BPOV:
I left Xavier, grinning as I skated away from his shocked face.
'Bye!' I called, still laughing.
'I'll meet you tomorrow, outside the school gates.'
I looked back, called 'Yep, sure', waved, and carried on.
These past few days had been strange. Even when I was hanging with Z, people still stared. Okay, I know this town is miniscule, and that naturally people would gossip if somebody turned up out of the blue, but seriously, didn't they have anything better to talk about that me?. I guess not. I went to the superstore again to pick up a few things and there were people staring at me left, right and centre. I wondered then if any of them could know my secret. 'No, no, they couldn't possibly… just being silly' I thought to myself. I got the bus home, as I couldn't find the car keys, but thankfully, it was late, and the bus was more or less deserted; I didn't want to give the people in this town anymore to talk about. The bus trudged slowly down the highway, so I stared out the window. A sign came into my line of vision, and broke my trance.
LA PUSH
15 MILES EAST.
TAKE THE FIRST EXIT OFF THE HIGHWAY
La Push, why was the name familiar to me? I racked my brains, but came up with nothing. The bus rumbled slowly to a stop, and I got off, smiling as the cold air caressed my face, cooling me down pleasantly after it being very hot and sticky on the bus. I started on dinner right away, and kept myself busy, not noticing the time go by.
'God, I'm so tired' I said aloud, yawning
When the dinner was done, I bounced upstairs to have a shower. The hot water soothed me, and I was relaxed as I stepped out of the shower, towelling my hair. I threw myself on my bed, absolutely knackered.
I sat up from the bed, my hair still wet. I quickly changed into my sweats, and went downstairs.
Charlie was home, sitting watching baseball.
'Hey Bella' said Charlie, tearing his eyes away from the screen. 'I didn't want to start dinner without you, smells great though'
'Thanks Dad' I said, going into the kitchen and setting the table.
'Do ya know when Cory and Ash are back?' I asked.
'Um, no. They went out hiking-' I laughed at this. Charlie was so paranoid all the time, talking in code, as if someone was watching us or something-
'a while ago. I'm sure they'll be back soon.'
We ate quickly, Charlie was anxious to get back to the game, and I wanted to get ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow, ugh, High School. As if I hadn't done it a million times before. It was going to be boring. Ahh well, I could take care of myself if anything happened.
I heard a car pull up in the yard. Ah, they were back
Cory bounded through the door, Ash in tow.
'Hey, Bells' he boomed, a grin plastered on his face.
'Hey Cory, Hey Ash' I replied, laughing at Cory's stupid face. Ash swept past me, heading straight for the kitchen. She plonked herself down, and began shovelling food in a mile a minute
'Sowwy Bwella. Sooo hungrwy. Ummmm, goooood!' she pointed to the food as she chewed mechanically.
My sister, eh? You woulda thought that Cory would be the insanely hungry one, not
Ash.
'Well, I'm beat,' I announced. 'I'm gonna go get sorted for tomorrow.'
'Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that.' Cory grinned, yet again. God, he was thick sometimes. I couldn't stop thinking about stupid high school. It was annoying.
'Night, Charlie, night Ash, Night thicko' I laughed
'Hey!'
'Night'
'I am NOT THICK!' is all Cory could be bothered with.
'Night, Isabella' Ugh, Dad knew I hated that name
'Bella' I muttered as I climbed the stairs, still laughing at Cory.
I woke suddenly, my hair wet, still wrapped in my towel and began sobbing hysterically as I realised it was just a dream. Nothing would ever be the same again. We would never be a family again. I was completely alone.
I cried myself to sleep.
I woke the next morning, the feeling of dread and exhaustion pumping through me.
School.
Today.
In An Hour.
Forks High.
Again.
Oh God.
This would be my second time in that school, so, thankfully, I wouldn't be the new girl who walks around the place with her head glued to the map.
Why am I doing this? I huffed, as I got up, and dragged myself to the bathroom.
Oh God Almighty. My hair is a total mess. Urrgh, maybe I should get it cut? Hmm, anyway, I think a shower will do me good. I hopped into the shower, and felt my muscles relax as the hot water spayed over my body.
'You will go to school today, and everything will be fine. You will go to school today, and everything will be fine.' I chanted to myself. You can try to convince yourself, but you know today's gonna be a complete disaster.
'Shut up!' I shrieked aloud, stopping myself before I got all freaked out.
It will be fine! Finally I calmed down, well, enough so to stop talking to myself.
I washed my hair, letting the strawberry scent fill my nostrils, giving me something familiar. I basked in the hot water, till I could put it off no longer. I towelled my hair dry, deciding to lave it down, cascading in waves down my back. I put on a blue Tee, my favourite jeans, converses, and I was ready to go. I grabbed my board, my bag, which was practically empty, which helped to lessen the burden whilst skating, and set off.
EPOV:
'Ugh, he's so moody the whole time, it's depressing'
I growled at Rose as I walked past the garage. I had had enough of her snide comments for the past 60 odd years. I doubled back, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically evil.
'Oh Rosie' I called, my voice sickly sweet. 'Wouldn't it be unfortunate if all your secret thoughts, suddenly, became…publicised?'
'Edward' she snarled 'Don't you DARE threaten ME, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen!'
'Sorry Rose, just, a moment of weakness. I'm sure that you can insure that it will never happen again, right?'
She just snarled again, and stalked off. How's she gonna bitch about me in her head, when I have her right where I want her? Hmm, haha.
We had school in the next hour. Oh, how I was so looking forward to another term of Fork High School. Brilliant. I grabbed my books that contained nothing I didn't know already, and went downstairs.
Emmet and Rose were on the love seat, making out. Euugh, my brother and my sister, bloody making out in my living room. Lovely.
Actually, they weren't blood relatives, to me, or to each other, so it wasn't wrong, but still, euugh. Alice and Jasper were in the kitchen, talking with Carlisle and Esme. As I approached, I began to listen to their conversation.
'Don't you think that you and Esme really need a break. Just take some time off at the hospital, and go have a good time. Seriously, me and Jazz can take care of this place, no problemo!' said a wind chime-like voice. I then began to hear her thoughts-'If I just get these two out of the house, then we can have a party. Carlisle isn't to keen on parties, so, I'll just keep it from him a little longer, till he's booked the tickets for something. Actually, I'll book them, make sure they're none-refundable. Although money isn't really an issue with Carlisle. Damn, think Alice think.'
Ahahaha typical Alice, planning a party right under our parents unknowing and unsuspecting noses.
'Hmm, I don't know' debated a strong loving voice 'I mean, the hospital's quite busy at the moment, hmmm, maybe Alice. Do you want to go, Esme?'
'Yes, I think that we both need a break, we've been so busy recently, you with the hospital, and me with that house in Port Angeles, we haven't really spent time in so long. It'll be perfect. Please, darling?' Esme replied.
Haha, when Esme said Darling, Carlisle had no hope.
'Of course, love' he said, smiling. Like I said, putty in her hands.
I walked into the kitchen, grinning.
'We've gotta go guys' I said smiling at Alice, my eyes telling her know that I knew what she was up to. She glared at me, and stalked out, dragging Jazz along with her.
'What was that all about, Edward?' asked Carlisle. I was just about to reply when a very vivid image of Alice killing me repeatedly came into my head. I chuckled, and replied 'Nothing, don't worry, bye'
I grabbed the keys for the Volvo, and strolled out into the garage.
Bella POV:
I stepped out of the house, and looked down the road. It was quiet, only a few cars on the street. Hmm, too quiet. Nothing like the big cities, New York, Los Angeles. I sighed, hopped on my board, and pushed off. I free-styled down the hill, feeling the wind on my face, blowing my hair. I looked up, and the sun has finally come out from hiding in the clouds.
'I think…this might be alright.' I said aloud to myself. I hadn't felt this free since before the accident, it was nice to feel the pressure lighten, even just a little bit. As I sped down the hill, I saw Xavier in the corner of my eye, not to far behind. I smirked. I'm better than he'll ever be. I dragged my foot along the ground, trying to slow. Z slowed down too, till we were side by side, just rolling.
'Hey' I grin. I know what's coming
'Hey' his grin mirroring mine.
I could feel the anticipation, the need to race down the road.
His eyes narrowed, 'One.' He said, keeping his eyes on my face, looking for anything that might show I was gonna cheat.
'Two.' I said, slowly, my foot inching forward.
'THREE!' we yelled in unison as we pushed off the floor, and flew down the hill. Xavier got a better start, and was ahead, just. He glanced behind, to see where I was, and laughed.
'You wait, O'Shea!' I called, bending my knees, giving me more speed.
'Yes! Result!' I yelled, as little by little I inched forwards. We were coming to the main road now, the cars where flying, and we were going to have to slow. I looked to my left, and saw that the lights were red, meaning all the traffic had stopped. I did a quick calculation in my head. By the time it takes us to get down there, the lights will be green, the traffic will be going, so, either: we get killed, or we get badly injured so we can't run, and the cops come, and we get busted. I looked over at Xavier, who was looking at me, as if to say, 'Chicken?' I grinned back, and bent my knees once again, gaining speed. School was on the other side of the junction, so if I made it over, and Z didn't, then I'd win. Oh, the gloating and teasing that would go on if he won. No, I couldn't have that. I leaned forwards, desperately trying to gain whatever speed I could. The junction was getting closer and closer, the lights were turning green. Don't back down, don't back down.
The cars were less than two metres away, my heart was pounding, my palms sweaty. I can do this. You can do this. Have fun Bella, be free.
I quickly whipped my head round, and saw Z slowing. Well, I'm not loosing this one. I remembered what he'd taught me, and raised my back foot.
I soared upwards, a grin stretched across my face. I could see the cars not half a meter below me. It all seemed to be going in slow motion. I threw my hands up in the air, and basked in the glory of winning. Then time sped up again. Do it!
Jump, grab, twist, slam, land.
I landed perfectly, back wheels hitting the floor first. I rolled for a bit, the swiveled round to see Xavier crossing at the red light, the amazement etched across his face. He rolled over to me slowly, his face lighting up in a grin, and raised his hand for a high five. I slapped his hand, and burst out laughing.
His grin turned into a scowl.
'I let you win!' he exclaimed, as I laughed my head off. He continued protesting as I fell about laughing.
'Z! Z! Z!' I yelled, trying to get his attention. He ignored me, going on about it.
'I didn't want to embarrass you, it wouldn't have been fair, what with you being a girl and all….'
'XAVIER!' I yelled, throwing my hands in the air.
'What?' He asked, mid scowl
'That's not what I was laughing at.'
Huh?' He looked like a confused puppy or something. A cute confused puppy.
I dunno, Z. It just felt…good, I suppose. I felt…..different. A good different. Thank you.' I wrapped my arms around his waist, and sighed.
'No problem, Bells.' He said, responding to the hug. After a minute, I let go of him, popped my board so it bounced into my hand, and turned to face Forks High.
I nearly had a heart attack.
The whole parking lot was staring at us, eyes wide, hands shielding mouths as they worked quickly to deliver the opinions of their owners.
Oh crap, so much for keeping a low profile.
'Um..' I started, biting my lip. This was exactly what I didn't want!
'C'mon.' said Z, his voice cheery, as he grabbed my elbow with his free hand and dragged me towards to school gates, seemingly blissfully unaware of the occupants of the parking lot.
Damn.
I blushed about 10 shades of red and averted my eyes towards the ground, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other; I usually fell over when people were watching me.
'Ahaaa, looks like someone's attracting some attention.'Z said, laughing throatily, his eyes dancing with amusment.
'I'm glad someone's finding my embarrassment funny, Z' I huffed, as I let him pull me along the sidewalk, towards the egoistical bunch of kids who would most definitely be staring at me like I've got three heads all day.
I stumbled along side Z, his arm around my shoulder, gaping as he grinned and waved at the on-lookers. He saw me looking up at him 'What?'
'Oh, nothing, just that….by you grinning like a Cheshire cat and waving like the Queen Of England, you're attracting even more attention, which is exactly what I don't need!'
'Hahaha, Bells, whatever.' He laughed, grinning widely, and practically waving his arm back.
Then, somebody waved back.
'Jake!' Z bellowed across the parking lot. 'Over here mate!' Oh my god. I grimaced as the small minority of the student body that weren't staring at us, did. If we ever had any chance of everyone just going back doing whatever they were doing, it was gone now, poof!
A tall, russet haired boy, flanked by two other similar looking boys, was making their way towards us.
These must be the guys Z was waving at. Brilliant. As the got closer, I studied the one in the middle. He was tall, with dark black hair, tanned skin, and impressive muscles. Oh! He was grinning his head off, as were the other two. Hmmmm.
'Z, what's up?'
'Hey Z.'
What's up, dude?
They were actually quite good looking, by human standards anyways. I took in a long breath, and, non surprisingly, I didn't feel the need to kill them.
I exhaled, and smiled widely at them all, flashing my teeth.
'Who's this?' asked the middle one. 'She has to be your sister, because no girl this gorgeous l would ever look twice at you.' He joked, throwing me a cheeky smile, which I returned. I liked this guy.
'Har har, Jake, hilarious.' I smirked at Z's reaction, his frown was adorable.
'Jake, Quil, Embry, this is Bella, my best friend!' he announced proudly, giving my hand a little squeeze. I smiled up at him, and then looked back at the boys.
'Jake.' Said the tallest one with the dark eyes.
'Quil.' Said the left one. He had a similar face to his two other friends, I wondered if they were related.
'Embry.' The last one grinned at me, waving his hand in hello.
'Hi, I'm Bella.' I announced, grinning. All three grinned back. Hey, hey, hey, look atchu, Bella, making friends already. – the voice in my head said.
'That was some jump you made back there.' Quil said, motioning to my board, which was tucked under my arm.
'Oh, you saw that, huh?' I shuffled my feet awkwardly, looking down. 'God this is embarrassing.'
'What? Are you serious? You're awesome. I would not be embarrassed if I could do that! You have to show me how to do that move. It was seriously, amazing.' Jake's eyes were shinning again, as he recalled me doing a jump over a traffic junction.
'Ahaha, yeah sure, why not? Why so quiet all of a sudden, Z,' I nudged him, a smirk on my face. 'You were fine a minute ago. You have a headache? Or a sore throat? Or did you just get your ass whopped by a girl?' I burst out laughing, basking once again in the self-glory that was leaking through me. Xavier frowned, an adorable pout on his face. Jake was cracking up, Embry was silently shaking, and Quil was pretending to admire my board to distract himself.
Xavier continued to scowl at me, while I waited for the inevitable.
'Oh, Ok!,' he threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. 'You win, I admit it, I got my ass kicked by a girl, a shorty as well!' he laughed at the last bit, which I decided to ignore.
'Thank you.' I said nonchalantly, grinning. 'Shall we go inside?' I glanced upwards, the weather looked bleak. Dull grey clouds were forming up ahead, and I didn't want to get caught up in them, the rain was not my friend.
'Oh yeah, we can just sit in the cafeteria till first bell rings' Z said, throwing his arm over my shoulder, and started walking casually past the gormless looking crowd of Forks High Students, him and Jake cracking jokes about each other, while Embry and Quil fought over who's turn it was to have a go on my board.
My mind wandered as the boys bantered on. Maybe this time, it won't be so bad. The guys seem fine, and I think as soon as I get through the first day, everything will be !
'Bella, Bella?' Z's voice brought me from me daze.
'Yeah?' I said, looking up at him, blinking a few times.
'You okay, you spaced out there for bit.'
'Yeah, I'm fine, sorry, I was just thinking, y'know?'
'Ok.' He smiled as the five of us entered the cafeteria, and made our way to the nearest empty table.
When we were all seated, they began asking me questions about myself.
'So, Bella, tell us about yourself.' Jake said, smiling. Maybe I was paranoid, but I felt like the whole cafeteria was listening when I launched into conversation.
'So, Bella, why did ya move up to this stinking town then?' Jake asked, popping open a soda can and chugging it down. I didn't want to lie to any of these new found friends, but I hadn't even been planning on telling Z yet, and, although these guys seemed perfectly friendly, I was not about to go spilling my secrets the second I met them. My sort of secrets were different to human secrets. My secrets could get me into trouble.
'Oh, um…' I stalled. 'I wanted to start over fresh. I had some….trouble, back in LA, so I decided just to move on from it, to come back up here.'
'Hold up, hold up. What ja' mean, back up? You've never lived in Forks?' They all looked so confused, it was comical.
'Oh, yeah, about that. I'm Isabella Swan.' I grinned sheepishly, looking up at all of them. Z looked bored; he knew that in bout 30 seconds he would be bombarded with question about how he knew me etc.
'Whaa?' All three of them looked confused. I was Isabella (BELLA!) Swan, the youngest member of the Swan family, Charlie, Renee, Cory and Ashlynn Swan. Since we were…not the same as other people, we tended to keep to ourselves, we were all home schooled, and rarely socialised with the townspeople, cept for Z, of course.
'You mean, you're Isabella Swan, from the Swan Family, the ones that never came outside?' I nodded in confirmation.
'Weren't there more of you?' Quil had suddenly said, leaning forwards, his hand holding up his head.
'Um, yeah. There wer- are. The rest of the family are up down in LA.' I grinned again, trying to ward off any awkwardness.
Whilst the three were questioning Z, my senses became suddenly alert. I was obviously aware of the slight danger I could be to dangers, so I'd been holding my breath since the I'd left the house- it wasn't uncomfortable, just..strange..' and since I had only breathed a few times since I'd gotten to school, I hadn't really been paying attention to my surrondings. Rookie mistake.
I could smell the Detol bleach that had been squirted all over the floor, the musky damp smell from the forest just east of the school. Everything. I closed my contact clad eyes, and basked in a sweet, familiar smell that was getting closer. It reminded me of the old days, of my family, of home. It swept through me, causing temporary paralysis of my senses. Memories that I'd been blocking came flooding back, no longer painful, more, joyful. I smiled, taking in a deep breath, just basking in the luxury of the smell. I placed my head on the desk, and breathed in and out slowly, letting the erotic drug stimulate my senses, and bring me happiness again. I sighed happily, unwilling to leave this position, when I felt a hand on my shoulder, shaking me back earth.
'No,' I moaned groggily, wanting to stay in my own personal heaven.
'Bella? Bella? Bella?' the voice echoed above me, sounding as though it came from all different directions, totally confusing me. I finally resurfaced, to find the whole table staring at me with worried expressions.
'Bella?' Z said cautiously, rubbing my hand.
'Yeah,' I said brightly, smiling, blinking and refocusing my eyes.
You okay?' he seemed confused, as if he were trying to understand something.
'Yeah..' I said casually, 'I'm just so knackered from wooping your ass all summer!'
'Low blow, Swan, low blow,' he grinned, shaking his head.
I looked around at my surroundings, still slightly confused; Where had that smell come from?
My eyes scanned across students, all chatting and gossiping, most probably about me. My eyes suddenly fell on a group of five in the corner. Alabaster skin, perfect features, lips moving impossibly fast. The one with its back to me, a bronze haired male, suddenly turned his head, and hit my with the powerful force of his golden eyes.
'Vampires' My mind whispered in terror. My heart started thumping, and I began sucking in un-needed air frantically. They had finally caught up with me. I jumped up suddenly, my eyes undoubtly filled with terror.
'Bella?' Z called, worried again.
Slowly breaking away from the topaz stare, I turned towards Xavier, Jake, Quil and Embry, who were all looking more than freaked out at my freak out. Great way to fit in, Bella, just act like a freak, people WON'T notice you.
'Remember where you are, Bella.' Charlie's voice whispered through the wind coming from the open cafeteria door, calming me down instantly.
'I just remembered! I haven't got my schedule!,' I laughed nervously, though it must have sounded pretty convincing, as the worried looks disappeared. 'Charlie would freak if I got in trouble on my first day.' I laughed again.
'You have to go to the front office to get your map and things, do ya want me to come with you?' Z asked, half rising from his seat, his hand reaching for his bag.
'Nah, I'll be fine, you'll be late anyways. I'll see you at lunch, yeah?' I called over my shoulder as I made my way through the crowd towards the doors. 'Yeah sure. See ya later Bells,' He called back as Jake waved. 'Bye.' I said under my breathe, as I bolted through the doors and up the stairs, allowing the panic to over take me. I ran up the stairs at a very quick human speed, and when I looked down, I saw one of the vampires-a small pixie-ish one- standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at me in bewilderment.
