The first half of Veronica's day had gone rather quickly. She had met countless people and remembered almost none of their names. The only ones she took the time to learn were the ones that always seemed to be at her side.

Jessica Stanley seemed like she was following her around with how often she saw her. As soon as Veronica left her math class, Jessica was there, leading her to her lunch table.

Veronica sat with a tray piled high of chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes as everyone introduced or reintroduced themselves to her. She had met most of them through the day. Mike, Eric, and Tyler had all made a point to find her in the hallway in between classes, but Angela was someone she hadn't met yet. She seemed to be the quietest of the bunch, which Veronica liked. All of them were a year younger than her, but taking advanced classes, meaning they shared several subjects together.

"I'm the captain of the volleyball team so when the season starts in a few weeks you should totally come to a game. Do you play sports? You look like you'd be a great cheerleader, so you should talk to Coach Wilson about that," Jessica said, nibbling on a carrot.

"That sounds sort of fun," Veronica admitted, "I've never been on a team before."

"Well, based on how you did in gym, I bet you'd make the team and then you could cheer at my games and we — Omigod."

Veronica looked up from her tray as Jessica suddenly stopped talking. The dark-haired girl was staring to the left of Veronica and her mouth was wide open. She hadn't known the girl long, but something told Veronica that there wasn't much that could silence Jessica Stanley.

"I swear that Emmett Cullen is looking at you."

That apparently got the whole table's attention and they looked over Veronica's shoulder to confirm what she had said was true. They all seemed to nod in amazement, even the boys who didn't seem like they'd care much for boy talk.

"Who?" Veronica asked before shoving a nugget dipped in mashed potatoes in her mouth. They were pretty good for cafeteria food and much better than half the stuff she ate on the road with her brothers.

"Emmett Cullen is looking at you," Angela whispered, wide-eyed.

"She said that already," Veronica whispered as well to play along. A small smile played at her lips. It was nice to act like a regular teenager for once, something she didn't do with Dean and Sam.

"Ok, I'll tell you when he's not looking, then you can look," Jessica said while the guys at the table rolled their eyes. "Not yet, wait... ok now!"

Veronica rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder. There was only one table behind them, so it was obvious as to who Jessica was talking about. There were six people at the table, two girls and four boys. But that gave her no clue as to who this "Emmett" was.

She only looked for a second before turning back to the table. "Jessica, there were four boys at that table. There's no way for me to know which one is which. I just got here today."

"Ok," Jess said, sliding Veronica's lunch tray across the table. Veronica pouted and reached back for the tray, but Jessica kept it in a tight hold. "Come sit by me and I'll tell you about their family. They moved here like a year and a half ago or something."

"Time for the Cullen spiel," Mike whispered to Tyler, rolling his eyes as Veronica got up and moved to the other side of the round table, smoothing she skirt under her as she sat.

"Ok, the blonde girl, that's Rosalie," Jessica started. "She's a bitch we're pretty sure, and she's dating the black one, Nicholas—"

"Dating?" Veronica couldn't help but interrupt, covering her mouth to cover up her chewing. "You just called them a family."

"Exactly," Mike said, making a disgusted face.

"I thought I moved to Washington, not Alabama," she muttered, earning snickers from Tyler, Mike, and Eric.

"They're not really related," Angela told her, rolling her eyes. "Jess should've led with the fact that they're Dr. Cullen's foster kids. Jasper and Rosalie are actually brother and sister — twins. Nicholas' parents were like friends of Mrs. Cullen or something. And I think Emmett, Alice, and Edward are all cousins."

Veronica sighed in relief and ate another chicken nugget. "Ok, I retract my disgust. It's less weird now. Don't wanna judge their home life. Continue, Jess."

"The little dark-haired girl is Alice and she's with Jasper, the blonde who looks like he's in constant pain."

Veronica studied the only blonde boy in the group and noticed how his whole body seemed tense, and the small girl next to him was holding his hand on top of the table in a comforting manner. Jessica described him rather accurately she supposed.

"And then the one with the windblown bronze hair and the perfect face is Edward Cullen," Jessica said with a dreamy sigh. Clearly, someone had a crush.

"Eh, I've seen better," Veronica shrugged, shoveling mashed potatoes into her mouth.

"Where? And can you take me?" Angela asked, grinning. Veronica winked at her.

"And the big one is Emmett. He's the one that was staring at you," Jessica finished. "He and Edward are the only single ones but it's not like any girls in the school are good enough for them. They don't give anyone the time of day. Except Emmett Cullen was staring at you, so maybe not."

Veronica took the time to examine Emmett. He was tall and had muscles that looked out of place next to his brothers who were leaner. His hair was dark and curly, and though he looked rather intimidating, Veronica could make out dimples when he smiled. He looked intimidating, but Veronica had seen scarier. But she couldn't recall seeing more handsome, which made her smirk.

And she might've let those at her table know what she thought if she hadn't of felt someone poking through her mind. Her eyes snapped to Edward Cullen on instinct, who was watching her intently and he was undoubtedly where the feeling was coming from. One minute the feeling of having someone in her head was there and the next it was gone as she forced it away. She noticed his eyes widen before he looked back at his table. She narrowed her eyes and studied him for a moment. Dean had said to call him if she saw anything freaky. A teenage boy trying to read her mind would certainly qualify, but she held off.

"Isn't Emmett just gorgeous," Jessica said, squealing. "And he was looking at you."

Veronica, becoming defensive after feeling someone — no doubt Edward — trying to crawl through her mind. She didn't feel comfortable anymore and she wanted to excuse herself to call her brothers. But she'd wait until she had more information.

"I mean, he's hot but he also looks like he doesn't know how to read," Veronica quipped, finishing off her chicken nuggets. "A typical big dumb jock."

"Burn!" Eric shouted, reaching over to high-five Veronica, who barely put any effort into it.

She spared one last glance at the Cullens, where they were all laughing except for Emmett, who was pouting. She wondered what had upset him, making those cute dimples disappear. As she admired him, she finally noticed the smaller details about him. He did have a really nice face and even from across the room she could see how intense his golden eyes were.

And that's what gave them away.

Veronica tensed up and quickly looked closer at the table. Their skin was unnaturally pale. Even Nicholas, who wasn't white, had a chalky complexion that made him look like a statue. The dark circles under their eyes were worse than any normal high school student would have. Other than that, they were all physically flawless.

Right down to their eyes. Their warm golden eyes that they all seemed to share despite not being related. They had eyes that she had seen once before with her brothers in Virginia.

Veronica couldn't believe her luck. The irony was not lost on her either. Her first day living "supernatural free" and she had stumbled upon a clan of goddamned Cold Ones. Vegetarian ones, but dangerous no doubt.

That explained why they stayed away from all the other students. And why Edward had the ability to read minds.

Veronica wanted to call her brothers but stopped herself from reaching for her phone. She was smarter than that. They weren't harmless, but they had golden eyes so she would wait. And she could take anyone of them on her worst day and all of them on a good one. There was no need to tell Dean about this with his tendency to shoot first and ask questions later.

"I can't read her mind," Edward muttered, looking away from Veronica. "I could and then I couldn't."

"What?" Nicholas asked, confused. There had never been anyone that Edward couldn't hear.

"She was starting to think about Emmett and then suddenly nothing. It's like she pushed me out. There's nothing," he said, frowning deeper.

"She was thinking about me?" Emmett asked, grinning. He didn't care much about the not being able to read her mind all of the sudden part. "What was she thinking?"

Before Edward could snap that that wasn't the important part, Veronica spoke at her table.

"I mean, he's hot but he also looks like he doesn't know how to read."

The Cullen table erupted in laughter while Emmett's face fell. "What does she mean I don't look like I can read? I can read!"

"Can you, though?" Jasper asked, smirking.

"Shut up," Emmett said, throwing a ketchup packet at him. "At least she thinks I'm hot."

"Yeah but she's not drooling at the sight of you like you were in gym," Rosalie said, leaning against Nicholas. "Em, just stay away from her. If Edward can't read her mind and Alice can't see her in her visions, then this human is no good."

Emmett sighed heavily and slumped his shoulders. Rose was right. He needed to stay away.