A/N: I have no clue what possessed me to actually write this out. But here it is - Twilight, if Bella were a boy and not SMeyer. As such, this story will contain slash of the Ed/Cal variety. Nearly all pairings will be cannon. Obviously Renesmee will not exist - I have no workable explanation to explain Mpreg in the Twi-verse, so... not even going there. Jake will get a happy ending for I love him so very much. Updates will be pretty frequent... probably.
1. First Sight
My mom drove me to the airport. It was really hot, so we had the windows rolled down, and I looked up at what would probably be my last cloudless sky for a long time. Today, I'd be saying good-bye to Phoenix, probably for good. I was sad about that – I love the city and the sun and the heat and the fact that I rarely had to wear a raincoat. I hate my raincoat. It squeaks whenever I move. And, it's yellow. I look like a corpse in yellow, but Mom is convinced that it suits me.
I was going to live with my dad, Charlie, up in Forks, Washington. It rains all the time there, and the gloomy atmosphere that causes is a big part of why my mom divorced my dad and left town. I don't really like it there, either, but I always looked forward to spending a month each summer there with my dad, until I turned fourteen and my mom insisted that instead we spend two weeks in California. I'd come out to her and she'd seen a news report about small town violence towards gays. That had been better, though, because Dad and I could spend my whole visit together since he was off work.
"Cal, you don't need to go. You know that, right?" Mom looked at me, nervous fear clear in her expression. I smiled up at her.
"Don't worry, Mom. I want to go. I can't wait to see Dad, and you want to go with Phil. Everything is going to be fine." I meant it. I may hate Forks, but I love my dad more. The lie was that everything would be fine. I was probably more nervous about me going than she was. Mom parked the car and hugged me before unbuckling.
I studied my mom. Her short, dark brown hair was messy, falling into her red-rimmed eyes. She'd been crying. She may want to be with her new husband, but she also wants me with her. But, thanks to Phil's travel schedule, she can't have it both ways.
"Mom, I promise I'll call you as soon as I get there. That's why you got me a cell, right?"
"Right," Mom said, wiping her eyes. She smiled at me. "Tell Charlie I said hi, okay?"
"Anything," I answered, reaching over to hug her again. Then, we gathered my luggage and headed into the airport. An hour of waiting, and I was taking off to Forks. Well, Port Angeles is as close as I could get by plane, but Dad'll be there to get me. He called Mom this morning to double-check my arrival time and everything.
Dad was really excited for me to come live with him. We never seemed to have enough time together when I visited, so he was eager for a chance to have some solid bonding time now that I'm older and will be there all the time. He's even going to help me get a car, though I'm clueless with any of the maintenance or upkeep type of stuff. I hope he'll have time to show me.
When the plane landed in Port Angeles, I looked around for Dad and found him asleep in a chair outside of a McDonalds. I woke him up by shaking his shoulder.
"Cal!" Dad smiled before giving me a quick hug. We went and got my luggage, then loaded up the police cruiser. I probably should mention that Dad is the chief of police of Forks. We sat in a comfortable silence for a while as he drove.
"Uh, Cal, I found a good car for you." Dad announced about twenty minutes later.
"Really? What kind?" I asked, glad Dad seemed as excited about me getting my first car as I was. Dad nodded along to my questions.
"Actually, it's a Chevy truck. Remember my friend Billy Black?"
"One of the guys from La Push, right?" La Push is a small Indian reservation along the coast by Forks. Dad has lots of friends up there.
"Right, he's in a wheelchair now…"
"Is he okay?"
"Yeah, it's because of his diabetes. Since he can't drive anymore, he offered me his truck for cheap."
"What year is it?"
"Well, the engine is brand new – that's the thing that makes it work," Dad said, making me laugh because I do know that much. Dad ruffled my hair before focusing back on driving. "The car itself was probably new in the sixties."
"So, it's vintage? That's cool! What color is it? How much is it?" I bombarded him with questions, getting excited. Dad laughed.
"It's red," he answered, "but we can paint it something else if you don't like it."
"No, red's fine. How much is it?" I asked again, trying to calculate how much money I could spend.
"Actually, Cal, I already bought it for you." My face broke out in a smile.
"Really? Thank you so, so, so much, Dad!" I leaned across the seat and hugged him.
"I just want you to like it here," Dad said, keeping his eyes on the road. He wasn't the most comfortable expressing his feelings, so I hugged him tighter before letting go.
"Thank you," I repeated. Then, the two of us settled back into silence.
It wasn't too much longer before we made it to Forks, then to Dad's house. It was a small, two-story, two-bedroom house that Dad bought before he and Mom split up. I wondered if he'd let me plant some flowers or shrubs to spruce up the lawn. Then, I saw my truck. It was an iron-framed beast of a thing – faded red and huge. I loved it instantly.
The minute Dad parked the cruiser, I was at the side of my truck and checking it out. Dad followed me, pointing out different things and even popping the hood to show me what stuff I need to check every now and then. Once we covered enough for the moment, Dad and I unloaded my luggage and took it to my room.
Dad isn't a hoverer like Mom is, so he left me alone to unpack. I looked around my new, well old, bedroom. The room designated as mine since I was a baby. Dad had kept it exactly the same as the last time I'd been here – desk and older Win 98 in the corner by the door and bed against the wall opposite the window. I went to the closet and saw Dad had put his old raincoat in there. It was blue.
After I finished unpacking everything, I sat at my desk and called Mom.
"Hey, Callie, how are you doing? Did you get there okay? Also, did you see where I put my pink shirt? You know, that one I like…" Mom was so busy with grading papers and stuff, she often misplaced things. "Phil and I have looked all over, and we can't find it."
"That's because I took it to the cleaners for that mustard stain. It should be ready to pick up now – meant to do that before I left. The ticket is on my nightstand." I answered. "And, yeah, I got here just fine – Dad was already waiting for me when I landed."
"Oh! Found the ticket! Thanks, sweetie. So is it raining there?"
"Of course, it's raining. Does it ever not rain here?" I laughed into the phone. Mom joined me.
"Well, be careful and call me tomorrow. I want to hear all about your first day!" She said.
"Wait! Dad bought me a truck!"
"What? Really?"
"Yeah! Mom, it's so cool. It's vintage and red and has a new engine! And, um, the seats are comfy-looking!" I felt embarrassed that I didn't really know the specs, but Mom didn't really care.
"Is it safe?"
"Yeah, it's one of those trucks that you see in an accident that doesn't even have a scratch while the other car is totaled."
"Good! Your dad knows his stuff. Well, I've got to go, Callie. I love you!"
"Love you, too! Bye!" We each hung up, and I headed downstairs. "Hey, Dad, can you give me directions to the school?"
Dad and I spent the rest of the evening watching TV and eating popcorn. There was a basketball game on. I'm not really into sports, but I knew enough from gym class to keep track of the action.
The next morning, I woke up at 6:30 and got ready for school. Dad was already gone when I got up, making the house too quiet, so I sang loudly in the shower. After I dressed, I packed a few notebooks and a copy of Romeo and Juliet in my back pack.
It didn't take any time to find the school – Dad gave me good directions. The school looked nothing like the one back in Phoenix. It was like a tiny village of brick houses. I drove up to the one I thought was the admin building, and parked my truck. Inside was an office, and there were three ladies. I walked up to the first lady, a redhead, and smiled awkwardly at her.
"Hello, can I help you?" She asked, looking up at me. I nodded.
"Hi, I'm Callisto Swan. Dad… er, Chief Charlie Swan, um, probably called…" I rambled off. I'm not good with people that aren't my parents. The lady smiled sympathetically and nodded.
"Yes, you're our new student. Let me get you your schedule," she said, pressing a few buttons on her computer and printing it off. She handed it to me, along with a few other papers. "Get this paper here signed by all your teachers and bring it back here, and here is a map of the place. Good luck!"
I thanked her before heading back to my car and moving it to the student lot. I fiddled with the button of dad's raincoat a moment before taking a deep breath to calm my nerves. I got out of my truck, shut the door, took three steps… and landed flat on my face.
Ow…" I moaned quietly. A hand reached down to help me up. I took it. It was a tall, dark-haired boy. "Thanks…"
"No problem. I'm Eric. You must be Callisto, right?" Eric helped me pick up my papers and bag.
"Yeah, but I go by Cal." I stuck my hand out in greeting. He took it. "Do you know where… Mr. Mason's English class is?"
"Dude, I've got that class now! I'll show you." Eric said. We joked about how I wasn't tan like he'd expected as we walked to class, and, when we got there, Eric showed me where to hang my raincoat. I sat by him until the teacher came in. Mr. Mason asked who I was and lead me to his desk to give me the reading list and sign my paper. I hurried back to my seat next to Eric.
Class started. We were going over Wuthering Heights, so I zoned out out of boredom, glancing at the reading list. I was sad to see so much stuff from the late 1800's and very early 1900's. I'm not very fond of that era. Eventually, class was over and everyone filed out.
"So, Cal, what do you have next?" Eric asked me as we left. I check my schedule.
"Um, Government in Building Six." I answered. Eric pointed me on the right path.
"Just go this way and you shouldn't miss it."
"Thanks, man. You're a life saver." We grinned at each other as we parted ways. Eric seemed pretty cool, if a tad nerdy. I smiled cheerfully as I walked to my class.
The rest of the morning was fairly uneventful. Most people glanced my way and turned back to their friends. A couple of people just kept staring at me, making me feel awkward. Eventually, it was time for lunch. A girl from my Trig class, whose name I was pretty sure was Jessica, invited me to sit with her and her friends. While we were eating, I glanced around the cafeteria. I spotted Eric and waved. He waved back. I was mid-drink of my juice when I saw them.
There were five of them, sitting in a corner far away from me: two girls (one a dark-haired pixie – short and thin - and the other a blonde supermodel type – tall and, er, buxom) and three boys (one was tall, dark-haired, and very muscle-y; another was taller, blonde, and not as built; the last was shorter than the other two, thin, and a redhead). They were all staring out in different directions and not talking at all, like a bunch of angry mimes. I stared at them, trying to understand what bothered me the most. When the pixie girl stood up and threw away her food, I figured it out. They weren't touching their food.
That is so wasteful! If they weren't going to eat it, why did they even bother getting any? I thought, turning back to my own lunch. My cheeseburger was almost gone. I finished it quickly, my irritation fueling my chewing. When I looked back up, they were gone. I shrugged, finishing my juice.
"Hey, Jessica?"
"Yeah?"
"The people that were sitting over there. Who were they?" I pointed at the now-empty table. Jessica and a dark-haired girl sitting with us nodded to each other.
"Those were the Cullens. They're a bunch of snobs that don't talk to anyone," Jessica said, "They were adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife, and the two Hale twins – the blondes – are together-together with the two brunettes. The redhead is Edward, and he thinks he's too good for any of the girls here."
The way she ended that made me wonder if she'd tried to ask him out. I shrugged and said, "Maybe he's gay."
"That has to be it!" Jessica exclaimed. She leaned forward. "I mean, there's no way that absolutely no girl would be his type unless he was."
"Guys, you shouldn't gossip like that," the dark-haired girl said as she laughed.
"But, he's a redhead. Redheads are always kinky," I said with a straight face, before we all collapsed in giggles. We're still laughing when the bell rings to signify the end of lunch. The dark-haired girl very nicely reminded me that her name was Angela, and the two of us walked to biology.
When we got there, the teacher, Mr. Banner, signed my slip, gave me a book, and pointed me to the only open seat. To my surprise, Mr. Kinky was in the other seat at that table. I plopped myself down next to him, and fished a notebook out of my bag. It wasn't until I was ready for class that I noticed Edward was glaring at me.
"Er… Hello?" I frowned at his murderous expression. "Can I help you?"
His only response was to narrow his eyes and tighten his grip on the desk.
"Are you… okay?"
"Just peachy," He replied through clenched teeth. I shrugged and turned to listen to the teacher. The lecture was on cells. Every now and then, I glanced at Edward, wondering if he was going to have a fit or something. When the bell rang at the end of class, he was the first one out the door.
"Wow, that Edward is being even weirder than normal," a blonde guy said from beside me.
"Yeah, what's up with him?" I asked, standing up and shouldering my bag. The guy shrugged.
"No clue. Guy's a freak. I'm Mike."
"I'm Cal."
"You're Chief Swan's son, right? Where's your next class?"
"Yup, and… gym." I consulted my schedule again. Mike nodded at me.
"Same here. I'll walk you."
"Thanks, man."
At the gym, the teacher, Coach Clapp, found a uniform and yelled at me to get dressed. I rushed to comply, sprinting to the locker room. I hated gym. If I'd stayed in Phoenix, I wouldn't have to take it again, but here it's needed every year. At least we're doing volleyball. Not a lot of running in volleyball.
After that class, the day was done. I walked to the office to return my paperwork, tightening up my raincoat. When I got inside, I saw Edward arguing with the nice secretary I'd talked to this morning. As I got closer I heard what he was trying to do – switch out of Biology immediately. I stepped back outside.
I couldn't believe that that guy was that upset about sharing a desk. Did something happen before I walked into the classroom? Had he overheard the teasing from me and the girls? Did I park in his spot that morning?
After about five minutes, Edward came out. He had a scowl on his face and was cursing quietly. Then, he stopped. He lifted his head and looked at me. Stared. Glared. Angry. Fuck.
I started to run an instant before he lunged for me. I made it behind the Admin building before he had me pressed against the wet grass, my arms pinned above my head and him lying on top of me. Before he actually did anything, though, our eyes met and he stopped. I stared up, noting for the first time that his eyes were a dark gray, almost black. His grip was far too tight for me to consider struggling, so I stayed as still as possible. His eyes widened, like he was surprised at finding himself in this position, and he flew back, disappearing before I could make a sound.
It was in a state of stunned confusion that I turned in my slip, got in my truck, and drove home.
What the hell?