Hi, there! Thank you so much for checking out my story! As mentioned in the description, this will be an Edward/Bella fic. There will also be a Jasper and Bella friendship. (Which I think is going to be a fun time to write...and hopefully for y'all to read!) I'm aiming to update this story at least once a week - on either Monday or Tuesday. I currently have the first few chapters written to give me a little head start, so hopefully that'll make it so I can stick to the schedule. If for some reason I don't and I take extra time to post a chapter, please be assured that I will not abandon this story. I haven't abandoned either of my other Twilight stories (even when I took longer than intended to finish them), and I will not abandon this one.
So. I think that's all for now. Happy reading! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. (This disclaimer stands for the entire story. I refuse to type this out every single time I update.)
Chapter One
Bella
It took me about ten seconds into my first class to realize that everyone was staring at me. While this was to be expected along with my new girl status, it was severely unpleasant. The itching feeling that someone was looking at me was constant, though every time I tried to meet anyone's eyes their gaze whipped away. No one other than the teacher even spoke to me until after my first class was over.
"You're Isabella Swan, right?" a boy with not-so-great skin asked.
"Yes, though I prefer Bella," I said as nicely as I could. The last thing I wanted was to scare away the one person who'd dared speak to me.
He nodded. "Okay! Where are you going next?"
"Um…" I mumbled, lifting my schedule in my hand to peek. "Building 4?"
He smiled. "I'm going to Building 6—I can take you to 4, no problem!" He was very enthusiastic.
I smiled in return. "Thanks."
Stepping out the door and into the drizzle, we walked side by side. Then he gasped. "Oh! I'm Eric, by the way. Yorkie. Eric Yorkie."
I bit back a laugh. He was being kind; so what if he was overzealous to the point of stumbling over his words? "Nice to meet you, Eric." Building 4 came into sight. "Thanks for showing me the way."
"See you later? Maybe at lunch?" he asked hopefully.
I was unsure I could handle an entire lunch period with Eric Yorkie's enthusiasm, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings either. So I shrugged and gave a noncommittal, "Maybe." Then I ducked inside the building before he could push for any promises more binding.
Luckily I met a girl named Jessica in this next class. She was very chatty but nice enough. I got the feeling she was preening from the attention she got for talking to me—the remainder of the class was of course still watching my every move. I couldn't deny that she was friendly, though, and when she ended up also in my Spanish class a couple of periods later I gladly sat next to her when she waved me over.
To add to my luck, something of which I did not normally have in abundance so I was not looking this current gift horse in the mouth, Jessica invited me to sit with her friends at lunch. Though she introduced me to everyone when we sat down, I forgot their names almost instantly. I made polite chitchat with a few of them, but most of my conversation was with Jessica anyway.
She was running down the list of irritating qualities about our trigonometry teacher when I first spotted them.
In the far corner of the lunchroom, sitting casually, was a table full of what could only be supermodels.
"Who are they?" I asked, possibly interrupting Jessica mid-rant. But my question could not wait.
Jessica smirked as she saw who I was talking about. "Those are the Cullens. They're all adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife."
I blinked at her, not finding the significance of the name. "Dr. Cullen?"
"Oh, he's the top doctor at the hospital. Or, maybe not officially but he might as well be. Super skilled, super smart…super gorgeous. He and his wife adopted them. There's Emmett and Rosalie, Alice and Jasper, and Edward." She paused. "Though Jasper and Rosalie's last name is Hale. They're twins. I think the doctor's wife is their aunt or something, and she took them in when they were really little."
I bit my lip, unsure what to ask. I didn't want to seem too eager…but they were pretty intriguing. "And the others?"
She shrugged. "No idea. They're not related. Just adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife. I think they're orphans."
I frowned. That was terrible. "Oh."
"And you know what's weird?" she asked, then continued without waiting for me to respond. "They're all couples. Emmett and Rosalie, and Alice and Jasper. They're, like, together together. If that's even legal."
"They're not related…"
She sighed, rolling her eyes. "It's still weird."
I noticed she'd left out a name… "What about Edward?"
This question granted me another eye roll. "Don't even think about it. He's single and gorgeous, but totally stuck up. I guess no one here is pretty enough for him."
"Um…" I wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Which one is he, anyway?"
She giggled. "The bronze-haired one." I glanced over to pinpoint him—and saw he was already staring at me. Automatically, my eyes snapped back to the table in front of me. "Super beautiful, I know," she said. "But don't get your hopes up. He turns everyone down."
"I wasn't planning on asking him out," I told her so she'd get off the topic.
She smirked as if she didn't believe me. "Sure."
"So our trig teacher is annoying, but how's our Spanish teacher?" I asked, hoping to completely change the subject. "Any stories about her?"
Her hand smacked down on the table. "Oh, do not get me started!" Then she launched into a story. I only half listened as she spoke, my mind hung up on those Cullens…there was something about them. I didn't know what, exactly, but my gut was telling me whatever it was, it was going to be interesting.
First I just had to figure it out.
Edward
There was a new girl today. The entire town had already known she was coming, since the Chief was beside himself to have his only daughter moving to live with him, but even if the situation hadn't had Chief Swan uncharacteristically enthused, it'd have been hard to miss.
Everyone was talking about her.
Or, more to the point, everyone was thinking about her.
The school was abuzz with gossip about the new girl, but it seemed only a few people had actually worked up the nerve to speak with her.
Now she was sitting in lunch at a table with Jessica Stanley and friends. Mike Newton sat a few tables away, practically leering. His thoughts about the girl were wholly inappropriate, and therefore not useful to my family's plight, so I gladly dismissed them. Jessica Stanley's thoughts weren't particularly friendly—contrary to her demeanor toward the Swan girl—but they were the best thing to go off of presently to get a grasp on where the girl's head was at until I could pinpoint the girl's new tone of thoughts.
"Those are the Cullens," Jessica Stanley said across the cafeteria, voice eager to share gossip about the mysterious family. I barely controlled my eye roll. If any of them actually knew the truth about us, they'd run screaming. "They just moved here a couple of years ago…" She went on to tell our cover story—adopted by Carlisle and Esme, none of us actually related except the twins who were Esme's niece and nephew.
As Jessica gave the rundown, I looked over at her table. There was Jessica Stanley…and right next to her was a small brunette. Her hair hung long over her shoulders, shielding her face. But many others throughout the room could see it, and from what I could tell she was somewhat unremarkable. Average. Brown hair, brown eyes, slightly more pale than normal but nowhere near as pale as my family. She watched Jessica intently as Jessica spoke, and I shifted my focus over from Jessica's loud thoughts to see what she was thinking…
Nothing.
Her mind was blank.
Total silence came from the spot in which she sat, even though I was staring right at her.
"Edward," Alice hissed just as the girl glanced over and caught me looking at her.
I shifted my focus to Alice. "Strange."
"What's the new girl think of us?" Emmett asked, not entirely interested but bored enough to bring it up.
One more try to get a hold on her thoughts…nothing. I shrugged. "No idea."
Now all the gazes of my siblings snapped to me. "What?" Alice said.
"I can't hear her thoughts."
Jasper glanced over at the girl, focusing his powers the best he could to her area of the room. There was no blank space for him. "Are you sure?"
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. I get nothing but silence."
"Why?" Rosalie asked, her tone unhappy.
"Your guess is as good as mine, Rosalie." I was working to keep my tone kind now. The entire situation was frustrating—never had I encountered anyone whose mind was silent to me, so why was this insignificant human different from every other sentient being I'd come across?—and their questions weren't helping.
Emmett's hand curled around the back of Rosalie's neck, rubbing gently. "Okay, okay." Rosalie shook his hand off after a moment, glaring at me.
"Well, I have no idea," I said to her. "It's never happened before. It shouldn't matter, though. It's not like this one human is going to suddenly discover our secrets and cause trouble. We'll be fine."
Rosalie's eyes narrowed. "If your power is failing us now, how do we know it won't fail more in the future?" Our family's safety is at stake, she thought, in true melodramatic fashion.
"It won't be that bad."
"Hey," Emmett said, laughter in his voice. "Maybe Eddie's just getting weak. Getting to old there, bud?"
I sighed, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose to control the anger rising in me. It wasn't my siblings' fault the Swan girl was an anomaly. "Let's just go," I said.
Jasper
"Let's just go," Edward said, standing up from his chair stiffly. Oh, he was tense. And angry. And very confused. And…possibly a little interested, as well? Though that was to be expected. He'd discovered the biggest puzzle since he was turned—the only person to ever be immune to his gift.
The rest of us stood with him as a group, dumping our trays and heading toward the door. My throat was burning, but it was a pain I was getting accustomed to. Lunch was always the worst with so many warm human bodies packed into the small room. To pick one or three of them off would have been easy. But I ended that train of thought before it got too far. Strategizing was my specialty and while normally it helped keep me calm and my mind occupied, I knew working out a plan of that particular nature would not turn out well.
I was not going to be the reason the family moved this time.
We were nearing the door when Alice stiffened, Edward doing the same barely a moment later. She turned and said to Emmett, "Grab a hold of Jasper."
I was bewildered—I'd gained control of my thoughts and moved away from the possibility of feeding on some of these weak little humans—but with my next step the most excruciating fire lit up my throat. Blood lust, wild and fierce, took over my body as my eyes locked on the new girl.
I lurched forward—or tried to, restrained by Emmett's hands clasping around my upper arms and shoving me hard enough to get me out the door. There was a loud bang, causing a majority of the students in the cafeteria to glance over but I hadn't a care in the world to that. All I wanted was to snatch up the new girl and drink her dry.
But neither Emmett nor Edward would let me, both blocking my path and herding me away from the building. We kept going until we were several yards into the trees surrounding school. Alice and Rosalie trailed behind cautiously.
"You okay, man?" Emmett asked, eyeing me warily.
Pulling in a deep breath, my throat cooled. My temper leveled out. Blood lust, gone. "Yes."
"No," Alice said.
"He's fine," Edward told her.
Alice sighed. "Now he is. But Chief Swan's daughter…"
Edward winced. "We'll have to figure something out."
"You're all so annoying," Rosalie snapped. "Care to let the rest of us in on what is happening?"
I didn't want to admit it. I'd been gaining ground, doing so well. To reveal I had a special weakness for a particularly appetizing teenage girl would ruin the faith my family was beginning to have in me.
"No it won't," Edward contradicted my thoughts. "That was extreme. I've never encountered blood that potent. It's like it was branded for you. If it had been me, I don't think I would have been able to resist either."
I rolled my eyes, not allowing myself to be comforted so easily.
Rosalie was beginning to fill with rage, so I sent her some serenity—the last thing I needed was anger swirling around me right now. "I wanted to drain the new girl, Rosalie," I admitted, my voice tense. "Her scent…it consumed me. I couldn't help myself. Maybe I should withdraw from school until I'm more disciplined."
Alice shook her head, resting a hand on my arm. "He's not giving himself enough credit."
"What was that you were saying, Ed?" Emmett asked. "About how strong her blood smelled?"
Edward nodded, apparently agreeing with whatever train of thought Emmett was on. "She smelled irresistible to him. More than any other human he'd encountered before—even when he was on a diet of human blood. I'm surprised we were able to get him away, honestly."
Emmett frowned thoughtfully. "I've come across a couple of people like that before, one more appealing than the other. Decades ago, at least."
"And?" Alice asked, though surely she already knew the answer.
Emmett shrugged. "I didn't hesitate. I drained them on sight—or on smell, if that's how you want to phrase it." He smiled. "Don't be so down on yourself, buddy," he said to me, slapping my shoulder. "It happens."
"I almost ruined everything," I snarled.
"You've ruined nothing," Alice said.
Rosalie crossed her arms over her chest. "The humans in there will get over it. What's important is—what are we going to do now?"
We all looked at each other for a moment.
"Carlisle," Alice and Edward said at the same time.
Rosalie shook her head. "We all can't go to Carlisle. Some of us have to stay here to do damage control for our exit from the cafeteria."
Edward nodded. "Alright. Jasper, Alice, and I will go see Carlisle—"
"No," Rosalie interrupted. "Jasper and Alice will go see Carlisle. The rest of us will stay."
He paused, focusing on her thoughts. Then he sighed. "You have a point. I'll stay and keep track of where the thoughts are. I don't think it'll be necessary, however."
"Tough," she snapped. "Now let's go. We're going to be late." She turned on her heel and strode toward the school buildings, not looking back to see if Emmett or Edward were following.
Emmett slapped my shoulder again before heading in the same direction. "It'll all be fine, man. No worries."
Edward was looking at Alice, whether reading her thoughts or focusing on a vision as she viewed it I had no idea. But then he blinked, nodded, and said, "Don't stress so much, Jazz. It'll be alright." Then he walked toward the school like the others.
Now it was just Alice and me. In other circumstances, this would be perfect. Right now, though, I'd have rather we hadn't had the reason to step away together. "Carlisle will give good advice, Jazzy," she murmured, hand stroking down my arm for a moment before lacing her fingers with mine. "You'll be okay. And we won't have to move. Not now, and not because of you."
She tugged my hand and together we ran toward the hospital where Carlisle was currently on shift, my mind brimming with the hope that she was right.
So that's it - the first chapter of The Lucky One. What do ya think? Please leave a review letting me know! And until next time, I hope y'all have a lovely week!
