Disclaimer: All characters and dialogue related to the "Twilight Saga" are owned by their creator Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is for entertainment purposes only.
EARTH ANGEL
Chapter 1- The "Beginning"
Bella's POV:
"Attention, passengers. Please fasten your seatbelts, and lock your seats and tray tables in their upright positions. We will be making our decent into Forks Municipal Airport in the next ten minutes," the pilot broadcast through the intercom.
It seemed as if I had left the city of Boston days ago. Between the cross-country flights from Logan International Airport to Sea-Tac International Airport, coupled with the connecting flight from Seattle to Forks, I had been traveling for more than eight hours now.
As I gazed out the window at the green forest canopy of the Olympic Rain Forest that appeared to get closer and closer as we made our decent, I couldn't help but briefly recall the series of events that led me to move in with my uncle Charlie and finish high school.
Tomorrow would be the two-year anniversary of the death of my parents. We were living in White River Junction, Vermont at the time of their murders. I was only a week into my junior year of high school when the massacre took place. Somehow, I managed to cheat death unlike my parents. However, I was hardly left unscathed by their killers. I was positive the man and woman who took the lives of my parents were certain that they had extinguished my flame as well. Somehow, someway, I had managed to survive my attackers.
After their murders, I took nearly two full years away from school, missing the remainder of my junior and senior years. The massacre took place on September thirteenth, the night of my eighteenth birthday. I had started kindergarten a year late, so I was a year older than most of my fellow classmates, which was why I was turning eighteen at the beginning of my junior year.
As an only child, my parents, Renee and Phil Swan, left me their entire inheritance. The mortgage on their home was paid-off. So, they owned it outright. They weren't rich by any means. Perhaps, upper middle-class would be the best way to classify their social status.
I was in no need of money, so I spent the following two years holed up in my home. Although I would never fully recover from the traumatic events that occurred on my birthday, I slowly healed.
I decided that it was time to move forward with my life. I couldn't stay and hide out forever as a hermit for the rest of my existence. I wanted to finish high school and eventually go to college.
Unfortunately, I knew I would never be able to accomplish that in Vermont. The memories there were still too raw and painful.
They were still too real.
I called my father's brother … Charlie Swan. He happened to be the Chief of Police in the small, quaint town of Forks, Washington. My uncle had married young, but his wife, Debra, left him. After only two years of marriage, she bolted. Apparently, Debra couldn't handle living in Forks as she complained non-stop about living in the "sticks." Suffice to say, my Uncle Charlie was more than thrilled when I called him, and asked if I could come live with him while I finished high school.
I immediately sold my parent's former home, adding the funds to my sizeable savings account. Before I left, I also had my truck shipped out to Charlie's home. It was the one piece of "home" that I actually wanted to bring with me to Forks.
Unfortunately, I made the decision to move all the way out to Washington pretty late in the game. So I would be starting school a week after the semester actually began.
Lucky me, I thought.
I was brought out of my revelry as the jolt from the plane's landing gear made contact with the runway, instantly transporting me back to reality.
I filed off the plane and collected my luggage as I made my way through the terminal. I noticed Charlie searching the throng of arrivals for my face. The last time I saw him was when he came out to Vermont to celebrate Christmas with us nearly three years ago. My uncle looked exactly as I remembered him. Apparently, I looked quite different than I had before, considering he passed over my face several times as he kept searching for me.
"Uncle Charlie!" I exclaimed as I embraced him.
"Bells?" he asked, disbelief coloring his voice. "You look so … different. I mean you look beautiful, Bells. Don't get me wrong. It's just that I didn't even recognize you. Not that you weren't pretty the last time I saw you. It's just now, I …"
I felt pity for him as he trailed off searching for words. "Relax, Uncle Charlie. It's been almost three years since I've seen you. I'm a growing girl you know," I added for good measure as I stepped back from our embrace.
"No. You're a beautiful, young woman, Bells. You are going to drive the boys crazy at school." A concerned look marred his face as he grabbed my hand. "Geez, didn't they have any heat on in that plane? You're freezing."
Fortunately, this was something I was expecting. So, I already had my cover story in place.
"Oh. Didn't my dad ever tell you about my poor circulation issues?"
"No." Charlie shook his head as he scratched his mustache. "He never mentioned anything about that."
"I suppose he never got the chance. My circulation problems started a couple months before that—" I exhaled "—before that night," I said, offering him a sad smile.
"Bella, I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to bring that up," he murmured apologetically.
"There is no way you could have known something like that. So please don't apologize. If anything, I should be thanking you."
"Bells," he said as he ushered me toward the exit and into the parking lot, where I spotted his police cruiser. "I can't tell you how happy I am that you're staying with me. I'm extremely proud of you for deciding to finish school. I just wish it was under better circumstances."
"Uncle Charlie, while that night will always haunt me … I've had my time to grieve. I'm here because I want to move on with my life," I said with a tight-lipped smile, hoping to lighten the mood.
"Fine," he agreed, tossing my luggage into the trunk of his cruiser. "You can start moving on with your life by first dropping the 'Uncle' from 'Uncle Charlie.' We are going to be living together, Bells. 'Uncle Charlie,' well, it just seems way too … formal. How about you just call me Charlie, or something?"
"Deal," I conceded, thankful that he wanted to drop the formalities.
The drive home was short as the Town of Forks wasn't very big to begin with anyway. I was staring out at all the greenery, when Charlie's voice broke through my thoughts. "Geez, Bells, you weren't kidding when you mentioned how you never came out of that house. You must have literally holed yourself up for nearly two years. You're as pale as a ghost. I wish I could tell you that you'd get some color here. But, it's a rare occasion when the sun decides to make a cameo appearance in this part of the country." I smiled at his words as I looked through the window and up at the sky.
Yup, this definitely doesn't feel like a sunny place. Even the air feels wet. I mentally shuddered at the thought. Actually, the constant overcast might not be a bad thing.
I really didn't have a response for his prior comment about my paleness. Regardless of my current "situation," I had been abnormally pale my entire life. I briefly recalled how the kids in middle school used to tease me about it mercilessly.
We finally pulled into the dirt driveway of Charlie's two-story house. I sighed in relief when I saw my "baby" parked just to the right of the old, white home. I had been a tad nervous that I would arrive before my truck, and Charlie would be forced into driving me to school for the first few days. I really didn't want to make my grand entrance in a police cruiser.
Talk about being thrown to the wolves. I arrived in Forks that evening, and now I had to immediately start school the following morning.
So much for getting acclimated to my surroundings, I mentally snickered to myself.
Charlie insisted carrying my luggage up to my new bedroom. I was touched at the effort he put into designing the room. Purple was definitely the theme; to say that I was surprised that Charlie would have remembered such an insignificant detail, such as purple being my favorite color, would have been a severe understatement. The notion that he took the time to decorate my room in such a manner, just to make me feel more at home, warmed me to Charlie instantly.
Charlie was a man of few words, however. So, I soon found myself left to my own devices as I unpacked. When I was officially moved into my new room, I joined Charlie downstairs for a few hours as he watched the Mariner's Game on television. For a man of so few words, he sure liked to yell at inanimate objects a lot.
"Bella," he said, catching me by surprise. I was actually stunned to hear him address anything other than the television at that moment. "I meant to tell you earlier, but I have some exciting news."
I quickly angled my body to face him, while smiling brightly. "Okay. So, you have some exciting news. Would you care to elaborate?" I chuckled.
Charlie joined my moment of mirth, adding his own nervous laughter to the mix. "Sure, Bells. Do you remember Sue Clearwater from La Push?"
I shook my head, indicating that I didn't.
"She's part of the Quileute Indian Tribe that lives on the La Push Reservation. Well, her husband, Harry Clearwater, who happened to be one of my best friends, passed away just over three years ago. I spent a lot of time with Sue during that period of her life, helping her grieve. At the time, I was just trying to provide her with as much comfort as I could to help her cope. Our relationship began to grow, Bella. We finally got engaged last month," he said hesitantly. He clearly was worried as to how I would take his announcement, but I truly could not have been happier for him.
"Charlie, that's wonderful news. Congratulations! So, when do I get to meet this … Sue?" I asked with a smirk.
"Well, we talked about moving in together right away, but her daughter, Leah, she's a senior at the school on the reservation. Sue doesn't want to move until she graduates. So, we set the wedding for this summer, but she comes over all the time, Bells. Besides, since Harry died, she took his place as one of the Quileute Tribal Elders. They have a bonfire once a month and they tell the ancient histories of the tribe; it's fascinating. Heck, Bells. You've got to come with me next time. You should hear some of their histories. I swear, some of them literally send shivers down your spine. I'm sure you'd love it." He beamed.
"That's sounds great, Charlie. I'd love to come with you next time. Besides, I have to see for myself if this Sue Clearwater is good enough for you." I laughed as I teased him.
"Trust me, Bells. I'm the lucky one. She's too good for me, but she loves me for some reason. Far be it for me to argue with her." He laughed.
When the game finally ended, Charlie and I called it a night. "Bells, good luck at school tomorrow. I probably won't see you in the morning. I usually head to the station every day around five. Just wanted to let you know now, so you're not wondering where I am when you wake up."
"Okay. That sounds good."
I started to bed, but I stopped three-quarters of the way up the stairs, turning back to face my uncle.
"Charlie?"
"Yeah, Bells?"
"Thank you for … everything," I said with a grateful smile.
"Sure thing, kiddo," he replied as I turned away, climbing the rest of the stairs to my room.
It was a long sleepless night. I grew more nervous about attending school in the morning by the minute. Finally, when I heard Charlie leave for the station just before five a. m., I realized that the day I had been both dreading and looking forward to … finally arrived.
It was just after seven o'clock when I hopped into my Ford black pickup and turned the ignition. I grinned as it purred to life. I had loved this truck from the minute I first laid eyes on it.
It was only a ten-minute drive to Forks High School. As I pulled into the school parking lot, I groaned out loud to myself. Not only was I the new kid and sure to be the center of attention, but it would appear my shiny vehicle also garnished notice. It was quite obvious that most of the students here drove hand-me-downs, as the majority of them seemed to be as old as me. I did breathe a tiny sigh of relief when I noticed two newer cars in the parking lot. After viewing them, mine didn't seem so out of place. The first car I saw was a fairly new silver four-door Volvo. Also, parked directly to its right, was a large, red Jeep Wrangler that had clearly been fitted for off-roading.
As I turned off my truck and stepped outside, my nose was immediately assaulted by five strange scents. They stood out against all the other smells permeating the air around me. All five scents were each pleasant and inviting, yet each one of them was unique, completely its own entity. Out of the five fragrances, one of them was particularly alluring. In fact, it was the most appealing smell that I had ever encountered. It wasn't the kind of smell that made me hungry. It definitely wasn't coming from a food source. It was the kind of smell that you wanted to cocoon yourself in as you let its heavenly aroma saturate your entire being.
As much as I desired to find the source of that incredible smell, I managed to collect myself and head to the school's main office to pick up my schedule for the semester.
As I took in my surroundings, I noticed that Forks High was set up more like a mini college campus, rather than an actual high school. As opposed to just one large building, there were a total of seven smaller ones and a small office at the forefront. That particular office just happened to be the place I needed to go.
I entered the small building that read, "Main Office" above the front door, and was met by a heavyset woman with short, red hair.
"May I help you, dear?" the redheaded woman asked.
"Yes," I replied, while offering her a tight-lipped smile. "My name is Isabella Swan. Today is my first day here. I just moved to Forks yesterday. I believe my uncle, Charlie Swan, has already enrolled me."
The woman's eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh, yes of course, the Chief's niece. How could I forget? It's a pleasure to meet you, Isabella. My name is Mrs. Cope."
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well. And please, it's just Bella," I quickly clarified. Only my parents called me Isabella. I intended to keep it that way.
"Bella it is then," she said with a cheery smile. "My goodness, you're even more beautiful than your uncle said you were. Oh dear, I'm afraid that you're going to break some hearts while you're here." She chuckled to herself. I just smiled in response, embarrassed by her remarks.
"Well then, here you go, Bella," she said as she handed me my schedule and map with the school's layout on it. "Oh, I almost forgot—" shedug around for a moment, then handed me small stack of forms "—each one of these needs to be signed by your teacher for that particular class. Please return each signed slip here at the end of the day."
After I took the slips of paper from her hands, I thanked her once again. As I exited the door, she wished me good luck one additional time. As I made my way across school grounds, toward the literature building, I noticed the small school campus was now abuzz with students.
Surprise, surprise, I thought to myself as everyone and their mother unabashedly gawked at me. I really hate being the center of attention. Yet, here I was, the shiny new toy strutting across campus. I continued toward my destination as I kept my head down, and my eyes glued to the map. As difficult as it was, I pretended not to notice the piercing stares. However, my attempts at hiding from their prying eyes did nothing to prevent me from hearing their whispers."Did everyone see the new girl?"
"Hell yeah, she's smoking hot."
"She looks like they do." Huh? What is that supposed to mean?
"She's even more beautiful than Rosalie Hale."
"I wonder if I should ask her out."
"Do you think she's related to the Cullens?"
"You're such an idiot. The Cullens are all adopted, they're not even related … well, not all of them anyway. Rosalie and Jasper are twins, but the others are all adopted from different families, dummy." Apparently, someone thought the previous comment had been quite foolish.
Who were the Cullens that the students kept comparing me to? Were there others here? I silently groaned at having to hear all the gossip around me. I wanted to stick my fingers in my ears as I sang, la-la-la … I can't hear you.
Finally, I made my way through all of the whispers and stares as I entered the literature building. Thankfully, I found my classroom without any more fanfare.
I thanked the Lord above as my teacher took mercy on me, not making me stand up and introduce myself to the class. He simply signed the slip and pointed to an empty seat in the back of the classroom. I did noticehis wondering eyes, however. I rolled my own set as he raked his all over my face and body. I cringed at such a disgusting notion as I proceeded quietly to take my seat.
"Hi, I'm Jessica Stanley," said the female voice to my left. "You must be the new girl, Isabella Swan, the Chief's niece." I could tell that she was going for friendly. However, it was impossible to miss the jealousy and anger with which clearly laced her greeting. I already knew that I wasn't going to like this girl.
I turned my head in her direction, our eyes connecting. "It's Bella," I said rather shortly. As she studied my face, her pulse quickened and fear began to take root. I could smell it oozing from her.
I smiled brightly, giving her a toothy grin.
"Nice to meet you, Jessica," I replied as I stared hard back into her eyes, capturing her in my gaze.
"Y-You, too ..." she managed to sputter out. I inaudibly snickered as I realized that I had ended our conversation rather abruptly just by giving her a glimpse of my true nature.
As the next few classes dragged on, I crossed the five scents I noticed earlier in the day several times. Everyone once in a while, I would get a whiff of that one particular intoxicating fragrance. Each time I crossed it, I greedily inhaled and let it permeate my senses.
Finally, the class before lunch arrived. It was trigonometry with Mr. Varner. As I approached the class, one of the five scents began to overwhelm my senses. It wasn't the heavenly aroma that I had been searching for all day, but it was certainly pleasant enough it in its own right. It reminded me of lilies, sunflowers, and really sweet, sugary candy.
The scent assaulted me as I entered the classroom. And then I heard her voice. It was too low for anyone else to hear. "Bella, over here, I saved you a seat," the little vampire whispered.
She was so … small. Her small, elf-like face was surrounded by a halo of spiky, ink-black hair. Despite her positively tiny frame and elfin features, she was utterly beautiful. I was instantly drawn to her eyes.
Her eyes … her eyes are just like mine. Is this the beginning? Could it all be true? I asked myself.
I quickly decided that she wasn't a threat, especially while in a classroom full of human witnesses. It wasn't easy, but I pushed aside my own survival instincts, which had been suddenly awoken by her presence.
I made my way to the back of the class and sat down to the right of the little pixie-like vampire, who at that point, was practically vibrating due to her excited state.
She was radiating enthusiasm. I had to admit her excitement was infections. I couldn't help myself from smiling brightly as I turned to face her. This was entirely new to me. I had never met any of my own kind before. Well … other than the two monsters that killed my parents and accidentally caused me to become a vampire.
"Hi, Bella." She spoke at a level that was only audible to me, while grinning brightly. "My name is Alice Cullen. Along with my brothers and sisters, I have been waiting to meet you for weeks."
"How did you know about me?" I asked, sincerely confused and severely stunned.
"Well," she hedged, "aside from all of us picking up your scent as soon as you arrived this morning, I saw you coming two weeks ago."
"Saw me?" I asked, arching my eyebrow to emphasize my confusion.
"Right here probably isn't the best place to explain things," she warned, keeping the volume of her voice so low that it was inaudible to humans. I was in complete agreement with her.
"But," she continued anyway, "the short answer is that I can see the future, Bella. You know how some vampires have special abilities—like your shield. We'll I'm psychic. However, the future I am privy to is always changing. It is based on the decisions that we make. Ever since you made the decision to move here two weeks ago, I've been having visions of your arrival. I've already seen it, Bella. We're going to be best friends. Eventually, were even going to be—" She immediately stopped short as if she was about to say too much. But, I couldn't get my mind off her statement that we would be best friends.
"I haven't had a friend in almost two years," I said softly to myself. Even I could hear the sadness in my voice. I had no doubt that Alice picked up on it as well. As if to confirm my suspicions, she placed her hand on top of mine. It was strange, touching someone that had the same body temperature as me. It was the first time I had experienced such a thing.
"Well—" she smiled softly "—you have one now, Bella. And just to warn you, I've already seen it. We're going to be best friends for an eternity. Besides, once you meet the rest of the family you're going to have a lot more than one friend from now on. Knowing Carlisle and Esme, my adoptive parents, the way I do—" she grinned "—you are most likely going to find yourself as part of the Cullen Family very soon." I thought she had finished speaking, but then her eyes glazed over. "Very, very … soon," she amended.
My brain was on overload. Just seconds ago, I was the only vampire that I knew. Well, other than the two that came to my home that night and destroyed my life. Yet now, not only had I just met one vampire—who happened to inform me that she was a psychic and that we would be best friends forever as simply as if she was commenting on the weather—but, I was also supposed to meet an entire family of them? Part of me was pulsating with excitement over the thought of not being alone in this life anymore. The other side of my brain, the more reserved part, was nervous as hell. I was curious, however. I wondered if any other members of her family had special gifts like we did.
"Are there any other gifted members in your family, Alice?" I asked.
"One of my brothers can read minds." My eyes immediately widened. I didn't like the idea of someone siphoning my thoughts. I didn't like the idea one bit.
"Don't worry. Edward already discovered that he can't hear your mind. Apparently, your mental shield blocks him. Then there is Jasper, he is what we like to call an empath. He can feel and manipulate your emotions," she added nonchalantly.
Alice and I continued to chitchat throughout the entire class at a volume that was inaudible to human ears. During our talk, I had my prior suspicions confirmed as she informed me that there were indeed five of them, all together here in school. There was Alice and her husband and mate, Jasper. Next, there was Edward and his mate and wife, Rosalie. And finally, there was the only single member of the Cullen Family … Emmett.
"Wait. Did you just say … Emmett?" I asked stupidly, knowing plain well what I had just heard.
This could not really be happening … could it? I had always played it off as a dream or a hallucination.
She nodded, although looking a bit befuddled by my sudden change in mood.
"Alice, his last name didn't happen to be McCarty, did it? I mean, before he became a Cullen," I asked, already fearing the answer as well as what it would mean.
Her eyes widened. "Yes. How did you know?" she asked, surprise and confusion coloring her bell-like voice.
I exhaled a deep breath I didn't even realize I had been holding in. It wasn't that I didn't want to tell her, but I thought it only fair that I should have this discussion with Emmett first. He deserved that much.
Whether he realized it or not, Emmett McCarty had been consuming almost every waking thought I experience ever since the night my parents were murdered. I couldn't believe it. Fate, it would seem, had led me to him. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I was actually going to meet the man. Even though he had no idea who I was, our meeting had been fated for years. The wheels had been set in motion. There was no stopping it. No going back now.
How would he react when I told him my story? Would he think I was some deranged psychopath?
Hell, if I didn't know the truth, I certainly wouldn't believe myself. How can I expect him to? I silently questioned myself.
I looked over to Alice, hoping to explain things without seeming rude. But, my explanation was stopped before I even had the chance to start as her eyes suddenly glazed over. As soon as they returned to normal, she clapped her hands and squealed quietly to herself. The little pixie was practically pulsating with excitement.
"Ooh, this is definitely going to speed things up," she said cryptically.
I looked at her in confusion.
She just rolled her eyes. "You and Emmett," she whispered.
"H-How …" I stuttered.
"Once you made the decision to talk to Emmett alone, I saw the entire conversation," she explained as she offered a bright smile.
"Bella, that is truly amazing. I don't think I would have believed it myself, if you didn't know their names—know everything," she said while shaking her head in disbelief.
"So, you know everything?" I asked in complete disbelief. I was truly shocked at how easily Alice was taking this, especially knowing what she now knew.
She just nodded her head and smiled like it was no big deal.
"Oh," she added with a knowing smirk. "Don't worry, Bella. He's … um, had the same problem as you all day long."
Again, I looked at her like she had three heads. "Bella, I've been watching your future all day. You've practically given me a headache—a hard thing to do to a vampire, by the way. Have you, or have you not been constantly changing your mind in regards to finding the source of a particularly alluring scent, all morning long? The scent you've been obsessing over is Emmett's. I was just saying that he has been dealing with the same temptation. Apparently, you smell just as appealing to him, as he does to you," she finished without even batting an eyelash.
I was mortified that Alice knew I was practically a "scent-stalker" now. Yet, she didn't look troubled in the slightest, so I decided to let it go. Even though I had yet to even meet Emmett, I couldn't help but smile at the fact that he found my scent just as enticing. It made me feel … actually I wasn't sure how it made me feel. It was just nice to know that it wasn't only me.
"Alice," I whispered, claiming her attention once again. "Please don't say anything about this Emmett thing to anyone. I really feel like he should be told in private. It might be emotional for him."
Alice nodded, but then a sudden nervous expression took hold over her features. "Edward," she said as if that explained everything. When she realized that I wasn't following her train of thought, she continued, "I'm sure he's already plucked it from my mind. However, he hasn't said anything to Emmett, yet. I would have seen it, Bella, if he had decided to tell him."
It was my turn to smirk at her. "Don't worry, Alice. He hasn't been listening to your thoughts. Since you told me that my shield blocked him, I've been shielding you ever since Emmett's name came up," I whispered with my grin still firmly in place.
"Oh, Bella!" she squealed. "This is going to be so much fun. With you around, we won't always have to try and hide our thoughts from Edward."
Just as she finished speaking, the bell signaling lunch rang.
It was time to face my destiny head on. My past was about to collide with my future.
A/N –Hope you enjoyed chapter one.
Best Wishes,
BlackMoon29