Disclaimer: I do not own nor make profit off of Twilight. It belongs to Stephenie Meyer and Summit Entertainment, etc.

A/N: This is an insert-an-OC story that will veer from canon timeline, but the actual canon events will retain great similarities.

Inspirations Blog: farinspirations(d)tumblr(d)com – Look for the 'Welcome' link in the side menu that explains how the blog works.

Chapter Numbering: Because FFnet doesn't allow for Prologues/Epilogues/Intermissions (which are usually not meant to be labeled "Chapter #") my numbering within the actual chapter will be different than the link FFnet displays.

Notes:
Welcome to For A Reason: Accordance! This story is the sequel to For A Reason: Inauguration. You will need to read that story first to understand this one.

I began the For A Reason series on September 27, 2011 and after six years of grueling writer's block constantly dogging my steps, I finally was able to settle down and complete my baby Inauguration by October 15, 2017. I want to extend a warm message to everyone who read and reviewed that first tale. It was a treat and a joy to discuss the story with each and every person involved. Thank you!

As a forewarning, I never tell what my future pairings are, no matter how small or trivial they may seem. Even if it's who Katie Marshall is dating two years down the road (I don't have any idea, actually, haha!), I still don't reveal it until it's published in the story.

Thank you for joining this journey!

Prologue: A Secret Kept

Vivid, exuberant summer with its verdant foliage and uncounted colorful shades of nature had bloomed and faded as a cherry blossom in the spring, falling with startling speed into the many different leaves and trailing brisk winds of long, winding autumn – not to mention the unending pour of rain.

July, August, and September had passed through the tiny town of Forks, Washington like a guarded secret would move through the hallways of the high school.

Dressing for school on a seemingly average Wednesday, I couldn't repress a snort at the thought. As much as I hoped Jessica Stanley's surprise birthday card wouldn't be revealed before we delivered it later in the day, I also knew precisely how long secrets lasted – not only at Forks High School, but specifically in the possession of one Katie Marshall.

Katie was a nice girl, certainly, and she could be a lot of fun, but the redhead's inability to keep a secret had become the bane of every birthday surprise I took part in that summer.

To be exact, four different birthdays accumulated my time and effort throughout the last three months, although I didn't mind at all.

Whitney Duran had invited me to the birthday barbecue her parents held in late July, an event which Carlisle, Esme, and Edward graciously attended with me; much as I had teased Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett as chickens, they had still made excuses of other plans – nonexistent though they had actually been.

The Duran family's tiny birthday affair on the twenty-fifth had been meant not only to celebrate Whitney's adult status, but to celebrate her physical recovery from Vanessa Travis' attack at Prom in May. The strawberry blonde and her thirteen-year-old brother still faced therapy with a counselor that Carlisle had recommended, but Whitney and Justin seemed a little happier and bit more peaceful by the time the now-eighteen-year-old's birthday party had taken place.

Even Matthew and Christina seemed to have gained a measure of peace between them, although I imagined Whitney and Christina's apparent reconciliation had helped. Whatever had possessed the mother of two to ignore Whitney's truths all those years, it had disappeared along with Vanessa Travis. Many times during Whitney's birthday party I had watched Christina hug, comfort, or simply smile at her daughter with genuine love.

On August eighth, Alice and Rosalie had made a big hunting to-do for Emmett's birthday. I had purchased an adorable stuffed black bear for the burly vampire, something he had guffawed over before handing the soft toy over for my collection – a compilation which had grown enormous thanks to the Cullens.

Each of the vampires had bought a stuffed animal to commemorate the significant cities we visited on our month-long road trip in June. From Houston to Gatlinburg to Lansing and nearly every place in-between, the family had been collecting plush toys to surprise me on Independence Day. Emmett had also added a patriotic penguin for the holiday itself. With such a large grouping of plush, I finally decided I had to name them and spent weeks afterward contemplating poignant monikers.

All the days spent trying to find significant names, I had lined the toys up along the window seat and sat on the bed opposite to eye them conceptually. When I had chosen 'Kenobi' for the stuffed Ewok Emmett had given me for Thanksgiving, the bulky vampire had appeared in my room whooping for joy.

Austin Marks' and Ben Cheney's parents had jointly hosted a rollerblading party in August, to which it seemed every teen in town had gone. With Austin turning eighteen on the twelfth of August and Ben's birthday on the twenty-ninth of September, they had held the birthday celebration right in the middle of the two dates on the last weekend before school started up again - all so the two best friends could share the big day.

It had amused me to realize there was still something I didn't own, even after all the gifts from the Cullen family since my appearance in their lives. Alice had made sure I purchased both a pair of rollerblades and a pair of rollerskates just to be certain I was covered.

For most of the summer, both Emmett and Jasper had joined me religiously every Saturday to indulge in a Star Wars marathon. While we mostly favored the original trilogy, I adored Ewan McGregor's snarky, charming performance as Obi-Wan Kenobi, more screen time for Master Yoda, and the much more brilliant utilization of lightsaber techniques in the newest films.

Newest in the Cullens' time, at least. Coming from a future date had left me at loose ends sometimes in regards to film and song releases, and the as-yet unreleased Revenge of the Sith was one example. Hence why another part of my summer was spent poring over release dates for movies and music. After a while, I had memorized an insanely long list of media pertinent to the present date, something on which all of the Cullens had happily quizzed me to ensure my new knowledge was solid.

I certainly had many reasons to use my expanded knowledge base when we had returned from our June road trip. Considering the apologies and forgiveness between both Katie and me and between the Webers and Cullens overall, I had spent a lot of Friday nights at either Katie's or Angela's house. Jessica had yet to be allowed the privilege at her own house and I could hardly offer up the Cullens' home with so much that could be questionable to a curious human eye. The sleepover ritual became almost overwhelming at first, until Esme put in a gentle suggestion that we also had family moments that might require some of my Fridays nights to be free.

A couple of those Fridays I had spent talking with Whitney over the phone. After so long being Vanessa's scapegoat, the teen had lost all desire to keep friends or even make them in the first place. Whitney had known all too well that Vanessa would use friends against her – and that Greg Overman would enforce his girlfriend's threats to a tee.

Given Vanessa and Greg's long-term sentences behind bars for all their abuses, no one had to worry anymore about siblings and friends being damaged for the sake of jealousy and cruelty. Vanessa had been locked away with only one visitor: her father, Keith Travis.

While I relished the fact that my suggestion of finding Vanessa's father had reunited Keith with the daughter he lost years ago to her self-absorbed mother, it had also proved Vanessa no more wanted to change her sadistic ways than Carlisle Cullen wanted to hunt human beings.

Charlie Swan's secretive and technically unlawful rendition of the glass and telephone meeting between father and daughter had equally confirmed a suspicion in my mind and broken my heart. Vanessa had already gone so far beyond wanting love that she didn't seem to understand it was what she always craved, or that her craving was the very thing that had begun her envious bullying early on.

Apparently Keith intended to keep visiting his only child in spite of her refusal to change. I admired Keith's devotion; after losing his daughter once before – to the lies of said daughter's mother, no less – Keith refused to ever leave Vanessa again, no matter how low she sunk or how many years she spent behind bars.

Vanessa unfortunately had good company in the form of her dear mother. Linda Keller had gone to trial for embezzlement and fraud in a fourteen-year-old cold case. More accurately, Linda Dennison had gone to trial. Tony Keller had been so furious over his wife's deceptions that he filed for divorce before Linda's case even opened in court. The marriage ended in a very short time, leaving Linda with a demand that she use her maiden name rather than Tony's. The self-righteous businessman hardly wanted his pricey restaurants besmirched with Linda's and Vanessa's crimes.

Despite newfound freedom from the monstrous circumstance with Vanessa, an eighteen-year-old young woman had been left with no idea how to reach out and rebuild herself. Given Carlisle's discussions with Whitney's father, we had realized Whitney felt a connection to me – the first since the tragic turn her life had taken. Between the Cullens and the Durans, I hoped to push Whitney up and help her live life to the fullest somehow, as well as tentatively getting her to take self-defense. She didn't have to train with Daniel Griffin, as I did, but no matter who trained her, I knew very well how it improved self esteem and self respect to learn such a practice.

Whitney's situation was one of two in which I now had to take a definite initiative. After Vanessa's threats had extended over Angela's head, the tall sophomore had taken a confidence hit that needed gentle persuasion to build back up. Yet I wasn't concerned; I had done it once and I could help do it again. With Dale and Julie Weber no longer living in fear, the parents of three working in tandem with Carlisle, Esme, and me could do considerable good for Angela after her scare.

Between the healing of all my human friends, no matter how slow, and the solid level of comfort between the Cullens and I after all we had shared, the end of summer left me in a fit of utter contentment as we returned to school in September.

There were, of course, times when human curiosity drove little wedges between me and the friends I had been making in Forks. In the worst of those moments, I kept hard secrets by offering half-truths and anecdotes that didn't actually exist, but the Cullens' security always came first for me. Their future – and Edward's hope – would arrive before we knew it. My soul itself rebelled against doing anything that would come between Edward and his happiness.

Until Bella Swan joined her father in January, it was my solemn yet joyful responsibility to ensure the way remained clear for the Cullen family's happy beginning.

A/N: Images & inspirations for this story: tumblr(d)farinspirations(d)com is the blog. There is a 'Welcome' link in the side menu that explains how the blog works.