Life was a bitch; Celine Dwyer had figured this out a long time ago.
It was only proven with everything going on in her life. Two years ago, she had been told that the woman she had always called 'Aunt' was her mother, and that the person she had believed to be her mother wasn't even related to her by blood. Renee Dwyer, her biological mother, had 'adopted' her into she and Phil's family. Or at least, that was what her older sister in Forks, Washington believed.
She had, apparently, been the product of an affair. She and her sister were related only through their mother, and her sister's father didn't know he had ever been cheated on. She was the only one who knew besides her former family, and Renee didn't want anyone else to find out.
Just two years after being taken in by Renee and Phil, Renee decided it would be a good idea to send her to Forks, to get to know her sister. She had met her once, she and her boyfriend Edward, and they had stayed for a week or two. She didn't really have an opinion of either of them, though, and she didn't care to get to know Bella. But she didn't have a choice; so she was being thrown from family to family like a ball. And she didn't want to go to Forks—she would be an oddity there, with her piercings and personality and taste in people, and it was so small and…boring.
But she had packed her bags and Renee had seen her off at the airport, and hours later her plane landed.
The fifteen year old started high school with Bella as a sophomore. To her surprise, she wasn't rejected; that was what she had been afraid of. She had been popular everywhere she had lived before, but she had always lived in cities, not in tiny under-populated towns. She was like a shiny new toy for the locals to play with; she made friends quickly and had boys asking her out left and right, a lot of which were Bella's friends. She denied them all.
Instead of all her piercings—angel-bites, septum, ear piercings—being a reason for people to reject her, they were conversation starters. People seemed to see her style as new and fresh instead of weird.
That said, it wasn't nearly as bad as she had thought it would be. Bella was okay, and Charlie was nice. The people were annoying, but sweet, and she became close to a few people. She even talked to Bella's boyfriend's sister, Alice—she liked her. They became close friends quickly.
The only thing she didn't like about the place was the lack of anyone she could date, and the fact that if she did date anyone, it would spread like wildfire. And then they probably wouldn't like her so much anymore.
Celine was a lesbian, and had known it since she had been eleven—and it was good. She couldn't trust men; she had been hurt. And besides that, she just wasn't attracted to them. She had made this no secret with Renee, Phil or her other family; they accepted it and supported her. She wasn't so quick to tell anyone in Forks—she hadn't even told Bella or Charlie, and she wasn't so sure she planned on telling them at all. It made her nervous. She hadn't ever had to come out to anyone—they just always…knew. Her former family had figured it out by themselves, and so they had told Renee and Phil…and her friends, they had always been easy to tell, it was always just 'I like girls' and not a big deal. She didn't consider that 'coming out.'
Nor did she tell them about the fact that she was a recovering drug addict. But then, nobody knew that but her old friends; not even Renee and Phil.
But like that old phrase goes—the truth always comes out.
--
A loud knocking at her bedroom door was what woke Celine up. It was Saturday, and as she stretched and rolled over to look at the clock, she groaned. Eight in the morning was five hours too early to be waking up on a Saturday. She pulled a pillow over her head. "Go away," she yelled, her voice muffled.
She heard the door opening a bit. "Morning, sunshine," Bella greeted with a little laugh. Celine felt her take a seat at the foot of her bed. "You remember Jacob?" She pulled the pillow from her head, looking over at her sister with a new curiosity on her face, making her look a little more awake.
"Mhm," Celine murmured, her tone more questioning. She hadn't ever met him, but Bella was always talking about him and his friends, and she had wanted to meet him for awhile—she didn't really know why Bella hadn't taken her to meet him. She had introduced her to all her other friends, even her boyfriend and his family.
"Well, he wants me to come over, and suggested I bring you," Bella said with an impish-looking smile that made Celine think she was going to try to hook the two of them up. Sorry sis, not happening, she thought sarcastically to herself with a little mental sigh. "So do you wanna come?"
Despite her thoughts about Bella possibly trying to hook them up, she grinned and nodded. "Definitely." It was a chance to get out of the house, and meet new people, and she hadn't ever been to La Push.
"Well, get ready-I'm leaving in half an hour," Bella told her with a smile, leaving the room and shutting the door. This motivated Celine to actually get out of bed. She showered, blow drying her hair—dyed black, silky and straight, reaching a couple inches past the middle of her back—and dressing. She pulled on a pair of old, dark skinny jeans, torn at the knee, and a black and white three-quarter sleeved, off the shoulder shirt with a picture of Marilyn Monroe across the front and one of her quotes on the back. Celine was small, just as short as Bella if not an inch or two shorter, and thin. Her features were soft and pretty. Her hair was naturally the same color as Bella's, though she dyed it, but her eyes were green; they didn't look too much alike, and it made the adoption story believable to anyone who didn't really know.
She took just a few moments outlining her big green eyes with dark, smoky eyeliner and black mascara, making them pop and setting a big contrast against her pale skin, and swiped on a bit of pink lip gloss. It was the only make up she ever wore. She took a flat-iron to her hair, making it as straight as possible.
She finished up just before Bella called out from downstairs that she was leaving; so she slid her feet into gray and black boy's DC's, grabbing her purse and sprinting down the stairs and out the door to the truck where Bella was waiting. She hoisted herself into the truck, buckling her seatbelt and setting her purse down. She turned the radio on after getting the okay from Bella, finding a station that at least wasn't staticky. She settled back into the seat, yawning a bit and propping her feet up on the dashboard. She and Bella talked a bit before settling into a comfortable silence.
She wondered what Jacob would be like to make Bella say she thought she would like him. She had told him he was just a year or two older then him, so maybe it was the closeness in age. When they were finally there Bella pulled the truck into the driveway; she left her purse sitting on the seat and climbed out of the truck. When she turned around Bella was greeting a tall man with choppy black hair. He looked native American, muscular, and she guessed his age to be about twenty or so. If she had any interest in guys, he might be her type—he was cute.
Bella turned to her, and the man did, too. "Celine, this is Jacob," she introduced them, smiling.
The surprise must have been clear on her face. "You're Jacob?" she said, eyebrows raising a bit. He nodded with a grin. He was the seventeen year old Jacob. Didn't look like it.
He stepped forward, holding his hand out. She shook it. He was really warm. "Bella's told me a bunch about you," he told her, smiling. His eyes were on her face, but not on her eyes. "Did those hurt?" he asked curiously, obviously referring to her piercings.
Celine shook her head. She got that question a lot. "Sure, a little, I mean it's a needle being shoved through your flesh," she said, grinning a little. "Not too much though. No pain no gain."
He inspected the piercings for another moment before turning and heading into the house, gesturing for them to follow. "Oh, Bella—Leah and Seth are here," Jacob said, glancing back at them. He shut the door as they walked in. He told Celine she could take a seat if she wanted, and she plopped down onto the couch, feeling comfortable. Jacob seemed easy to get along with, and nice. Maybe she would like him. She sat with her legs criss-crossed. The two people she assumed were Leah and Seth were sitting, Seth on the couch beside her and Leah in front of the television. They were playing some video game, although only Seth seemed as though he were actually enjoying it.
"Celine, this is Leah," Jacob said, leaning against the back of the couch and gesturing towards the girl in front of the TV. "And this is Seth." He nodded towards the boy beside her. He looked about her age, give or take a year or so. The girl said nothing, just kept on with the game, until Seth paused it to look over at her.
"Hey," he said, giving her a boyish grin.
She smiled and returned the greeting, glancing towards the girl when she spoke. "Would you unpause the damn game?" the girl said sourly, turning around. She wasn't quite a girl, it seemed, but really a grown woman. She thought for a moment that it might be Jacob's mom, but that couldn't be—Jacob was too old, and the woman looked too young. Older sister maybe. Or friend, or girlfriend.
"Don't be rude, Leah," Jacob said, rolling his eyes. "You could at least say hello to Celine. You don't even like videogames, anyway."
The woman finally looked towards her, but as their eyes met, she said nothing. She looked…surprised. Confused. Celine couldn't tear her eyes away; there was something—intriguing about her. She felt ridiculous for even thinking it, but it almost felt like she already knew her. She knew for a fact that she didn't. But Leah didn't seem able to look away, either.
"Um…hi," Celine finally said, giving a little smile. For the first time since a week after arriving in Forks, she felt uncertain.
Leah gave a tense smile back, nodding a bit and looking at her for another moment before turning away. Celine watched her with curiosity. Seth had taken the game off pause, but Leah wasn't playing; she just sat there looking at her hands, seeming deep in thought. Celine realized everyone was quiet—they were looking back and forth between she and Leah, looking confused and curious.
She blushed a bit at this realization and her eyes settled on the television, watching Seth play. She recognized the game; it was Mortal Combat.
What seemed like a million hours later, Leah stood—she walked over to where Jacob and Bella sat talking, murmuring something in Jacob's ear. The three of them stepped out side after announcing that they would be right back.
Seth glanced to her. "You play video games?" He asked her. She nodded. "Go grab that controller, then."
"Alright…I'm warning you, though," Celine began with a playful grin, standing and grabbing the control before settling back onto the couch. "I've been playing this game forever."
"So have I," Seth said with a challenging grin. They started playing, laughing and talking as they fought in the game, teasing each other every time one of them won or lost. It was nice; he was more down to earth than most of the guys in Forks, and a lot more comfortable to be around, too.
Her mind kept going back to Leah as they played. The way they had both just sat there staring…it had been weird. But there had been something in the other girl's look that stuck with her.
"Sorry about my sister," Seth said. "She doesn't take well to newcomers, and her and Bella don't really get along. She doesn't like her boyfriend."
Celine glanced over to him curiously, then back to the game. "How come?" She asked, frowning a bit as Seth's character knocked hers down.
"Not too sure why. 'Course, Leah doesn't need a reason to dislike anyone," he said, laughing. "She's a little rough around the edges, not too nice all the time. Once you get to know her, though, she's great." He yelled as she beat him, and it took her mind off Leah for the moment. She started laughing and poking fun at him.
She heard the front door open and glanced back to see the three, Jacob, Bella, and Leah, coming back into the house. Jacob looked a little confused, Bella surprised, and Leah…she looked stressed out. Seth and Jacob seemed to share a certain look, and then Seth glanced towards her, his expression unreadable before he started the game up again. They started playing once again, and she didn't beat him again, her mind stuck on the way they had looked when they had walked back in.
She didn't like not knowing what was going on, not when everyone else seemed like they did. It made her feel clueless. She yawned a bit, realizing it was already eleven. She would still be sleeping right now if she wasn't at Jacob's with Bella. Jacob and Bella stood suddenly. "We're gonna go for a walk," Bella said, looking towards Celine. "Are you alright here?"
Celine nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said with a smile. She saw Jacob and Seth share another look before the two left. They continued with the video games but after a few moments, Seth decided he was going to go take a nap—he left the room, leaving Celine alone with Mortal Combat, and alone with Leah.
She bit her lip, settling back into the couch and switching the game to one player, glancing over at Leah every so often; several times she found the other girl already looking at her. Something about her made her feel…nervous. So she tried to ignore it.
"So," she heard Leah behind speaking, her voice sounding a little tense. "How are you liking Forks?" She was surprised she was making an attempt to talk to her, and it must have shown on her face, because Leah looked a little embarrassed.
Celine's eyes rested on the other girl's face. She was gorgeous—smooth dark skin, long hair, glittering dark eyes. Not to mention what she could see of her body. She tried not to think of this, not wanting to make things feel even more awkward than they already did. "It's alright, I guess," she finally answered with a small shrug. "I mean…it's Forks, boring, nothing to do. The people are alright, though."
"Yeah…it is pretty boring, I guess." Leah was fidgeting a little, trying to make it less obvious that she was. "You're in Bella's high school, yeah?"
Celine nodded. "Yeah, why?" She asked, her head tipping to the side a bit in question.
Leah shook her head a bit. "Just wondering," she said, her voice sounding a little far-away. They were both quiet for a moment; Celine went back to the videogames, playing half-heartedly, her mind on Leah once again, and so it would be for a long while.