A/N This is my attempt at an all human story with Twilight characters in an alternate universe. This is definitely AU. Bella will come along later. Since this is human I made up eye color for the characters. They couldn't all have golden eyes. ^^

Chapter One – A New Home

Foster home, after foster home I lived out my last 12 years. From the age of five this was all I knew. The new home was supposed to be different. I knew one thing – it would definitely be secluded.

The case worker, Ms. Templeton, drove up the long dirt drive for 20 minutes. We passed tall sequoias, firs, redwoods, all manner of dense foliage in the far northwestern peninsula of North America. We neared the Canadian border we were so far north. For a moment I suspected I would soon be a victim of murder, rape, something horrid – maybe bondage and torture like some Forks Hostel. Ooh, such wicked things played in my mind.

"Leah, we're here," Ms. Templeton stated, pulling up to an alcove of tall, thin pines with a three-story modern home tucked within. Glass windows were at all levels, and it looked like some futuristic architecture. It also looked like these people were rich. Why'd they want foster kids?

Intermittent low fog hid portions of the house, like something I'd have read in an Edgar Allen Poe novel. This was the House of Usher – modern version. It was definitely… different – more different than any other foster home I'd stayed.

"This will probably be your last, Leah – you'll be aging out in six months," looking to me for emphasis, "please… make the best of it."

"Thank you, Ms. Templeton, for that insightful addendum. At least I'm close to the Canada border for when I… age out."

"Please behave yourself this time."

Poor woman had the dourest look on her face. It was a comely face. Her hair was tied back into a bun, like a schoolmarm. Eyes, hair, and skin were all inconsequential colors – basic brown.

I grinned, "You do know that Templeton was the name of a rat in Charlotte's Web – right?"

She breathed a heavy, cumbersome sigh. "Let's meet the Cullen's."

Leaving the car she came around to my side, opening the door. I stepped out of the car and spied three teens running around behind the house, playing tag or something. No, they were tossing a baseball around with mitts. There was a blonde, a large, dark-haired guy, and then a thin blonde one. And then another, tall, much handsomer young guy joined them. His hair seemed golden in the sun. Hmm, he was definitely the cutest.

I followed Ms. Templeton to the door.

We stood on the wraparound porch. I wore a peeve coat and jeans, just some tennis shoes and a knitted skull cap, with dangling tassels over my short, black hair.

"AHH-CHOOOOOO!"

I jumped nearly out of my tennis shoes, at someone sneezing next to me, and turned.

"WHOA – what the hell!" I exclaimed when I saw the small creature in the corner.

"Leah, please," Ms. Templeton reprimanded harshly.

In the corner a young girl sat, with a dilapidated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird in her hand. I hadn't noticed her when we walked up and she was so quiet – like some ghost haunting their porch. I wanted to kick her and make sure she was real.

"Hi," Ms. Templeton spoke to the small girl, acting friendly.

The pixie looked at her feet instead of at her. She was petite, with short hair going every which way. I think she was crazy – or mute.

Ms. Templeton lowered. "You don't have to be frightened."

The small girl slid to the wraparound banister on the porch and then jumped down and ran away.

"What a weirdo," I said.

"Leah, please don't be mean. That little girl has probably had a very hard life."

"Join the club."

The door opened before Ms. Templeton knocked and a woman of average height with light green eyes greeted with a big smile. She looked like someone from a show in the 1950s. Her smile was probably phony for the case worker. Once the door closed her true self would show.

"Hello, hello," the woman gestured for us to enter and we did. I looked over the entry. These foster people were rich. There were light beech wood tables, with vases and flowers everywhere, and leather couches in a sunken living room in front of us. The flooring was hardwood and looked shiny – like she polished it a lot.

"Leah, this is Mrs. Cullen."

"Hello Leah," she told me. "It's nice to finally meet you. You can call me Esme. All the kids do."

"Hey… Mrs. Cullen," I said quick, looking over the inside of the house. There were photos lining the stairway to the left – lots of photos of kids. They had a sunken living room with two long, black leather couches and two leather chairs that matched, and an HDTV. Sa-weet.

"Leah," Mrs. Cullen told me, "why don't you go out back and get to know some of the other kids. I'll get Edward to show you around. He's been with us the longest."

"It's cool," I said, "I can find my way around."

The woman smiled again. She acted like she was really nice and friendly, but they'd done that before. I never trusted foster parents.

"Alright, then if you just go out the back door," she started walking, "follow me, I'll show you."

Mrs. Templeton nudged my forearm, "Let's go."

I quickly pulled my arm away from her and followed Mrs. Cullen. I didn't need to be led like some cow.

At the back of the house was a large kitchen, with stainless steel appliances. The area I was in was the family room, I think. They had a billiard table, more leather couches, and then a large round kitchen table in a nook, with seating for eight.

Out in front of me was the floor to ceiling windows that had a beautiful view of the forest behind their house. I had to admit, this area of the world was pretty.

Mrs. Cullen went to the back door and called, "Edward, can you please come here?"

Shoot, she was getting that guy any way.

The teen who ran up to the back door was the cute one. He looked over at me, and then grinned to the side.

"Edward, this is Leah," Mrs. Cullen told him.

"Hey Leah," he waved.

"Hey," I said back.

His eyes sparkled, a golden color, like amber stone, and then his hair was golden brown. He was really handsome.

"Can you show Leah around?"

"Oh sure," again he grinned crookedly, like he was posing for a magazine cover, and trying to glower or something. "Come on," he waved again.

I followed him out the door and was prepared to meet the others.

Once we were far enough away from the house he turned to me and said. "What are you?"

That took me back slightly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your skin is darker – so what are you? Middle-Eastern – Mexican – Indian… you know, what are you?"

"I'm a human – what do you think?!" Gosh, what a jerk!

He yanked my skull cap from my head and I grabbed at it.

"Let's see, you have black straight hair and grey eyes."

He was perusing my face and I grabbed at my hat again.

"Give it back!"

He laughed, "You're actually pretty." Looking me up and down - "Decent bod."

"You're actually an ass," I told him, finally grabbing my hat from him.

The other ones came running up, as I slipped my hat back over my hair.

"Hi," the blonde one greeted, "I'm Rose."

I didn't say anything to her, still pissed at the Edward guy.

The blonde, and blue-eyed girl then began to introduce, "This is Jasper, my brother," pointing to the thin, blonde guy, with ice blue eyes, "and this is Emmett," she said his name sweetly, and then grabbed around his arm. He had a big arm, because he towered over us all. He was like a bear.

He smiled down at her and I guessed they were a couple.

I finally spoke, not looking at Edward, "I'm Leah. I'll probably be here for six months. Then I'll be heading to Canada."

I turned and then walked away to the forest.

I could hear the blonde talking. "What'd you do to her, Edward?"

He started laughing. He was such a jerk.

As I walked further into the woods I spied the spiky head of hair of the mute girl from the porch. She was watching from behind a tall sequoia. The trunk swallowed her, she was so small.

As I approached she looked like she was about to take off.

I yelled, "Don't worry – I'm just walking."

She actually came out from behind the tree slowly, still holding that old copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.

"Will you be staying long?" she asked. Her voice was very soft, but lyrical. It matched her petite sized.

"Maybe six months," I said.

"They like to play games. Don't," she pointed to my hat, "let Edward bother you. He teases you when you first come. It's like a test."

"Thanks." I looked back at the four, and then back to the little girl. "He failed my test."

She snickered, with a breezy little laughter. "I'm Alice."

"I'm Leah."

She then seemed to skip up to me. I guess she stopped being afraid. "There are giant wolves in the forest. They're the keepers – like in Princess Mononoke. But there aren't any white ones – only black and brown, and other colors like that." She then seemed to perk up, "I want to ride one, one day."

I placed my hand over my mouth and coughed, wanting to laugh. "That's… interesting."

She really was crazy.

"No – there are." Her eyes widened. They were giant, root beer brown eyes. She looked like a sugar baby her eyes were so big and her face so small and petite. But it made her look cute, like a little doll. She even had freckles.

"We're going to be splendid friends," she told me. "I foresee it."

"Um… yeah."

The lady, Esme Cullen, was calling from the back door, "Time to come in for dinner!"

Alice suddenly grabbed my hand. "Let's skip."