DUSK: FIRST SIGHT

I sleepily wake up to my alarm at around 5am. Thick fog was all I could see outside my window in the morning as I dress and do my daily routine before going out for a jog around the neighborhood. It was always good to get my endorphins kicking before a day of school and the scenery during my run was something enviable; wet dew covered the trees and grass making it glisten in the dawning light.

When the sun fully rises at 6am, I'm back home. Showering and changing into a plain dark grey sweater, jeans and sneakers, I cheerfully go downstairs to make my waking family a hearty breakfast of poached eggs, spinach, toast, sausages and bacon. Dad rarely buys groceries, choosing to live on a diet of diner food and fish fry made by Harry Clearwater but I had given him a list the night before our flight to make sure he had everything ready in the fridge and kitchen.

Dad comes down first, lured by the smell of sizzling meat, he gives me a grunt of thanks before digging in to his meal, humming in pleasure. I always made sure he had a decent home-cooked meal when I was around for fear of his health deteriorating from eating out all the time, though today's breakfast wouldn't really be considered healthy. Bella comes down next and she gives an appreciative smile at the smashed avocado I added to her plate.

Breakfast with dad was a quiet event. He wished us good luck at school and we thanked him. Dad left first, off to the police station and after he left, Bella and I wash the dishes. Before we head out towards our individual cars to get to school, I grab my favorite black bomber jacket and my gym bag. The thick fog of the morning now turned into a light drizzle of rain and my jacket would keep the water from soaking my clothes.

The drive was quick and finding the school wasn't difficult despite the fact that I'd never been there before. The school was, like most other things, just off the highway. It didn't exactly look like a school, more like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs I couldn't see its size at first.

I parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading front office. No one else was parked here besides my sister so I was pretty confident that this area was most likely off limits. Walking inside, I approached the red-haired lady at the reception desk currently preoccupied with my fidgeting sister. Bella looked deeply uncomfortable with being the first one there and I slightly regret not carpooling with her to ease a bit of her anxiety, but I really missed my Suzuki.

"You must be Carina Swan," the woman says, turning her attention to me as she hands me two sheets of paper, "here's your schedule and map of the school, I'm Mrs. Cope by the way,"

"Nice to meet you," I reply pleasantly. She then proceeds to go through our classes for us, highlighting the best route to each on the map, then gave us each a slip to have each teacher sign, which we were to bring back at the end of the day. Mrs. Cope also explained to us that Forks High School would be different to our previous school. Due to how small the student population was, you were placed in a subject based on academic ability, meaning that sometimes students of higher or lower grades would be in your class as well. It came to no surprise that Bella and I didn't have the same schedule.

In order, Bella's schedule was: English, Government, Trig, Spanish, Lunch, Bio II and Gym.

Mine was: Bio I, World History, English, Gym, Lunch, Trig and Spanish.

At least we spent lunch together.

Mrs. Cope then smiled warmly at us and hoped, like Dad had, that we would like it here in Forks. I gave a cheerful wave while Bella gave a smile back that looked more like a grimace. When we went back out to our cars, other students were starting to arrive. Insisting we move to a spot actually labeled as student parking, Bella and I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. Parking in the spot next to my sister due to the lack of vacancies, I sigh in relief when she finally cuts the engine to her monster. It didn't sound healthy at all, more like a tractor than a truck and it was pulling in too much attention from the other students.

Stepping out of my car, I take out my map. It didn't seem too difficult to get to my classes which was great, I wasn't keen on being late my first day. I say goodbye to my sister as I begin trudging towards my first class located in Building 2. As I enter the lab, I was pleased that Mr. Molina seemed like a pretty fun teacher. He didn't ask me to introduce myself, instead partnering me up with a welcoming but shy guy named Ben Cheney. According to Ben, Mr. Banner who taught Biology II was a pretentious bore who lost all motivation to teach long before we were born. It definitely made me appreciate Mr. Molina all the more. Ben and I worked well together but since he had Government instead of World History he couldn't walk with me to my next class.

World History was located in Building 8 and taught by a strict elderly by the name of Mrs. Thompson. Like Mr. Molina, she didn't bother with an introduction and left me to my own devices in terms of seating arrangements. Not that there seemed like there were many seating options anyways I notice, glancing at around the room.

I nearly choked on my tongue when I saw them.

There were three of them. They sat in the back of the classroom and though they didn't look anything alike, there was something oddly similar about each of them. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this town. Paler than my sister who never left the house.

They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes — purplish, bruise like shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight, perfect, angular. But all this is not why I couldn't look away. I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful.

The only boy of the group was tall and lean but strangely also muscular. He had honey blonde hair and a permanent grimace on his face as if he was in pain. Then there were the two girls— the first girl was short and pixie-like, thin in the extreme, with small features and deep black hair, cropped short and pointing in every direction. The second girl made my heart stutter and my head feel dizzy. There was no way this girl could be real and my eyes hurt from trying to process just how devastatingly gorgeous she was. She was statuesque and had a figure that was so perfect that 'beautiful' just couldn't fully encompass it, the kind that you had previously thought unobtainable without Photoshop. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. I couldn't even describe her face besides it being without any human flaws. Her lips were pink and pulled into a scowl— even when she was unhappy, she was breathtaking to look at.

Completely engrossed in gawking at them like an utter freak, I jumped when I heard an impatient cough beside me. Thrown back into reality, I realized I was holding up the class and hurriedly sat in one of the only available seats which was, you guessed it, beside the stunning blonde girl who was currently definitely smirking at the fact that I acted like a complete dork.

My heart thumped in my chest rapidly as I tried my best to focus on the teacher, but from this distance I could smell the girl beside me and...god, whatever she was wearing smelled fantastic. I was so glad no one could read minds or they'd think I was a creep and I'd be socially shunned for the rest of my school life here. Not that it would be that long anyways, but it was the principle of things.

If I said I retained anything Mrs. Thompson was saying, I would be a dirty liar. I was too preoccupied by the fact that I really wanted to look at her some more.

Mustering up my courage, I turn and semi-confidently say, "Hi, my name is Rina, nice to meet you,"

The blonde beauty looks at me for a moment before pointedly turning her head away and dismissing me.

Wow. That's hurtful.

I wonder if she knows I'm having weird thoughts?

Dejected, I spend the rest of the lesson trying my best to pretend that I was paying attention even though I wasn't.

I didn't know why it bothered me so much that she dismissed me so quickly, without even giving me her name. I was used to the occasional people who didn't want to be my friend, it was part of life to meet people who didn't like you. I just couldn't comprehend why it made me feel...off...that she didn't want to.

As soon as the bell rings, before anyone had even moved, the three of them gracefully glide out the door— the small girl pauses long enough to give me a small wave and smile before she leaves. At least the pixie seemed to like me enough.

It doesn't help that I'm even more weirdly bummed out when I don't see her in my English class, though I do see another boy with reddish-brown hair who is also like her and her two companions, appearance-wise. I wonder if they're related or something. If they were related then bless their genes, I bet their parents cry tears of joy every time they see their faces. I notice the boy smiling and idly try to picture the blonde girl's smile. Her smile could probably launch a thousand ships, maybe two thousand, though she definitely didn't seem like a Helen. She looked more like someone who would eat weak-willed Helen for breakfast.

The boy snickers quietly and I'm almost certain he's crazy. No one sane stares off into the distance and starts giggling to themselves, and I knew he wasn't laughing at whatever Mr. Mason was saying. For some reason, a lot of the teachers in this school were incredibly dull and boring. Besides Mr. Molina, so far none of the teachers I've met seemed remotely passionate about their jobs, it was kind of disheartening to see.

When the bell rings, I make my way towards the Gym and I perk up when I see the pixie girl from my history class in the female change rooms— if she was here, maybe so was the other girl. Hastily changing into my gym outfit, I leave the change rooms and join the rest of the students on the bench. Scanning the crowd I sigh when I realize that she wasn't in this class either, but the bronze haired boy was.

Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I turn and blink in surprise.

"Hi there! Sorry for not speaking to you before, my name is Alice Cullen," chirps the pixie girl cheerfully.

"Hi, that's alright, you guys seemed like you were in a hurry," I reply with a weak grin, "I'm Rina,"

"That's a nice name, I noticed you were trying to talk to my sister before, I'm sorry if she was rude to you, she's a bit standoffish but she's really nice once you get to know her,"

"That's fine, I thought I did something to offend her, but I'm assuming she's like that with everyone?"

Please tell me I didn't offend her and that she's like this with everyone. At least it would make me feel better about not being an exception.

Alice's smile turned sympathetic, "oh, she's—"

Whatever Alice is about to say gets cut off by Coach Clapp's booming voice.

"Alright guys! Volleyball today, girls on one side and boys on the other! Teams of six each, Hurry up, new girl- come here for a second."

Everyone scurries to obey and I'm frustrated that I couldn't talk to Alice more about her sister. As I walk towards the coach, I notice the bronze haired boy talking to Alice, he looks disapproving and angry while Alice looks resigned.

What was that about?

The boy looks up and gives me a glare and I realize they're probably talking about me. I glare back. What? Were they not allowed to talk to me or something? Did Alice break some kind of rule they had by being polite?

"Is there something wrong, Coach?" I ask, choosing to ignore the douche for more pressing matters. It was highly anxiety inducing being called out in class.

"Nothing is wrong, here's the school's designated gym uniform, I appreciate you bringing your own though, not many kids do on their first day." He says as he hands me a plastic bag, I glance down at my clothes and give a wry grin.

"Ah, I always bring my gym bag everywhere, y'know in case I feel up for running- usually it just holds a spare change of clothes though, I wear my active wear out a lot," I reply, Coach Clapp looks amused.

"I take it you're an athlete then,"

"No, I mean not really, I was in the track team at my old school so we used to do our runs after school and early morning," I protest, my cheeks reddening, it was embarrassing being called an athlete— it sounded so professional.

"Damn, I wish the kids here liked sports enough to want to create clubs, you're going to be really bored here," he laments and I shake my head,

"I'll be fine, thanks for the uniform, Coach." I say as I put it on the bench near me.

"Don't mention it, go join that team over there," he points to the group with only five girls and I quickly comply.

Volleyball isn't as fun as running but it's still pretty enjoyable, especially when I do my best to score as many points as I can and the girls on my team soon start cheering when we're beating the boys. I look over at the other game happening near me and was surprised by how good both Alice and her brother was at it. They were the main point scorers on each side and I feel a bit disappointed that I didn't get to be on the team with a challenge. Not that my team was bad or anything, I became fast friends with a really nice girl named Angela Weber who was a preacher's daughter and incredibly sweet.

When the Lunch bell rings, Angela and I go change and then she leads me towards the cafeteria.

"That was a great game! You're really good at Volleyball, Rina, the other team barely stood a chance." Angela gushes,

"I get really competitive, and they did put up a pretty decent fight though, that guy- Tyler? He was really going at the game hard."

"I think Tyler just wanted to impress you, he rarely ever puts in that much effort usually,"

"Well, I guess he succeeded," I laugh "it was definitely impressive,"

"Don't let Lauren Mallory hear that, she has an on and off thing with him that she's highly territorial about," She warns, I roll my eyes, placing an arm around her shoulder whilst giving her a mischievous grin.

"Yess, give me that drama, let me battle it out with this Lauren chick for the hand of fair Tyler," I joke and she mimicked being sick, her eyes crinkling good-naturedly at me.

"Don't say I didn't warn you when she poisons you or something," Angela scoffs as she leads me through the lunch line.

I order a lasagna and a bottle of orange juice before following Angela towards the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduces to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them except for Ben whom I had already met, but I perk up when I see Bella and a brunette walking towards our table.

"Bella!" I cry happily and wave her over to the empty seat beside me, Bella gives me a relieved smile and I knew she missed familiar company.

"Oh my god, Hi you must be Rina!" Says the brunette next to her, her voice shrill. "I've heard so much about you from Bella," she prattles and I stare at her incredulously before turning to Bella to confirm what she said was true. Bella just gives me a small shrug and I grin, I knew the girl had been exaggerating. Getting information from Bella was like pulling teeth.

"Hi there," I answer, "sorry I didn't catch your name?"

"Jessica! Jessica Stanley,"

"Nice to meet you too, Jess" I reply easily and she looks oddly smug by my easy use of a nickname. The group seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me so soon after meeting me and gives her awed looks. Typical.

The focus on Bella and I are soon shifted when the conversations started flowing. Jessica was incredibly talkative and especially so when a conventionally pretty girl with long, corn silk, blonde hair, green, fishy eyes and pale eyebrows sat down with us. Angela mouths the name 'Lauren' at me and I nod in understanding. This was Lauren Mallory and one look at her confirmed that she was definitely the leader of the popular girls. I was kind of proud of Bella for finding friends within the popular table on the first day, that was honestly an amazing achievement for my anti-social sister. It made me feel warm knowing that she genuinely did try today like she promised.

"Who are they?" Bella interrupts the conversation and we all look towards the focus of her attention. My heart stops when I notice the blonde girl from my history class sitting next to an incredibly handsome, big muscled—like a serious weight lifter, guy with dark, curly hair. For some reason my stomach lurches a little when I see his arm casually resting around her shoulder.

Huh, maybe the lasagna was off.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." Jessica says this under her breath.

"Rosalie—" I whisper inaudibly and flush when by chance of fate, she turns and locks eyes with me for a fraction of a second before looking away again. I look down at my food, unable to really digest why knowing her name made me feel so happy. It was a beautiful name— old, but still suited her better than anything else, especially Helen.

"They are… very nice-looking." Bella struggled with the conspicuous understatement. Yeah, no shit.

"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all together though — Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, though to be fair, something like this would be scandalous anywhere. I lose my appetite and push my food away with a sigh.

"Which ones are the Cullens?" Bella asks, "They don't look related…"

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins — the blondes— and they're foster children."

"They look a little old for foster children."

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."

"That's really kind of nice — for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything." Says Bella softly, I couldn't help but agree. They seemed like very loving people.

"I guess so," Jessica admits reluctantly, "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she adds this as if it diminishes what they did for all the kids in their care.

"Well, I can't have kids," I state dispassionately. Everyone looks at me in shocked silence except for Bella.

"What?" I ask, somewhat defensively, "I had polycystic ovarian syndrome, it was always rather severe and when I went to get the cysts removed the doctors told me that I was infertile. Since I couldn't have kids anyways, I had my ovaries removed to stop any chances of returning cysts or increasing my risk of diabetes."

It didn't really bother me, I never saw children in my future anyways. It was something I wasn't sure I ever wanted.

"I'm so sorry," says Jessica softly, looking horribly awkward and guilty, I wave her away,

"Honestly, I'm not bothered, chill," I say and she relaxes in relief.

"Um, also, Rosalie Hale is staring at you," she adds hesitantly, I turn my head rapidly to look and to my surprise, she was. Except her expression was a mixture of conflicting emotions. We lock eyes before she un-furrows her brows and looks away again as if nothing happened.

I look away too. It was the most attention she had ever paid me today. I can't help but wonder what had made her look over here. She seemed intent before to pretend I didn't exist.

"Yeah." I mumble, confused.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" Bella asks and I roll my eyes at the question. Did she think I wouldn't mention seeing a group of incredibly attractive people during my summer visits if they did live here all this time?

"No," Jessica answers. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."

"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?"

It was surprising to hear Bella ask about anyone specifically. I had never seen her interested in anyone let alone a boy.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffs, clearly salty. I bet she was turned down at some point by him.

Bella stays silent, staring at the table. I look back at Rosalie then turn away again. It was off-putting seeing the guy next to her for some reason.

We stay a bit longer until more people start milling out of the cafeteria, I walk to my Trig class with Ben, he tells me about graphic novels and I can't help but find him as pleasant to be around as Angela. They really were the only two decent people I've met so far.

I hated Math more than any other subject in the school so time seemed to drag on in this class for longer than the others. When the bell rings, I rush to freedom faster than everyone else, dragging a disoriented Ben with me to Spanish.

Oddly enough, Edward Cullen looks incredibly furious and sick, sitting next to the hulking frame of his brother, Emmett. I don't know who pissed in his cereal but he was certainly looking very strained with his hands clenched tightly.

It was strange, he was fine all day until now.

With the final bell ringing at last, I meet up with a miserable looking Bella outside the office. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. Poor Bella looked like she was freezing to death.

"Thanks for waiting, Belsy, you didn't have to stand here in the cold," I say as I usher her inside the warm office but she stiffens in front of me once we're inside.

I notice that Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of us, he didn't appear to notice the sound of our entrance and was arguing with Mrs. Cope in a low, and I'd hate to admit it— attractive, voice. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time — any other time.

Maybe Biology was what made him so mad, except for whatever reason, Bella looked incredibly upset. Did they have bio together? I try to recall her schedule. What could my sister have done to possibly make him want to switch classes?

Did she burn him with acid? Stab him?

The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling Bella's hair around her face. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at Bella with piercing, hate-filled eyes.

What the hell was his issue?!

I glare at him threateningly back, if he wanted to try something I'll knock out his teeth.

He turned back to the receptionist.

"Never mind, then," he said hastily in cold frustration. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." He then turned on his heel without another look at Bella, and disappeared out the door.

"How did your first day go, dears?" the receptionist asked maternally as we handed our signed slips of paper to her. Bella's face was white and sickly looking, she definitely didn't have as nice of a day as I did.

"Fine," She lied, her voice weak. Mrs. Cope didn't look convinced.

"It was pretty fun, I made a lot of friends," I answer more genuinely and Mrs. Cope smiles in relief.

Bella and I were silent on the way to our cars, I didn't know what to say to comfort her so I said nothing at all. It was probably good fortune that our cars were the last ones in the parking lot and as I followed Bella's car home, I couldn't help but feel bad when I see her fighting back tears through her reflection in the rear-view mirror.

Next Chapter Coming Soon.

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