Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Twilight franchise.
I stared out the car window, watching the green blobs of forest smear past me. It was pretty cold out today but I felt the heat radiating from Jacob next to me. He seemed more nervous this morning than me; I was excited to start school and be around other people. I loved spending time with my parents, and all my aunts and uncles but I wanted to meet people my own age. Jacob is usually the one who pushes me to do daring things, like when he took me cliff diving last week, but he had been so cautious lately. Part of me thought he is worried I'll stop spending my every waking minute with him and start making new friends. I tried to be sensitive to it and brought up the idea of him driving me this morning. He had kept his hand firmly wrapped around mine since we got in the car, so I reassured him that I'll be smart today.
"You know I'll be back in this car, by your side, in less than eight hours right?" I open tentatively, giving his hand a light squeeze.
"Yeah, Ness, I know you can take care of yourself and I am happy for you. I just want you to be careful" He glanced at me, before looking back at the road and I saw the anxiety written on his face. He took a deep breath and continued.
"Listen, I know you can handle this and I'm sure you'll do great today but if you get uncomfortable or lonely or anything, you call me and I'll spring you. You know, developmentally, you're only like 16ish, so you can always start high school next year and no one would give it a second thought." He rationalized to himself, as if he was the one that needed convincing.
"Jacob, I promise, I'll be fine. I just want to live a little and do something besides play chess with Uncle Jasper. I've never had a girlfriend to talk to that wasn't related to me and my best friend is a twenty-something werewolf, I need to get out more." He laughed, a deep rumble from within his chest, and ran a hand through my hair.
We pulled into the school lot and I saw huddled masses of kids running inside to get refuge from the rain. I had my class scheduled memorized; World History, Calculus, Lunch, Art, and French. Esme was most excited when I chose French over Spanish or Italian. I picked it about a month before school started and we went through a dozen photo albums of her and Carlisle at Le Louvre, the Palace of Versailles, and other famous French landmarks. She promised me this summer, we could take a girl's trip with my Mom, Aunt Alice, and Aunt Rosalie. Unce Emmett told me he honeymooned there with Aunt Rosalie and I asked if they had any pictures, but he explained with a mischievous grin that they hadn't seen much.
Jacob shrugged off his jacket and threw it in my bag as I gathered my things. I pulled up the hood of my red raincoat in anticipation for the downpour. We still had about twenty minutes before school started, so I leaned over and put my head on Jacob's chest. His arms instinctively went around me and I let the sound of his heartbeat drown out the pounding on the rain. It was here, in the crook of his neck, where there was warmth and quiet, that I felt the most safe- like the rest of the world was distant and unimportant because I was in our small little bubble. I was always fascinated by how seamlessly we functioned together; there would be moments where we acted like a single entity and even then, as I sat up again, I felt like I was leaving a part of me behind.
"Just try not to get in any trouble Ness." he whispered, emotion heavy in his voice. He had a tendency to say inconsequential things with the intensity of something more and as I got older, I yearned to uncover the deeper meaning.
"I will." I responded simply, sliding out of the truck and sprinting to the safety of the faded blue overhang. Everyone was pretty docile and rundown in the hall- presumably because of the weather and blues of coming back to school. On the contrary, my morning had been pretty energetic. Aunt Alice woke me around five-thirty to sift through the dozens of potential 'first-day' outfits she had devised. We decided on the seventh one; a flowy, royal blue, u-neck top with black skinny jeans and red flats. I put on a light black shrug over it but I was anxious to slip into Jacob's jacket. I navigated Forks High pretty effortlessly, not interacting with anyone until I got to my first class.
I walked into World History and saw about twelve students in various groups spread around the room. The walls were off-white and peeling, but there were some informational posters about Genghis Khan and methods of historical thinking. It appeared that the teacher hadn't arrived yet, so I slid into a chair in the front and quickly enveloped myself in Jakob's jacket, the warmth and his smell quenching any of my 'first-day' jitters.
I met eyes with a boy across the row. He had striking red hair and light, brown eyes. His face had a child-like quality, but he was at least six foot, maybe taller. He smiled at me politely and I smiled back, eager to meet someone new. I extended my hand to introduce myself and he reached out to shake it.
"Hi, I'm Renesmee Cullen."
He nodded in recognition, "Oh, you're the doctor's niece! Cool, I'm Will Richards. I bet you'll fit in here great."
We talked more, waiting for the teacher to arrive, and I learned that Will had a sister, Selena. She was a year behind us and she broke her ankle at soccer practice last week, so I could meet her Thursday when she came back to school. I was quickly developing affection for Will; he seemed like he was very family oriented and we shared a lot of the same interests. I admired his ambitions of becoming a neurosurgeon and going to Brown. Carlisle had taught me early on about the joys of medicine and I was definitely considering it as a career path. I had never tried human blood- most of the time, I had human food and on a rare occasion, I would drink animal blood- so I wasn't concerned about control.
Will invited me to eat lunch with him and his friends, which I gratefully accepted. I started to ask him about his schedule when a woman, clearly out of breath, burst in.
"Hi…. everyone…. I am uh…. Ms. Archer. I will be…. teaching this class… but I just need a minute." She gasped out and we all paused our conversations, waiting quietly for her to regain her composure.
She took some deep breaths and perched herself lightly on the desk, crossing her legs. Despite her dramatic entrance, everything about her was organized. She placed neatly stacked, color-coordinated folders on the desk and brushed one of her many perfectly spiraled, black curls out of her eyes before properly introducing herself.
"I apologize for my late arrival; my car died about a block from here and I had to make an unfortunate trek through the rain. Like I said, my name is Ms. Archer and I look forward to getting to know all of you this year as we cover the world's history. I am relatively flexible as it relates to your work; I simply ask that you take notes (in whatever format suits you best) in preparation for weekly quizzes and a cumulative test every six weeks. I know it is an adjustment going back to school, so I will leave you to your own devices and allow you to use this time how you please. We will formally begin lessons tomorrow." With that said, she opened a chronicle of major issues throughout the Mayan Empire and let us be.
"So, have you made any friends here yet?" Will asked, drawing my attention back to him.
"I haven't spoken to anyone here in Forks yet but my best friend is Jacob Black. He lives on the reservation." I supplied, smiling at the thought of him. "What about you?"
"Well, there is a group of us that usually hang out; Selena, Alex, Danny, Derek, Gwen, and me. Alex is your typical player- he likes to pretend he's a badass, but he drops the persona with us. Danny and Derek are twins; they are almost always at each other's throat over something. Gwen is my sister's best friend and she can be a bit to handle at first but she'll warm up to you. We've been dating for over a year now and she still takes my breath away."
I liked the way his face lit up when he talked about Gwen and how his eyes crinkled when he laughed and that he had a good relationship with his sister; I could see that he was kind-hearted and I felt confident that we would be fast friends.
When the bell rang, I was sad to leave my new friend, but enthusiastic about meeting his group at lunch. Calculus was very uneventful; Mr. Parker did not share Ms. Archer's laissez-faire attitude and did not tolerate any talking during class. We started a basic review of the pre-calculus curriculum but my Dad had introduced me to the majority of concepts last year. I quickly gained Mr. Parker's respect by answering the first few practice problems correct and while he helped one of the boys in the back, I texted Jacob that I was doing ok and I missed him.
When we let out for lunch, I hurried to the cafeteria. I got in line and bought a turkey sandwich, an apple, and a ginger ale. The room became crowded and noisy very quickly but I was able to spot Will's fiery head and walked over.
The boyish air to him was somewhat marred by seeing him passionately kiss who I could only assume to be Gwen. They were alone at the table, so I awkwardly sat down. Gwen had a very angular face and short, tawny brown hair. I couldn't determine much else about her face until she came up for air and I saw her piercing green eyes. Will finally seemed to recognize the world around him and take note of my presence.
"Oh, hey, um, Renesmee! This is Gwen." He panted, shaking his head slightly, as if coming out of a daze. Gwen did not seem as excited to see me; she looked me up and down, then looked back at Will almost in indifference.
"Hi Gwen, I'm Renesmee. I just moved here from New York to stay with my uncle, Dr. Cullen. It's nice to meet you." I smiled and tried not to judge her initial apathy, remembering Will said she was tough at first.
"That's nice." She responded flatly, preceding to ask Will about his first two classes. I rationalized that she must be a nice person underneath, considering a guy like Will is so enchanted with her. I heard a commotion behind me and felt the chair next to me bang into the table. I turned around and saw two boys playfully shoving one another. They both had dirty blond hair and blue eyes.
"Danny, Derek, this is Renesmee. She's new here." Will introduced me and they both straightened up.
"The name's Danny, pleased to meet you. You can tell me and Derek apart because I'm the hot one." He winked and I laughed, which he took as an invitation to jump into the seat next to me.
Derek approached me and stuck out his hand, apparently more reserved, "And I'm Derek, the one with the manners." I nodded, smiling at them both, and shook Derek's hand. Just then, Jacob responded to my text and I looked down at my phone.
Glad to hear it, Ness. I'll pick you up later!
"Who are you texting?" Danny pried, leaning over my shoulder. Derek chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Subtle Danny."
"Uh… Just my friend Jacob," I replied. Danny accepted that answer and proceeded to devour five slices of pizza.
"Where is Alex?" Gwen asked, surveying the room. Danny snorted and Derek elbowed him.
"Alex heard the cheerleaders were practicing in the gym and wanted a peek," Danny informed us, grinning. From the small profile I had built on Alex, I wasn't ecstatic to meet him, but I was determined to keep an open mind. I remember my Aunt Rose said it didn't matter if a person was flawed if they were around the right people. She had always been vulnerable with me about her regrets and her shortcomings and it contributed to our close relationship. She explained that her and Uncle Emmett were flawed upfront but they complement one another. She tended to be possessive and jealous but he made her feel special and his loyalty lessened her insecurities. We laughed together when she said Uncle Emmett came off as a player and a big shot, but when he was with her, he let the walls come down and was himself.
I could see how this group fit like that; Gwen was hard and guarded, but Will made her lighter; Danny was unruly and whimsical but Derek was calming and methodical. I was curious and somewhat eager to see who I would impact here and who would impact me.
I felt a hard poke in my shoulder that pulled me from my reverie. Danny stood above me smiling, "Come on, pretty lady. I'm walking you to class." I jumped up to follow him, saying goodbye to Will, Gwen, and Derek. Will pecked Gwen on the cheek before heading out and Gwen paused a minute in front of me.
"It was nice to meet you, Renesmee," she conceded and I gave her a small smile. I ventured to think I could fit in with these people.