Summary: Movie world, Twilight AU In the beginning of the movie, Twilight, Bella asks Jacob if he wants a ride to school. He tells her he goes to school on the reservation. What if instead he went to Forks High School and accepted that ride from Bella?
"You just double pump the clutch, that's pretty much it," Jacob explained to Bella as she practiced depressing the pedal. She smiled as she imagined driving the ancient beast around. The one ray of sunlight in the shadow of moving all the way to Forks to live with Charlie. Bella sighed and turned to Jacob.
"So, do you want a ride to school tomorrow?" Bella asked, hoping to have at least one friend in this god forsaken town.
"Yeah, sure," Jacob answered, a light blush covering his cheeks. He smiled and dipped his head, trying to avoid staring too closely at Bella.
"Awesome!" Bella responded. "Will you be able to show me where to go when we get there? I hate the idea of being the new kid."
"Well, you can drive all the way out to my house and get me, but you might get lost. I usually catch a ride with some friends. How about we come by here and you follow in your truck? I can ride with you to make sure you don't get lost on the way to school. Then, after school, I can show you how to get to the res."
Bella thought over the idea while she fiddled with the different switches and gauges on the dashboard. A bunch of teenage guys taking her to school on her first day. What could possibly go right with that situation? The alternative was showing up alone and having everyone stare at her.
"Sure, Jacob. Let's do that. I need to check with Charlie about after school. I might have too much homework," Bella turned to look at Jacob.
"You can call me Jake. Only my dad and yours call me Jacob. Anyway, that sounds good. If you can't come over after school, maybe you can come out this weekend. We are going to have a bonfire."
Charlie walked up to Bella's side of the truck and leaned in the open door. "Are you guys ready to head in yet? The game is going to start soon."
Jake looked to Bella to answer Charlie's question. "Um, yeah, Dad. We will be right in. Do you think tomorrow after school I could head with Jake to the reservation? He said I could come over and check things out in case he needs a ride to school."
"Sounds fine as long as you don't have school work to get finished. I don't want you to fall behind in the middle of the year." Charlie's eyes shifted to Jacob's. Jacob just smirked. "You kids come in soon. I'm going to order some pizza for dinner, but if I miss the pregame Billy won't shut up about it."
Bella climbed out of the cab and shut the door with a two-handed shove. She headed toward the front door, but decided to turn and sit on the steps. Jake sat down one step higher and stared at the street. They sat in silence for a while, neither knowing exactly what to say to the other. Bella was overwhelmed with the recent move and Jacob simply nervous around a beautiful, older girl. Once the pizza delivery arrived, Bella hopped up and hollered in the door to let Charlie know it was there. They followed Charlie and the pizza into the kitchen, where they served up their dinner.
"Want to take it on the deck?" Jacob asked Bella, tilting his head in the direction of the back door. Bella nibbled a piece of salad and nodded her head yes. Jacob held the door as Bella balanced her plate with her salad and drink. He stepped out ahead of her and put his pizza down on the picnic table. Nearly making it to the table, Bella stumbled and started to drop her plate. Jake reached out with lightning reflexes and grabbed it, setting it on the table.
"Dang! That was some ninja-like reaction!" Bella exclaimed, laughing but shaking her head side-to-side, acknowledging her own clumsiness.
"It's part of Quileute 101," he chuckled, as he settled onto the bench opposite her.
The evening passed quickly as the two joked around and poked fun at their dads. Jacob filled Bella in on many amusing stories about her father, while she considered how much of his life she missed. Jacob knew more about her dad than she did. But, he wasn't rubbing it in, he was simply sharing the stories that proved she was quite like him in many ways.
He told her about a surprise birthday party Charlie's best friends decided to pull on him. Except they didn't realize one of the waitresses at the diner had accidentally told him about it. Charlie did not want to be the center of attention in the least. So when Billy had called him complaining that the sink in the kitchen was leaking really bad, and that he needed to hurry over, Charlie parked a little ways down the road and walked in the back door. He stood right next to the kitchen sink, and watched as his friends crowded around the window in the living room watching for his arrival. Charlie cracked open a beer, walked up behind them, and loudly asked, "What are we looking for?"
Bella had laughed really hard, thinking how much she hated to be center of attention as well. She couldn't believe Charlie showed up at all, but Jake assured her Charlie didn't have that horrible of a time.
Before they knew it, Billy was calling Jake to go home. He promised Bella he would see her in the morning for her first day of school. Charlie and Bella stood on the front porch waving goodbye as they drove off into the dark night.
After tidying up her few dishes from dinner, Bella headed upstairs to her room. She glanced around at the sparse decorations and thought about some things she might like to get to add to it. Her bags were stacked at the foot of her bed, so Bella opened them up and unpacked the things she would need for the next few days. Clothes, toiletries, and her books were put into their places. Bella glanced down at the screen of her cell phone, noticing a blinking light. Two messages from Renee asking her if she got there okay and to call when she had a chance. Bella pushed the button to call her mom, and laid back in the bed.
Later that night after Bella had filled her mom in on her arrival in Forks, she laid on top of her comforter staring out the window. Her mind swirled with all of the mixed emotions about moving to a town she hardly remembered from her childhood. She worried a lot but so far it all seemed like it might be okay. Having a friend on the first day of school would help her from feeling like the outcast. Bella had been the new kid more times than necessary in her life with Renee. High school in Phoenix was just about the only place she had stayed for several years. There weren't any friends that missed her from her old school. Maybe this was her opportunity to have friends that she'd always longed to have.
It took her awhile to finally settle down to sleep, and when the alarm buzzed the next morning, Bella slapped it with a groan. Rolling out of bed, she trudged to the shower. The warm water soothed her and she got out feeling as refreshed as one could after tossing and turning for hours. Charlie was at the kitchen table looking over a file and sipping coffee when she came down the stairs.
"Good morning, Bells," he greeted her, glancing her way. "Did you get any sleep at all? Was your room too cold? I can turn the heat up if you want me to tonight."
"I wasn't really cold," Bella replied as she searched around for breakfast food. "Just thinking about everything and first day stuff, you know." She shrugged her shoulder as she dropped some bread into the toaster. Glancing around, she found the rest of what she needed for her toast and sat down in the chair opposite of her dad.
"You'll be okay. Jake and his friends will watch out for you," Charlie set down his file and looked at his daughter. "I'm really glad you're here, Bella. If you need anything, just let me know."
Bella smiled warmly just as a horn honked out front. "Guess that's them now," Bella said as she stood and grabbed her backpack, slipping it over her shoulder. Awkwardly, Bella waved to Charlie before heading to the front door. Leaning against her truck, trying to look casual, was Jacob. She smiled widely at him as she trotted down the steps, stumbling at the bottom.
"I thought your name was Bella, Grace!" a voice she did not recognize yelled from the black car parked behind hers.
Jake turned to glare at the driver. "Shut up, Quil! Don't worry about him, Bella. He is an idiot and doesn't know when to shut his mouth." He jogged around to the passenger side of her truck and climbed in. Bella stared momentarily at the driver and passengers, and then got into her truck. The truck roared to life and they headed to school.
The hallways were full of students talking and shoving into each other as they walked. Bella glanced around as Jake pushed through the crowd making a path for her. Quil was behind her with Embry. They seemed to be friends with everyone they passed. Everyone was smiling and either punching them in the arm or high-fiving them. Bella felt out of place in the group of large boys.
"Here we are, Junior English," Jake said as he gestured to the door in front of him. "We can't go with you because we are lowly sophomores." He bowed a little as though she were royalty. Quickly, he got out of her way. "See you when class is over. I'll meet you here."
Bella went into the classroom. She hoped she would like it as much as her other class in Phoenix. They had studied the classics she loved so much. Mr. Mason took the slip she carried, initialed it and handed it back.
"Any open seat is fine," he told her as he pulled out a yellow folder and gave it to Bella. "Class information is in there. We are taking a test today, but we will be starting a new novel tomorrow." Bella nodded, then turned toward the desks to choose her seat. Her eyes floated over the empty desks and the students that had already arrived. There were only a few seats left. She could see the prissy girls, giggling and checking their makeup in compact mirrors. Clearly, the jocks had their section as well. Bella spotted an empty desk and slid into the chair. She glanced to her left and her eyes widened. Next to her was a beautiful blonde. Probably one of the most beautiful girls she had ever seen. Bella must have stared a moment too long because the blonde turned and glared at Bella. Whipping her head to the front of the classroom, Bella took a deep breath. She tapped her fingers on the desktop.
"Would you stop? That's super annoying," the blonde snapped at her. Bella's fingers stilled.
"Rosalie, would you relax?" A girl with a welcoming smile said as she reached out a hand to Bella. "Hi, I'm Jessica, Junior Class President. Welcome to Forks High. What's your name?"
Tentatively, Bella reached out her hand and loosely shook the other girl's hand, while giving a sidelong glance to the girl named Rosalie. She was pulling her hair out in front of her analyzing the ends of the strands, a look on her face like she smelled a pile of crap. Finally, Mr. Mason started the class by going over the test rules. Bella pulled a book from her backpack and started reading, hoping the rest of the day would go better.
Jake and Quil or Jake and Embry met Bella outside each of her classes and helped her find the way to the next class. At lunch, she hesitantly followed them into the big lunchroom. Bella followed the 3 boys to the lunch line where she grabbed an apple, a slice of pizza, and a bottle of water. They walked to a table that was clearly reserved for them in some of unspoken rule sort of way. As Quil started to sit in the chair next to Jake, Bella looked around debating where she should sit.
"Move, moron," Jake grunted before pushing out a chair for Bella. "Here, Bella." Jake pointed to the empty chair next to him and reached out to help Bella set her tray on the table. She sat down and surveyed everyone that had since arrived at the table. Bella noticed the girl from her English class, Jessica, who smiled and glanced briefly at Jacob before turning and talking at the guy next to her. Bella had overheard his name was Mike. She also saw a girl from her Algebra II class, Angela. Angela shyly smiled and waved at Bella across the table.
Lunch was full of excited chatter about an upcoming bonfire and possible weather that would be "perfect" for surfing. Bella didn't really join in the conversation too much but she did talk to Jacob every now and then. She didn't feel as uncomfortable as she thought she would. The group of kids seemed like they had known each other their whole lives, but they were welcoming to her. The doors of the cafeteria opened and all heads turned to see the group of students walking in. Bella noticed that the first one in the door was Rosalie from earlier in the morning. She sat in stunned silence, her jaw slightly open as others as beautiful as Rosalie walked in behind her.
Jake leaned in close to Bella's ear and whispered. "That's the Cullens. Nobody talks to them and they are all too good for everyone here. They are all adopted. They think that no one notices that they just sit there and throw away the food on their tray when lunch is over. But, I notice. It's weird."
Bella watched to see if what Jake said was true. They all had food and they were moving it around. Two of the guys were throwing bits of food at each other. Yet, no one had actually taken a bite of the food. Suddenly, a bronze haired boy turned and looked at them. Blatantly, he bit into an apple and started chewing it. Then he smiled widely.
"God, he gives me the creeps," Jake murmured turning away from the apple eater. "It's like he can hear every word you say or something." Bella glanced back and he had turned around. She was surprised to notice that the apple eater had taken a napkin and wiped his mouth. Only, it looked like he was spitting out the chewed up fruit.
"I can see why," Bella whispered back. Her attention was diverted as Embry and Quil began a heated argument betting on who would stay in the frigid water the longest over the weekend. Bella discreetly rolled her eyes towards Jake as she gathered her trash to clean up from her lunch. As they moved in a group to the exit, Bella happened to notice the Cullen family dumping their food trays into the garbage. The only evidence of eating was the bitten apple.
When the bell rang for dismissal, Bella headed toward the parking lot in the sea of students. Everyone was talking animatedly and every now and then, someone would bump into Bella as she made her way to her truck. Jake wasn't waiting outside the door this time, so she figured the next best place to meet up would be the parking lot. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed the Cullen family between her and her truck. She really didn't want to get too close to them. The sea parted around her.
"Bella! I was looking for you," Jake called out as he rushed up to her side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her toward the truck. The Cullen family was no longer there, and Jake was yelling out across the parking lot to Quil. "See you later, Quil! I'm getting a ride with Bella to my house!" Quil waved and got into his car.
Bella's truck started with the pair inside, and Jake turned up the music tapping on his thighs to the beat. Bella jammed on the brakes as she pulled up to a traffic jam. A silver Volvo held up the line. Jake reached over and pushed the horn, throwing his hands in there air.
"Cullen, what the heck? Get out of the way!" Jacob yelled into the cab of the truck. "He can be a serious douche nozzle."
The car pulled away as a Jeep squealed its tires right behind it. The rest of the cars pulled away and Bella coaxed her truck into the stream of traffic. Jake gave directions as he held his hand out the window, letting it ride the wind bouncing up and down.
"You know, a rock could kick up from the tires and hit your hand," Bella said as she glimpsed over at Jake. He smiled and continued to direct his fingers into the wind. Suddenly, he flinched.
"Oh my gosh! Ow! I think I've been shot," he held his hand to his chest.
Bella swerved as she tried to look at his injured hand. "Are you okay?" She reached over to grab his hand and pull it toward her face. She looked down and felt Jake's body as he laughed silently next to her. He squeezed her hand before pulling his hand back and laughed loudly.
"Hook, line, and sinker! Wow! You are gullible!" Jake tugged on Bella's hair lightly, and she smacked his arm away. She laughed. "Jerk!"