CHAPTER TWELVE
❝ her forever ❞

AS IF THE outside of the Cullen household wasn't gorgeous enough, the inside managed to blow Hayden Marris out of the water. From her reaction, you would've thought that the girl had never been in a modern house before‒ or even a slightly modernized one. She gawked as Emmett removed the jacket from her shoulders, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"You live in this place?" She raises an eyebrow, watching as the raven-haired boy places her coat on a rack.

"Of course I do," he rolls his eyes, ruffling her hair. "You're easy to please, surprisingly. But you might want to check a mirror real quick, you've got a bit of drool on your bottom lip."

Emmett grins as Hayden's cheeks flush. She glares at him, crossing her arms over her chest before letting out a deep sigh, "Sometimes I don't like you."

"So you like me most of the time?" Emmett smirks, taking advantage of the open moment to tease her. "Well, I'm finally glad we got that settled."

Hayden would've retorted, but she couldn't; her attention was yanked away by the presence of another. A short brunette stepped into the room, followed by a tall blonde‒ they both resembled angels, their complexion as smooth as granite and their skin as pale as Emmett's. Based on their age, she assumed that these were Emmett's adoptive parents.

"You must be Hayden," the woman speaks, moving forward to pull the girl into a tight embrace. "I'm Esme."

Esme was fairly the same height as Hayden, but had an extremely cool temperature. Why was it that their family always had cold skin? Hayden let out a soft chuckle, wrapping her arms around Esme's small frame. And when she pulled away, the girl was able to scan over her features.

Her face was heart-shaped, and her eyes sparkled with gold. It was easy to say that she was beautiful, but she was so much more than that. And upside Esme, Hayden felt extremely below average. Then her eyes moved to the blonde man, who gave her a soft smile before introducing himself.

"I'm Carlisle," he says, his voice as smooth as warm chocolate. Hayden shows him her pearly whites, before looking him over, too. Everything about him was pure perfection; his hair, his facial structure, everything.

"It's so nice to finally meet you," Esme chimes, a chuckle leaving her lips. "Emmett has been talking about you all week, I honestly expected you sooner."

"Thanks, Esme," Emmett mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck.

"He does, does he?" Hayden looks to Emmett, surprised. "All good things, I hope. Otherwise, I'd have to teach him a lesson."

"You wish you could take me on," Emmett snorts teasingly. "You're a stick, Hayden, and I break sticks."

"Do you really?" The girl clicks her tongue, "Because the Emmett I know is a teddy bear with angelic handwriting."

Carlisle wraps his arm around Esme, the two of them watching as the teenagers begin to bicker. It continues as Emmett rolls his eyes, then Hayden punches his shoulder for the rude gesture. She winces slightly, cradling her hand as she glares at the boy in front of her.

"Are you made of metal?"

Emmett moves forward upon instinct, taking her hand in his. "Are you okay?" He asks, his eyes meeting hers.

"Yeah," she murmers, "I'll be fine."

There were a few seconds when Hayden was lost in his eyes, and she couldn't seem to find her way out. His touch made her relax, while still managing to speed up her pulse. She embraced the coldness of his hand, hoping to hold onto it for just another moment. But she couldn't, as a few other people entered the room.

"Hayden, you're here!" Alice gasps, the pixie-haired girl rushing towards her. "I didn't know you were coming."

Hayden pulls away from Emmett, clearing her throat as she looks to Alice, "Yeah, I didn't either, until earlier. Emmett and I made some quick plans, so . . . surprise!"

Alice, though acting surprised, wasn't shocked at all. In fact, she had a vision earlier on that day that Hayden would be visiting. But despite that, she would continue to be the joyful person that the brunette took a liking to. Knowing that Hayden enjoyed her company was even more of a boost than what she originally had.

"Well, I'm just glad that Emmett has finally invited someone over," the pale girl shoots her adoptive brother an innocent look. "He hasn't introduced the family to anyone in years, so I'd say this is a big step."

"Alice," Emmett warns, shooting her a pointed look.

"What?" She asks defensively. "I'm just saying that she'll probably be sticking around, am I right? Besides, Hayden is a blessing to be around‒ I'm sure you agree with me on that."

Hayden giggles, nudging Emmett with her elbow, "Aren't I just a joy?"

"Sure are," he rolls his eyes. "Thanks for pointing that out, Alice."

Hayden was glad that all of the attention wasn't based around her. Instead, the family was keen on teasing the boy, and she wasn't about to argue with that. Jasper steps into the room, silently wrapping an arm around Alice. The pixie smiles, relaxing into his chest. And just like that, Hayden Marris melts.

She was never one for romance, or anything cheesy like Shakespeare where lovers kissed a few times, then died. But when seeing it, sometimes Hayden changed her mind and fell in love with the idea of love. She would always wonder; when would she find her forever? And why couldn't they hurry up and find her a little faster? It was stupid, in her view, to think that she should've already met that person.

But it was even more stupid that she didn't notice her forever was standing right in front of her.

The girl was the epitome of carelessness and oblivion. In fact, she could've been the textbook cover of them‒ but what difference would it make? Emmett realized, as he watched Hayden fawn over his siblings, that he needed to try a little harder if he was going to make this work. Emmett would need the potential effort to win her over, and to tell her nothing but the solid truth; even if that meant taking a risk.

Deep down inside, he knew it wasn't going to be easy. Hayden had problems, and she needed to solve them before thinking about entering a relationship. But he was willing to help her through that mess, hoping that she would see the side of him that he saw in her every day. Emmett Cullen was falling for a human girl that had parental issues and an overwhelming amount of sass and sarcasm. Yet somehow, all of that made him even more determined to win her heart‒ even if he wasn't guaranteed the feelings in return.

"Hayden, why don't you stay for dinner?" Esme suggests, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's almost finished, and the others will be back soon."

"Of course," she nods.

"I'll show her the rest of the house while we wait," Emmett says, placing a hand on the small of Hayden's back as he leads her up the stairs.

"Woah, are those graduation caps?" Hayden's eyes widen as she takes in the scene before her. Tens upon tens of graduation caps were lined up on a wall, each of them shining in a different shade or color.

"Carlisle has a collection," the boy plays it off smoothly, leaning on the railing of the staircase. "I'm not sure why, I guess it's just a hobby for him."

In truth, Emmett hated lying to her. The way she continued up the stairs, not a care in the world, made him hate that he couldn't spill everything yet. She didn't know he was lying, and that was the worst part. Because what would she think when she found out?

"My room is the last one on the left," Emmett directs, allowing Hayden to take the lead. "And before you judge me, I like to keep my room neat and simple."

He wasn't lying when he said simple; the walls were bare, other than a teal blue paint that stuck there. The room held a couch, a bed, a wooden dresser, and a television. His closet was neatly organized, and a lamp shown brightly from where it sat on his nightstand.

"I don't judge," Hayden murmers, running her fingers over his royal blue bedsheets, "but I thought most guys weren't very neat."

"Considering how amazing my handwriting is," he pauses, giving Hayden a soft smile, "you should've known that I'm not like other guys."

_______