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The sky overhead was clouded, not letting even the slightest glimpse of sunlight through
Arri Wills watched the green scenery flash by through her windshield as she followed her mother's car into the new city which she would now call home.
Flicking on her windshield wipers, she grinned. She absolutely adored this kind of weather, when the skies were grey to match her eyes.
She drove passed a sign, signaling that they had reached their destination. "Welcome to Forks"
Pulling into the driveway of the small, three bedroom house, Arri parked her Jeep Rubicon, making sure the trailer hitched to the back of it wasn't sticking out into the road as her Mom and older brother got out of her mom's small car. Ann took a big exaggerated breath, "Smell that fresh air!" She exclaimed, grinning and grabbing a box from the backseat.
Arri just laughed, starting to unpack her own vehicle, her brother coming over to help. "So, little Arri, what do you think of our new home?" Josh asked her, poking her side with his elbow as he grabbed a box.
"I am in love with it already," She answered, throwing her naturally silver hair over her shoulder, playfully kicking Josh in the back of the knee as they walked inside. The house was very homey feeling, with a large kitchen area and large den, the master bedroom being down the hall.
Arri and Josh raced up the stairs, both running for the nearest bedroom to claim as their own. The silver haired girl looked around the baron room, immediately noticing the window seat and the view of the woods behind the house.
"What do you think?" Arri turned to find her mother standing in the doorway with a large grin that hadn't left her face since she had gotten news of the job opening at Forks Elementary. Ann didn't hesitate to accept the teaching position after the school's last one had died.
"It's perfect. Way better than California!" Her mother laughed at Arri's love for the dreary weather over the previous warm, sunshiney weather.
"Good. Tomorrow, you and Josh can go get registered at the high school," Ann said, coming and sitting down next to Arri on the window seat.
Arri looked taken aback, "But Mom! One does not simply just 'start' a new school on a Wednesday! Can we register Friday and start Monday? Please?!" She whined, clasping her hands together in front of her.
"Please what? No fair! Your room is bigger than mine!" Josh walked in pouting, the look not fitting with his muscular appearance, his black hair falling over his blue grey eyes.
"Mom wants us to register at the school tomorrow so we can start Wednesday!" Arri explained, standing up and going over to her older brother, "I was trying to convince her to let us register Friday and start Monday." She gave Josh a pleading look, asking him to side with her, which she knew he would.
Josh looked over at his step mom, "Who would want to start school on a Wednesday?" He asked with a disgusted look. "That's what I said!" Arri grumbled.
Ann looked at her children before letting out a large sigh. "Fine, you can start Monday. But no later than that! Now go unpack the trailer before it starts raining again. I'd like my bed to be dry, if you don't mind," As she walked out, Josh and Arri high fived, both of their faces covered in Cheshire Cat grins.
The siblings went out to the covered trailer and started bringing in the mattresses and other large furniture. Josh had just pulled the Jeep to the back of the house and unhooked the trailer when the sky decided to open up and start pouring as the everything turned black from the setting sun.
Arri had pulled her hair back into a bun as she put the frame of her bed together, sliding the mattress into place and putting on her bedding when Josh stopped by and flung her car keys before going back to his own room.
The next morning, a knock came to the girl's door, causing her to roll over and groan, looking at her clock with annoyance. 7:20 in the morning...
"I'm headed to the school. Can you and Josh go to the grocery store and stock up the fridge? I left a list on the table for you! Love you!" Arri let out a groan to let her mother know that she heard her, but rolled back over. Shopping could wait until later, so she went back to sleep. It was short lived, though.
"Arri! Get your ass up! I'm starving!" Josh yelled, beating on her door, abusing his freedom to talk freely without their mom being home. The silver haired girl huffed, throwing off her blanket and pulling on some sweats, brushing through her straight hair and fixing her makeup.
She grabbed her keys, walking down stairs to find her brother sprawled on the couch, shopping list in hand. "It's about damn time Old Woman!" he said, a grin spreading across his face as he used the name other kids used to pick on her when she was little, sliding on his shoes.
Arri grumbled a 'whatever', grabbing her wallet and heading out the door to the Jeep. She had to take time every now and then and just admire it. The black Rubicon was spotless, her rims, black with a chrome star in the middle, were set into large mud-grip tires, making it a good four inches taller than a regular Jeep.
With a content sigh, she climbed into the driver's seat, Josh climbing in the other side, dressed similar to her in sweats.
"Man, I can't wait until I get my truck," he sighed, no doubt thinking back to the wreck that had left him perfectly okay, but had totaled his vehicle.
"I'm sure you'll get one soon." she laughed at her brother's sudden grumpiness, turning on her GPS to let Josh find the nearest grocery store.
Once they had bought everything on the list (plus quite a few things that weren't, thanks to Josh's love for sweet things) Arri used her mom's credit card to pay for everything, loading it all in the backseat, before heading home.
"I'm too hungry to wait, let's stop at that café and get some lunch!" Josh hurriedly pointed to the small café. At the mention of lunch, Arri looked to see that it was already 2:45 in the afternoon.
With a few curse words at how late she slept, she signaled her turn and went inside the cozy building just as it started to drizzle. A pretty older lady sat them at a booth and took their orders, looking at them a little skeptically before looking down at her watch. No doubt wondering why they weren't in school, but Josh and Arri just ignored it. They were some of the only people there, the others being two older men sitting at the bar, watching the football game.
Soon, each teen had a burger and fries sat before them, Josh taking no time in devouring it. Arri took her time eating her food, picking at her fries and taking sips of her milkshake. The bell above the door jingled and Josh and Arri both looked up as a middle aged man with dark hair and a mustache walked in dressed in a police uniform. "Hey Charlie," the waitress smiled, seating the man at a table near the siblings. "I'll get you your usual," she said in a cheery voice, writing down his order and walking away, leaving an awkward silence behind her.
Arri and Josh turned back to their, but neither spoke. Soon, though, Josh began to try and hold back chuckles at the awkwardness of it all, gaining him glares from Arri as she silently told him to shut up, but he didn't and burst out laughing. Arri couldn't help herself and laughed as well, the noise seeming to dispel the awkwardness.
The cop turned and looked at them curiously, "Shouldn't you kids, you know, be in school or something?" He asked, taking a sip of his coffee. Arri and Josh immediately stopped laughing as Josh turned towards the man, a huge grin still on his face. "Well, sir, we just moved here and just got into town when we decided to stop and grab a bite to eat. We haven't registered yet," He explained, only stretching the truth a little.
The man nodded before standing up and walking over, extending his hand, "I'm Charlie Swan, Forks's Chief of Police. Are you the two Wills kids? Your mom is the new teacher at the elementary, right?" He asked, shaking their hands.
"Yes sir. I'm Arri, and this is my brother, Josh. She just started work today." Arri said as politely as possible. "Oh, what grade will you two be in? My daughter is a senior this year." Chief Swan asked, going and sitting back down at his table.
"We'll both be seniors this year," Josh answered. Just then, Charlie's phone rang. It must have been police business because he gave a slight wave to the two teens before throwing some money on the table and leaving.
"If we get in good with the chief, maybe you won't have to worry about getting so many speeding tickets," Josh joked, his blue grey eyes sparkling with humor. Arri kicked him under the table, but smiled to his face, "At least I still have a vehicle to get speeding tickets in." She teased.
Josh faked a hurt look, but the clanging of the door made them both look up as a group of teenagers walked in, the two girls heading over to a table while the two guys still stood at the door, ogling over something.
"I seriously do not get why guys care about cars so much," The first girl, who had long dark hair, said to the other girl, a petite girl with brown hair, not noticing the two seated at the booth. Arri and Josh both looked out to where the guys were staring to see the object of their fascination to be Arri's Jeep. Apparently small town USA wasn't used to cars like hers?
The two guys walked over to the table, a tall blonde haired boy with a baby face and a dark skinned boy with a buzz cut, talking avidly about the vehicle, both looking around for the owner, the blond one's eyes landing on the table the sibling were sitting at, the conversation ceasing. Arri sighed inwardly. Attention was never something she handled well. She met his eyes and he quickly looked away, turning to his friends, silently motioning towards the table of the new comers.
"Here comes the welcoming committee." Josh chuckled quietly as the blond boy and brown haired girl made their way over to the table. Arri gave her brother a look that said to play nice as the two walked up.
"Hi, are uh, are you guys new? Haven't seen you around here before," The blonde boy said with a kind smile. "I'm Mike Newton," He said extending his hand.
Arri gave the best smile she could as she shook his hand, "Arri," She said shortly. Josh repeated the process, "Josh Wills. Just moved here from California. Our mom is a teacher in the elementary."
"Oh, so you're the Wills. Like, everybody is talking about how cool your mom is. Oh, I'm Jessica, by the way," The brunette said, shaking their hands as well. By that time, their two friends had come over as well. "This is Angela, and this is Tyler." Jessica introduced them as well.
Arri and Josh both gave a small wave to them. "So, California. That's where I'm from," Mike said, trying to once again strike up a conversation. "How are you liking the change of weather?"
"I like this weather much better than in California," Arri answered, absentmindedly playing with her straw. Josh just chuckled, "It's different, that's for sure." He said.
Mike and Tyler then went on talking to Josh about surfing and the nearest beach, while Jessica and Angela eyed Arri's hair. "So, I really like your color. How often do you have to dye it?" Jessica asked, curiously.
Arri just gave a little cough, "Uh, I don't dye it. It's natural. It's been this color since I was about seven," She explained, watching the two girls' faces show the slightest sign of disbelief. "I know it's weird, but it's just like the pigment in my hair died. I got it from my dad." She explained further to avoid any question.
"Oh, wow. Will his hair do that too?" Angela asked, pointing to Josh. Arri just laughed, "No, he's got a different dad, so his hair will probably stay that color." Just by looking at them, Josh and Arri looked enough alike to actually be brother and sister. They had similar eye color, the only difference being that Josh's were a blue color, and they had some of the same features, but they were only step siblings, being the products of their parents previous marriages.
"Man, your Jeep is really awesome. One of the nicest cars I've ever seen in Forks," Tyler was saying to Josh, who had a bemused look on his face. "Yeah, it's very nice, but it's not mine, sadly. It's hers." He casually pointed his finger at his sister. Mike and Tyler both looked over at Arri, who gave the slightest wave, wiggling her fingers at them with a sly smile. No one ever expected the girl to have the big car.
Jessica went to say something, but Arri's phone rang. After the short conversation with her mom she stood and said goodbye to the other teens. "Well, it was good to meet you guys, but we have to go. Mom's home. See you guys at school Monday?"
The four of them nodded, saying goodbye. Arri and Josh got home, unloading all the groceries, while Ann griped at Josh for buying unnecessary things.
The two siblings spent the next couple of days enjoying not having to do anything. They even convinced their mom to go register them for school instead of them going themselves. But come Monday, neither one of them were all that eager to get up for their first day of school.