandalized from his place in the front seat.

"Make sure you share with everyone," piped in Jasper. "That's important."

"And always listen to the teacher," I quipped.

The car erupted in commands.

"Don't share your food!"

"Don't go anywhere alone, you never know who could be creeping around outside!"

"Don't run to fast anywhere!"

"Be friendly to everyone!"

"Be careful with the scissors!"

"Don't get paint on your clothes!"

"Don't join any cults!"

"Will everyone stop!" shouted Bella, laughing incredulously. "It's kindergarten. She's going to have fun and make new friends…oh honestly Emmett, cults!" she huffed.

He shrugged and we all sat back, a little embarrassed.

"I remember kindergarten," continued Bella. "There really isn't anything to worry about." I leaned back, slightly mollified, but not completely. I had no recollection of kindergarten and it made me uncomfortable that I didn't know what she was walking into.

We raced into the school parking lot, plummeting over the speed bumps, with the engine still roaring loudly. I saw a few parents scream and rush their kids out of the way.

"Emmett!" shrieked Rosalie. "You have to slow down this is an elementary school!"

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't know." Clare, used to this driving was not affected; she was straining to see out of the window.

"We're here!" she squealed, bouncing in place. Everyone laughed and cheered along with her.

We pulled into a parking space, at normal speed, near the back end of the lot. There were small children everywhere walking toward the front doors with their parents. We piled out and Bella and I each grabbed one of Clare's hands as we made our way toward the school. She was skipping excitedly between us and every couple steps or so, we would pick her up and swing her, much to her delight.

Alice danced happily beside us, hand in hand with Jasper, smiling at each one of the passing children. Rosalie was rifling through the backpack, making sure that Clare had everything, while Emmett was walking in front of us, glaring menacingly at all the passing male students.

I gave him a quick kick to the back of his leg. "Stop," I mouthed. He narrowed his eyes at me, but moved next to Rosalie and grabbed her hand. We walked up to the wide doors, and were directed to the auditorium where the classroom assignments were posted.

I could hear the loud chatter before we even entered the gym, and there is nothing more hectic than hearing hundreds of young minds all at once. Clare practically dragged us through the doors, and we made our way to the first bulletin board labeled Kindergarten.

Jasper went up and quickly scanned the first list, immediately spotting Clare's name. "Mrs. Meyer," he said bending down to her. "That's going to be your teacher Clare."

"Mrs. Meyer," she repeated, beaming up at me. I grinned back, enjoying her enthusiasm.

We wove our way out of the gym, and followed the signs to the kindergarten hallway. There were already few families saying goodbye to their children. We came up to the door and an older woman stepped out to meet us.

"Good morning," she said sweetly, pausing for a moment as she took us all in. She bent down to greet Clare. "And hello to you, what's your name."

"Clare Cullen," she replied, sticking out her hand for Mrs. Meyer to shake it. No doubt a habit she picked up from Jasper.

Mrs. Meyer chuckled and shook her hand once. "Well hello Clare Cullen, welcome to kindergarten." She stood up and looked at each of us. "Which one of you are her parents?"

"Her parents couldn't make it, we're her brothers and sisters," I answered formally.

"How wonderful," she mused and turned back to Clare. I noticed Clare was staring at the other students with curiosity; she didn't really spend too much time around kids her own age. Bella was right; kindergarten would be good for her. I felt better than I had all day.

"All right Clare, say goodbye, it's time to come inside." Mrs. Meyer gave us one last smile and retreated into the classroom.

Bella knelt down next to Clare and gathered her in her arms. "Have a great first day; we will be here to pick you up at exactly 2:30 okay?" She held her tight for a moment before letting go and kissing her forehead.

I picked her up swiftly in a big hug and kissed her cheek. "Be good Clare, see you soon."

I handed her off to Jasper who held her tight, whispered good luck, then reluctantly passed her to Alice. Alice placed her back down and smoothed out her dress. "Bye Clare," she pouted.

"You not coming?" she asked each of us, suddenly catching on. She turned to me with a confused expression. I frowned, all my good feeling about the day disappeared.

"No sweetheart," said Rosalie kneeling down and holding on to both of her hands. "Only you're going to kindergarten, but don't worry, your going to have fun! There are lots of little girls and boys in there, you will make new friends and-"

"No! Don't go!" she cried, throwing herself into Bella's arms. Bella looked heartbroken as she pried her wrists from around her neck. "Clare honey, we have to, we can't go inside with you."

Her lip began to quiver, and her eyes filled with tears. She flung herself at Emmett; she was used to getting her way when it came to him. He bent down and pulled her into his arms, holding her close. She cried softly into his shoulder, and we all stood there despairingly.

"She can start next year," stated Emmett firmly, spinning on his heel and starting to walk down the hallway.

"Clare?" Mrs. Meyer peeked out and spotted her crying in Emmett's arms.

Clare lifted her head to glare at her. "I not coming," she replied.

"Oh but we're going to have so much fun today," said Mrs. Meyer, walking up to her. "We're going to sing, learn the first three letters of the alphabet, paint, and play lots of games!"

She sniffled. "Games?"

"Lots of games," answered Mrs. Meyer with a big smile. She held out her hand, and Emmett placed Clare cautiously back on the ground. She hesitantly grabbed onto the teachers hand.

"Start walking away," Mrs. Meyer mouthed to us, and we slowly turned, looking over our shoulders at her.

Clare stopped in the middle of the hallway, watching us leave. I felt awful. Her brows were furrowed, and her lips set into a pout. She lifted her little hand and waved. "Goodbye," she said tearfully as we rounded the corner.

No one spoke as we exited the building, we were all thoroughly miserable.

"She's so sad," said Alice, sitting down the curb. We all joined her in turn. We must have been a sight, six vampires pouting outside an elementary school.

"It felt so wrong to leave her," added Jasper, "She was terrified, I felt it."

"That's it!" shouted Emmett after a moment. "I'm going to get her."

"We can't!" cried Rosalie, tugging him down "We have to let her do this on her own." But I could tell the idea intrigued her. I had to admit, the idea was intriguing to me. I wrapped my arm around Bella. I turned to look at her, and noticed her thoughtful expression.

"Why don't we just, you know, peek in for a second by the window, and if she's fine then we'll leave," she optioned brightly.

Everyone sat still, mulling over what Bella had suggested. No one answered, but all at once, we rushed, tumbling over each other, to the kindergarten classroom window.

"Get down!" hissed Rosalie, as we got closer. "We can't be seen!"

We crawled in a single file line through the tall grass, until we were directly under the window. We sat down for a moment, collecting ourselves.

"Now what?" Bella asked beside me.

"Now, we look," answered Emmett, standing up to peer into the window. Rosalie grabbed his shoulder and forced him back onto the grass.

"We can't just look!" she scolded, "Someone's bound to notice if were just aimlessly lurking outside, popping in and out of the window!"

"I'll look," I shushed them; "I'll be able to tell if someone notices me."

Everyone silently agreed, and I turned and placed both my hands on the window sill, rising up slowly until my eyes could see into the classroom.

"What's she doing?" quipped Alice right away. "Is she okay?"

I scanned the room quickly, until my eyes found Clare sitting on the rug next to a girl with blonde hair.

"It looks like she made a friend," I said cheerfully. "They're sitting together playing right now."

I heard Bella sigh in relief. "Great, let's go then, this is a bit ridiculous."

"Wait!" called Emmett a little too loudly, "Are there any little boys near her?"

"Oh for goodness sake," said Rosalie, "Stop it with the little boys."

Jasper cleared his throat. "I would kind of like to know myself." Alice glowered at him.

I nodded and peeked back over the windowsill. The whole class was gathering together onto the rug, getting ready for introductions. Clare sat cross legged between the blonde girl, and a bright haired child. My eyes narrowed. "She is sitting next to a red headed boy," I said flatly.

"What!" cried Emmett, standing up to his full height and glaring into the window.

Someone screamed from inside.

Emmett ducked immediately, and we all raced to hide around the corner. We turned to frown at him.

"You idiot!" snapped Jasper, "What were you thinking?"

Emmett crossed his arms, unphased by his comment. "I'm not sorry, matter of fact, I'm going back…red head indeed," he muttered. We all pulled him back onto the ground.

"Wait for a bit," I said. "At least fifteen minutes."

"Fine," he huffed.

We all sat back against the brick building, waiting. I grabbed Bella's hand and brought it up to my mouth, kissing her wrist gently. I knew how I was going to distract myself for the next fifteen minutes. I pulled my wife onto my lap, content to just gaze into her eyes.

But all too soon, I saw Emmett sneaking back around the corner. I sighed heavily, and reluctantly followed after him. Emmett peered over, much more cautiously this time.

"Snack time," he reported, "They're giving her cheese and crackers."

"Cheese and crackers?!" hissed Rosalie, "She doesn't like cheese and crackers!"

Rosalie got next to Emmett to look over the window herself. She scowled. "She is sitting there, just looking at them. That old bat better not force her to eat…wait a second… oh how cute!" Rosalie crouched back down with a wide grin on her face. "She gave hers to that little red headed boy."

"Aww!" Alice and Bella cooed at once.

"What!" Jasper and I whispered fervently. How could she be close with that little human already?

Jasper and I positioned ourselves on either side of Emmett. Sure enough, Clare and that boy were sitting next to each other, and he had her snack.

"I don't like this," said Emmett, glaring at the little boy. Before I knew what was happening, I saw a pinecone go flying through the window, knocking the small red head directly between the eyes. Clare screamed and covered her mouth.

The teacher came running over, "What happened Chase? Are you okay?" It was obvious he was trying not to cry, but he was rubbing his head, trembling a bit.

"I'm okay," he repeated over and over.

We all had watched this scene play out silently, but ducked down when Chase started explaining about the pinecone.

"Ouch! Stop! That hurts!" I turned to see Emmett getting whacked by each of the girls in turn.

"You idiot!" they howled, quietly as possible. "The poor thing!"

I couldn't help but laugh. Emmett was really over reacting, but I didn't know if I liked that she was friends with a boy already either. After waiting about ten more minutes, I peeked back over the windowsill to see that the teacher was passing out paints.

"Oh they're painting," I told them, looking back towards Bella. We heard Mrs. Meyer tell them to paint a picture of their families, and everyone would share with the class. For the next half hour, we watched as Clare painted each one of us. She was actually quite talented in that area, and her picture was very detailed for a five year old. I looked around at the other children's pictures, feeling a bit smug.

The class reconvened on the rug, and we watched as several students came up to present their paintings. It was going to be obvious that Clare's was the best. I knew she was quite proud of it too because she was waiting anxiously for her turn.

"Alright," said Mrs. Meyer, "Clare Cullen."

Clare stood up primly, and waltzed to the front of the room. She held up her picture beaming. "My family," she started, "Rosie, Alice, Bella, Emmett, Edward, Jasper." She pointed to each of us in succession.

"Hey!" shouted a tall skinny boy with glasses near the back, "You can't have six mommies and daddies!"

We all gasped outside. "How dare him!" sneered Alice.

He probably had no idea that he had six volatile vampires eyeing him fiercely from outside. But our heads quickly turned back to Clare, who was standing a bit dejected at the front of the room.

"No Matthew," interrupted Mrs. Meyer, "Every family is different. Clare here is very lucky to have such wonderful brothers and sisters…You can take your seat now Clare, thank you for sharing."

Clare walked back to her seat, eyed the skinny boy named Matthew, and stuck her tongue out at him. We all fell onto the grass laughing.

"See," began Bella, "She can handle herself."

After everyone had presented, the class went back to playing with the games and toys that were around the room. Emmett got back up to now glower at the little boy who made the comment. I saw him tap lightly on the glass. I flew to his side, "Emmett don't!"

He shushed me. "Just trust me." He tapped on the window lightly again. And to my surprise, he got the attention of the tall skinny boy. Emmett waggled his finger, calling him over.

The boy didn't scream, but he walked over warily, hands clasped together. "Y-yes?"

But Emmett didn't answer, once the little boy was close enough, Emmett bared his teeth, snarling angrily.

That caused the little boy to scream loudly and tear away from the window. He ended up running into a tower of blocks, knocking it over; causing the little boy who was building it to start crying. When the block tower collapsed, it fell into the paint bowls of two nearby girls, splattering red and blue all over their faces and arms. They shot up quickily, shaking out their hands, sending paint flying out in every direction. It flew over and hit a boy playing with a dump truck, and he accidently sent the truck flying across the room, where it knocked Bella's blonde friend over. She screamed and grabbed Bella for support, but they both ended up toppling to the ground, knocking down the Alphabet easel, which conked out Chase, the red head, on its way down. Mrs. Meyer gasped and tried to run over, but she slipped on some spilt paint, and slid into a nearby desk. The desk jutted up a bit, causing the girl that was sitting on the one facing it to fall off her chair. The beads she was playing with rolled in every direction, causing her friend who was rushing over to help, fall flat on her face.

The room erupted in tears.

We stood there, gaping at the mess Emmett had caused. No one moved. Never in my life have I been so embarrassed, and it wasn't even me who was responsible. We watched sheepishly, as Mrs. Meyer struggled to get the room in order. No one was seriously hurt except for Chase, and Mrs. Meyer told him to go to the nurse's office with a buddy. To our forlorn, he chose Clare.

They disappeared out of the room.

"Clare isn't happy," admitted Jasper, "I can feel it."

"Well maybe because her friend was maliciously taken out by an alphabet easel!" snapped Rosalie, giving Emmett a murderous look.

Emmett shrugged in response.

"I'm going to check on her," stated Bella, already following their forms down the hallway. The nurse's office was luckily stationed right by the kindergarten hallway, and we still had access to its window. However, I was definitely feeling a bit foolish about this spying on Clare thing. We had caused nothing but trouble.

We watched as they sat in the waiting area.

"Feel better?" Clare asked Chase, looking at him intently.

"Yes," he answered. Clare nodded and looked away, but Chase kept looking at her.

"I liked your picture," he confessed shyly, turning about as red as his hair.

"Thank you!" Clare said, turning towards him with a wide smile.

The next second, the nurse walked in and began to examine him.

"I think we should head home," I suggested. I turned to see Bella, Alice, and Rosalie swooning over the scene we had just witnessed. Jasper was quiet, and Emmett looked slightly mollified with the red head.

"I agree," said Bella. "We'll come back at 2:30 like we're supposed to."

"What time is it now?" asked Alice.

"Almost 1," I answered.

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well it's useless to go home right now, we might as well just hunt…last one into the forest can't drive for a year!" she suddenly yelled, tearing away toward the trees. We all flew after her, laughing.

As 2:30 rolled around, we walked back into the school and made our way into the kindergarten hallway. Clare was waiting anxiously outside the door, and when she spotted us, she visibly brightened and flew in our direction.

She ended up in Emmett's arms first.

"How was kindergarten?" we all asked at once.

"Fun!" she answered, she squirmed out of Emmett's grasp and ran back towards the room, dragging her red headed friend Chase along with her.

"This is Chase, he liked my picture," she told us.

Chase looked at us nervously.

"Hello Chase," said Rosalie, bending down to both of them. "It's so nice to meet you."

"Hi," he replied, and then quickly ran back to his mom, hiding around her leg. His mom was immersed in a serious conversation, no doubt about Chase's multiple injuries, with an exhausted Mrs. Meyer.

I felt Clare at my feet and gazed down at her. "So what did you do today?" I asked, grabbing her hand and leading her down the hallway.

"Lots of stuff," she told us. "Games, paints, Chase got hurt," she added in.

"He did?" asked Emmett incredulously.

She nodded, and stopped when we reached the big wooden doors of the entrance.

"What's wrong Clare," asked Jasper.

"I missed you," she said, looking down at her feet.

We looked at each other, and then all grabbed her to carry her into the air.

"We missed you too," said Bella, but Clare was already laughing.

Author's Note: I have a picture of how I imagine Clare in my profile! But everyone is welcome to their own vision of her. I just thought this little girl was cute, but had a slight adult beauty to her face also.