What You Thought
When Bella and Edward and the whole Cullen family (and of course Jacob) moved away from Forks, they made a whole other life in New Hampshire, then Canada, then London, then Alaska. When Bella decided that she wanted to move back to Forks, to be where all of her old memories of her and Edward were, like when they first met or when they first kissed, she knew that they would have to put on the same façade as they did everywhere else. But little did they know that when they moved back some of their old friends would still be there.
I always wondered what happened to my old friends but I never would have thought that they wouldn't have changed. At all. All of my friends eventually lost touch except Mike and myself. Mike and I were the only ones who stayed in contact once high school ended about 70 years ago.
I missed my old friends like Jessica, Eric, Tyler, Lauren, Bella, Alice, Edward, and so many others. But I knew that they were wherever they were because of who they were and not because someone got them there. Like Jessica went on to be an editor for some big magazine in New York, Eric did became a slightly successful photographer, and Edward and Bella became a happily married couple, but all I ever did was become a principal of the same high school I went to, Forks High School. I mean I got married and had a couple of kids who I adore, but I always felt that I needed to be someone more than just Angela Weber. But then again what did I know; I was only a principal of a high school.
"Mrs. Carmichael," Sally said from the other side of the intercom. "You have a call on line 1." "Thank you," I told her then picking up the phone. "Hello?" "Yes, Hello, Mrs. Carmichael this is the Washington State Hospital calling." The man on the other end said. "Yes, Is something wrong," I asked worried about who could be hurt, one of my kids, my husband, or anybody close to my family. "Unfortunately there is, I am told by Dr. Banks that your friend, Mike Newton, is in an unstable condition here." He said. "What's wrong with Mike?" I asked frantic. "Well he has just slipped into a coma. Before he lost consciousness he told us to call you and say that he wanted to tell you something, but he never finished the thought. He slipped into that coma before he could." He told me. But before I could say anything I heard a doctor come up to him and say that Mike had just regained consciousness.
"Mrs. Carmichael, I just got word that Mr. Newton has just regained consciousness," he said, but obviously I already knew,"And he has asked that you come here within a couple of days. We suggest that you do come here because we don't know how much longer he has. It could be the last time you see your friend. Please come." "Ok, um I'll come within the next few days, probably on Friday or Saturday." I told the man. "Thank you very much. I assume that you need to get back to work, and so must I; so goodbye," he said then the line went dead.
"Mrs. Carmichael?" Sally asked, "Did you ever look at those transfer papers?" "Um, no but I will right away thank you for reminding me" I told her
I got out the file and began reading. There were seven students, all foster children to a doctor and his wife. There were two sets of twins, one set had been the doctor's wife's niece and nephew and the other set were girls that were fraternal, and then the rest were foster kids that had parents who could no longer "handle" their child.
This had all sounded so familiar to me because one of my best friends in high school, Alice, had this with her family. I looked at the first name: Bella Cullen. Bella Cullen?. Bella Cullen? Bella Cullen?! It couldn't be possible. In fact it was impossible, Bella would be my age, plus she and Edward moved away about 60 years ago. It must be a common name. It had to be. Or maybe it was one of their grandchildren or something like that.
The next name: Edward Cullen. Edward Cullen? Edward Cullen? Edward Cullen?! Maybe it was another coincidence. Or else this thing was just freakin' crazy.
The next name: Alice Cullen. What was up with this world?! Was this just my mind or was this actually happening. I didn't even care to look at the next names. It didn't matter; I was just going to let them in. They had the grades and the reputation to be so well behaved. If that was bad, then I didn't care; my brain was even more jacked up. Maybe when I am at the hospital, I should have my brain looked at.
"Sally?" I asked over the intercom. "Uh, sure I approve of the transfers." "Ok, I will notify Dr. and Mrs. Cullen right away" she said. "Oh and I'm going to be taking a day off on Friday, this weekend I'm going away." I told her. "Ok, I will make a note of that," She said.
The next day I had the new transfer students come to school. During 3rd period I had three of the new students, Bella and Edward and Renesmee come to my office. "Hello? Mrs. Carmichael?" Bella said. "Yes, Bella, Edward, and Renesmee, come in," I said to them. Last night I looked through all of my old photos and took the ones that I took at my best friend's wedding and put them into my bag for the morning. Before they came in, I took the photos out and put them in a pile on my desk.
"Oh goodness!" I gasped at the sight of my new students. "Is something wrong?" Bella asked. Then Edward mouthed something inaudible to his so-called sisters. "Its just that two of you look so much like my friends from high school, but that couldn't be possible. Could it?" I said. I always knew that there was something different about the Cullen family. "No, that's impossible," Edward said. "Oh I know, but only one of you look exactly like the person I'm thinking of. The other looks similar but not exact," I said to them. Then grabbing one of the pictures off of my desk, I showed it to them. "You Bella, look an awful lot like my friend, Bella. And you Edward, look an awful lot, well no, you look exactly like her husband, Edward" I told them holding up the picture of the two at their wedding. "But I know, maybe I'm just making this up. Or maybe my brain is just acting weird because it's getting old. I don't know, but I know that there is something different about you kids and its not because you were all adopted." I told them. "You are Angela Weber?" Bella asked. "Yes and you are Bella Cullen," I said to her. "Yes" she said.
"You know that we look a lot like your friends and even have the same names but you don't know who we are," Edward said. "No I don't know who you are though I do know that you are them but not them at the same time. If that makes any sense." I told them. "And it does," Renesmee said. "So are we going to tell her?" "No" Edward answered.
"Tell me what, that you guys are a bunch of vampires and the prey is what keeps you younger? Well you must think I'm crazy or something. I don't know, maybe I am. Maybe this is all just a dream. I mean its like, you two look so much like you used to." I said kind of ranting. "Well you are partially right" Bella said to me. She exchanged a glace with Edward, and with a slight nod of his head she began to tell me the whole story.
So she told me the whole story about vampires and werewolves and other mythical creatures. They told me that Renesmee was half vampire and half human. They told me about how if anyone ever found out that I knew, the Volturi might come and kill me. And most importantly they told me that they were never going to change, and that's why they looked the same.
"So now I'm guessing that you want to know what we eat?" Bella, my long lost friend, asked me. "Well I'm kind of worried that you guys might lunge for my throat any second now, but second by second you remain calm," I told them. "Well you don't need to worry, we exist only on the blood of animals. I mean yes we can have human blood, and its not that we don't prefer it, its just that we do this only to keep you humans safe." Edward said. I was speechless, I seriously could not think of any words to say.
Well since they told me everything that happened while they were gone I figured I needed to tell them something. "Mike is in the hospital," I blurted out. But now knowing Edward, he knew that just from my thoughts, I was now embarrassed by everything I had thought when he was around. "Are you serious?" Bella gasped. "Yes, and he's the only one left in our group of friends so I though that you might like to know," I told her. Though I knew she was fine with death, considering Charlie, Rene, Phil, Sue, and Billy, I knew that Mike being in the hospital would cause her just as much pain. She just looked at me with wide eyes. "He slipped into a coma then came out of it just yesterday. I'm going down there, to the big hospital here, and saying my last goodbye to him. I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you came with me. Though you might have some explaining to do, I'm sure he'd love it" I told them.
"Who's Mike, mom?" Renesmee asked Bella. "Oh, he's just one of my old friends, who for some reason had a crush on me" She told Renesmee. "Oh, I know why he had a crush on you. And it was kind of more than a crush. Kind of an obsession" Edward said to Bella, looking deeply in her eyes. "Well you weren't any better, you were also obsessed" she said. "Yes but I love you and you love me. You chose me" he said purposefully not putting a past tense ending on love. Well at least they still love each other. They are not like any other couple I've seen who's been together for 70 years. They definitely still loved each other the same amount way they did 70 years ago if not more.
When Friday came along Edward and Bella met me at the school and we drove down to the hospital together. When we got to his room he was asleep. He looked so fragile. He looked that if someone got to close and even tried to give him a high five, his arm would fall off. But at the same time he looked peaceful. He started to open his eyes when I sneezed.
"Angela?" Mike said with a sick voice. "Hi Mike. Its good to see you again." I told him trying to sound very comforting. "So I guess you wanted to come to see me to say your last goodbyes," he said with an almost smile. "Who did you bring with you. They look a lot like Bells and Cullen back from when we were in High School." "Well," I started, then looked at Edward and asked in my mind if I could tell Mike what I knew. He nodded to say that yes I could tell him. "That's because it is them."
"What are you talking about? That's impossible. That could never happen. What? N-n-w-w- Huh?" he asked me. He looked as if he was going to explode if he didn't get some answers. "Why don't you tell him Edward," I suggested. And Edward proceeded with the same story he told me.
"Well Cullen, I got to say, I always knew you were different, but I never thought that Bella would want to be part of your world. But not that that's a bad thing, I mean its cool but I never even would have thought it was possible. I mean you're supposed to be fictional and turn into bats, sleep in coffins, fear away from wooden crosses, and not be able to go out in the sunlight," Mike said to Edward. "I know, I mean, I thought the same as you Mike. I'm basically wondering if I just got fooled, or if my eyes playing tricks on me, or something. "Yeah, But I mean its good to see things work out for you. You still have Bella and you two are still in as much love if not more, which I remember from your wedding." He said. Maybe he was still jealous of Edward for taking Bella way back then. Mike and I had always remained friends throughout the years, he was the first person notified whenever there were reunions, he was my best friend and now he was basically on his deathbed. The only reason Mike's family wasn't here was because they left Forks long ago and they moved to Miami, to get away from all of the rain and wanted to get to the sun.
"Thanks Mike, Its nice to see that you are still the same guy you were back in high school," Edward said. "So I guess that now that I know your secret I got to keep my mouth shut or else I'm like dead right. Though I'm not far from that right now." Mike said to Edward. "Oh Mike, I'm going to miss you so much!" Bella said. It sounded as if she would be in tears if that were physically possible for her. "I'm just glad I got to see you one more time before it was too late for me," Mike said to her in tears. We were such good friends in high school, we stayed on her side when Edward left her and she went into depression and our prior group of friends was divided into Ati-Bella and Pro-Bella basically. We stayed on her side when she got married so young (and look how that turned out for her. It was seriously like the best thing to ever happen to her). "Me too," Bella said.
We stayed in the hospital for a few more days and then we left. When I got back to school on Monday I had a message on my machine saying that right after we left the hospital Mike had slipped into another coma and this one was fatal. That he might not wake up from this coma. So I called in Bella and Edward and told them the news. "Yes we know," Edward said sounding calm. "Alice told us, she said that he would not wake up from this one. She said that it was a good thing that we saw him when we did," Bella said with the same I-would-cry-if-I-could voice. "Ok then," I said with a thick voice and tears in my eyes.
She noticed the thickness in my voice and gave me a gentle-for-her-but-hard-for-me hug. The whole Cullen family stayed in Forks for the rest of my days on this planet, and not once did I ask to be changed, even when I was dying, I was just happy to have my friends back. I missed Alice, Bella, and Edward.