A/N: This story will be told in two points of views and those two points of views only. They will be Bella's and Julia's. Mostly it will be Julia and her opinionated take on all things Twilight. Many points in this story are going to be borrowed from Twilight. I emphasize borrow because I do not claim to own anything Stephenie Meyer is the genius here, I'm just the idiot writing fan fiction about it. Please review whether you like this or not, I need feedback. Criticism is welcome, it'll just make me better, please review.
Afterglow
Chapter 1: First Sight
I slapped my hand over the freaking annoying alarm clock and turned if off. I groaned as I threw my purple down comforter off of me and slid my bare feet to the cold floor and from my warm bed. Glaring green numbers shined from my alarm clock blinking – 6:30 AM. I sat there and ran my hand through my knotted curly brunette hair, blinking hard trying to get the sleep to leave my eyes without success.
I struggled to get off my bed, finally making it vertical on my third try. The first two I fell back on my ass, I never have and never will be poised and I can live with that. I always pick myself back up when I fall and that's how it always is.
I looked out my window and saw he thick cloud cover and covered my eyes. How could I forget? How the hell could I forget that I'm in Nowheresville, better know as the small town of Forks. In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State is where this smudge on the globe that is almost always cloudy and raining. Well its official, Julia Katharine Swan, is not in Phoenix anymore and I might as well be in Munchkin Land because I'm sure that would prove to be more interesting than this excessively sleepy town with a near microscopic population.
Forks High School – where I regretfully have to attend starting this morning – had a frightening total of three hundred and fifty-seven, which is now three hundred and fifty nine since Bella, my sister, and I moved to this town. Bella's a junior, at seventeen, and I'm a sophomore, at sixteen. Bella is exactly one year and a month older than me and we are similar in so many ways and yet startlingly different. I look exactly like her save for the curls and being shorter than her by three inches. We are both totally clumsy. We both have impeccable taste in books. Then she has a shy demeanor, while I have a loud, bold, in-your-face type of attitude. But one thing that we definitely share without a question is that we would do anything for one another, no matter how pissed we are.
We came here for our mom, Renee, of our own free will, might I add, and I am seriously questioning my sanity. We did this so she wouldn't be miserable trying to stretch herself too thin with us and Phil's – her husband – minor league baseball career. Now we are in the very town that she left in the first place with Charlie – our dad – the Police Chief of Forks. I thank God for Charlie getting Bella that old Ford because if he didn't there was no way in hell that I would ever ride in that cruiser to school. I would walk in the rain everyday, despite how frizzy my hair would get.
Ugh, I have to get ready to face my doom. I yanked a pair of faded ripped jeans from my closet, a hunter green v-neck short sleeved t-shirt, charcoal colored sweatshirt, my leather jacket, and boots. I grabbed my bag of toiletries and swung my door open sharply letting it slam into the wall and stomped off to the bathroom slamming the door behind me. I'm not really a morning person. I took a shower and did everything else I needed to do.
I left the bathroom with a towel tightly wrapped around myself and put on the clothes that were slightly wrinkled. I put some mousse in my hair and put on a little eyeliner and went downstairs. Bella was sitting at the kitchen table eating a granola bar. "Good Morning," she said and smiled. I grinned back and replied, "Don't you think that's a contradictory of terms. Mornings are never good Bells. Mornings pretty much suck, especially this morning with the new school and all." She rolled her eyes. "I can see you're an optimist." She said sarcastically. "Yep, just like always." Bella chuckled.
I went over the coffee pot and pour the last of it into a mug and downing it like someone was gonna steal it from me if I didn't. I put it in the sink and grabbed a granola bar from the cabinet and glanced at the time – 7:00 AM. – "I guess we're off to hell, then?" I glanced at Bella and released a heavy sigh. "It's not going to be that bad," she is trying to comfort me, when she isn't even at ease about this. This is so typical.
We got into her prehistoric new truck, the irony of this all, and started it. If everyone in Forks wasn't awake before, they sure as hell are now. The truck was going an annoyingly slow speed, when ever Bella tried to push it over fifty it would wheeze, no wonder Charlie thought this car was good. I smirked at the thought that Charlie was afraid what I might do if I got behind the wheel. "Hey, Bells, when do you think Charlie will let me get a motorcycle like I always wanted?" I asked her and she almost choked on laughter. "Never," she said between giggles, "he would go ballistic if you even road one. That's on his list of things that he never wants us to do." Bella said with a grin as she pulled in front of what I guess is the office of the high school. "That is exactly why I want it." I said and she shook her head with a smile on her face.
"Can I help you?" The red haired portly woman, Mrs. Cope as her gold name plate read was sitting behind the desk before us. "I'm Isabella Swan and this is Julia Swan," Bella informed her, and we both saw the immediate awareness light her eyes. This was expected of course, my sister and I being the topic of gossip in this boring little town. Daughters of the Chief of Police's fickle ex-wife, come home at long last.
"Of course," she said. She dug through a stack of papers till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedules right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter to show us. She highlighted the best routes on the map, and gave us slips to have each of our teachers sign, which we have to bring back at the end of the day yada, yada, yada. The woman was quite dull. She smiled and hoped, like Charlie, we would like Forks – fat chance.
We got back into the big red dinosaur of a truck and Bella pulled into the student parking lot filled with used cars, very much unlike our old school in which there were all shiny new expensive cars that mommy and daddy got their perfect child, the child that ends up totaling the thing driving drunk and mommy and daddy just buy them a new one. This truck definitely was not out of place if anything the shiny silver Volvo was what stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Well this is…well…frankly it's boring." I said getting out of cab and slamming the heavy door. "You haven't even started classes yet," Bella said looked at me with that look that said, 'give this a chance.' "Doesn't matter, I have a feeling that boring is going to be very frequent in my vocabulary if we're going here. The biggest drama, I can predict is that some girl will be jealous of you because you'll steal the attention of some dude." I said waving my hand in the air nonchalantly. "That's never gonna, happen." Bella said and I rolled my eyes. She is so beautiful and she says otherwise again I swear I am so gonna smack her. "Guys in Phoenix knew you all their lives. Here you're fair game." I said.
She ignored my last comment and I smiled to myself. I straightened my hood of my sweatshirt over the collar of my leather jacket. I put my arm over her shoulders, "Come on, big sis, there just people, don't worry about anything and relax. Your back is tenser than a board." I said patting her back lightly. "Well gotta go to class…unfortunately." I said the last part under my breath and headed to English. Bella and I walked into the same class. "Well look at this we're in the same class." I smiled and she rolled her eyes. I may act like a slacker and a half, but English and Biology, I could do with my eyes closed and one hand behind my back. Math and history I'm good at, but the other subjects are effortless for me even at a grade level above my own. I want to be a doctor.
We walked up to the teacher and handed him our slips to a tall, balding man whose name plate identified him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at us when he read our names I smiled back and Bella flushed a tomato red. She really needs to relax. He sent us to empty seats and unfortunately they were on opposite sides of the room. The students were staring at Bella and I just simply flashed a smile and Bella was blushing like mad. I am thankful Mr. Mason didn't force her to introduce herself to the class, I'm sure she would have hyperventilated.
I looked at the reading list he handed to me and looked it over. It was fairly basic: Brontë, Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Faulkner. And I've already read everything – more than once. Oh this is gonna be a fantastic year, a learning extravaganza. I might want to start cramming on my studies now on all the things I haven't done. Ha! Wait I have nothing to do. Cue in the boredom – Now!
I didn't mean that quite so literally. However, Mr. Mason gladly obliged and droned on and on and on until the bell rang. It was a nasal buzzing sound. I walked over to Bella's desk, "I told ya. Didn't I tell you?" I said. "Boring, boring, boring, boring!" I whined. She smiled and shook her head.
"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" This chess club type guy, that looked like the over helpful type approached Bella. I smiled deviously. "Actually it's Isabella Marie Swan, if you want to say her whole name." I said with a smile and the guys smiled back. Bella elbowed me in the ribs, "Ow," I protested and she smirked a bit and then I shoved her shoulder slightly. "Actually," she said looking at me and I smiled, "it's Bella." She said and glanced at me and I shrugged.
"Well must be off to class!" I said with mock excitement, "I'll see you later sister of mine." I called over my shoulder as I made it to my Algebra II class. I was more inspecting my nails than actually paying attention. It's hard enough to pay attention to math, but when the man that teaches it – well if anyone teaches it the subject is rather dull and can put me to sleep better than a lullaby.
Spanish after that I had to pay attention but all we did was congregate verbs and copy notes. There really wasn't much to pay attention to. I copied down my notes and let my mind wander. I finished copying and leaned back in my seat. The picture of the slacker that gets straight 'D's throughout the class. Façade. I obviously do something right if I get the grades I do, A's.
History was entirely terrible the material was rather interesting. Gettysburg and all that. The Confederate States and the Union States. Mr. Jefferson wasn't bad at teaching it he actually had some animation in his voice believe it or not. I was kind of shocked. The time went faster in this class than the others did and the bell rang it was time for lunch. "Julia!" Someone called and I turned at my name.
"Hi, I'm Lindsay, wanna walk with me to lunch," the blonde asked me in that annoying preppy voice. I pressed my lips together. God, her voice is annoying, but I'm not gonna be a bitch on my first day. I won't judge her by her appearance or rather her voice. I smiled in my ironic way and replied, "Sure." I said and we walked. She was talking my ear off. There really was no need for me to talk just nodding at the appropriate times. She was saying how everyone was talking about the Police Chief Swan's daughters coming to Forks for awhile. How she noticed a few boys in the class staring at me – along with everyone else – and that she thought we were gonna be really good friends. Ugh, she's already annoying the hell out of me.
We got into the lunch line and I got a turkey sandwich, an apple, and lemonade. She was leading me to her table where her sister Lauren was sitting and if her sister is anything like her, I am so not going to like her. We finally made it there and Bella was there and I was relieved to sit next to her and not next to Lindsay whose goal was to render me deaf by the end of the week. "Hey, Bella, how were your classes because mine were…hmm, how do I put it?" I tapped my chin pretending to think. "Boring as all hell. That's how they were, maybe yours were better tell me about 'em." I said and she rolled her eyes in comfirmation that hers were no better. I knew it!
"Who're all these people anyway?" I asked looking at all the faces around us. Bella smiled and blushed, jeez; she's an easy blusher these days. "Sorry." She said and began pointing out people she knew the names of and hadn't forgotten yet. "This is Jessica," she gestured to a girl with curly mousy brown hair and I smiled in greeting. "This is Mike," Bella said gesturing to a guy with longish blond hair and blue eyes. I smiled warmly and caught a jealous look cross Jessica's face, well now I know she feels threatened by little ol' me. Then she pointed out the guy who approached her in English, "He's Eric." She said and I smiled.
"So Julia seen anybody you like yet?" Jessica asked. Yep, gossiper. I'll remember to tell her anything I don't want the whole school knowing. "Jessica, I haven't even been here a whole day it is not possible for me to like someone yet, but when I do I'll let you know." I said and we both laughed and she sounded more relieved than anything.
Jessica looked up and than back at Bella and I and back up again. "Oh my God," she whispered sounding kind of pissed. "Edward Cullen is staring at you guys." Bella glanced over her shoulder and evidently caught his gaze and blushed her hair making a curtain of the side of her face. "Who are they?" I asked. Jessica looked like a little kid on Christmas after I asked that question. Again she is such a gossiper.
I was sideways glancing at them. Jessica was gesturing to them inconspicuously. "That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one that left the table was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife. They adopted them. Because Dr. Cullen and Mrs. Cullen are, like, way too young to have kids in high school. Like their in their twenties." She said under her breath. I picked up my sandwich and began eating it as Bella was picking at her bagel. I finished it off and was working on my apple while Bella was still picking at her bagel slowly.
"They are…very nice-looking," Bella struggled to get out. I resisted the urge to smack her on the back to make her spit out the words she seemed to be choking on. "Yes!" Jessica said with another giggle. "They're all together though," I could tell her implications and it pissed me off. It isn't even her business! I held it in, letting her go on without interruption. "Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they all live together." She said and there was her implications again.
I couldn't hold myself back this time. But I'm not gonna be a bitch about it. I shrugged, "Not my business. It's not like they're really related," I said with a half smile and Jessica smiled back. Funny I can make it sound like I'm agreeing with someone and be doing the opposite. Very ironic, but I like irony it makes life interesting.
I glanced and Edward was still looking at us more pointedly at Bella. His eyes were black and if looks could kill Bella would have been long dead. He looked like he was concentrating on something really hard and I turned in my seat and gave him a bright smile and waved my hand in mock flirtation and then rolled my eyes and turned back in my seat. I really don't like the way he was looking at Bella.
– – –
"Hey what do you have next?" A girl with brown hair and kind brown eyes asked Bella. I smiled. "She has Biology II with her little sis, aren't you excited!" I said putting my arm around her shoulder and I felt the tension. I squeezed her shoulder. "Relax, Bells." I whispered inconspicuously in her ear. Did she? Of course not!
"So, not to be rude or anything but I don't exactly know your name." I said to the girl and she laughed lightly. "I'm Angela Weber. I'm in Bella's Spanish class." Angela said and I could tell she wasn't like Lindsay or Jessica. She seemed like – dare I say it – nice and not superficially nice for her own ulterior motive.
We walked into biology and we walked up to the teacher and had him sign our slips and then he assigned us our seats. I was seated next to Mike and Bella was seated next to Edward. When was on her was to her seat she tripped and her books slid across the floor. I picked up a couple of her text books as she picked herself up and he cheeks were stained red with her embarrassment. Everyone was watching us. "Nobody cares, Bella, relax okay?" I said and walked to my seat.
Mike smiled at me as I took my seat. Mr. Banner was lecturing and I jotted down the notes diligently. I glanced up and at Bella. She was taking notes as well with her hair hung as a divider between her Edward and that is when I caught the look of restraint in his black eyes and it turned my stomach. I pressed my lips together and glared down at my paper as we took notes. Edward Cullen is rather strange and if he doesn't stop with those looks I am so gonna say something about it. No one can look at my sister like that. No one.
– – –
As soon as bio was officially over Edward bolted from the room like the place was on fire. "Can I walk you to your next class?" Mike asked and I looked up at him. I smiled, "Sure, I'm already walking with Bella we have P.E." I said and he smiled. "So do I," Oh God.
"So did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that." Mike asked my sister. He is asking the wrong person, Bella didn't do anything to him she barely even looked at him. "Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" She asked artlessly. "Yes," Mike said, buying Bella's act. "He looked like he was in pain or something." Mike said. "I don't know." Bella said. "I never spoke to him."
"He's a weird guy," Mike said. He lingered by us instead of heading into the boys locker room. "If I were sitting next to you I wouldn't have treated you like that. I would have considered myself lucky." He said. "Well not all guys have your manners Mike," I said with a chuckle.
Coach Clapp, the Gym teacher found us the wonderful uniforms and Mike disappeared before he got in trouble by the Coach. Bella and I went into the locker room and changed into the stupid gym uniforms. Then we had to play volley ball.
The one time Bella went to hit the ball it ended up smacking on the head of the person in front of her and I could have died laughing, but I held it in. It took a lot of effort too. My lips were pressed together and a tear escaped my eye from said effort. When P.E. was over we changed and I gave Bella my slip as I went to the truck to wait for her. I sat there in the cab for a bit and then I saw Edward Cullen storm out of the office that Bella was in and open the driver's door to the silver Volvo and slam it – hard.
Bella's not even the smart ass, I take care of that and Edward seems beyond pissed. Soon I saw the rest of his family get into the car and he sped off. Bella came walking out of the office and saw the Volvo fly by with a mixture of a hurt and curious expression. She got into the car and began to drive us home. She was lost in thought.
I am really beginning to dislike Edward Cullen.
A/N: I hoped you liked it. Julia's such a charmer now isn't she? And she's really not liking Edward. So what do you think will happen when Edward starts to actually talk to Bella? I would tell you, but then it would ruin it. Please review.
