Willow West
ooo
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Willow! Happy birthday to you!" her parents sing in broken unison as they place a cake before her.
She is a doe eyed girl wearing a forced smile and clapping her hands in faux joy for her family's sake.
"Oh chocolate strawberry my favorite!" she lies. In reality she hates strawberries but all her "friends" love them.
It bothers her more in this moment that her cake has strawberries than it did when she decided to buy it. After all her friends aren't here to enjoy it.
"Blow out the candles and make a wish!" her mother, Jane, urges and Willow obliges quickly. The smoke flares up in her face and she holds her breath so as not to cough all over the dessert.
"What did you wish for?" her father, John, queries and she spits out and instinctual response.
"If I tell you it won't come true." Her parents take this at face value and hum in a sort of agreement.
In truth Willow West doesn't wish for anything, ever.
Willow watches with faked focus as her mother cuts the cake and holds out a piece for her. She nods in thanks and forces her traitorous sapphire eyes to light up at the sight.
The family of three falls silent as they eat, Willow pretending to enjoy each bite.
There is an elephant in the room, a party with six guests sized elephant in the room.
"At least we'll have leftover cake," Willow jokes and gestures to the party sized item in question. "And chips, and soda, and candy, and party hats."
"I'm sure everyone just got the flu going around," Jane West concludes and leans over the table to take her daughters hand.
"Nope, the pictures from the concert they all went to were on social media already," Willow informs sourly. "It's alright, I'm sure they just forgot to tell me, I'm sure they bought tickets months ago."
Willow and her parents take this moment to strategically forget to mention that her invited were sent out months ago and all her "friends" RSVPed yes.
After it's over Jane and John gift their daughter an expansion pack for a video game she doesn't play and a pair of cat pajamas two sizes too large. Kat feigns excitement for them, she knows their hearts are in the right place.
"Thank you so much mom and dad! Now I better get to sleep it's already nine!" Willow exclaims and rushes off to her room. She makes it up the stairs and then stops short when she hears them murmuring.
Jane and John West have no idea Willow can always hear them, they don't realize how well of a listener their daughter is.
"I can't believe those kids! You know this really is the last straw," her mother growls.
"Our daughter needs better friends," her father agrees.
"You know I just saw this coming. That Jennifer has never been nice to her and your know she's the ringleader here. Her mother told me they bought those concert tickets for all the girls only two weeks ago! Shame on their parents for letting them do this, shame on them for ostracizing our Willow like this," Jane West rants while John holds his head in his hands. The complexities of teenage girls still escape Mr. West to this day.
Willow, from her perch on the balcony overlooking the kitchen, shakes her head and escapes to her only sanctuary.
Holding the doorknob, she very carefully slides her door shut without a sound and then releases the knob slowly. It's a practiced art, shutting her door quietly, one she learned after her parents made the open door policy.
A loud sigh escapes the dainty girl and she throws herself to her beckoning mattress.
Sleep doesn't come to Willow West, only tears and inescapable frustration.
She is only dozing when the clock strikes midnight and her eyes yank open. Willow jerks upright, breathing heavily, and scans her room with glowing eyes, searching for the reason of her abrupt awakening. There is nothing changed that she can notice and the blue mist encircling her fingers escapes her sleepy eyes.
Five minutes of uneventful silence pass before Willow's panting slows and her heartbeat evens out to a steady pace once more. She lowers herself back onto her pillow and descended back into sleep not noticing the sharpened state of her blue eyes of the shift in the state of her being.
ooo
Vividria
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"I know you're all perfectly aware that I do not have the same resistance to extreme weather conditions so tell me why are we planning our new lives in Alaska?" The question is asked by a fair headed woman draped across a plush daybed. Curled straw colored hair falls around her head like a halo making her appear angelic, though she is nothing of the sort.
She is surrounded by a group of flawless beings all with golden eyes and marble skin. They sit in pairs except for one copper haired boy and her.
"The Denali's are in Alaska, Vividria," the copper haired boy responds and Vividria nods her head. From her position on the daybed she is apart from the coven of seven Adonis-like beauties but it is still clear she, no matter how different, is one of them. The younger group of five, the children for all intents and purposes, are split up on two hotel beds while the eldest, the parents, are squeezed into a loveseat.
"I'm aware the Denali's are in Alaska, Edward," Vividria deadpans. The boy, Edward, shrugs and his father, ever the peacemaker, jumps in to offer a few more words of explanation.
"Alaska would offer us time to socialize with others outside this family and the Denali's could offer us an easy cover to move in," he explains. "The isolation would mean the kids could avoid public school and that would cut our time spent there short so we could move onto a more weather desirable location."
"Fair enough Carlisle," Vividria mutters. "I suppose I miss the occasional sun other places we've resided have to offer."
"As much fun as avoiding high school sounds, Dria may be onto something," Rosalie, the reluctant daughter of Carlisle, reasons.
"Maybe it's time we return to Forks," Esme, the mother figure, concludes. The attention of the group is captured by the thought of Forks, all of them having been thinking of Forks as of late.
"Forks does sound nice," Emmett, Rosalie's mate, agrees.
"It is one of our better homes," Jasper, another son of Carlisle's, concurs.
"The home in Forks is so wide and open, and the people are adorable!" Viv exclaims. "It's so easy to spin them into a tizzy over minor sexual exploits!"
"Vividria remember we don't want to be too conspicuous," Carlisle reminds and she huffs.
"You know back in Ancient Rome, Julius Caesar and I openly bragged about our adventures with Cleopatra and King Nicomedes and barely anyone batted an eye," Vividria laments and sighs in nostalgia. "Ancient Rome was a succubi's playground."
"Oh Dria you can still have some fun," Rosalie assures and the succubus smiles.
"I will."
"Moving past that that, Forks has a lot to offer," Esme redirects, steering the conversation towards a final decision. "Carlisle can be a surgeon, I can be a home decorator, Vividria can scare the townspeople, and you my dears can attend high school."
"I guess I can enjoy dazzling peons in the hallways," Rosalie allows and tosses her golden tresses.
"Jasper, Alice, you've both been rather quiet," Vividria observes and the silent couple perks up. Jasper may be shy around humans but with his family he almost always has an opinion to share. "What do you two think about returning to Forks?"
"I think we all feel a pull to go back for a reason," Alice says and by saying it she's calling out the elephant in the room. This conversation about Forks whole seeming causal has all parties feeling tense. They all feel a pull to Forks, they feel drawn back, like they never have before.
"Do you see something Alice?" Jasper queries softly.
"No, I can't see anything."
"This pull could be a trap," Jasper says. "It'd be smart to resist."
"But is is possible for us to resist?" Carlisle points out and the Olympic Coven falls into silence.
The answer is plain to see in the lack of words spoken, they can't resist.
The Cullen's must return to Forks.
ooo
Ashbel Edana
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A map is spread out on a wooden table with two women pouring over it in deep thought.
"Alright Ashbel where to next?" the older of the pair questions.
"I'm feeling ready for a change mom," the younger, Ashbel, replies. Her silky hair falls over her shoulder and dangles over the map while her dark eyes scan every state. "We've done snow and sun so I say we try rain."
"Ashbel you hate the cold and wet," her mother, Jayna Edana, deadpans and Ashbel shrugs.
"I also love new experiences," she counters and Jayna crosses her arms. This behavior is suspicious for Ashbel and it's beginning to make her mother concerned.
"Fair enough," she agrees and Ashbel grins from ear to ear.
"Good because I've done some research and I've found the rainiest place in the continental US," Ashbel starts and her mother groans. Ashbel's hand waves up and then lands down on a tiny dot in Washington.
"Go big or go home I suppose, Ashbel."
"Go big and go to our new home in Forks, Washington!" Ashbel cheers and presents her mother with a photograph of a quaint two story home. The house has everything they need: two bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, a kitchen and dining space, and a cozy living room.
"Oh this is adorable!" her mother coos in appreciation.
"I shall attend Forks High School and you shall write more creepy stories and refurbish old furniture," Ashbel declares. "I've already placed a down payment on the house and started the paperwork for school."
"Nice work Ashbel! I knew it was a good idea to get a joint bank account with you. Oh my responsible girl!" Jayna coos and embraces her daughter tightly.
Above her head Jayna's expression turns somber as she surveys the map on the table. Her daughter has never suggested they move to a place with such awful wreathed or such a small town, Ashbel Edana lives for the city and sun.
This sudden interest in Forks, in a small cold town, has her mother remembering the harsh words Ashbel's father growled out before leaving forever.
"If there's ever an abrupt change in her, if she ever suddenly wants to visit someplace completely out of character for her, if she's suddenly got a new friend who barely seems human, you take our daughter and you run the other way. The pull of fate never bodes well for beings like us."
Jayna Edana closes her eyes and exhales softly. She may want to shield her daughter with ever fiber of her being but there is no escaping fate.