A/N: haha, I wrote a Twilight fanfic for some reason :sweatdrop: I'm really sorry for not updating anything else guys, I've been lazy...
and if you're a new reader, welcome :)
Yea, I don't completely hate Twilight, but i don't really like it... yet I still felt like writing this so... voila. The next update I put up should be for this story or the Harry Potter one...
I didn't know how to feel. I'd never had to move out of state before. Was I supposed to be worried? Freaked out? My emotions were a mess as I gazed out the airplane window. Most of all, I felt empty. I guess my situation wasn't really normal.
Right now I'm on an airplane headed to Forks, Washington. All my life I'd lived in New York with my parents and younger brother. Now, I'm being sent to live with a family I've never met in a state I'd never even thought I would visit. Nothing bad happened to my family, if that's what you're thinking. I guess… it was inevitable? This split was always just waiting to happen.
My views have never matched up with those of my parents; our disagreements were always bound to spiral out of control. The only thing that really hurt though was that they were actually sending me away. I reached up with a slightly tanned hand to tug at a couple strands of hair that hung right at the edge of my vision while simultaneously blowing my bangs out of my eyes. My hair had been the cause of one of the more major disagreements, it was naturally black but I'd gone and bleached all of it so it was now this orange-ish color. That, along with the three piercings and cartilage in my left ear and the double piercings in my right ear, was probably the last straw for my parents (I had contemplated getting a lip piercing for a while, but decided that argument wasn't worth the trouble).
They had always wanted respectable children. Ones they could show off and brag about, maybe claim that they went to the best schools. I admit, I did get into one of the top high schools in New York, but it didn't matter. In the end, my stylistic choices were just too "rebellious". So I guess this whole being sent away thing was supposed to be some sort of rehabilitation process. Maybe my parents were hoping that sending me to a small town would "help me to see the errors of my ways".
I was broken from my thoughts by a loud beeping sound as the intercom came to life, asking for all passengers to secure their seatbelts as the plane was preparing to land. I took one more look out the window before leaning back in my seat, the hem of my shirt bunched into my hands. Well, here's to starting anew.
It was weird walking around on two feet after the plane ride, took a moment for the pins and needles feeling in my legs to go away so that I could walk without fear of my legs giving out on me and sending me tumbling to the ground.
Walking out of the terminal and into the main body of the airport was a short distance, but it felt like it just stretched on and on to me. I was only a few steps away from the loud noise that indicated the beginning of the rest of the airport when I realized I was really nervous. What if the family I was staying with didn't like me? What if I couldn't make any friends? I let out a shaky laugh at myself. Oh what was I being reduced to? I had never been this bad back in New York. When had I honestly cared about what others thought of me? Taking in a deep breath, my free hand instantly found itself fisting into the hem of my shirt again, I tightened my grip on my carry-on bag, suddenly wishing the headphones wrapped around my neck weren't so constricting, and stepped out.
I was disconcerted by the large space. I felt small. Insignificant. I never did like large spaces, I felt so vulnerable in them for some reason. I could almost feel myself shrinking into myself. I quickly scanned the crowd before picking up my pace and directing my steps to the exit. The man I'd spoken to on the phone before my flight… a Mr. Charlie Swan, had told me he would be picking me up from the airport. I was to be staying with him and his daughter. I didn't ask where the mother was, I found that oftentimes it was better just not to ask.
Once I'd left the building a cool wind swept past and I found myself staring at a police cruiser sitting just in front of me with a man standing in front of it and smiling awkwardly in my direction. I walked slowly over to him and mumbled a greeting.
"Mr. Charlie Swan…?"
He seemed a little put off by the way I said his name, but he was quick to shrug it off. "That's me. Kaito Yeoh?"
I nodded to confirm that that was my name. "Just call me Kai." I supplied. An awkward moment passed before Charlie cleared his throat and moved aside, motioning to the cruiser. "I'm having some friends over to watch the game in a bit…"
New people… well, I'd have to meet them all sooner or later. "That's fine." I replied, nodding slightly before moving around the car to slide into the passenger side seat, hands shaking a bit. Hopefully this uncomfortable atmosphere wasn't going to last.
The drive back to the Swan residence started off silent. My hands itched to reach into my pocket for my mp3 player just to have some sort of background noise. Instead, Charlie began to talk again, his eyes glued to the road except for the few short times when he'd glanced over at me to see my reactions. He told me that my stuff had already been moved into a room and was waiting for me to unpack and put away. I thanked him again. Then he moved onto telling me about his daughter. She was four years older than me, a senior in high school, and currently over at a friend's house. I listened, nodding at the appropriate intervals.
"Your daughter sounds… kind." I said when he finished describing her. What else was I supposed to say? I fiddled with the hem of my shirt, staring at my fingers as I rubbed the cloth between them. "Thank you Mr. Swan… for doing this."
I knew he was glancing at me out of the corner of his eyes before he replied. "It's not a problem…uhm… Kai. And you can just call me Charlie; Mr. Swan doesn't sound right to me."
I nodded to show that I understood and we settled back into silence. This one was short lived as well since it was only a few minutes later that Charlie drove into the driveway of a two story house. I climbed out of the car and couldn't resist looking every which way to take in the area. This was all just so different from what I was used to. There was actually sky and trees and… and open space. I shuddered a bit and wrapped an arm around my middle as I shifted my bag higher onto my shoulder and followed Charlie into the house, hesitantly. The interior was slightly cramped but it had a homey kind of feeling to it. I stooped to remove my black boots and pushed them out of the way with a foot before padding after Charlie in my socks. He led me upstairs and past a couple of doors before stopping in front of one.
"It's probably smaller than you're used to…" he started, rubbing the back of his neck as he opened the door. I peered into the room and shrugged. "It's fine. I prefer small rooms." I interrupted him and walked in, seeing the few boxes that held the stuff I had brought with me stacked in the corner and the two instruments I had insisted on bringing with me placed carefully in another corner. I dropped my carry-on bag onto the bed and turned so that I was facing Charlie, sweeping my hair out of my face with one hand. I smiled at him again. "Really. Thank you." I said. He may have said something in response before leaving, but I had already stopped paying attention. I closed the door after he was gone and moved to the boxes stacked in the corner.
It wasn't that hard to move the boxes to the point where I could have them all on the floor and open, though I ended up having to sit on the bed as there was no more room on the floor. I put all my clothes into the small closet that was attached to my room and flattened the now empty box before moving onto the other boxes. Hats, bags, shoes, and accessories soon joined my clothes in the closet and filled the shelves on the walls. Framed photos followed and then my small collection of books that I couldn't live without. Then were my cds and a cd player, followed by chargers for my cell and my mp3. My laptop was deposited on the desktop, along with my cell and mp3 plus a few notebooks and a sketchpad. Music sheets were dumped unceremoniously in one of the desk drawers and stuffed animals were thrown onto the bed. My favorite blanket followed the stuffed animals. After folding the last of the empty boxes, I moved onto my carry-on bag. My bag of makeup was dropped atop my pile of notebooks and the rest of the stuff in my bag was stashed away in either a drawer or on the shelves before I was finally done. I piled the empty boxes in a free corner and fell back onto the bed once that task was finished.
The room felt more like me now that I'd done a bit of redecorating. A glance out the window showed that a few hours had passed since I'd started unpacking and I got up slowly, stretching out my tired muscles. I didn't get jet-lag as bad as other people would, but not being able to sleep on planes, even if it wasn't an overly long flight, tired me out. I stepped over to the door and exited, only when I neared the staircase did I hear the sounds of the television on downstairs along with the voices of Charlie and who I guessed were his friends. Walking down, I tried to be inconspicuous as I peered into the living room. Of course, my stealth wasn't all that great and I stepped on a creaky step. The men in the living room turned to stare at me and I waved, biting down on my bottom lip as I offered a small smile. I got a wave back and Charlie called me down.
"The game is about over and Billy invited Bella and I over to dinner…"
"Okay."
Charlie seemed to be really awkward as he stared at me. I stared back, wondering what he could be thinking about.
"You're welcome to come over as well Ms…?"
I looked over to the one who had spoken to find a man seated in a wheelchair and I quickly averted my eyes. "Yeoh. Kaito Yeoh. Just call me Kai, sir." I mumbled, fumbling with the hem of my shirt once again.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Kai. I'm Billy Black. As I was saying, you're welcome to join us."
"Oh, uhm, thank you."
And so it was decided that I would be having dinner with even more new people. At this point I decided that I really missed New York, with its familiar sites and people who weren't overly friendly. This would take some getting used to. I agreed to meet up with them in about ten minutes and scampered back upstairs.
I decided to keep the black jeans I was already wearing on and quickly changed out of my red graphic tee and threw on a white collared shirt. I dug a black-furry-hooded-puffy-vest out from my closet and zipped it halfway up, tying a red skinny tie around my neck. I ran a brush through my hair quickly, jammed my cell into my pocket, before hurrying back down the stairs. I could see Charlie and Harry Clearwater, Charlie's other friend, helping Billy into the truck out of the window. I tugged on my boots, tying the laces haphazardly and skipped out the front door, closing it firmly behind me. I fished the keys that Charlie had given me out of my jeans pocket and locked the door before dropping the keys into one of the pockets in my vest and making my way over to the truck.
The drive to La Push (where Billy and Harry lived apparently; it's a reservation I think?) was spent with me looking out the window as the men chatted among themselves. We stopped in front of a small house I understood was Billy's house. I hopped out of the truck and looked around, noting the even more abundant trees in the area.
"Hey dad!"
I looked away from the trees to find a group of three making their way down the path towards us. "Harry's wife and kids." I heard and turned to find that Billy had wheeled himself up next to me. I nodded and watched as the family greeted one another.
"So this girl is new to Washington. She's staying with Charlie and Bella."
I peered through my bangs and suddenly felt self-conscious. With one arm wrapped around my middle, I gave a small wave. The girl looked so pretty, and her little brother was cute too.
"Hello dear. I'm Sue, and these are my children. Leah and Seth."
I smiled briefly. "Kaito Yeoh. Just call me Kai, please."
After that the group of us entered the Black family home. Leah instantly attached herself to the phone and the adults went off to do their own thing, leaving me with Seth. I chewed on my bottom lip nervously.
"So, where did you come from?"
I looked up to find Seth smiling a genuinely friendly smile at me. I could feel my cheeks turning pink before I responded. "New York… it's very different from here."
A laugh. He had a nice laugh. I could see us being friends.
"I guess so. Must be weird for a city girl to be living in such a small town."
This time I laughed, Seth's happy mood was infectious. As we talked we moved to the couch and just passed questions back and forth. I learned that we were the same age among other random facts. I didn't realize that Charlie had even left until he returned with two more people. A girl I was guessing was Isabella Swan and a tall boy that I was guessing was related to Billy. I fell silent as they noticed me and would have probably chosen to look away had Seth not thrown an arm around my shoulder and grinned at the two.
"Hi!"
Dinner was spaghetti, which we were eating in the backyard off of plates on our laps. I took small bites, my stomach in knots. I didn't like eating in front of people… especially people I didn't know. It made me self-conscious. Jacob (Billy's son), Bella, and Seth were all laughing together and, though I was sitting so close to them, I felt out of place. I set the fork I was using down and stared down at the plate of barely touched spaghetti.
"Is something wrong Kaito?"
I glanced up to find Seth giving me a curious look, seemed like Jacob had forgotten the other boy was there again. "No. Nothing's wrong… you can just call me Kai, Seth." I replied.
The boy grinned. "Nope. I like Kaito, it fits you."
I could feel my cheeks redden again. "Oh… well then… " I cleared my throat and picked up the fork again, pushing stray noodles around the plate. "I guess I'm just… not all that hungry…" I mumbled, staring fixedly at my plate. Seth moved his chair closer to mine and nudged me with his elbow. "Wanna talk about it?"
I shook my head 'no'. Happily enough, Seth didn't push the matter and started chattering on about random things that happened in La Push. He was a sweet boy and I felt more comfortable with him than any of the others.
Clouds began rolling in and I stared at the sky. Rain. I remembered now, this area saw rain most of the time. Well, at least the weather was consistent. Seth grabbed the chair I had been sitting in as I got up and I took his empty plate from him, stacking mine on top and following him back into the Black's house. After cleaning up, Seth walked with me over to what I learned was Bella's truck.
"Will you come visit again?"
"Sure…you're my first friend here." I let slip, fumbling with the hem of my shirt as was my nervous habit. Not a moment later, I found myself pressed into Seth's chest as his arms wound around me in a hug. I hesitantly wrapped my arms around him as well.
"Then I'll be your best friend." Seth announced. I had no qualms to that. I tightened my hug briefly before letting go and trying to take a step back. Problem was Seth's arms were still around me.
"Whoa." I gasped out as I found myself placing my hands on Seth's chest to keep from falling into him. My face was probably red again and when I looked up I could swear that there was a slight tinge of red to Seth's russet skin. We stared at one another for a moment before breaking into laughter. He finally let go of me and I leaned against Bella's truck, arms wrapped around my middle as I tried to catch my breath. I saw that Bella and Charlie were starting over and quickly reached into my pockets, pulling out the random things I kept in them. My cell was first, I reached out and tugged on Seth's hands, making him form them into a bowl as I dropped stuff into them. My cell, a pack of gum, random candies, a pack of tissues, ID card, and keys… finally I found what I was looking for. I shoved the random stuff back into my pockets and took hold of Seth's hand again, holding it palm up. I pulled the cap off of the pen with my mouth and whispered the numbers to myself as I scrawled them on Seth's palm. When I finished I capped the pen and shoved it back with its brethren in my pocket.
"There." I smiled. And then faltered. "Err…I mean... sorry. I didn't have any paper…and I thought I'd give you… my number…" I grimaced.
Seth blinked at the string of numbers on his hand before grinning at me. "Cool. Now I can actually use the phone without Leah complaining about me not having anyone to actually talk to."
I laughed softly. Someone cleared their throat and Seth and I looked away from one another to find Charlie watching us with an amused glint in his eye as Bella turned from waving at Jacob. "You ready to go Kai?" I flushed again and nodded quickly. I shot one last smile at Seth before clambering into Bella's truck.
"You think you'll visit again anytime soon?" Charlie was asking Bella. I turned my gaze from the window to the front seats.
"Tomorrow after school." She responded. "I'll take homework, don't worry." She added on quickly. My eyes widened and I leaned forward.
"Would you mind bringing me too?"
That glint was back in Charlie's eyes as he turned to look at me. I tugged on one of my piercings. "Yea, alright." Bella agreed.
I was happy. I would see Seth again. Soon.
The rest of the drive passed by uneventfully. When we got back to the house, Bella seemed reluctant to climb the stairs to the second floor. I passed where she was lingering at the foot of the staircase as I hurried to my room. I had just flopped onto my bed when my phone rang. I flinched and shook my head at myself. No matter how long I'd had a cellphone, I still flinched whenever it rang. I folded an arm under my head and tugged my slim black cell from pocket. I flipped it open without checking the caller ID and pressed it to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Sorry, I couldn't wait to call you."
I laughed and quickly sat up, hugging my legs to my chest with my free arm. "Seth. Don't worry about it. I'm… happy you called."
"Really?"
"Mhm."
"So about the next time you visit…"
"Oh! Bella's going down to La Push again after school tomorrow, so I asked if I could tag along. Do you wanna meet me at Jacob's place again?"
"Okay! Then I can give you a tour of the rez if you want."
"That sounds fun."
"Great, so I'll let you get some sleep now. You're starting school tomorrow, right?"
I grimaced slightly. "Don't remind me. I hate being the new girl."
"I'll call you tomorrow morning even if I have to fight Leah for the phone. I want to wish you luck for your first day."
"That's…" I found myself blinking in surprise. "That's …you're really sweet Seth. Thank you."
"No problem. Can't have my best friend feeling like she's not wanted, right?"
I laughed again. "Really, thank you so much Seth. I'm glad you're my best friend."
"You're welcome. Goodnight Kaito."
"Night Seth."
I shut the phone and placed it on the bed next to me, yea, maybe things wouldn't be too bad here.
