A/N: Hello! This story is a stand-alone re-imagining of Twilight told from Emmett's point of view, and like Midnight Sun, delves into the family dynamic. I am having a lot of fun writing this. Emmett's mind is a happy place to be. I hope you have just as much fun reading it!

CHAPTER ONE.

LIFE IN A BORING TOWN

You're pouting again. I looked directly at Edward over the lunch table and pitched my thought in a loud, conversational tone that couldn't be missed, even in a din full of noise. There was no way for him to pretend he couldn't hear it. His eyes flashed to mine with a muted look of defiance.

My smallest brother was hunched in around himself, frowning at the floor. No one else would have been able to see the fleeting change in his expression, even if they'd been looking for it. Edward made a flick with his hand to indicate I should be minding my own business, and continued to stare at the concrete. He had a point, but there wasn't anything else to mind in this god awful town.

Forks, Washington. There didn't seem to be any point to this place, really. Fewer than 4,000 people, and every single one of them from a perfect cookie cutter. They all looked, behaved, and even smelled the same. Not that Denali had been much different, but at least we had been free to hunt at will. The wildlife had been plentiful, varied, and accessible.

As with all good things, our stay there had to come to an end. People started noticing the odd differences in the large seclusive family from the hills. Once the rangers started to report significant drops in the local predator population eyes began to follow us, to point out our "otherness." It was clear it was time to break up the coven. We'd grown too large.

Carlisle suggested moving back south. Said he knew a place we would be safe. Somewhere we could go outside during the day- somewhere we could be normal. There was a catch, though. The younger we pretended to be, the longer we could stay. Esme was ecstatic, so to Forks we came. All of us, myself, my sister, Alice, and my two brothers, Edward and Jasper, enrolled as high school seniors, then went on to the community college. I decided to earn my second degree in chemical engineering… because why not? There wasn't anything else to do in this blight of town in the middle of nowhere.

I leaned back in my seat and glanced around the room to shake away my foul humor. Who was pouting now? I was actually frowning. If something interesting didn't happen very soon I might actually explode. Little bits of vampire all over this destitute little piece of nowhere.

Alice started up a low humming lullaby as she twirled her hair with deft fingers. Her other hand was tracing patterns on her husband's thigh. Jasper was enveloped in his own thoughts, staring off into the trees surrounding the pavilion. I felt the frown tug more insistently at the corners of my mouth as I considered him.

He looked uncomfortable.

We probably shouldn't have made him go so long without feeding. This was harder on him than all of us due to his harrowing past. He probably had never needed to abstain before for any reason at all. Two weeks was asking an awful lot considering his circumstances.

None of the family had gone hunting for these past two weeks in solidarity with Jasper. Generally this was perfectly fine for the rest of us, but none of us had subsisted off of human blood for any significant length of time the way Jasper had. Usually, in order to more easily maintain his thirst, he would slip off in between our big hunting trips for a deer snack. This time, under the guise of self-improvement, we all thought the challenge would be a great way for him to prove to himself that he was as capable of this lifestyle as the rest of us.

I went along with it only because I thought, at the very least, it would be entertaining. In hindsight, this probably wasn't a great idea at all. Jasper wasn't ever verbose, but he wasn't usually such a drag, either.

Although, this might be the answer I was looking for… something interesting. Even if he didn't end up killing anyone, we would probably go on a hunting trip this weekend. I would take anything to break this monotony.

Maybe a wrestling match would take his mind off his thirst. I could challenge him after class today….

Edward glanced back over at me, following my thoughts. I shrugged at him. I couldn't help think it. This had been a stupid plan. What was the point in tempting fate? If Jasper wasn't able to control himself we would have to start all over again in some other part of the world, and that would break Esme's heart.

Besides, what were the chances we would find another Forks-like town? God forbid! There couldn't be two of these places, could there?

If we were forced out we would likely end up somewhere even worse than the back end of Washington. Maybe Antarctica? Fucking penguins.

A clutch of girls, all dressed in the same colors, all babbling in exactly the same pitch passed closely by our table. One of them came particularly close to Jasper as they moved toward the main exit of the pavilion. The group brought the scent of fresh blood with them. Of course, none of them smelled especially appetizing to me, but I watched Jasper closely, anyway.

He stiffened, hands gripping his elbows so tightly I could hear his bones groan, but held himself together. Alice remained relaxed. She was watching his future very closely today and would know what he intended before even Jasper knew himself.

Edward suddenly kicked Jasper's chair under the table. The movement was too quick for human eyes to follow, but I would bet it was forceful enough to leave grooves in the concrete under Jasper's chair. Jasper clenched his jaw, but didn't otherwise respond.

"Sorry," he finally mumbled. I guess he was a lot closer to attacking than I thought. I clapped him on the shoulder in support.

"You weren't going to do anything," Alice cooed. She was a damn good liar, but even I could see through that one. "It helps if you think of them as people," she continued.

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Really? Is that the route she's going to take? The humanity of it all!

"Her name is Whitney, she has a baby sister she adores. Her mother invited Esme to that garden party. Do you remember?"

Yes, he remembers. He doesn't care, kid.

"I know who she is," Jasper grunted through teeth locked tight. He continued to stare off into the trees beyond the pavilion. Likely sunk into visions of blood.

Alice sighed and went back to twirling her hair absently. It was pretty clear Jasper had already had enough of her encouragement, but it always surprised me how well they two of them read each other. They were like two sides of the same coin. So in tune with each other it was like they could read each other's minds, but really, Edward was the only mind reader among us.

Edward's head jerked around as though someone had called his name.

What's up, brother? I leaned toward him.

"There's a transfer student," he said, watching her, already sifting through her thoughts for anything that may put our family in danger. "She's noticed us."

"Don't they all?" Jasper said derisively.

"Well, she's noticed you, Emmett." Edward snickered.

What, me in particular? Edward gave a slight tilt of his head at the opposite side of the pavilion. Without looking, I turned my attention toward the direction Edward indicated.

"Which one is the rugby player?" A female voice asked. Her voice was oddly flat, and a little withdrawn. Her curiosity was apparent, but it sounded like she was asking only because it was expected of her, not because she felt any real desire for the answers.

"Oh," a second voice chimed. That one sound held all the qualities I normally hated about humans. Condescension, superiority, and self importance. It made a stark juxtaposition with the voice of the transfer student.

My gaze followed the sound of their voices until I saw a woman with intensely dark, loosely curled hair that tumbled around a face alight with an interest that wasn't displayed in her voice when she spoke. Her eyes caught and held mine confidently, and I found I couldn't look away.

She was wearing what basically amounted to a long, bulky pea coat and was paused on the edge of her seat, like she hadn't bothered to sit all the way down, or didn't want to in case she had to stand up in a hurry. Just what on earth was she doing, hovering over her seat like that?

The girl didn't break eye contact. In fact, she smiled at me. When was the last time a human smiled at me? It was only then that I realized I was smiling as well.

"Stop looking," her companion hissed, and pinched her arm. "That's Emmett. He's beautiful but he's never showed interest in anyone." I grinned wider. It was true, I never noticed any of the humans swarming around in this school. What was the point? They would be dead in a few years, anyway.

"What is she thinking?" Jasper asked, ever the tactician. We all turned to Edward to listen, but he was still struggling with his silent laughter from the transfer student's response to me.

I kicked his chair, and smiled sweetly.

"Jessica Stanley is giving her the dirty laundry on the Cullen clan," he murmured to us in a low voice.

I hope she's making it good, I thought.

"Rather unimaginative, actually. Just the barest hint of scandal. Not an ounce of horror. I'm a little disappointed," Edward continued.

And the new girl? Is she disappointed in the gossip as well? It was Edward's role in the family as the resident mind reader to be our lookout, just in case someone became overly interested in our other-wordly family of adopted children.

It happened occasionally. Someone would make wildly general assumptions about us and begin to snoop. Even less frequently someone would guess correctly and we would need to skip town before any drama started. Edward had always been able to give us a heads up so we could avoid any real tragedy.

"Her name is Delilah Davis," Edward all but whispered. "But she prefers, La. As I said, her attention seemed to catch and stick on you, Emmett, but she's already moved on to memorizing the names of her new friends. Right now she's thinking Jessica might be a poor choice…"

Just like every other human; fleeting thoughts, easily distracted, and not interesting in any way. Did I expect anything else? She had nice eyes, though.

"Keep an eye on her," Jasper cautioned. "I don't like it when new people notice us like that. It means they might be more discerning than others."

In all appearances, whatever her initial interest had been, it faded as quickly as it came. My eyes lingered on the mess of her hair half piled on top of her head. Her table was still making introductions, holding her attention with their meaningless prattle.

I listened in, heard her correct several people that tried to call her "Delilah," and avoid several questions about where she was from. She was skilled at redirecting attention. I wondered why she felt the need to push the focus away from herself. Most humans tended to preen when they were the center of a crowd.

At the end of break, Alice popped up pulling Jasper with her. The two of them left through a side entrance. Edward looked at me thoughtfully, then pushed away from the table to follow them. "Are you alright?" He asked.

I considered him. "I think so?" Whenever he asked cryptic questions like this it made me think that maybe I really wasn't alright. Am I missing something?

"No," he said vaguely and left for class.

Well, that was fucking weird. I shook it off and made way toward the classroom buildings. My next class was lab for organic chemistry.

Again. This would be my third time studying this material- a feat that would be incredibly boring for anyone, but especially someone with perfect recall. There had to be a way of testing out of pre-requisite classes, but I guessed passing too many of those would blow our cover.

The longer we're in school, the longer we can stay, I reminded myself. Anything for Esme.

If it wasn't for my adopted parents I would have been just as happy living my life as a nomad. I'd considered it on many occasions, but Esme poured a lot of love and soul into our little family, and she tended to fret when any of us left her for any amount of time. Besides, creature comforts could be pretty nice when you got used to them.

I had been one of the last people to leave the lunch pavilion. I meandered, considering Edward's odd parting behavior, yet I was still the first one into the lab classroom. Maybe I would be lucky and there would be an uneven number of people in this class. If that were the case I wouldn't have to pretend to be human more than usual. I chose the desk in the furthest corner.

People tended to keep away from vamps on a subconscious level. They feared us, even if they didn't understand why. They had some deep rooted survival instincts, long forgotten but still understood on a primal level. Choosing the furthest away seat was my way of facilitating their subconscious need for space between us.

The rest of the class slowly filed in. As expected, not a single human even considered sitting in the other chair of the desk I'd chosen. I leaned against the desk with my elbow, settling in for a boring hour. Eventually, the whole class was seated, and the TA went to close the door. As she reached for the handle, she made a startled pause and stepped back politely.

One final person entered the classroom and shut the door behind them. It was the new girl, La. Her peacoat was open now, hanging from her in disarray, one shoulder of the fabric was scrunched up with the strap of her bag. Her hair had fallen out of whatever had been keeping it piled on her head and now tumbled over her face and along her shoulders. She was flushed with embarrassment as she scanned the room, looking for an open seat. Her eyes landed on me. I smirked. Poor thing.

La would be in for a very long semester.

She headed in my direction, carefully stepping through stools and legs. As she approached her seat the central heat kicked on exactly as she stepped under it. A bloom of heated air blew a wave of her scent straight up my nostrils. I gripped the table fiercely, and was only just able to keep from breaking it.

Her scent hit me like a ton of bricks to the throat. Fire laced up and down my chest, venom poured into my mouth. I would have her. I needed to have her. Nothing in all the world would taste as perfect as her blood. Nothing could ever possibly satiate me more. I was the predator, she was my prey, and I would enjoy every ounce of the blood that would pump from her neck.

We were in a room full of witnesses but none of them mattered. I had been turned into a vampire in 1934. No one in more than 80 years had smelled as sweet as this woman. How could I deny myself this unique scent? I never even imagined someone could smell so perfectly ideal. Had I known, I would have combed the earth in search of it, destroyed entire cities to taste it.

Not a second had passed. She was still taking the same step that had put her underneath the heating vent. Her skin was the most beautiful dusky hue I had ever seen, it complemented the scent that radiated from her in a mouthwateringly desirable way. My brain was swimming in scents of freshly baked spices, and warm wood.

My mouth was a desert, dry and desiccated. Venom swam over my tongue, but it didn't alleviate the feeling, didn't make it easier to withstand the barrage on my senses, the oppressive blanket that was clouding my brain. It was becoming impossible to think clearly.

In just a few seconds, she would come to sit beside me, and I would gleefully kill her. If I did it straight away, the other people in this room would react within seconds, spoiling my joy. I couldn't have that. I would need to kill them first, then come back to her. Could I kill them all and sink my teeth into her neck before she had the chance to scream?

A quick glance around the room told me no one had noticed my reaction, including the woman in question. There were 29 other people in this room. Few enough that I could easily break all of them in less than several seconds, then come back to her. From where I sat it would be a simple circle. I could sweep up the back of the room, snapping necks as I went, circle around the front, and be on her just as she was beginning to understand her fate.

I took another deep breath and felt the fire roll from my throat through my veins, I nearly sprang from my seat right then. This thirst would consume me.

Blissfully, the vent suddenly ceased blowing, and the power of her scent relented just enough to give me some brief clarity.

I stopped breathing. The fire immediately diminished.

What the fuck?! I had done some terrible things in my time, but I had never been a murderer. I had never killed an innocent human before. What happened to me that I was suddenly willing to kill 30 innocents in the matter of a few seconds? What would Esme say? She believed so strongly in my ability to be good. How badly would this hurt her? Her face swam in my view. I imagined her standing before me, distraught, face tight with tears that could no longer be shed. She would forgive me, she always did- even when my eyes glowed red with the evidence of my broken promises. She would love me anyway.

There was one option; I had to get out of here.

The girl was setting her bag underneath her side of the desk. She was standing up. Now she was pulling the stool out. I grabbed my bag and thrust away from the desk. Who was this woman? Where did she come from? Why was she here now?

I glared down at her. She caught my expression, and jumped backwards a little. Her eyes were the deepest darkest brown I'd ever seen, all tangled in confusion. How dare she come here now and put the lives of all these people at risk? How dare she come here so soon after we settled just to throw our lives another curveball? Why did she have to come here? Why did she exist at all? She would ruin the life Esme had struggled so hard to build for us.

Who was she? And why me? Why right now? Why should my family have to lose everything for some inconsequential human? Why should I have to be the one to disappoint Esme? I had been trying so hard.

If I was going to leave, it needed to be now. Holding my breath was a welcome reprieve, but the memory of the girl's scent was still enough to convince me to kill this room of people. In that second I learned what it was to truly hate someone.

I hated this frail human with every cell of my being. I hated the rapid change she'd forced through me, the awful need. I could wait an hour. I could wait two hours, and when she left for home I would follow her, and I would continue to wait until she was alone, and then I would get my reward. When we were alone, I wouldn't need to rush through or do damage control. I would convince her to let me in, I would convince her to become pliant in my arms, I would feel the pulse in her neck below my lips, and then I would taste her.

Finally, I tore my eyes away from hers and bolted. My movements far too quick for any human but I was completely unable to move normally. If anyone had been looking at me they would have noticed my inhuman speed, or at least suspected something wasn't quite right, but no one ever looked at the Cullens anymore.

Once I hit the fresh air outside the last vestiges of the girl's scent were swept away. I was left only with the memory of it, and the reality of my horrible behavior. I dumped my books in Edward's car and headed for a leg of the woods that stretched out to touch a corner of the campus.

The scents of the woods further cleared my mind. I paced, breathing deeply of the wet moss, and forest flowers. It finally occurred to me that I didn't have to disappoint my mother. I didn't have to kill this girl. I was a rational, sentient creature that was capable of good decisions! Obviously there was a choice here. Could I make the right one? Did I want to?

In that classroom the answer had been obvious, but out here under an overcast sky, drops of water lazily dotting my face… I could choose not to be a monster.

Where the hell was Alice in all of this? She should have seen something so momentous long before I'd had the chance to nearly kill a room full of people. At the very least she should have seen enough to come help, or clean up the evidence. Maybe I was always strong enough to resist? No, it had to be that Alice was concentrating all of her energy on Jasper.

My pacing continued, and became more frenzied. I wouldn't kill the girl. I wouldn't stalk her at her home. What could I do instead? My thoughts flashed to the Denali coven. I could visit some old friends for a while. Take my thoughts off the problems here, and save the whole family a lot of trouble.

The parking lot was clearing out now. Edward was probably already filling the others in on what had happened. I made my way to the parking lot, and flung myself into the Volkswagen. I was gasping at the air filled with the scents of familiar vampires, trying to banish the memory of the girl's scent.

"Emmett?" Alice leaned forward from the back seat to grip my shoulders. I shook my head forcefully, as Edward threw the car into reverse.

"What happened, brother?" Jasper leaned forward. He was probably getting a snarling mass of confused emotions off of me. His empathic abilities were usually a great asset, but at times like this he was just annoying.

Feeling my need to flee, Edward swung the car onto the road and took it to sixty immediately, tires squealing and spinning out. By the time we reached the next corner we were going nearly 100 miles per hour.

"You're leaving?" Alice piped up. I didn't answer, knowing she would be looking for other possible futures already. "Oh," she muttered, and then again as I imagined what possibilities she must be seeing.

My resolve wavered. It would be so easy to jump out of this car and run back to campus. Her records would be in the main office. I was certain I could find her address easily, then be within sight of her in less than 15 minutes. All this pain and turmoil could be over… Edward gripped my arm so tightly it nearly hurt.

My head bowed in defeat. It would be better to leave.

"I'll miss you," Alice whispered. "I always miss you when you're gone."

When we turned onto the long drive that led to the hidden meadow circling our house Edward pulled the car to a stop. "Go on ahead. You should tell Carlisle by yourself."

I nodded and opened the door. Alice caught my shoulder again as I moved to exit. "You will do the right thing," she said – it was an order. "There is no one in the world stronger than you. You're strong enough for this."