Chapter 1
Kicking the heavy bag with my foot I shuffled further into the attic which had been renovated into a bedroom for my personal use. My dad's house had only two bedrooms; his and what used to belong to me and my twin sister Bella. Due to us being older the need for our own space was now paramount, so a couple of years ago our father had gotten the attic re-done. To say he was happy about it now going to be more permanently used was an understatement. He was over the moon. It was hard to tell, since he wasn't one for being overly emotional, but it was there. That pure happiness lurking in his eyes.
I was happy about the move despite the dramatic change. My sister and I were previously in Phoenix where it was constantly sunny and warm. Now we were in Forks were it was usually cold and wet. There was a stark difference in the weather, something my sister was not happy about. Bella would have preferred to have stayed home in Phoenix with our mother but she knew she couldn't. Bella loved our mother more than anything and would do anything to make her happy, which is why she agreed to this move in the first place. She wasn't going to adapt to the cold well - she loved the sun too much.
The reason I was so happy about this plan to move was mostly because I was happy to get to spend more than a couple of weeks with him during the summer. I loved my father. I was a daddy's girl. Bella was a mommy's girl. And speaking of my sister I could hear her walking up the stairs to my new room. It had to be her, they were too light to be my dad's. Bella lightly rapped her knuckles on my door before entering. I gave her a quick smile while she came further in. Bella and I looked similar but there were a few key differences. Firstly, she had brown eyes and I had blue. Bella's brown hair was darker than mine. Hers was dark brown and mine was a soft brunette. We were the exact same height. The only other difference was my skin was slightly darker.
Our personalities were completely different too. Bella was kind of reclusive and shy. I was loud and cheerful. For all intense and purposes Bella was like our father and I was more like our mother.
"Are you nervous?" Bella asked me, sitting down on my bed. Frowning I looked at her in confusion. "For tomorrow? School?" A wave of understanding came over me as I joined her on the bed.
"A little." I admitted. "I mean, I'm not looking forward to everyone staring and trying to make new friends-"
"Oh, give over." Bella scoffed. "You make friends so easily. I'm the one that struggles."
"That's only because you're so quiet." I said, pulling her back on the bed so we were laid down. Grabbing her hand I gave her a reassuring smile. I knew Bella was more nervous than she let on. It had been bothering her since the idea of the move had presented itself. I could see her point, the thought of starting during the week whilst the semester had already started wasn't pleasant but all we could do was make the best of it. I said as much to my sister.
"Easy for you to say. I don't understand you sometimes, how are you always so optimistic?" Bella sighed, turning onto her side to bring herself closer to me.
"I like to try and be a glass-half-full kind of girl." I laughed. Bella didn't seem to care that we both needed to unpack, she simply laid next to me for a while and I didn't have the heart to get rid of her. Bella was an independent girl, kept her feelings to herself so when she did show moments of weakness I liked to make sure I was there for her. To let her know it was okay to have those moments. Everybody did.
Bella only removed herself when Charlie, our father, called up claiming he had ordered pizza. Groaning I hoisted myself off the bed, pulling my sister up after me. Once down in the kitchen, and settled at the table, we all tucked in on the pizza. Our father made a few comments, wishing us good luck at school tomorrow before he eventually left for the sitting room after the pizza had been demolished.
"Try to get some sleep." I whispered, giving my sister a hug goodnight. She simply smiled back at me before retreating into her room. Sighing I made my way up to my room, quickly changing before crawling into my new bed. Closing my eyes I tried to clear my mind and fall asleep. It didn't take long and with the sound of the rain hitting the window lightly I managed to fall rather peacefully to sleep.
The next morning was difficult. I couldn't seem to wake up. My body kept trying to drag me back into unconsciousness. Groaning I rolled over, pushing the covers off of me causing goosebumps to erupt all over my body. The cold helped my body wake slightly, just enough for me to get off the bed to grab some clothes and sluggishly make my way to the bathroom. After a quick shower, which truly woke me up, I slipped on my clothes before brushing my teeth then heading over to my sister's room. Peeking in I saw her sprawled out on the bed still fast asleep.
Smiling I made my way over, gently shaking her awake. She let out a quiet groan as she turned onto her back. "Time to get up." I told her, leaving when she nodded her head. Quickly drying my hair I decided to leave it down in its natural waves before making sure everything I would need for my first day at school was in my bag. Nodding to myself I ran downstairs and into the kitchen, almost running into my father along the way.
"Whoa, calm it kiddo!" he called. I grinned at him sheepishly as he shook his head in amusement. "I have to go to work but have a good day at school. Tell Bells the same."
"Will do." I replied, giving him a hug before he left the house. Grabbing some bread I decided to have toast for my breakfast, not that there was much choice considering my father didn't have much food in the house. We were going to have to go shopping. I could hear the sound of water running from upstairs, letting me know Bella had indeed got up. Grabbing the butter from the fridge I made my way back over towards the toaster.
It wasn't too much longer before my sister appeared, stifling a yawn. As she waited for her own toast to be done I noticed her glancing at all the photos our dad had around the place.
"Does it make you as uncomfortable?" she asked me suddenly.
"Huh?" Bella turned to butter her toast giving me a look. I simple shook my head, not understanding what she was getting at.
"Look at them all," she muttered, putting the knife in the sink. "It makes you realise he isn't entirely over mom." Frowning, I folded my arms over my chest.
"Dad's always been loyal. Fiercely loyal. Something you inherited from him." I said softly. Bella gave me a quick smile. "He loved her, just because she moved on doesn't mean he was going to do it so easily. But it shouldn't make you uncomfortable. I'm not."
"Why?"
"Because I believe there will come a day when he will meet someone and that loyalty will shift." I replied quietly. "Some people just need something to hold on to and he hasn't found something new yet but that hasn't put his life on hold has it? It's not hindering him. He has a job and friends... it's not like he has nothing. I don't think he's unhappy Bella. So don't stress so much over it."
My sister didn't reply but it looked like she had relaxed slightly. Soon enough we had our coats on and exiting the house where the rain was lightly drizzling. Thankfully we had a ride to school. Our dad had acquired us a red truck, a Chevy, from Billy Black not long before we arrived. It definitely wasn't my type of car but Bella absolutely loved it so I was happy. At least there was something to cheer her up about living here at Forks, the alien planet she had called it - on account of it being too green. Something which I found slightly amusing. I loved nature, I thought there was something beautiful about it.
Bella and I walked quickly to the truck to get inside were it was nice and dry. Bella's face had scrunched up the minute she had seen the rain causing me to shake my head. She was going to have to get used to it, I thought. There was a light scent of gasoline, peppermint and tobacco lingering in the air inside the truck. Bella put the key into the ignition to start it up. The engine started quickly but loudly causing me to jump and Bella to lightly smirk at me. Reversing out of the drive way I fiddled with the radio, surprised to find that it actually worked. Wow, was not expecting that.
The drive to the school didn't take that long, though Bella and I had never been before but we found it surprisingly easy. It wasn't obvious it was a school, it looked more like a collection of matching houses. The only thing that really made it obvious was the sign declaring it Forks High School. I thought it looked quite nice truth be told, mainly because of the trees that surrounded the building. Bella quickly parked the red truck in front of the first building, a small sign hanging over the door indicating that it was the front office.
"This has to be off limits," Bella muttered as she took off her seat belt. I copied her actions. "No one else is parked here."
"We can get directions once we're inside." I replied as we both got out, walking down the little stone path. Inside was bright, small and very warm, thankfully. My sister and I walked towards the desk where a woman with red hair and glasses was sitting behind. She looked up at us curiously as we got closer.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm Isabella Swan and this is my sister Cecelia." Bella informed her quietly, an immediate awareness lighting the woman's eyes. Bella shot me a dark look causing me to give her an encouraging smile. I knew Bella was thinking about the rumors around us and our mother leaving Charlie and taking us with her.
"Of course." the woman, who I found out is called Mrs Cope, said as she dug through some papers on her desk. Finally she found what she was looking for, explaining she had our schedules and a map of the school for us. After a couple of minutes of her going through things with us (and giving us a slip our teachers had to sign) she gave us huge smile. Bella gave a small smile in return. I gave a bigger one, thanked her whilst waving my hand lightly as we exited the office to head back to the truck.
"Shit," I cursed. "We didn't ask for directions We're going to need to go back."
Bella shook her head. "Look, people have started to arrive. We can just follow them." So we did. Parking the truck I noticed Bella looking around at all the cars, probably happy we didn't stand out because there was only one nice car here. A shiny Volvo and man did it stand out in the sea of old cars. Bella and I quickly went through our schedules to see if we had any the same because I was taking 2 higher classes. Calculus and Biology. Turns out we only two classes together, apart from lunch, and that was first and last period.
Exiting the truck, slinging my bag over my shoulders as I made my way around to meet with Bella, I gave her an encouraging smile as I linked our arms together. I could tell how nervous she was. She pulled her hood up whilst taking a deep breath to calm herself as we headed for building 3. The closer we got to the door the more nervous my sister seemed to become. Squeezing her arm I tried to whisper a few words of comfort into her ear. It seemed to do the trick, well enough to make her actually enter the room. The room was small I noticed. Bella and I copied the people in front of us by taking off our coats to hang up on a long row of hooks. After handing our slips off to the teacher, feeling a little put out when he gawked at us, we scrambled to the empty desks at the back.
English didn't bother me, I quite liked it. Bella looked slightly bored as she looked down at the reading list we had been handed. I took notes as the class went on, ignoring the few kids who tried to turn in their seats to look at us without being caught. Finally the bell sounded. As I was packing up my things a boy with skin problems and black hair leaned over.
"You're Isabella and Cecelia Swan, aren't you?" He had a wide smile on his face as he spoke, his eyes wide with excitement and hope.
"Bella and Lia." My sister corrected him. We did not enjoy our full names, mine especially. It seemed so old fashioned. Everyone called me Lia, except Bella who sometimes called me Cee-Cee. A childhood nickname. The minute my sister spoke everyone seemed to turn around to stare at us.
"Where's your next class?" he asked.
"Um, Goverment, with Jefferson, in building six." Bella replied before looking at me.
"I have Calculus." People were still staring, so much it was now making me feel uncomfortable.
"I'm Eric." the guy said, that smile still on his face. "I'm headed to building four. I could show you the way." Grabbing my jacket I quickly slipped it on before leaving. Sadly the rain had started to pick up. I zoned out as Eric started questioning my sister about Phoenix, wondering what my next class was going to be like. After telling Bella I would see her at lunch I quickly made my way into the classroom. Thankfully my teacher didn't make me introduce myself. There was only one space left in the entire class, guess I know where I'm sitting. The spot was next to a guy, a very attractive guy. He had blond hair to his chin, high cheekbones, pale skin (paler than everybody else), striking gold eyes. I didn't even know that was a possible eye colour. He seemed quite well built too but there was something odd about him.
As I sat down next to him I noticed how tense he seemed to be. One of his hands was clenched into a fist on his leg, and the other was wrapped so tightly around his pencil I was surprised it hadn't snapped yet. His handsome face was screwed up in concentration but, it almost seemed like he was in pain. I didn't understand it. Pulling out everything I needed I pulled myself closer to the desk, whipping my hair behind me so it was out of the way. As soon as I did that however, the guy next to me made a weird noise. It was like he had groaned or something. Maybe grunted. The kind you do when someone, or something, hits you in the stomach and you're left winded.
Shaking my head in confusion I tried to pay attention to the class but I found myself distracted. My eyes kept glancing at the blond boy next to me. He hadn't relaxed at all. Glancing over I noticed his eyes were shut as he took in a deep breath in through his nose. His body had relaxed before he suddenly went tense, his eyes snapping open and meeting my own. I couldn't tell you what I felt in that moment. Fear? was that the right answer? There was something akin to fear there from the sheer intensity of his gaze (and the way he was looking at me, it wasn't particularly friendly) but for some reason my curiosity spiked. What was wrong with me? A guy I just met, haven't spoke to, just glared at me to the point I swear I was going to burst into flames and I simply am curious about him.
Just then the bell rang and he was out of his seat and out of the room quicker than I had ever seen anybody move my entire life. I was left reeling. Shaking my head I packed my things before heading to my next class. I met a sweet girl in my next class. Her name was Angela. We talked a little through the lesson, she even invited me to sit with her and her friends at lunch. Soon enough lunch came. I met Bella and some girl she was with on the way there.
"How was classes so far?" I asked lightly, shifting my bag further up on my shoulders. Bella gave a small shrug.
"Fine." was her answer. "What about you?"
"Oh, fine I guess." I hummed. Bella narrowed her eyes at me before raising a single brow in question. "There was this guy in my calculus class. It was weird, he seemed so tense the entire time like he was in pain. Then at the end, just before the bell rang, he glared at me like I had just threatened to kill his entire family or something." Bella's face showed shock before it settled onto confusion. I simply shrugged before shoving her further into the cafeteria. After grabbing some food we sat down at a table full of people, me slipping down next to Angela. Giving her a smile I was happy at the coincidence that Bella's new friend was friends with Angela. Now I got to sit with both of them.
The girl Bella was with, whose name I found out was Jessica, introduced us to the rest of the group though I wasn't particularly paying attention. My attention was on Bella, who had her attention else where. Looking to where she was I frowned. There at the back of the cafeteria sat a group and in that group was the guy from my calculus class. There were five of them - three boys and two girls.
"Who are they?" Bella asked Jessica. Just as Bella asked this question one of the boys from the group raised his head. He glanced at Jessica then his eyes flickered between my sister and I before quickly looking away. Bella dropped her eyes, swallowing nervously.
"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen," Jessica said with a giggle. Frowning I looked towards the exit. I could just see a small girl with short black hair styled in a pixie cut leaving the room. "they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." I noticed Bella glanced over at them once more. I wanted to too, I really wanted to know which one the blond boy was.
"They are... very nice-looking." Bella stammered. Jessica vigorously nodded her head in agreement.
"They're all together though - well, Emmett and Rosalie are I mean. And they live together." she breathed in condemnation.
"Which ones are the Cullen's?" Bella asked. "They don't look related..."
"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins - the blondes - and they're foster children." Jessica gossiped. My eyes snapped back over to the group. Finally, I learned the guys name - Jasper. He looked much calmer now then he had done in class. Without warning his eyes snapped to mine making my body tense waiting for him to give me the same hate filled glare, but it never came. He still seemed like he was in pain but he didn't look angry anymore.
"They look a little old for foster children." I heard my sister comment. I didn't know why but it was hard to tear my eyes away from him. Glancing back at Jessica and my sister I shook my head like I had just come out of a daze.
"They are now." Jessica replied. "Jasper are Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that." I once more zoned out of their conversation as my eyes slipped over to the Cullen's. Of course my gaze kept flickering to Jasper. Why? I didn't understand it and it was beginning to frustrate me. What did I find so fascinating about this guy? Was it simply because he had glared at me? Or was it something else I didn't know but there was something about Jasper my mind seemed to find fascinating.
Suddenly one of the other boys, the one who had glanced over at us when we first started talking, raised his head to look at me but snapped his head away just as quick. He seemed to be speaking because Jasper looked at him before glancing at me. His face held curiosity, so much so it was overwhelming and I had to look away.
"Which is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" My sister asked as she peeked over at the table. I was curious about it too since he had looked over at us twice.
"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." Jessica responded spitefully. Her face was screwed up in annoyance, clearly he had turned her down and just the look on her face was so silly it made me want to burst out laughing. Sadly a snort of laughter escaped me causing my sister to elbow me quickly. I pretended to cough at once. Not long later the Cullen's, and Hales, got up and left the cafeteria. Jasper found my eyes once more as he passed. His posture was still tense but I was thankful to see he was still calm and not angry.
Soon the bell went and I parted from Bella to head to my next class. Again this was one of my higher classes. Entering the room, going through the usual of handing the teacher the slip for them to sign, I headed towards the only open seat which was next to Alice Cullen. She gave me a warm smile which I returned. The class went fast and I soon found myself headed to the gym, thankfully I was with Bella this period. I found her in the locker room with a concentrated look on her face.
"Are you alright?" I asked as I came to stand next to her. My presence caused her to jump she was so far into her thoughts. She shook her head.
"Something weird happened in class."
"Like what?" But there was no time to reply. "I'll tell you after gym." We didn't have to play today, much to Bella's relief but she didn't tell me what was wrong. I think she was more worried about someone overhearing her. After four volleyball games the bell finally rang and we were allowed to leave. It was no longer raining outside but the wind had sadly picked up. We hurried our way to the office, Bella entering before me pausing as she entered. I looked around her to see what had her freeze like that only to spot Edward Cullen talking quietly to Mrs. Cope.
I pushed Bella further into the room so I could enter when a gust of wind came out of nowhere swirling mine and Bella's hair around our faces. Suddenly Edward stiffened, turning around with a glare on his face, not unlike the look Jasper had given me. The only thing I focused on was the fact that his eyes were black. I could practically feel the fear rolling off of my sister. Grabbing her arm Edward swiveled back around to the receptionist.
"Never mind then," he said hastily. His voice was smooth like velvet. Wow, didn't know a guy could have such a nice voice. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And with that he practically fled from the office. I pushed Bella up to the desk so we could hand over our slips before heading towards our truck. I took the keys from Bella when I noticed tears in her eyes. I knew sometimes when her emotions and thought overwhelmed her she tended to cry. It didn't happen often but when it did I felt terrible. I knew she was in no state to drive.
"I don't think I need you to tell me what happened in class." I muttered once inside the warm truck. Bella gave me a shaky smile. There was something strange about the Cullen family, or maybe it was just Edward and Jasper, but I was sure as hell going to find out what it was.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. The only thing I own is my OC Cecelia.
AN: The first chapter is the only one that is going to seem slightly exactly like the books, I plan to have a lot of original scenes added in but this will obviously be going through the books. I hope you like it and I hope I can keep Jasper in character. Feel free to let me know if you think he's slipping too much out of character.
