Author's Note: I'm a fan of the Vampire genre, but I'm afraid I'm not a fan of Twilight. It lacked a lot of plot I think it needed in order to counteract all the "Edward is GORGEOUS" stuff. In spite of this, I won't be making fun of the book, just re-telling it how I want to. Okay, I'll be making fun of it a little.
Changes I'll be making to the book as a whole: It will be told in third person and probably different perspectives different from Bella's. I'll be adding the plot way before page 375.
Changes to Chapter one:
~ I made Bella a little nicer as a whole, in the original book she seems angry and like she feels above everyone else.
~ Took out references that Eric ever had a thing for her, Three guys is certainly enough.
~ Took out a few references about the beautiful-ness of Edward.
Overall though, Chapter one will remain the least changed, as it's the introductory chapter and there isn't much to change. Most of of the changes will come from Chapter 2 on, so stay tuned!
Also, for more of Author's Notes, Rants, and Changes, see my blog: paralleltwilight . wordpress . com
Chapter One: First Sight
Her mother drove her to the airport with the windows down, as it was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix. The sky was a perfect, cloudless blue and she couldn't help but stare at it as they whizzed down the highway. She let out a small sigh as she looked down at her sleeveless, white shirt with white, eyelet lace - her favorite shirt and a farewell gesture to the warmth of the big city.
Somewhere in Washington State, a small town named Forks existed under a near constant cover of clouds. It rained more there than it did anywhere else in the United States and perpetuated a gloomy atmosphere that was usually reserved for graveyards and funeral homes. She had escaped from it with her mother when she was only a few month old, though she returned to it every summer until she was fourteen for reasons unknown. A compulsion, maybe. The last three summers she had been able to avoid it's unknown allure, but now it was calling her back. Permanently.
Yes, it was Forks that she was now exiling herself to and as she entered the airport she was seriously beginning to forget why. She loved Phoenix; she loved the sun and the blistering heat. She loved the vigorous, sprawling city. She did not, however, love Forks.
"Bella," her mom said to her for the umpteenth time before she got on the plane, "You don't have to do this."
Bella stared at her mother for a moment, taking in her face and locking it in her memory for safe keeping. Her mom looked like her, except with shorter hair and laugh lines. It wouldn't be so bad if she ended up looking like her mom later in her life, as she had aged gracefully over time, but she hoped that she wouldn't act like her. She felt a small spasm of panic as she stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could she leave her loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself? Who would remind her to pay the bills or to put food in the refrigerator, or even gas in her car? Who would she call when she ended up taking a wrong turn somewhere, which she did often? Of course, she had Phil now to pick up what Bella was leaving behind, but still, she wondered if he would be able to handle it.
"I want to go." She lied with forced enthusiasm. She'd always been a bad liar, but she had been saying this so frequently lately that even she was almost beginning to believe it.
"Tell Charlie I said hi."
"I will."
"I'll see you soon." Mom said, "and you can come home whenever you want, I'll come right back as soon as you need me."
But Bella could see the sacrifice in her eyes as her uttered those words. It was a half promise, something she was used to from her scatterbrained mother. "Don't worry about me," She smiled a little too brightly, "It'll be great, I know it. I love you, mom."
She hugged her for a few moments, and then Bella got on the plane. It was too late to turn back now.
It was a four hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour from there to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive down to Forks. Flying there went as smoothly as it could have, she actually found it to be soothing. What she wasn't looking forward to, though, was that hour in the car with Charlie.
Charlie had been fairly accommodating about the whole situation. He was genuinely pleased that she was coming to live with him for the first time, so much so he had already gotten her registered for high school and was looking around for her a car. Bella had to wonder if behind the accommodating demeanor if he questioned her motives at all. He had to wonder why she was coming back to a town she never liked because even she was wondering it. It was sure to be awkward with Charlie though, as neither of them was what anyone would call talkative and she couldn't think of anything worth talking to him about.
When she landed in Port Angeles, it was, of course raining. It wasn't an omen that she had made a bad decision, just an unavoidable fate. Bella had already said her goodbyes to the sun.
She was sure Charlie was waiting for her with the police cruiser outside. This, too, was unavoidable. Charlie was, after all, Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks and he drove that thing around proudly to remind everyone of that. This was one of the reasons she was so anxious to get my own vehicle, despite the scarcity of her own funds. Being driven around in a car with red and blue lights on the top of it just lacked appeal. Besides, it would only slow down traffic and probably make her late to where ever she was going. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop. That would surely be a tragedy, she thought to herself jokingly.
Charlie gave her an awkward, one-armed hug when she finally stumbled her way off of the plane.
"It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he steadied my wobbling, "You haven't changed much. How's Renee?"
"Mom's fine. It's good to see you too, Dad." She wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face.
Bella had only a few bags to pick up from baggage claim. Most of her Arizona clothes weren't warm enough for Washington, so she and her mom had pooled their resources to buy a small, but warmer, wardrobe for the transition. The bags fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser, making Bella realize that what they had bought probably still wasn't enough. Oh well, she thought, she would just have to make do for now.
"I found a good car for you, really cheap." He announced as we finally got on the road.
She was suspicious of the way he had said "good car for you" as opposed to "good car." Somehow, she expected something he wouldn't want her to drive, so he would always know where she was, "What kind of car?"
"Well, it's a truck, actually." He correct himself, "A Chevy."
A truck. Interesting choice. "Where did you find it?"
"Do you remember Billy Black at the La Push reservation?"
She tried to remember, but failed, "No."
Charlie laughed as though that was the answer he was expecting, "He used to go fishing with us during the summer. When you still came to visit."
She recalled him vaguely now, but it was still hard to put a face to the name, as she was so miserable when she was visiting everything just didn't seem worth remembering. Bella nodded politely, prompting Charlie to continue.
"He's in a wheelchair now and since he can't drive anymore he offered to sell me his truck cheap."
Now she felt bad for not being able to remember him. Though she was curious as to why Billy was in a wheelchair now, she decided to let that fall by the wayside and continue with less uncomfortable conversation, "What year is it?"
From the change in his expression Bella could tell this was something Charlie was hoping she wouldn't ask, "Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine, it's only a few years old, really."
She laughed to herself, he was fooling himself if he thought that answer would satisfy her, "Okay, when did he buy it?"
"Mid-1980's, I think."
"And how old was it when he bought it then?" She pushed.
"20-odd years," He admitted sheepishly, "It's from the sixties, late fifties at the most."
"Cha-" She caught herself quickly, "Dad, I'm really bad with cars. What if something goes wrong? I don't think I could afford a mechanic."
"Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't make them like that anymore."
The thing. She laughed in her head and smiled a bit. It has possibilities, as a nickname at the very least. Images of the truck rising up from a swamp somewhere and revving it's engine filled her mind, amusing her more than it should have.
"So how cheap is cheap?" She finally asked him. Price was something she couldn't compromise on, she didn't have a lot of it.
"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you," He glanced over to her with a hopeful expression, "As a homecoming gift."
Wow. Free. Can't beat free.
"You didn't need to do that, dad," Bella told him, touched by the gesture, "I was going to buy myself a car."
"I don't mind, I just want you to be happy here." He said and cleared his throat, making sure to look straight ahead. Charlie wasn't comfortable expressing any kind of emotion, something that Bella unfortunately inherited from him. The words made her a bit anxious so she stared straight ahead as well.
"Thanks, dad, that's really nice of you. I appreciate it." Though being happy in Forks seemed like a dim possibility to her, but there was no need to let him know that. At least she got a free car out of the deal.
"Well, now, you're welcome." He mumbled out, humbled by my thanks.
They exchanged a few more comments on unimportant topics, like the weather - which, of course, was wet - until the conversation completely faded into silence and she stared out the side window.
She couldn't deny that the drive was beautiful. Everything was covered in green, the trunk of trees covered with thick green moss and the branches hanging with a large canopy of it, not even the ground showed any traces of brown as it was covered with ferns. What little sunlight there was filtered though everything, causing the air to take on a green hue as well.
Being used to the stark browns and reds of Arizona, this was like an alien planet to her.
Eventually, they made it to Charlie's home, her new home. He still lived in the small, two bedroom house that he'd bought with her mother during the short time they were married. She wonder why he had never decided to leave, but her thoughts were interrupted when she saw her new, in loosest sense of the word, truck parked in front of the house. It was a faded, red color with big, round fenders, and a bulbous cab. To Bella's intense surprise, she fell in love with it. She didn't even know if it would run, but she could see herself driving around in it without shame. Plus, it was made with solid iron, like all old cars, so it would never get damaged; The kind you would see at the scene of an accident with hardly a scratch, surrounded by the pieces of a current plastic car it had destroyed. The thing didn't seem like such a bad nickname anymore and she smiled widely.
"Wow, Dad, I love it!" Bella exclaimed, genuinely cheerful, "Thanks again!" She had a little bounce in her step after that. Tomorrow would be as horrific as she had been playing out in her head. She would have a car with character to drive to school, instead of walking two miles or bumming a ride in the police cruiser. It didn't seem like much, really, but it was enough to lift her hopes about tomorrow.
"I'm glad you like it." He replied, embarrassed by her sudden enthusiasm.
It took only one trip to get all of her stuff upstairs into her new room. Well, it wasn't exactly new, it felt familiar, as she had been occupying it since she was born - though mostly for short periods of time. The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the yellow laced curtains surrounding a window that over looked the front yard, they were all a part of her childhood. The rocking chair from my baby days was still sitting in the corner, even. The only changes Charlie ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I got older. The desk, which was usually empty, now held a second hand computer that was connected to the internet - a stipulation from her mother so they could keep in touch easier.
There was only one bathroom in the house, at the top of the stairs, which meant she could have to share it with Charlie. That was an uncomfortable though, so she tried not to dwell on it too much. She just reminded herself to keep all her more girly items kindly hidden from her father's eyes.
One of the best things about Charlie was that he never hovered. He left Bella alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible if her mom were around. It was nice to be alone, to be able to take a breathe and not have to pretend that this was the best idea. She was getting tired of all the smiling and took great relief in staring dejectedly out the window. Watching the rain sheet the glass, she let a few tears fall from her eyes before taking a deep breath to regain some composure. This wasn't the time to go on a real crying binge, after all it wasn't like this was the worst thing that could happen to her, but she was sure she probably would anyway once she slipped into bed. Alas, no matter how hard she denied it, she really felt it was the worst thing she could have ever done. And thinking about going to school in the morning only made the feeling worse.
Forks High School has a frightening total of three-hundred and fifty-seven students, three-hundred fifty-eight including herself. There were more than seven hundred people in her junior class alone back in her old school, making it a lot easier to go unnoticed, which she tended to do a lot. All of the kids here had grown up together, she was sure their grandparents had been toddlers together, so she would get quite a lot of attention here, whether she wanted it or not. The girl from the big, sunny city, a curiosity at best, a freak at worst.
Maybe, if Bella looked like a girl from Phoenix was supposed to look, she could have worked this to her advantage. Like California, girls from Arizona were expected to be sporty, tan, blonde, a volleyball player or a cheerleader perhaps, who enjoyed rollerblading and tanning in the summer. All the things go with living in the valley of the sun.
Instead, she was ivory skinned. She didn't have the excuse of red hair for her ivory skin, she just didn't tan well. Burned, sure, tanned, no. She had been gifted with being natural slender, but she lacked the tone of a someone who was an athlete, making her curves softer. She didn't have the hand-eye coordination to play sports anyway, not without harming herself and everyone else around her.
When she finished putting her clothes in the old pine dresser, she found her bag of bathroom toiletries and made her way to the communal bathroom. She was desperate to clean herself up after the long trip to her new home. Brushing her damp and tangled hair, she looked at herself in the mirror, sighing with disappointment. Maybe it was the light, but she already looked sallow and unhealthy. Her skin could be pretty, it was very clear with a translucent look, but she was sure under the gloomy haze of Forks she would always look exactly how she did now.
Facing her own pallid reflection in the mirror, she began to wonder how she would be able to fit in here. She couldn't find any kind of niche in a school filled with three thousand students, would she even have a chance here? She would probably be known as the new girl from sunny Arizona for the rest of her high school career or, even worse, Police Chief Swan's daughter. She wasn't sure if either would make it easier to get to know people, but she worried that they would make things worse. She always used the excuse that she never related well to people her own age, but maybe the truth was she just didn't relate to people at all. Even her mom, who she would also consider a best friend, was never really in harmony with her. They were never really on the same page and, more often than not, Bella was always the one forced to play the adult. Really, she played the adult with everyone around her, making her wonder if maybe she was unable to really be childlike. Maybe she saw things differently than everyone else, like there was some kind of glitch in her brain.
Whatever the cause was, it didn't matter now. All that mattered was how she would effect other people, and she would surely be tested tomorrow.
Bella didn't sleep well that night, even after she was done with crying into her pillow. The constant noise of the rain against the window and the wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background and she had to put a pillow over her head in order to block out the noise. It still failed, however, and she couldn't fall asleep till well after midnight when the rain finally began to settle down.
Looking out the window through bleary eyes, fog was all she was able to see. She could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on her as she realized that the sky, and anything 20 yards away, was completely blocked from view. It was like a cage.
Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished her good luck at school and she thanked him gingerly, worried that his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid her no matter how hard to chased after it. They both said nothing after that, eating silently until Charlie left first, off to the police station that filled in as his wife and family. Alone, Bella sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatched chairs and examined the small kitchen. With its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor that she remembered from her summers here, it seemed as though nothing had changed. Her mother had painted those cabinets eighteen years ago, probably as an attempt to bring some sunshine to such a dreary place. Over the fireplace in the adjoining small family room was a row of pictures from the past. One of Charlie and her mom at a chapel in Las Vegas, another a picture of the three of then shortly after she was born, followed by a bunch of different school pictures of Bella over the years. Those were embarrassing, she looked so awkward in each and every one of them, and though it was nice to see Charlie cared enough to display then so proudly, she made a mental note to ask him to take them down while she was living here.
She sighed, she didn't want to be too early to school, but she was getting incredibly antsy to just get the day over with. She grabbed the heaviest jacket she owned and laughed as it completely enveloped her, something she wasn't quite used to, then headed out into the rain.
It was only drizzly outside, enough to mist her exposed skin but not enough to drench her completely. She reached for her keys, locked up, and began making her way through the fog. The sloshing underneath her feet was unfamiliar and she began to miss the sound of crunching gravel that she had grown accustomed. Though she wanted to stand and admire her new truck for a moment, the cold, wet air around her made that impossible so she quickly got inside.
It was nice and dry and very clean. Either Charlie had cleaned it up for her, or Billy had taken very good care of it. The tan upholstered seats, though, still smelled of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint from it's years of use. The engine started quickly, to Bella's relief, and roared loudly, suddenly springing to life then idling at top volume. It's loud engine was only a minor flaw though, as it made the radio, which still worked shockingly, hard to hear at a normal volume.
Luckily, finding the school wasn't difficult to find. She was afraid she would end up like her mother, driving aimlessly for hours because she made a wrong turn somewhere. But the school was, like most things, right off of the highway, though she still almost missed the turn. The sign was small and hard to see, it wasn't her fault she had almost missed it. At least, that's what she was telling herself as she pulled into the parking lot. It looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs around it that it was hard to gauge the exact size of the place. It didn't feel like a school, not without the chain link fences and metal detectors, but more of a small village. It's more open and free atmosphere actually made her a bit uneasy, being used to the structured establishments in her home city.
Driving slowly through the parking lot, she stopped at the building with the "Front Office" sign over the door. Though there were parking spaces in front of the building, no one was parked there. Maybe no one was allowed too? Bella hesitated at first but then decided it was better to park there and ask for direction, or feign ignorance, than to wander around the lot aimlessly looking for a place to go. She stepped cautiously out of the warm truck cab and walked quickly down the stone path that was lined with green hedges. Taking a deep breath to gather her courage, she opened the door and walked in.
The inside was a pleasant surprise, brightly lit and warmer than she had anticipated. The office was small with a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet - which she was actually expecting to be green like everything else in town -, and notices and awards smattering the walls. Though the carpet wasn't green, it room was still surrounded by foliage in large pots. That was better, she smiled to herself, at least the town had a color scheme. The other half of the room was cut off by a large counter that was cluttered with different types of wire baskets and brightly colored paper taped to it's front. She noticed three desks behind the counter, one of which was being occupied by a large, red headed woman with round glasses. She was dressed as though she was relaxing around the house instead of working, which made Bella feel overdressed in the outfit she had spent hours fretting over the evening before.
The woman caught her eye right away, "May I help you?"
"I'm Isabella Swan?" She informed her, though it sounded more like a question. There was an immediate awareness in her eyes. Look like she had been the gossip of the morning, maybe even the week. Daughter of the police chief and his flighty ex-wife, come home at last.
"Of course you are." She smiled and immediately dug through a tall stack of documents till she found the one she was looking for, "I have your schedule right here." She hoped and picked up another piece of paper, "Oh, and a map of the school."
She politely went through each of Bella's classes for her, marking on the map the best route to get to them. She then handed her another sheet of paper which all of her teachers were supposed to sign, which she was supposed to bring back at the end of the day. Like Charlie, the woman wished that Bella would like Forks, not having the heart to tell her any different, she just smiled as convincingly as she could.
When she got back to her truck she noticed that the other students were beginning to arrive. She quickly got back into her truck to follow the line of traffic and noticed that most of the other cars on the lot were older, like hers. This somehow took some of the edge off, as back home she went to a higher income school, even though she herself was only middle class. It wasn't uncommon to see A Porsche or a Mercedes sitting in a few of the parking spots there, which made her dread getting her first car. Here in Forks, the truck she had quickly fallen in love with fit right in, the only car in the student lot that stood out was a shiny Volvo. Still, the truck was louder than the other cars, causing some people to turn and look at her, so she quickly found a place to park and cut the engine.
Before she stepped out, she looked at the map and tried to memorize what she could so she wouldn't have stuck to her nose the entire day. It was a fruitless exercise, she had no where near a photographic memory, but she tried just the same. She then stuff everything into her bag, slung the strap over her shoulder, and took another deep breath. I can do this, she lied to herself feebly, no one is going to bite me. I'm just another student. Exhaling, she exited the truck with a little too much gusto, tripping over herself a bit. The people around her laughed and she blushed.
She kept her face hidden from view by the hood of her oversized jacket as she walked down the sidewalk. It was crowded with people her age, all talking about inconsequential things. Some noticed her, but most of them pretended she wasn't there, which was a good thing to her. She didn't want to stand out too much.
Walking a little further down the sidewalk, a stark white building with a large number "3" painted on it came into view. At least she remembered where she was supposed to go first. It was a small victory, but one she was willing to take. She felt her breathing quicken as she got closer to the building, her hands shaking nervously as she reached for the door handles. Before she could, two people cut in front of her and opened it instead, making it easier for her to slip inside unnoticed.
She found the classroom just as easily as she had found the building. It was small, barely enough to hold twenty people. Not at all what she was used to. The people who had cut in front of her somehow made their way into the room after her, hanging up their coats on a low row of hooks next to the door. They were two girls, one light blond with porcelain colored skin and the other a pale skinned brunette. She wouldn't stand out here, but she should have realized that from the beginning. It was probably very hard to tan without the sun beating down on you.
There was a small, balding man sitting at the desk, the nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason, who she quickly walked up to in order to get her paper signed. He nodded knowingly at her as he read her name, a sign that the entire staff knew she was coming, then signed it quickly, smiling at her with a little too much ease. This made Bella blush a bright tomato red. Was this how it was going to be? Everyone knowing who she was, without her knowing the same? That thought made her blush more as she tried to cover up her embarrassment with her brown hair. Luckily, Mr. Mason sent her off to one of the empty desks without making her introduce herself. At first she thought this was a blessing, but as the students as wandered to her general direction she realized the truth. She didn't have to introduce herself, they already knew exactly who she was. This town must really be hard up for gossip if all they can come up to talk about is the new girl in school, she thought to herself as she sat down. Not wanting to meet anyone's gaze, she looked at the reading list the teacher had given her. It was all fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. As an avid reader, it was stuff that she had already read in her spare time. This perked her up a bit, that would make this class a little easier, but also a little more boring. She had written some papers on some of these very authors back in Phoenix, maybe her mom would send her old homework that she did in order to make things even easier. Of course, once she told her mom too, her mom would then just as quickly forget to do it. Or maybe she would think it was cheating. Bella's mind began to wander on the subject as the teacher droned on.
When the bell rang for everyone to go to their next class, a gangly boy with skin problems and black hair leaned across the aisle toward her.
"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful type. Probably someone in the chess club, too. Not that those two things were related in anyway.
She smiled politely and nodded my head, "Yeah, but I prefer Bella." Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at her.
"Where's your next class?" he asked.
"Um.." She had to go through her bag, "Government, with Jefferson, in building six."
She tried to look away, but everywhere she looked she managed to catch someone's eye.
"I'm heading to building four, it's near there, I could show you the way…" He sounded a little over eager, "I'm Eric, by the way."
"Sure, Thanks." She smiled tentatively.
They got their jackets and headed out into the rain, which had turned from a mild drizzle to a small shower. She could have sworn there were several people walking a little to closely behind them in order to ease drop, but that could have just been her paranoia kicking in. It was easy to be paranoid in a small town, it was much harder to fade into the background.
"So, this is a lot different from Phoenix, huh?" he asked.
She nodded slightly, "Yeah."
"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"
"Not nearly as much as it rains here." She chuckled a bit and looked up to the sky.
"Wow, I wonder what that's like." He mumbled, almost to himself.
"Sunny." she responded, still looking at the sky above her.
"You don't look very tan, though."
She looked back at him with a sly smile on her face, "I'm half albino."
He studied her face for any sign that she was joking, and when he finally realized she was he laughed loudly. She blinked at this, did he actually take for seriously for a moment? Maybe the clouds screwed up the townspeople's sarcasm detectors, or maybe he was just that dense. Either way, it amused her, sarcasm would be a handy weapon in a place like this.
They walked around the cafeteria to some southern building next to the gym. Though the building she needed was clearly marked, he walked her right up to the front door, even opening it up for her politely. Small town thing, she guessed.
"Well, good luck," he said as he motioned her inside, "Maybe we'll have some more classes together." He sounded hopeful.
Bella smiled at him vaguely and went inside. She was happy someone was actually looking forward to seeing her, she was worried it was only because she happened to be the it girl of the moment.
The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. Her Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, was the only person who made her stand in front of the class and introduce herself. She got the distinct impression he was doing it to intentionally make her uncomfortable. She even thought she caught him laughing as she stumbled on her way back to her seat. Oh well, she had already decided she didn't like him purely based on the class he was teaching. Any teacher who picked Trig to teach had to evil in some way.
After two classes, she began the process of facial recognition and some of the people were becoming quite familiar to her. In each class, there was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask how Bella was liking Forks. She answered the same way she always did, hopeful but still a bit negative, which seemed to work for them. It was easy to make friends when you were the talk of the town, so Bella rarely used the map as most people were willing to show her around.
One girl sat next to her in both Trig and Spanish class, and then she walked her to the cafeteria for lunch. She was teeny, way shorter than Bella was at five foot four, but her wild curly hair sat on the top of her head instead of around it, adding a bit to her height. Strangely, the girl had never introduced herself so her named remained a mystery, but the way she prattled on about teachers and their classmates one would have thought they had been friends for years. Bella had no idea what she was talking about, but she nodded along anyway, hoping to remember it all.
They sat at the end of a full table, filled with the curly haired girl's friends, who she was quick to introduce. Bella tried to remember all of their names as they spoke them, but she knew she would forget by the end of the lunch period. She was horrible with names, she only hoped they didn't think her rude. Looking around, she noticed the boy from English, Eric, waving to her from across the room and she gave him a small wave back. It was there, sitting in the lunch room trying to make conversation with strangers, that she first noticed them.
They sat at the very end of the long cafeteria, as far away from her as they could possibly be. Each of them had a tray of untouched food sitting in from of them and they didn't even look like they were hungry, like they had grabbed the food for appearances only. They weren't speaking either, just looking around the cafeteria in silence. Not looking at anything in particular really, but like they were merely bored of the atmosphere. Because if this it was easily for Bella to sit and gawk at them, and she found that she couldn't pull her eyes away.
All of them looked completely different from one another. Of the three boys, one was big and muscular, almost like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. Another was taller, leaner, with more graceful looking muscles, whose hair was honey blond. The last was somewhere in between the other two, not as muscular as the first but not as lanky as the second, with bronze hair. He had a more boyish face than the other two, who really looked like they could be in college, perhaps even teachers.
The girls were also complete opposites. The tall one was statuesque, with a beautiful figure, like the kind one would see on the cover of Sport Illustrated. The kind that made every other girl around her take a big hit to their own self esteem. Her hair was golden, perfect, and hanging beautifully to the middle of her back. The other girl was short, pixie-like, so thin she looked almost fragile, and had small, cute features. Her hair was deep black and cut cropped short, a style that only works for a small amount of women.
However, with all these differences, there was something very similar about all of them. They were extremely pale, paler than everyone else in Forks, even the half-albino Bella. Their eyes were similar as well. From where she was, all of their eyes looked deep black with heavy, dark circles underneath them. They all looked like they suffered from sleepless nights, but other than that they all looked astoundingly perfect. A little too perfect, actually.
So perfect, that I couldn't stop staring at them. They were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces that she would never expect to see in person, only in places like movies and magazines, or maybe painted by an old master as the faces of angels. Of the five, two were the most stark in their radiance, the blond haired girl and the bronze haired boy.
They all continued to look at nothing in particular; not at the students, not at the windows, not even at each other. Bella began to wonder if they were even real, they were so still. But, as she watched, the small framed girl rose with her untouched food tray and walked away with a quick, graceful hop. She watched her, amazed at how it looked like she was dancing rather than walking, till she dumped her tray and glided out the back door out of sight. Her eyes then darted right back to the others, whose positions remained unchanged.
"Who are they?" The words left her mouth before she was able to stop them.
The girl from my Spanish class looked up to see exactly who she was talking about and as she did the younger looking boy with the bronze hair glanced in her direction. It was only for a split second before his eyes darted straight to Bella, then he just as quickly looked away from her. Bella dropped her eyes away from the table at once, embarrassed that she had been caught staring. It was creepy, the way he looked over to quickly, almost like he knew they were talking about him. It sent a chill down her spine, but it had to be a coincidence.
"Oh, That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The other one is Alice Cullen, but she doesn't seem to be here right now." The girl's eyes looked around the room for Alice. Bella was probably the only person to notice Alice leave, "They all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife."
Bella gave a sideways glance to the boy with the bronze hair, who was looking at his tray now and tearing his bagel into little pieces with his long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving ever so slightly, while the others at the table continued to look away from him. It looked as though he was talking to himself, but she got the distinct impression that the others at the table could hear him quite clearly. Peculiar.
What strange people. She thought to herself. Everything about them, from there hair to their names, stood out. She had never once heard the name Rosalie, except in maybe romance novels, and Edward seemed like a dated name. Why not Eddie, or simply Ed? Maybe it was vogue in Forks to call people by their full names, hence why everyone insisted on calling her Isabella. Jessica! She exclaimed in her head, the girl she was talking to was named Jessica. She smiled at her little victory.
"They're… very attractive." I muttered out, trying to downplay it as much as possible. Attractive was quite the understatement.
"Yes!" Jessica agreed with a small chuckle, "Emmett and Rosalie, they're together, you know. So are Jasper and Alice. And they all livetogether." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation that a small town raising would bring, but even as a girl raised in the city, Bella had to admit she found that a bit too progressive.
"The Cullen's don't look related at all…" Bella found herself muttered.
"Oh, they aren't. Dr. Cullen is really young, like in his late twenties or something. They're all adopted. The Hales are fraternal twins, though and Dr. Cullen is their foster dad."
"They look a little old to be foster children."
Jessica scoffed at that remark, like what Bella said was absolutely idiotic, "Yeah, now. They've had 'em since they were eight, but never adopted them outright. No one knows why."
Bella smiled a bit, "That's really nice though - taking care of all those kids, when they're so young and everything."
"I guess so." Jessica admitted reluctantly. The tone of her voice suggested that she didn't seem to like the doctor and his wife for some reason. Bella wanted to ask why, but didn't think it was her place as they had just met not even three hours earlier. Still, the looks Jessica was throwing over to the table suggested something deeper going on, "I hear Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though. So that's probably why."
"Have they always lived in Forks?" She asked, trying to recall if she had ever seen any of them during one of her summer trips.
"No." Jessica stated matter-of-factly, "They just moved down here about two years back from Alaska."
Bella felt a surge of pity run through her body when Jessica said that. Most likely, two years ago they stood in the exact same shoes that she stood in now, constantly whispered about and stared at. By the looks of things, though, not much had changed for them. This made her wonder if in two years would people still be whispering about her?
When she examined them again, the feeling of pity still in her system, the boy with the bronze hair looked up to meet my gaze again. This time his expression showed that of deep curiosity, which made her look away quickly.
"Which one is the one with the reddish-brown hair?" Bella asked, giving another peak toward him. He was still staring, not gawking like most people were, but staring as if he was trying to read something. He then frowned a bit and went back to picking at his bagel. Seems she had failed whatever test he had just decided to give her.
"That's Edward." She smiled and rolled her eyes with whimsy, "A total hottie but he doesn't date. Either none of the girls here are good enough for him or he plays for the other team." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. She wondered if Jessica was ever turned down by him.
She bit her lip to keep from laughing at Jessica's comment and then glanced at Edward again. His face was turned away, but by the looks of it he was laughing. Laughing at her? Laughing at what Jessica has said? No, that was impossible, there was no way he could have heard that.
After a few more minutes, the four of them all left the table together. They were all remarkably graceful, even the muscular one, and it was almost beautiful to watch as they walked out of sight.
She sat at the lunch table a lot longer than she would have if she had been eating alone, making her happy Jessica had asked her to join her and her friends. Though she was anxious about not being late for her classes, she liked the feeling that would be getting to know a few people. One of her new acquaintances, who told her that her name was Angela, had Biology II with Bella after lunch, so once lunched wrapped up they walked together in silence. Seemed that Angela was intensely shy, or maybe she didn't have much to say. Either way, it was nice not to be bombarded with the usual questions.
When they entered the classroom, Angela immediately darted toward one of the many typical black-topped lab tables in the room and set her stuff down. She gave Bella a look of apology that she couldn't sit next to her, as they were assigned seats. Looking around she noticed all the seats in the room were filled, save for one. The one next the pale boy with the bronze hair, Edward Cullen.
As she over to the teacher's desk in order to introduce herself and get her slip signed, she couldn't help but continually glance in his direction. She soon passed him right by, noticing that he went absolutely rigid in his seat. His eyes immediately looked up to meet with hers, within them a hostility that she didn't know if she deserved. Looking away quickly, Bella hurriedly made her way to the teacher's desk, but before she made it she ended up tripping on a book bag and almost falling over. A few people around her laughed and she reflexively looked at Edward, who was staring at her stern-faced with his coal-black eyes. Maybe he had noticed all the staring she was doing in the lunch room and didn't appreciate it very much? If it were her, she certainly would have felt uncomfortable. The need to apologize bubbled into her throat, but she quickly swallowed it down. He wouldn't want an apology from a stranger, especially not a creepy one who couldn't stop staring at him.
Mr. Banner signed her slip quickly and handed her a book, barely saying a word. He didn't care that she was "Isabella Swan" or any such nonsense and she knew that he would soon become her favorite teacher. Of course, he had no choice but to seat her in the empty spot right next to Edward, which she wanted to blame Mr. Banner for, just a little bit. She kept her eyes downcast as she took her seat, hoping to not catch his glare again.
Not looking up, she set the book on the table and her backpack on the floor. From her peripheral vision she could see his posture change immediately, he began to lean away from her and quickly averted his gaze. She sniffed the air, she didn't smell bad, so that couldn't have been it. She must have offended him in the lunch room, it was the only reasonable explanation. Not wanting to trouble him any further, she loosened her hair from behind her ears, creating a barrier between them.
She wanted to pay attention to the lecture on cellular anatomy, but it was so dreadfully boring that her mind kept wandering to the person who was sitting next to her. Besides, she was pretty good at science, jotting down a few notes here and there and nodded along occasionally so the teacher wouldn't suspect was really all she needed to do. So, she spent most of her time trying not to peak through her own hair and glance at Edward again, wondering what he was thinking. The entire class he spent in the exact same position, absolutely rigid and unyielding, sitting as far away from her as possible. Looking away from his face she noticed his muscular arms, not as scrawny now that he was away from his brother, and his hands clenched in a tight fist.
The class took a lot longer than the others to reach the end, mostly because Bella was focusing on what could be wrong with her neighbor. Was this normal behavior for him? No, she could have sworn she saw him laughing earlier. She must have definitely offended him with that of her staring, it couldn't have been anything else. He didn't even know her.
When she glanced over to him again, he was staring back, his eyes still full of anger. Bella buckled under the weight of that cold stare and slouched in her chair. If looks could kill, she shivered. Apologizing was out of the question, he was a little too intimidating to give it an attempt.
At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making her jump in surprise. Edward rose fluidly, his tall frame out of the door before anyone else was even out of their seat.
Peculiar. She stared at the door and blinked blankly, unsure of what to think. It wasn't like she was a horrible person, why was he acting as though she was? She was just curious about him and his family after all, she didn't realize it was a crime. Anger began to well up inside her and she packed her things up. She tried to force it down, as anger usually let to absolute frustration, which led to tears. Tears were not a good way to start at a new school.
"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" a male voice asked.
She looked up to see a cute baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully gelled in orderly spikes, smiling at her. At least he doesn't think I smell bad, she joked to herself.
"Yeah, but call me Bella." She stated with a smile.
"I'm Mike." His smile grew wider, "Do you need any help finding your next class? This place can be really confusing."
She chuckled a bit as she swung her backpack over her shoulder, "Oh, I'm actually headed to the gym, and it's one of the only things I can find on my own. Thanks, though."
"Oh! That's my next class too!" He seemed thrilled about that. This made her confused. However, she nodded her head and they began walking together to the gym.
He was quite the chatterbox, supplying most of the conversation. Bella found this a relief, as she didn't feel quite comfortable enough to come out of her shell just yet. He asked her about Phoenix, then told her he lived in California till he was ten. Most importantly, he also missed the sunshine and exclaimed excitedly that he was happy he found someone who finally understood where he was coming from. Bella relaxed immediately, he was definitely the nicest person she had met today.
"So did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what?" He asked as they were entering the gym.
"Hm?" She looked at him confused.
"Cullen, He looked really angry sitting next to you."
She cringed, so she wasn't the only one who had noticed. Still, she decided it was best to play dumb, "Oh, that guy in Biology."
"Yeah." He nodded, "He looked like you hurt him or something."
"I don't know, don't really care though," She said nonchalantly, "I've never spoken to him."
"Well, he's a weird guy anyway," Mike lingered by her instead of going to the boy's dressing room, "If you had sat next to me, I'd of had the decency to talk to you."
"Thanks," she smiled. It was clear Mike was being friendly for some other purpose, but Edward's behavior had bothered her so much that she didn't really have time to dwell on it. They said their goodbyes and she walked into the girl's locker room.
The gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found her a uniform but didn't make her dress into it for the day. The Coach then explained that gym was mandatory in Fork's High all four years, which made her let out a small groan. In Phoenix, it was only two years and she had already done her time. Making her do two more years of her worst subject was not something to look forward too. This is like High School Hell, she thought negatively.
While watching four volleyball games going on simultaneously, she was reminded about how bad she was at the game back at her old school. All the times the ball landed on her head instead of her arms, and when she actually did manage to hit the thing it always managed to hit one of her teammates in the face. Yes, she nodded to herself, volleyball, bad. Sitting on the bleachers, good.
Finally, the final bell rang. Bella walked slowly to the office in order to turn in her paperwork, happy that the rain had finally dissipated. Unfortunately, the wind had picked up and it actually felt colder than it did in the morning, so she wrapped her arms around herself.
She was actually happy to be able to walk into the warm office, but once she got inside she was immediately ready to bear the cold again.
Edward was standing in front of one of the desks, but he didn't seem to notice she had even entered the room. She stood against the back wall and waited for someone to be free, hoping that he wouldn't see her.
He seemed to be arguing with her, but rather than yelling he was talking in a low, attractive voice. At first it was hard to determine what he wanted, but she caught the words "Biology class" and "Different time". He was trying to change his only class with her to another time, any other time.
Bella's mouth gaped open in surprise, it surely couldn't have been about her. There was no way that she had offended him so much at lunch that he would want to change classes. That was ridiculous. It had to be something else that happened. Maybe he didn't like the teacher, or the class was too hard. She sighed to herself, that had to be it, why in the world would it be about her? She laughed to herself at her own arrogance. This stranger wouldn't even care about a nobody like her.
The door opened again and the strong wind gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desks and messing up Bella's hair. The girl who came in merely walked over to the waiting area, but the disturbance was enough to cause Edward to turn around. When he noticed Bella, his back stiffened and he stared at her with his scary black eyes. For an instant, she actually felt genuine fear creep up on her, raising the hair on her arms. It only lasted a second, but it chilled her more than the cold winds outside. He turned back to the receptionist.
"Never mind, then," He told her coolly, his voice as smooth as satin, "I can see it's impossible. Thank you so much for your time." He turned on his heel, looking straight ahead, and walked out the door quickly.
Once he was gone, Bella hurried to the desk, an overwhelming feeling of wanting to go home coming over her, and handed the lady the signed slip.
"How did your first day go, dear?" She asked maternally.
"Fine." She replied. A Half-truth. It wasn't so bad, but the Cullen guy was quickly making it go sour. The lady frowned as though she wasn't convinced, but didn't press for anymore info.
When she made her way back to the truck most of the other students had already left. Sitting within it's metal frame, the truck was almost like a haven to her. A home away from home in this strange world of green. She sat inside for awhile and thought on the day's events, her thoughts involuntarily going to Edward. When it got cold enough to need the heater, she turned on the truck and drove home - praying that tomorrow would be a better day.