Why do they always stare?
It's like they've never seen a new kid before. Every set of eyes are locked onto me as I get out of my car. Slinging my bag over one of my shoulders, I head towards where I presume the office is. I keep my head down as I trek through the groups of students of my new school.
Forks High, home of the Spartans.
What a stupid mascot for a stupid school in a stupid town.
I finally find the office, after a small search. I spot a single person within the small room. Sitting behind a desk with a name plate that reads Shelly Cope, is a large woman with red hair in a bun. She turns her bespectacled gaze on me when I approach her desk.
"Good morning. How may I help you?" She smiles at me.
"Uh, morning. My name is Declan West, and it's my first day here." My unenthusiastic tone dampens her smile a bit, but she recovers it quick enough.
"Oh, of course. We were expecting you." She looks through some paperwork before she pulls one sheet out and hands it to me. "That's your class schedule, your first class starts soon so you should go ahead and head there." She types on her computer and a second later the printer starts working. She pulls the freshly printed paper out and hands it to me. "Here is a map so you don't get lost. And should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to come back and ask me."
I nod at her words, while looking at the map and schedule. "Thanks." I say as the bell rings, and completely drowns out my voice.
I look out the door to the hall outside, and see it flooded with the kids from the parking lot. A silent sigh escpaes me as I walk to the door. Looking over my shoulder, I see Ms. Cope has already returned to what she was doing before helping me. Opening the door, I ball up the map and throw it in the trash before I leave.
Walking slowly through the narrow hallways, I half way attempt to find my first class. I can only ignore the stares of all my new school mates as I pass by them. Soon enough, the warning bell rings. Class is set to begin in a few minutes. Everyone now has some speed to their walk, as the head through their usual routine of school. I've never had the urgency that so many others have when it comes to class. Another bell rings over my head.
Class should be beginning now.
As my pace never picks up in speed, I'm left to wander through the hallway alone. Seemingly lost with no sense of direction. I look at the works of art, done by the students, hanging on the walls. I love a good painting, mom made me appreciate them. So as I continue to look them all over, I become mesmerized. Mesmerized by the colors clashing and blending together to form a picture. A picture done by a kid. A kid who has most likely never really experienced any true hardships in their lifetime. In that instant, I realize I hate the artwork.
I feel a scowl form on my lips, the longer that I stare at the paintings. I look away, and pick up my feet to continue walking. I pull my phone out to check the time.
Seventeen minutes late for class. Damn paintings kept my attention longer than I thought.
Eventually, I find the room holding my first class; English.
I don't knock before I open the door, mom would be upset over my lack of manners. Unsurprisingly, all eyes shift to me as I enter. Late and a new face, what a sight I must be.
"Can I help you?" A balding man sitting behind a desk asks.
"I'm Declan West. Today's my first day." I say to him.
" Oh, well, welcome to Forks High." He makes his way to me. "I'm Mr. Mason, and this is English 11." He says when he reaches me.
"Thanks." I say to his welcoming.
His smile falls a bit at my words. "Did they not give you a map when you got your schedule?"
"I lost it." I respond.
"You lost the map?" I nod. "Do you need me to print you another? I'd hate for you to be late to other classes on your first day."
"No, I'll survive without one." I say to him.
He nods slowly. "If you're sure."
"I am."
"Okay, well you chose a good day to come. They're reviewing a book for a quiz today. Have you ever read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? If not, you can take a few days to read it and take the quiz next week." He says, handing me a paperback version of the book.
"I've read it, I'll take the quiz today." I grab the book and look at the words on the back cover.
Mr. Mason smiles at my words. "Excellent, well the review will be in about fifteen minutes, so you should have enough time to rejuvenate your knowledge of the book. Now, for your seat." He turns to the class, and begins scoping out an open desk for me. "Ahh, there we are. Declan, why don't you take the seat next to Jasper. Jasper raise your hand, please."
I look to see a boy with longish blonde hair raise his hand. He's tall and lean with gold eyes. I blink when I see his eyes, are they naturally that color?
I walk towards him and notice that he's at one the extended tables fit for two. Usually assigned to your partner in the class, at least that's how it's worked out for me in the past.
Sitting next to him, making sure to keep my distance. I don't want him to talk to me unnecessarily, if I can help it.
Getting settled in my seat, I begin to open the book to refresh myself on the classic. I notice Jasper take a deep breath out the corner of my eye, and sigh in relief. That's seriously weird. I've met weird kids before, but nobody has ever smelled me and sighed in delight.
He turns to me then and stares. I mean like stares at me. I don't really want to acknowledge it, but it's making me extremely uneasy. After what feels like hours of him staring, he takes another deep breath.
"Hey." He says to me, I guess to get my attention. I look to him. "Hey, I'm Jasper. Jasper Hale." He offers a small nod with his name.
I silently scoff at his introduction, complete lacking in manners. Mom always said to give a firm handshake with your name when introducing yourself.
I extend my hand to him. "Declan West." He grasps it, slowly. I understand why, very quickly. His hand is fucking cold, almost like ice.
'Poor blood circulation, along with unnatural colored eyes.' I think to myself. I thought that was the end of our conversation, so I turn back to the book, but I was wrong.
"I'm glad you moved here." He says quietly, so no one else is disturbed while reading. I look back to him with a questioning look. "Me and my siblings were the new kids before you, so it's nice not having to deal with that anymore." He says with a joking grin.
I wanted the conversation to be done, but mom's lessons force me to be nice. "How long were you here before I showed up?" I ask him, as politely as I can.
"A little over a year now." He responds. "It's not so bad, once you get used to it."
"I doubt I get used to it." He now sends me a questioning look. "I move around a lot."
I expect a question about what I mean. Or why I move. Or anything, but it doesn't come. Instead he just nods slightly, and looks back to his copy of Huckleberry.
He turns back to me. "Where did you move from?" He asks me with what seems like genuine curiosity.
"Roseburg, Oregon." I answer simply. It's just the latest in a long line of towns that I've left behind.
He looks like he's trying to place it. "Is it big?"
"Like 20,000 people." I respond.
He blows some air out at the number. "Wow, that must suck. To leave behind all your friends and everything, I mean."
"Yeah, it does." Easier to say that than to say I had no friends.
"Well, what lunch do you have?" He asks suddenly.
I look at my schedule. "Lunch block 3."
He fully smiles at me, showing off his perfect, white teeth. "Me and my siblings all have that block, if you need a place to sit, you're more than welcome to join us for it."
Just say no, Declan. Just say no. "That'd be great. Thanks." Fuck me.
"I don't know if we will be able to ease the shift over to Forks, but we might be able to help." Stop being nice to me.
"Everything helps, I guess." I say as Mr. Mason stands.
"Books down, pencils out." The entire class, besides myself and Jasper surprisingly, groans. "Take one for you and your table partner, and pass it back. When you finish, bring it to the the front and put it in the basket."
Jasper turns towards the front and accepts the handed quiz papers. He hands one to me with a small grin. With conversation effectively ended with Jasper, I can concentrate on the one thing in my life I can control; my grades.
The quiz is easy. Eighteen multiple choice questions, four fill in the blank questions, and one essay question. Simple really.
I finish first in the class. It took me eleven minutes to complete and I haven't even read the book in years. After I sit back down from taking it to the basket, I don't wait long before Jasper finishes second and takes it up to the basket.
I wonder how many he missed. I doubt he scores better than me.
He pulls his phone and begins to text. I pull my own phone out to check how much time is left. Too long. I sigh, as the waiting begins.
After what seems like a lifetime, all of the papers are turned in and Mason speaks. "Now for homework." Another collective groan from the class. Mr. Mason's smile widens. "Come on, it's not that bad." He hands the front row of students a stack of papers and makes a gesture to pass them back. "You and an assigned partner will pick any three books off of this list of books, read them, and write a collaborative report on each of them. You have until March 17th to complete the reports and turn them in." He has a sweeping look over class. "You must turn them in. This will account for 20% of your final grade. Now be quiet and I will tell you your partner and let you begin the project."
He then begins listing off names of my classmates, and saying their partners. I hate working with people, especially if they don't do their work. Sad thing is, there is a good chance that my partner does this alone if we don't complete the reports soon. I don't know how long I'm going to be here to help.
"Mr. Hale, your partner is Mr. West." Jasper looks at me instantly.
He scoots his chair uncomfortably close to mine. We're not touching but it wouldn't be difficult to if he wanted.
He holds the list in front of both of us. "Any books in particular you want?" He asks.
"To Kill A Mockingbird is a classic." I say to him.
"Alright, To Kill A Mockingbird, on the list." He circles it with a pen. "What about, The Great Gatsby?"
"No complaints from me." Mom loved Gatsby. I shake my head clear of those thoughts, as he circles it on the list. "What about a monster book for number three? Dracula or Frankenstein?" I say and Jasper tenses for a second.
"I'm okay with Frankenstein." He says and circles it. "I think we have copies of the books at my house, or we can go to the library, if you want." He says.
"I'll just come to your house then, any days in particular that are okay?" I really don't want to familiarize myself with his family. What happens if we bond and they like me?
He hums slightly and pulls a piece of paper out of his bag. He writes some digits down on it. "Here's my number, text me and we'll set it up." I nod and put the paper in my pocket.
No sooner that I do that, the bell rings for dismissal. Everyone stands and begins to leave.
"What class do you have next?" Jasper asks me when we're both getting ready to leave.
I look at my schedule. "Biology with Banner."
He looks downtrodden. "Well that sucks. I have it at the end of the day. So I guess I'll see you at lunch then." He shrugs.
I match his shrug. "I guess so." I walk out the door and down to where I hope my next class is.
"What's he like? I bet he's so nice. Rose deserves a nice guy." Alice is talking the entire way to the cafeteria.
She knew Declan would come to Forks this year, just didn't know what day. And the surprise, that Alice refused to talk about, that he brought with him is extraordinary. Carlisle will be interested in it, and Esme will love him. Rosalie already does and she's only seen him walking away from his car.
I tighten my grip on Alice's hand as we enter the lunchroom. "You'll meet him soon enough, as will Rosalie." I say as we grab our trays.
Emmett is already sitting at the table, chatting with Rosalie, who is not looking away from the doors. She finally looks away when set our trays down and take our seats. She is staring at me, I don't say a word. I smirk at her and a frown appears on her face.
"He isn't here yet?" Alice asks, a cute frown on her face. "I hope he didn't get lost." Rosalie's eyes widen and she looks back to the door, about to stand and try and find him.
Emmett grabs her hand. "He's a big boy, Rose. I think he can find the cafeteria without you holding his hand." Emmett jokes. It is not well received by Rosalie.
"He's my mate, Emmett. He should be here already. Be with me." She sighs, and my unbeating heart aches for her.
She's waited so long for this, and now that the day is finally here, she has to wait even longer.
Emmett smiles sadly, and squeezes her arm in support, before turning to me. "So what is the surprise that he brings?" Rosalie perks up with the possibility of learning new information on her mate.
I look to Alice, who smiles knowingly, and to Edward, who just sat down at the table. Sighing aloud, I speak. "When he sat by me, my thirst ceased to be." Emmett's jaw drops, Alice's smile widens, Edward read Alice's mind long ago and already knew, so no surprise on his face.
Rosalie is almost radiating pure joy. I can feel her excitement and happiness bubbling up, readying itself to explode. As soon as she's about to bombard me with questions, the door opens and in walks Declan.
Rosalie's mouth clamps shut as she eyes the poor boy in his entirety. I hate the feelings of new mates, it's like a teenager in love for the first time. All hormones and love. I feel bad for Edward though. I feel her feelings, he hears her thoughts. They can't be too pretty.
Edward looks at me and shakes his head, confirming my thoughts. I look to Declan and meet his eyes as he stands there with his tray. I wave for him to come over and sit with us. He smiles half-heartedly and walks over.
Once he comes close enough, I can feel the burning in my throat disappear. The relief that washes over me at the loss of the thirst is unexplainable. I don't have to sense their feelings to know that the others feel it too, I can tell from their body language. Just simply at ease, something that no one thought could ever happen in a school full of humans.
With the seating arrangement the way it is, the only open seat is between me and Rose. I almost feel bad for Declan, but it could be worse for him. He sets his tray down on the table and takes a seat. I can feel the nervousness rolling off him in waves, as he looks around the room. Everyone inside the cafeteria is staring at our table.
The new kid sitting with the people who doesn't talk to anyone must be a strange sight to behold. I can feel anger, confusion, and jealousy from all the people staring at our table.
I look over to Declan and see that he is just sitting there. It doesn't help to have the entirety of the cafeteria focused in you, especially when you're meeting new people.
"Declan, let me introduce you to everyone. The big guy is my brother, Emmett."
"What's up, man?" Emmett says with an easy smile plastered on his face. Declan nods slightly.
"Next up is my brother, Edward, over there." Edward does a simple nod and looks away. Declan doesn't return the gesture. "This is my girlfriend, Alice."
"Hi, it's so nice to meet you." She extends her hand to him, which he accepts almost instantly. Instinctively, like it was drilled into him to have manners.
When their hands meet, Declan tensed up, as did everyone else at the table did too. No one moves until Declan does.
"Pleasure to meet you." He says and retracts his hand from my mate's grip.
Alice smiles warmly at his words. Rosalie straightens up slightly, knowing her introduction is next. She is overflowing with nervousness and excitement.
I roll my eyes slightly, as I point to her. "This is my twin, Rosalie."
"Hello, I'm Rosalie Hale." She extends her hand, wanting physical contact from the guy she already loves. "It's so great to meet you finally."
Declan grasps her hand, but doesn't tense from the cold. He may have prepared himself for it.
"Declan West." He says as he retracts his hand from Rosalie's grip, she releases a low disappointed sigh when he does.
There's an awkward silence that follows. I can feel that Declan doesn't want to be here right now, a brief nod from Edward confirms that.
Alice breaks the silence. "So how's your first day here?" She asks with her beautiful smile.
Declan thinks for a second before answering. "It has been fine, mostly. A couple bad moments." He says while picking up his bottle of water.
Rosalie looks to Edward with angst in her eyes. "Just a few comments from some of my fellow sophomores." He says too low for any humans to hear.
Rosalie just huffs in annoyance. I have a feeling she now hates the entire sophomore class. Her critical eyeing of the few in the cafeteria doesn't discourage that theory.
"What classes do you have left today?" Alice, the sweet angel that she is, keeps the conversation going.
Declan places the water back down, and pulls his schedule out. "Just gym and World Civilizations." He responds, looking at the piece of paper.
Emmett grins widely. "I have gym next too. Hopefully you're better at sports than the rest of the class, it sucks having no competition in there."
"Not everyone can be born with the genetics of a bear, Emmett." Edward replies. Emmett laughs at the comment, lightening the mood around the table.
Edward then draws me and Alice into the conversation. At first, I was confused why, but then it hit me; Declan must've had thoughts about hating the attention. So by not making the entire talk about him, he'll feel more comfortable, which may help him talk to Rose.
Edward smiles at my thoughts. Alice and Emmett follow our lead and just go with the conversation, leaving only Rose to talk to him.
"I have World Civ with you. So you can sit beside me, if you'd like." Rose says. If she could, she would be blushing right now.
"Thanks, that makes things easier for me." He says with a fake smile.
I feel Rose's disappointment at his reaction and words. I wish I could tell him the situation that he is in now. Just to go ahead and help her out.
She may be disappointed, but she remains undeterred. "I saw your car, when you pulled into the parking lot. I like it, it's a classic." She says.
"Thanks, my grandfather left it to me when he passed." He says, feeling somewhat more at ease now without everyone badgering him.
Rose has a sad smile on her face. "Oh, I'm sorry for your loss."
He waves her off. "It's fine. It's been years since then, and now I have his car. So it's like he's always there." He responds.
Silence begins to envelope the two of them. Rose knows she has to keep the conversation going, or else Declan will just stop speaking altogether.
"Where did you move from?" Rose asks, cringing at asking the most common question he gets asked.
"Roseburg, Oregon." He replies simply.
"What caused the move to Forks?" Rose asks slowly.
All of us cringe, already knowing why he moved here. Alice's gift has kept us up to date with Declan's life since he was born. It's not going to be a fun conversation, but it is a necessary one.
"Foster system." He replies, somewhat coolly.
"Oh." Rose replies awkwardly. "Sorry, that's probably not a good response to that."
"Don't worry about it. I'm used to every reaction to when people find out about my placement." He smiles bitterly. "Forks is my nineteenth town in the past three years, so no reaction can really surprise me."
"Sorry. You're just the first one I've ever met in the system." Rosalie says quietly. "I wasn't even aware that there was a foster home in Forks."
Declan hums lightly. "Jasper said that you guys were the new kids before me, so I don't know if you would know them. But they're an older couple, the Martins." He says gently, as if he's trying not to interrupt our conversation.
If only he knew about our hearing.
"Our dad is their doctor, I think." Rose replies with a convincing pensive look. "Are their kids far away and they got lonely or something?"
"Not exactly. Well apparently, they tried to get pregnant for years, before finding out that he's sterile and she's infertile. So they applied to adopt, and their application was denied; twice. So they applied to get a foster kid, and just got accepted like four months ago. And now, I'm here."
"Wow, that must be so awful to go through." Rose says, as she looks away from Declan.
Tears prickling her eyes, threatening to fall but unable to. If anyone can relate to the Martins' story, it's the vampire who has always wanted a family, but has had her chance at it stripped away. Emmett squeezes her hand under the table, while keeping a warm smile on his face.
Rose turns back Declan after she's had a few seconds to collect herself. "Are they nice to you then? You know, since you're the closest thing to a kid they can have."
Declan shrugs nonchalantly. "Definitely nicer than some of the other houses I've been in." As soon as he finishes his sentence, whatever sadness Rose felt moments ago, evaporated.
Unsurprisingly, if Rose's jaw clenches any tighter, her teeth would break. Alice has told her earlier, that he's been in some rough environments, but never to what extent. I don't think Rose wanted to believe her, but hearing Declan imply it now truly confirms it for her. If I would ever be afraid for Rose to kill humans, it would be if she ever found out the names of those that her hurt her mate.
Emmett sees that Rose is seething, so he picks up the conversation. "Did you play any sports in any of the places you've been in?"
"I used to play, but it's been a while since then."
Emmett's excitement over finally having someone to play with is oozing out of him. "Which ones?"
"All of them that I could. Football, baseball, basketball, a few years of soccer. Tried hockey and lacrosse, they weren't for me though." Declan says, taking another wip of water.
"Please tell me that you play video games." Emmett almost pleads.
Declan feels uncomfortable, shifting slightly in his seat. "I've always wanted to try them, but I never have."
Emmett looks taken aback. "You've never played any kind of video games before? No Madden, or Call of Duty?" Declan shakes his head. "What about 2K or GTA?" Again Declan shakes his head. "What about Pokemon? I mean everybody has played Pokemon."
Declan looks down at his untouched tray of food, a flush of red comes over his face and neck. Blushing of embarrassment of not being a normal kid. Rosalie turns a deadly look at Emmett, who has the courtesy to look abashed.
His abashed look disappears quickly though, he turns back to Declan. "You have to come over to play them then." Declan looks up at the giant child. "Please, no one else but Jasper will play them with me. And he sucks ass at them." Emmett pleads with a puppy look on his face.
"Well I have to come to your house anyways. Jasper and I have to do some book reports for English." Emmett smirks victoriously at the boy's words. Declan turns to me. "Have you figured out a good day to start on them?"
"Today. Today. Today." Rosalie keeps repeating lowly.
"Well, I mean, we could start them today, if you want." I say awkwardly, I'm not great at communicating with humans.
"Umm, that's fine with me. I just need the address." No sooner as he finishes agreeing, Rose has her phone out.
"Here, I'll text it to you right now. You know so you can have it to look at when you try to find our house." She says, waiting for Declan to give up his number.
When he finally does, Rose immediately sends a text to his phone. After a few seconds of silent waiting, we hear his phone vibrate. A sigh of relief leaves Rosalie's lips, she has his number now. When she inevitably wears him down and they begin their relationship, it will be in use a lot. I can only smile at the thought of that. Alice looks at me with the same smile, and probably the same thoughts.
I have never made it to this class quicker. I was in the room before the kids from the previous were all out. It should have been awkward, sitting alone in the room with just the teacher, but I couldn't even begin to care about it. I was waiting on Declan.
Sadly, I had to wait a little longer than I thought I would have to. He was almost late to class, being the very last one to enter the room. Entering at the last second before the final bell rang.
He must have got competitive in gym, as he is glistening with sweat. His caramel hair, that I just want to run my hands through, looks absolutely tousled atop his head. Luckily, it's not long enough to make a difference. Just longer on the top, then framing around his ears, as opposed to falling over them. He has so many options to choose from with that length, I just want to style him up forever.
Unfortunately, that will have to wait a little longer, since he has to stop and greet the teacher.
"Hello, I'm Declan West. Today's my first day here." He says in his smooth voice.
Mrs. Miller smiles gently at him, as she looks at him. "Welcome to Forks then. I'm Mrs. Miller, and I'll be teaching you World Civ." She says to him, until she turns to the class. "Class, this is Declan, and he's a new student."
Declan blushes deeply, and looks to his shoes. In that instant, I want to crush Mrs. Miller for making him feel embarrassed. I also want to crush the skanks in the classroom eyeing Declan like he's a piece of meat and they're a starving bitch.
"Declan, why don't you take a seat next to Ashley over there." Ashley waves her hand at Declan.
Sadness consumes me the instant she says it. Declan looks toward me and my unnecessary breathing gets disrupted. When his eyes meet mine, I become lost almost instantaneously. His eyes remind me of sapphires dipped in milky pools. I can't wait to see them full of love when he looks at me.
He tries to smile in apology, but it comes out as more of a grimace than a smile. It doesn't matter to me, it's still a great sight to behold. But I don't want him to feel sad about it, or anything, so I wave my hand in a slightly dismissive fashion, while smiling in a hopefully reassuring way.
He moves gracefully over to his appointed seat, which is dreadfully far away. I officially hate Emily Miller, how dare she sit Declan three rows away from me.
I have to control my anger when he finally sits though. It's not even a full three seconds before Ashley starts batting her eyes at him. The humans would say she just blinked, but I know her type. Spoiled girl who gets what she wants all the time without being challenged.
"I'm Ashley Dowling. You're Declan, right?" The blonde thrusts her hand out towards him, which he accepts hesitantly.
He gips her hand for a second and then releases. "I am." He responds simply. "Can I guess and say that a bunch of other people that I haven't met, know my name?"
She smiles what she must consider a charming smile. "Sorry, but word travels fast around here. You're basically front page news for the next few weeks."
Declan smiles politely at her little joke, but turns back to the front, and offers nothing else in return. My heart swells at his silence towards her. He spoke to me much longer at lunch.
Small victory, but a victory none the less.
I would turn my attention back to the lesson I'm sure I've learned a hundred times by now, but I can't. Declan may not be interested in her or the conversation, but Ashley is definitely interested in both. When Declan leans down to pull a notebook out of his bag, she is busy checking her make-up in her phone's camera. The skank.
"Since you're new in town, if you want, we can hang out this weekend. I can show you all the good places to be." Her smile is back.
I'm not petty enough to say she's an unattractive girl, because she isn't. Her bright green eyes and soft cheek bones give her a very delicate appearance. But because of the traits I possess, however, she is no match for me, in terms of looks anyways.
"I'll have to get back to you on that." Declan shut her down, and I find it difficult to control my laugh.
She waves it off. "Yeah, I'm sure you're still unpacking and everything. So, here." She rips off a piece of paper from her notebook and hands it to him. "This is my number, just text me if you become free."
Declan looks at the number for a second, before turning to her. "I, uh, don't really text a bunch of people. So don't take it personal if I don't text you."
My brain works fast and as soon as Declan finishes speaking, I have my phone out.
'So are you going to be my new lunch partner now?'
I hit send quickly. I can only hope he still has it on vibrate.
He does. Ashley looks to his pocket as his phone vibrates. I almost shiver in joy at the look of disbelief on her face at the sound of it.
"Well, that's ironic." Declan says, as he pulls his phone out.
Ashley huffs in annoyance as she turns towards the teacher. Declan reads my text, and shoots a glance my way. I meet his eye with as bright a smile as I can muster. He doesn't return one. He types a quick message to me and puts his phone up before I get it.
'Until I move again'
I hate that he expects his life to go that way. I hate that I can't really do anything yet.
I don't respond to his text, so I put my phone up. Although my little plan worked, Ashley is very disgruntled, while I am quite pleased. Today is just the best day.