This story takes place ten years after my last story, Breaking Dawn. If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you read it, although nothing from that story will be continued here. Edward and Bella will be mentioned later in the story; it focuses on Cynthia and Richard mainly. Bella will have a part to play, later.
Although the summary might seem like the storyline of Twilight, it's not. It's kinda based on it though, but I've changed several things. The points of view, for example. And the rest of it is completely different: Cynthia's not a vampire.
This is my second fanfic, so I might have a few flaws. But other than that, I'm pretty sure this will turn out better than my previous story. Enjoy!
I've also included a preface, something that I didn't do in my previous story. Oh, and sorry for the readers who didn't receive replies to their reviews. At the beginning of each chapter, I will reply to each review I get. Your questions will be answered then. I won't keep you from reading anymore!
Disclaimer: This story is basically mine, but everything that ends in Cullen isn't.
Preface
I stopped in my tracks. A girl stood opposite me, the wind ruffling her brown hair and sending it blowing across her neck. It was almost painful to set my eyes on her; she was so heartbreakingly beautiful.
Could it be? Was she just a dream, or was it really her? Either way, it had to be one or the other. I decided that it would be the second one. After all, didn't she look the same? But more beautiful, instead.
I took a step forward and she smiled, her red lips pulling up at a corner. It was a crooked smile. I had seen it before on other people, but not her. It suited her perfectly. She was a goddess; I thought I could never separate from her.
But then she put up her hand, palm facing me, and I stopped dead in my tracks again. Her face became serious, even beautiful as it was. Her body language gave her thoughts away: danger.
This time, I looked at her more carefully. She seemed changed, and looked frightening, if that was possible. And the realization of danger slowly sunk in, as I gazed at her.
Love at First Sight (Chapter 1)
"Aww, come on!" I complained. I was already pretty bankrupt.
"Not a chance!" Simon grinned. "You would need to pay it back sooner or later."
I punched him playfully on the arm. "Two weeks?"
He shrugged. "As long as you still pay it, but it has to be before the end of the term."
The train lurched to a stop and I heard the doors open. I glanced up, startled that it was already my stop so early. I jumped up and tossed my heavy bag over my shoulder.
"Cya, guys!" I called as I raced up the stairs. I raced up the stairs and darted through the closing doors. I made it just in time and the doors closed the moment I was on the platform. I looked back and the station master was frowning at me. Turning my head away, I walked up the stairs to the bus stop, where I caught the bus home.
Just another few weeks of school left. Great, I thought as I walked down the footpath. I tapped the signal and waited for it to turn green. Meanwhile, I folded my arms and leaned back. I looked up, expecting to see Julie waiting for me, her black eyes scanning the landscape, but a different view greeted me.
I expected to see Julie alone, with her glasses and dyed chestnut brown hair. She was short, even shorter than me, and I was considered short. I was very sure that she had developed a crush on me in the few years of our close friendship. I hadn't though. I hadn't had any girlfriends in my whole seventeen years.
Sitting next to her were two new girls. The one sitting closest to her looked younger than Julie's seventeen years. She had black hair that went a little past her shoulders and her black eyes were hidden behind a pair of glasses. Judging from her sitting position, she was just a little taller than Julie was.
I shifted my gaze over to the next girl. She looked the same age as the other new girl, but I couldn't tear my eyes off her. She was beautiful. Her tanned skin looked so soft and smooth and her eyes were a beautiful almond shape, framed with thick, black lashes. What surprised me was that her eyes were a light, hazel colour, which matched her appearance perfectly. Her hair was dark brown, almost black, and it hung in cascades of waves down to the middle of her back. Her high cheekbones curved perfectly to her red-lipped mouth, which was open in laughter. Her eyes gleamed with amusement and her perfect figure was shaking as she laughed in time with her two companions. She looked so inhumanly beautiful, even in school uniform, yet she was human, in a way.
I was so engrossed in her beauty that I didn't even hear the light turn green. Blushing a deep red, I adjusted the bag over my shoulder and walked quickly to where the three girls were sitting. Julie was turned towards me, her mouth stretched into a wide smile as she saw me coming. I straightened up and smiled at the two girls sitting next to her. The beautiful one looked surprised and startled at the same time, and I was aware that I saw something familiar in her, like we had met before.
"Cynthia, Anne, this is Richard. Richard, this is Anne-" Julie gestured to the girl next to her, who smiled shyly, "and this is Cynthia." The beautiful girl leaped up and was in front of me in an instant, and had me in a light hug. Dazed, I hugged her back. The hug only lasted for a mere two seconds before she pulled back. I let my arms fall reluctantly.
When she pulled back, I caught a whiff of her scent. I was pretty sure that she didn't put on perfume, because it didn't smell like any perfume I had ever smelt. There were no words to describe her scent, but I would compare it to honey.
"Hi, Richard!" She beamed. Her voice was so sweet, like honey. "It's so nice to see you again!"
Now I knew who she was. "Hello, Cynthia," I replied, grinning broadly.
Julie was staring at both of us, her mouth open and a trace of jealousy in her usually-friendly eyes. "You two know each other?" she asked in an incredulous voice.
Cynthia smiled. It was so sweet, and made me want to draw closer to her. "Richard is Simon's best friend. I've only met him once before, though."
"Who's Simon?" Anne asked. Her voice was quiet, and I guessed that she wasn't talkative and bubbly, like Cynthia was, but much quieter.
"Oh, Simon's my boyfriend," Cynthia replied, still smiling.
"You have a boyfriend?" Julie echoed. "You didn't tell me."
"I was getting to that bit," Cynthia admitted. "But Richard came and interrupted." She shot a teasing glance at me and I had to look away to prevent myself from hyperventilating.
Cynthia turned and sat back in her seat. Her movement was so graceful, like she had been dancing all her life. I could only gape after her, but I recovered myself and went to sit next to her.
"So, tell me, when did you move, Cynthia?" I asked casually. Last time I had seen her, she was much farer than where I assumed she lived now.
"I moved last week. My parents thought that we lived a bit too far away from our school, and so we moved. Even though I've only been here for less than a week, it's really nice," she added. "How's Simon?"
I laughed. "You should know better than I," I joked.
She laughed too. It was all wind, a chime. "Oh, rubbish. You see him everyday, whereas I don't. I only see him on weekends. No, actually, I see him on the train too."
"See? You do see him more than I do," I laughed.
"True." She agreed this time.
"So, Richard, how's school?" Julie interrupted, trying to fit into the conversation. I turned toward her so she wouldn't be offended.
"Oh, you know. Same old stuff," I answered her question as casually as I could. I turned my attention to Anne. "Did you move? I haven't seen you before."
"No," she replied in her quiet voice. "I used to catch the train, but when Cynthia moved, her mum told her to take the bus, and told my mum. My mum thought it was safer and much more comfortable, so she convinced me to take the bus too."
"Oh," I said. I was pondering why Cynthia had moved at all, and then I realised it was closer to where Simon lived, which gave her easier access to him.
"Hey, have you guys seen the movie 'Prom Night' yet?" Cynthia asked eagerly, her hazel eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Yeah. Oh my god, that movie is the best!" Julie and I exclaimed together. I had watched it with my friends last week.
"I know!!" she squealed. "I begged Anne to come, but she wouldn't, saying that she had a lot of homework. Seriously, Anne, why didn't you go?"
Anne smiled sheepishly. "I did have a lot of homework," she said.
Cynthia's face fell. "Oh, come on. I'll buy the DVD and let you watch it when it comes out. Please?" Her voice was so pleading that if I were Anne, I would have agreed immediately.
Anne's smile turned sad and she shook her head. Cynthia's face fell, but it was replaced by a happy, excited mask almost less than a second later.
"Did you get new contacts?" I asked her. I noticed that the last time I had seen her, her eyes had been a stunning violet shade, which had suited her perfectly as well.
"Yep. My parents insist on me wearing contacts, because they think that glasses are a pain in the neck. I think so, too. Don't you ever get tired of wearing glasses, Julie?"
"I do have contacts, but I only wear them when I have sport, because contacts are expensive. How do you manage it?" Julie asked.
Cynthia laughed again. I listened to the sound, committing it to memory. I knew it was wrong of me to crush on my best friend's girlfriend, but I couldn't help it. I fixed my eyes on her breathtaking face when she answered Julie.
"My family is considered as high class. In simpler words, we are described as 'rich'-" she put up her hands and used her index and middle fingers to suggest speech marks, "so we can afford it. But I don't spend money like that. I don't like to think of myself as rich."
I sat still, absorbing that. I decided that I wanted to find out as much as possible about her, so I asked a next question.
"Do you have any siblings?"
"Of course. I have a younger brother, called Peter. He's nine years old, and a pain in the neck." The corners of her mouth pulled down in disgust.
"The bus is here," Anne announced quietly. Her gaze was fixed on Cynthia's right side, and I could see that the bus was indeed there. I stood up, picked up my bag from where I had dumped it and walked to the bus, waiting for it to stop.
A small line of people were in front of me with their bus passes out ready to dip in the bus machine. I reached inside my pocket for my black wallet, which I opened to get out my bus pass. Somehow, Cynthia ended up behind me.
"Ladies first," I smiled. My hands spread out in front of me to indicate that she should go first.
She giggled but did not refuse the offer. It meant that she had a lot of experience with guys, I thought. I followed her to the back of the bus, where it was mostly empty. She sat in an empty seat and I took the seat across from her.
Anne came and sat next to her and Julie sat in front of them. The bus started, rumbling quietly down the familiar street. I looked out the window, watching the familiar shops pass by.
"Where do you two get off?" I leaned across the aisle.
Cynthia let Anne answer first.
"I get off six stops from the one we got on," Anne replied, my hearing just picking up her quiet words. No offence, but I liked people to speak louder.
"I get off four stops later," Cynthia replied.
"Hey, that's where I get off! Hi-five!" I grinned. I reached out my arm, palm forward. She did that too and although our palms didn't touch, we hi-fived in mid-air and laughed.
I looked out the window for the rest of the bus trip. Julie ignored all of us, gazing out her window. My heart was still drumming and I was sure people as far away as Julie could hear it. I couldn't seem to slow it down.
At last, I could press the 'stop' button and wait for the last fifty metres until my bus stop. I stood up and swung my bag over my shoulder.
"Bye, Julie. Bye, Anne," I said. Cynthia waved and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Julie shift to sit next to Anne.
"Where do you live?" I asked.
"In the flat," she answered, her lovely voice making the words sound better than normal. She pointed to a tall building across the road.
"Really? I live in the same flat too!"
She laughed her twinkling laugh. "I don't think we'll be neighbours. Which floor are you on?"
"The fifth floor."
"Then we're not neighbours. I'm on the fourth floor. Hopefully we'll get to see each other in the mornings," she smiled.
"Yeah." That was all I could think of.
I held the door open for her and she flashed a smile at me that showed her white teeth. I let the door closed and walked into the elevator in a daze.
I pressed 'five' and she pressed 'four'. The doors closed and we ascended upwards.
"Which bus do you catch in the morning? Or do you walk?"
"It depends. Sometimes I have morning classes and afternoon classes, and sometimes I have sports lessons in the gym at school. Friday is the only day I'm free on both mornings and afternoons."
The lift stopped and the doors opened. Cynthia walked out.
"Bye Cynthia," I said.
"Call me Cindy," she corrected, grinning.
"Cindy," I grinned back. The name felt of less value than Cynthia.
"It's nice knowing you, Richard. Have a good weekend and see you next week!" She waved until the doors closed fully. I waved back.
The lift stopped at my floor a few seconds later. Mechanically, I walked out, my actions stiff and rigid. I couldn't get my body functioning properly. Probably because I had just met the love of my life.
"Hey, Raymond." My thirteen-year-old brother was staring at the computer screen and typing furiously. He looked up at the sound of my voice briefly, then went back to typing.
I grabbed a slice of bread and spread peanut butter on it. I ate it and then went to the window, gazing out at the view of the streets and cars, letting the wind blow my hair.
I set my bag in my bedroom and opened my maths book, trying to concentrate on my homework. But whatever I tried to do, Cynthia kept creeping back into my thoughts. I tried meditating and taking deep breaths, but it didn't work at all. After a few minutes, I decided to take a shower.
The hot water ran over my body and I relaxed as the heat spread over my body. Only Cynthia's scent still stayed in my nostrils.
I walked out of the shower and dressed in casual clothes. I was still tingling from the warm water of the shower.
All thoughts of Cynthia were almost erased from my mind but still a little of her stayed in my mind, but it was enough to tolerate, not to send me hyperventilating.
But before I started on my homework, I turned on the computer. It made a loud whirring noise which settled quickly into a low whine. I tapped my fingers on my desk impatiently and took out my maths book, trying to memorise the rules.
The computer finally loaded and I clicked on the Internet icon, the page loading to Google. I typed in the search box 'meaning of the name Cynthia'.
When the page loaded, I didn't bother to click onto a website because the meanings were already displayed. I read the one on Wikipedia and it read: Cynthia is a personal name of Greek origin meaning 'rom Mount Cynthus'.
I read further and the next paragraph read: 'Cynthia was originally an epithet of the Greek goddess of the moon, Artemis, who was sometimes called "Cynthia" because, according to legend, the goddess was born on Mount Cynthus.'
I gasped. Her name suited her perfectly. She was a goddess, and that, I could understand.
That night, I lay awake in bed, thinking about Cynthia. I thought of Simon and her, kissing, and banished that thought away from my mind in revulsion.
No, I thought. That won't happen. I couldn't believe I was jealous of him.
I'll find a better girl, I vowed myself, but deep down inside, I knew there was no better girl than Cynthia.
Eventually, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
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