Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. The plot & all OCs belong to me.
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Gabrielle
"Thanks for remembering your daughter who's been standing in this same blasted meadow for the last fifty minutes," I hissed, glaring at my father.
"You're almost as miserable as Paul," Dad grumbled, rolling his eyes. Somewhere from the crowd of wolves behind him, Paul snarled, and someone else grabbed him around the shoulders. "Cool it, Paul."
"Let's just go," I grumbled, glancing over my shoulder at the Cullens, who were now standing there watching us – probably tensed for attack.
"You have school tomorrow too," Mom reminded me, "So it's early to bed."
"Yay!" I said sarcastically. Mom gave me a hard look before going to stand beside my father.
As our group was starting to leave the meadow, I glanced over my shoulder. I was definitely curious about these vampires with the golden eyes; all I knew was the little that Mom used to tell me. I'd never seen a vampire – besides one of the creepy, red-eyed ones that'd visited the area ages ago – and this was quite interesting. I couldn't help comparing the little one with the black hair to one of the vampire girls I'd seen when our pack had to … exterminate them. They were both pale, with hideous bruises under their eyes, and they both were extremely beautiful. Only the red-eyed one was always sneering … while this one was all perky-looking. A itty bitty part of me wished they would be doomed to the same fate as the last coven of their size.
The blonde chick is a scary looking one, I thought, just as the blonde sent a disgusted glare at us. I'm such a great judge of character.
-
The next morning, I was squeezing myself into the backseat of Sam and Emily's car, pressed against Embry's side rather awkwardly. "Ugh … grow any more and you'll be recognised by NASA as planets," I huffed, wedging myself against the door so as not to be swallowed by the two huge boys taking up the majority of the backseat.
"Always the one with the witty comebacks," Embry laughed, slapping me on the shoulder. I winced, frowning. God, his arm is so heavy.
I glanced down; smoothing a wrinkle in the stupid shirt Mom insisted I wear and shoving my backpack between my knees. Sam climbed into the front seat, and my father slid into the passenger side. "Are we all ready?" Dad asked, glancing into the rear-view mirror. Embry and Quil both muttered something which sounded like a confirmation, and the car was off. I groaned, being pressed into the arm-rest by Embry's massive frame.
By the time we were rolling into the parking lot, my side and lower back were screaming in protest. Even before Sam pulled to a screeching halt in the parking lot, the door was open and I was out the door. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good start to my leap, so I could only watch as the black asphalt rushed up to meet my face. Almost as soon as I'd realised I was going to fall, someone's hand closed around my elbow and jerked me up.
"Damsel in distress, much?" Embry laughed, as I brushed my hands off against my jeans. I glared furiously at him. "It was a joke, Gabs. No need to give me the feminist lecture again."
"Sexist pig," I hissed, turning to grab my backpack from the car. "Bye, Dad. Uncle Sam," I said before slamming the car door and following the planets.
"That lecture is a load of bullshit," Quil added, pushing open the door to the office where we were supposed to be collecting our schedules and stuff.
"You guys are just upset because you don't understand half the words I use in that lecture," I retorted, sitting in one of the hard plastic chairs to wait on the receptionist.
"Yes … because our IQ levels don't support phrases like 'arrogant prick' and 'hypocritical swine'," Embry agreed mockingly. Quil cocked his head, listening. Another thing these mutants had over me; their excellent hearing. Add that to super speed, brilliant vision, Hulk strength, sick reflexes and the ability to, put simply, kick vampy butt and you have one lean, mean fighting machine.
"Incoming," he murmured, seconds before the receptionist appeared, whispering to a teacher.
"I'll be sure to remember it, Mrs. Lawrence," the receptionist promised, jotting something down on a sticky note and attaching it to a document sleeve. The teacher left, and she looked up to realise we were sitting/standing there waiting on her to acknowledge us. "Oh … you must be the three new kids from the reservation!" she squeaked, her hand fluttering to the base of her neck.
I rolled my eyes. Forks may have grown in population, but there's still a lot of gossip swirling about this town. In the last twenty-two years, the population of Forks had nearly tripled in size. A lot of retired couples, young parents, bachelors and random sightseers have moved to Forks, bringing with them more than enough for the older Forks' locals to gossip about. But, no … these gossipmongers had to sit down at chat about the freaks on the reservation that support the Olympic Wolf migration – laughing at our silly 'LEAVE THE WOLVES ALONE!' campaigns.
Well, we warned them. One of these days, Paul was going to snap … and nip into the town for a quick night out and dinner. I had to bite back an amused, slightly hysteric, giggle at the idea of Paul ripping the head off this young receptionist.
"I'm Gabrielle Black," I informed her, going to stand in front of the desk. "And this is Embry Call and Quil Ateara."
"Um… I have your schedules right here," the receptionist mumbled, pawing around through the untidy piles of papers, books and forms on her desk.
"If you cleaned up you might find what you're looking for easier," I pointed out, raising my brows at the half eaten ham and cheese sandwich resting on the keyboard of the computer.
"Hmm…?" she mumbled, glancing up briefly. Suddenly, she gave us a triumphant grin, holding up a handful of papers. "Here you go."
"Thanks," I said softly, taking the papers from her.
"Just have your teachers sign those, and return them at the end of the day," she told us, pointing to the bit of paper clutched in my left hand. "Have a nice day."
"Thanks … you too," Embry chuckled, glancing at my disgruntled expression. The planets followed close behind me as we left the office, waiting on me to finish sorting out the papers I'd been given.
I sighed, smoothing the corners of the edge of Quil's schedule before handing it back to him. "Quil," I murmured, passing him the slip to join his schedule in his massive paw. Once I was done with Embry's, I passed them along too.
"First period; Trigonometry," I read, starting at the top and going down, "What about you guys?"
"We have the first two classes together, and then I have Geography with you," Embry said after a moment, comparing our schedules.
I frowned. "Uh … I was looking forward to getting rid of you. That's an awful lot of classes to share."
"I love you too, munchkin," Embry teased rather loudly, patting my shoulder. I winced. Does this ape not realise how heavy his blasted hand is!? I realised that most of the kids in the hallway were now staring curiously at our unusual exchange. I ducked my head, uncomfortable.
"Stupid ape," I muttered darkly, glancing at the map of the campus to find the Trigonometry classroom.
-
"Shit," I hissed, tapping my pen against the desk irritably. This is a new pen! It can't be out of ink already.
"Here you go," the tiny vampire sitting beside me said, handing me a pen. "I'm Alice, by the way."
"You know my name I suppose, Alice," I sighed, taking the pen from her cold grasp. I expected the cold skin, but that didn't stop me from wincing as my hand touched hers, "Thanks for the pen."
"No problem," she replied, going back to jotting down her notes in perfect script. I figured I ought to do the same, so I uncapped her pen. Hmm … This pen writes really nicely, I noticed, beginning the sentence where my rubbish pen left off.
Minutes later, the bell rang, halting the entire class' progress. I grinned, realising how little work I'd managed to get through in this session. I was oddly pleased as I dropped my book into my bag.
"Am I allowed to walk with you to Gym?" Alice asked hesitantly, folding her hands behind her. "Or will that be against some law?"
"I suppose that's fine," I mumbled, glancing at the planets that were standing close to the door. "Just give me a second to speak to the plan–guys."
"I'll wait," Alice promised, waving me off. I nodded, jogging to the planets.
"Guys, I'm going to walk with Alice to Gym, okay? Don't freak; she wouldn't hurt me in a crowded place like this," I whispered, careful not to allow the kids filing out of the Trigonometry classroom to overhear.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Quil murmured, glancing at Alice cautiously. As I also glanced back at her, I was a little tiny bit freaked out by the way she was standing completely still … not moving, just waiting. No fidgeting, no shuffling from foot to foot. Nothing – just waiting; completely still.
"Well … that's why I'm not asking you; I'm informing you of my decision," I said defiantly, raising my chin to glare into his murky brown eyes. Embry grumbled something to himself, his face scrunching up like a massive, oversized pug on steroids.
"Go," Embry finally decided. "But if you're not there within five minutes, I'm coming to find you."
I rolled my eyes and jogged back to Alice. "Let's go."
Alice nodded, a grin splitting her beautiful face, and we headed off to the Gym. I didn't need to fish in my bag for the map as Alice knew where were going, which was a plus. We walked in an oddly comfortable silence, which I used to collect my slightly scrambled thoughts.
I pushed open the door, letting Alice enter before me. I caught Embry's eye across the gym and he held up his arm, tapping an invisible watch strapped to his wrist. I rolled my eyes back at him, considering going over there and giving him a stern taking down a notch. I followed Alice to the girls' locker room, quickly changing into my Forks High polo and shorts. On my way out of the gym, I pulled my hair into a ponytail, marvelling as the ends of my hair brushed mid-back. Looks like dad's going to practice his awesome hair-dressing skills on me soon, I grumbled silently, releasing the black ponytail.
I went to join the crowd of girls and boys on the basketball court, chattering amongst themselves. Minutes later, the coach blew his whistle.
"Since we have three new students today, I figure I should introduce myself," the coach called loudly, and every pair of eyes was suddenly trained on the two mutants and the odd-looking girl at their side. Maybe they haven't even noticed me standing here … in comparison to these monsters, I'm rather tiny. "I'm Coach Nelson. And you guys are …?"
"I'm Embry Call, and this is Quil Ateara and Gabrielle Black," Embry said confidently, clearing his throat. I knew I wasn't going to do it …
"Welcome to 2nd period Gym then," Coach Nelson boomed. "And today, we're continuing with the basketball drills."
-
After the session of drills in Gym and a shower, I was forced to endure a session of pure torture in English. Don't get me wrong; I love English. It was my best subject in La Push, but this class was the longest and most awkward class I've had in a while. Even school with my father was slightly less awkward.
I ended up seated beside a Cullen. Alice's mate, I think he was. And through the entire class, all he did was stare curiously at me. Like I was some guinea pig belonging to his friend and he'd never seen one before. Ugh, it was beginning to creep me out the way all the kids in the entire school stared at me like a science experiment.
When the bell went signalling lunch I almost flew out of my seat and did a war whoop. Or an Indian dance. Whichever came first, I suppose …
"That vampire kid wouldn't stop staring at me," I complained to Quil and Embry as we made our way across campus to the cafeteria. Outside the cafeteria, I spotted Alice. She looked like she was about to come up and invite me to eat lunch with her … but a glare from the planets sent her hurrying off.
Inside, I picked up a lunch of a ham and cheese sandwich, some lemonade and a small bowl of fruit salad before heading back to the table Embry and Quil had secured. Embry was sitting with his shoulders tensed as I sat down, and I frowned at his pained expression.
"You okay?"
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder stiffly, towards the table where all the Cullens were present, ignoring their full trays. As I peeked over his shoulder, I spotted Alice, and she waved. Quil and I chuckled as Embry grimaced; Quil's chuckle a bit more hysterical. I shook my head, grinning. All this mortal enemy shit is freaking them out … and I'm strangely amused by this.
-
Biology was the session after lunch, not too far away from the cafeteria, so it was an easy walk and one I greatly enjoyed. I hiked my bag further up my shoulder, gripping the slip to be signed in one hand, and opening the door with the other.
"Hello, I'm Gabrielle Black," I mumbled politely to the teacher standing behind the desk. Once I'd gotten my slip signed, I was ushered to the empty seat beside a girl with almost vampire pale skin and long brown hair.
"Hey, I'm Natasha," she said as I sat down. "Natasha Hanson."
"Gabrielle Black," I introduced myself, smiling. She extended her hand to shake, and I took it, delighted in the fact that her body temperature was warm … not cold (or hot – heaven knows we don't need more of Embry).
"We're partners in crime, I suppose," she grinned, sliding the microscope across the table for us to share. "And our first crime is to identify basic unicellular organisms and beat all the other teams."
"Easy enough," I said, peeking into the microscope. Once I was sure I'd gotten it, I passed it back to Natasha, raising my hand.
"Mr. Cullen?" the teacher said, jerking his chin to the back of the class.
"Amoeba, sir," a clear voice cut through the chatter.
Well … fuck.
A/N: Hehe. *chuckles awkwardly* I suppose I owe you guys a biiiig apology. I haven't updated in ages, sorry. I just really didn't remember high nor low of this. But, I've got up to chapter nineteen prewriten, so it shouldn't take half as long, 'kay? Thanks! R&R now, please, loves. ;D