Disclaimer: I own everything but what Stephenie Meyer owns - that includes some of the plots, characters etc.
Title: Stitch By Stitch
Rating: T
Summary: What if Bella was not an only child and instead had a sister, a twin sister, named Marie? How did she get entangled with the supernatural beings, unexpected romances and life-altering decisions?
Life goes on as it never ends
- Backstreet Boys
I frowned when I heard my phone's alarm going off somewhere beside me. Slipping my hand under the pillows, I searched for my phone. I desperately wanted to go back to sleep but I could not because today was my first day of high school. Stopping the alarm, I slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep away from my eyes. I pushed my duvet away and stepped down from the bed, shivering slightly when my feet touched the cold floor. Picking up my towel and clothes to wear, I walked out of my room and into the toilet.
I had a decent sleep last night though I am very certain Bella did not. Halfway through the night, I was woken up by the sound of Bella crying in her room. I laid on my bed, listening to her cry. I knew she detested Forks and I knew she missed Phoenix and our eccentric mom. I shook off my thoughts and dried my hair with the towel I was holding. I carefully walked in to Bella's room, seeing her sprawled awkwardly on her bed. I chuckled to myself and shook my head.
"Bella," I whispered as I stepped closer to her. She did not even flinch. I stopped drying my hair and shook her shoulder slightly, "Bella, wake up. We have school today," I continued, still shaking her shoulder slightly. After a minute, Bella groaned in frustration and opened her eyes, slightly glaring at me. I stopped shaking her shoulder and waited until she sat up to sit down on the edge of her bed, drying my hair.
"Thanks for waking me up, Marie," Bella murmured loud enough for me to hear. I nodded my head and stared at her. "I know you probably heard me last night… you always do. But I will be fine," She stated the last sentence more towards herself and I slowly nodded my head. I stood up and motioned for her to go to the toilet as I skipped back to my room to finish getting ready for school.
[ ]
Bella ended up driving the truck that morning. Finding the school was not that difficult, though we have never been there before. The school was rather… unique; it looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs – so much so, I could not see its size at first. There were no chain-link fences nor could I see any metal detectors and that slightly made me relieved, I mused nostalgically to myself.
Bella parked the truck in the parking lot and I inwardly sighed when I saw the lot of people that turned to look at the both of us and our beat-up truck. I looked over to Bella and gave her a small smile – she hated being the center of attention. Bella looked down as she stepped out of the car, avoiding everyone's gaze. Feeling slightly like an animal being watched by its predator, I hurriedly stepped out of the car as well and waited for Bella.
"Nice ride," A boy, sitting on a hood of a car in front of the truck, commented. I frowned slightly, not liking the tone he had used. He shot me a smile as he continued to look at Bella. Bella looked up from the ground and awkwardly murmured her thanks before linking her arm with mine.
[ ]
The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls and a big clock ticking loudly. I continued to look around, musing to myself how different it was here from our old school in Phoenix. I was brought out from my train of thoughts when I heard Bella introducing herself to the red-haired woman. I cleared my throat, "Amaryllis Swan." And I saw the immediate awareness light in her eyes. Shifting my gaze from her to Bella, I knew she saw the same thing as I did. We were expected, a topic of gossip, no doubt. Daughters of the Chief's flighty, harebrained ex-wife, come home at last.
"Of course," She said. She dug through a stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter. I frowned slightly as she went through the classes for both Bella and I, highlighting the best route to each on the map and gave us a slip to have each of our teachers' sign, which we were to bring back at the end of the day. "Hope you would like it here in Forks," I smiled back as convincingly as I could.
"Do you think we would fit in here?" Bella asked me as we walked around the cafeteria, towards building three. I looked at her and shrugged my shoulders, shaking my head. She sighed as she slung the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "You would not have a problem, I bet. You adapt everywhere, easily." She stated and I chuckled to myself, not denying her statement.
Realizing how nervous she felt, I grasped her hand in mine and gave it a squeeze. "Come on, Bells. Even if we do not fit in, we still have each other." I reassured her and she gave me a small smile, nodding her head slightly. "But I am pretty sure we will fit in – this place is filled with different sorts of people." I added when I realized that Bella's breathing was gradually creeping towards hyperventilation as we approached the door. I smiled at her and walked inside the classroom.
[ ]
When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, Bella and I were approached by a guy who looked like the overly helpful, chess club type. "Isabella Swan and Amaryllis Swan?"
"Marie," I corrected at the same time as Bella said, "Bella." Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at the both of us. I was starting to get annoyed with all the looks we were receiving.
He nodded his head. "The new girls," As much as I hated being labeled as the 'new girls', the way he said it made me smile slightly. "I am Eric; the eyes and ears of this place. Uh, anything you need, tour guide, lunch date, shoulders to cry on…" He trailed off looking at Bella and I, a grin permanently plastered to his face. I let out a small chuckle when I noticed how uncomfortable Bella looked.
"I am really kind of the more suffer-in-silence type," Bella said as she looked at Eric. I could not help but laugh quietly when I saw his grin disappearing slightly. Leave it to Bella to subconsciously reject the first person that has been nice to us. Eric looked at me and I merely shook my head and smiled.
Eric nodded his head understandingly, "Good headline for the feature. I'm on the paper and the both of you are news, baby, and front page." I chuckled at his determinism.
"No, I'm not." Bella's eyes went wide. "Please, don't have any sort of…"
"Please, Eric, we would appreciate it if you would just feature something else," I cut Bella off as I stared at him, straight in the eyes. I definitely do not need any more reasons for people to stare at Bella and I as if we were some sort of escaped refugees. Bella squeezed my arm. "So, it would really be wonderful…" I trailed off, hoping he would get the hint.
Eric shook his head, "Chillax – no feature," He looked at the both of us. I gave him a smile as Bella thanked him. "So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" He asked. That was the first of the many questions Eric had asked.
[ ]
I was happy when I found out that we were going to play volleyball. I was not good in sports, the only thing I was good in was running but I would hardly consider that as a sport, more of a hobby. Volleyball was another sport that I played when I wanted to release my anger or tension and being stared and whispered at for nearly the whole morning caused me to have some pent-up tension.
"How are you holding up, Bells?" I asked her as I moved closer to where she was standing, watching one of the blonde girls smacking the ball to the other side. She frowned for a while before shrugging her shoulders.
"Not really liking this; I am a magnet for accidents," Bella admitted and I nodded my head, agreeing with her words. Bella gasped when the ball came her way. She instantly slapped the ball from smacking her face and both of us watched, eyes wide, as it smacked the back of a blonde dude's head. "Oh God," She murmured under her breath.
"Would be best if you start by apologizing, Bells. He does not look like he can cause any actual damage," I told her as I ushered her to go to the dude. I gave him a small smile and pushed Bella slightly. She glared at me and sighed before walking towards the dude.
[ ]
Gradually, the day went surprisingly well except for the constant staring and whispering. I had most of my classes with Bella, except for English and Biology. Some people introduced themselves to me but I was sure I would forget their names the moment they stepped away from me and the only ones that made enough impression on me were Angela, Jessica, Eric and Mike. Other than that, they were just nameless faces.
I was ecstatic when it was lunchtime. That was probably my favourite 'subject' amongst all the subjects I have been attending ever since I set foot in the school. I picked up an apple and watched as Bella picked her food. "I am famished but nothing I am craving for is served here," I told her with a slight pout. Bella laughed quietly, knowing how picky I was with food. We found seats on the same table when Mike called Bella's name out. She looked at me and looked at the seat. I nodded my head and followed her to the table. "Thank you," I smiled when Mike pulled out a chair for me, after pulling Bella's chair out. I quickly made myself comfortable and began munching on my apple.
"Is it always like this?" I asked to no one in particular when the same boy from earlier this morning came to our table and kissed Bella's cheek and Mike ran after him.
"Oh my god," Jessica looked amused and jealous. "It's like the first grade, all over again." She stated and I raised one of my eyebrows in confusion. "The both of you are the shiny new toys." She said with a small laugh. I nodded my head in agreement; from the moment we have stepped into the school, all we had received were stares and whispers, it was really starting to get unnerving and I hope it would disappear soon.
"Smile!" Before I could even comprehend what had happened, a bright flash blinded Bella and I. I blinked a couple of times as I stared at the camera in Angela's hands. "Sorry; I needed a candid for the feature." She said and before I could even say anything, Eric opened his mouth.
"The feature's dead, Angela. Do not bring it up again," He snapped and Angela widened her eyes. Bella frowned before opening her mouth to defend Angela. Eric apologized before leaving the table, making me all the more confused with what has happened.
Bella looked up from her food, "You could always go for… eating disorders or Speedo padding on the swim team." She suggested and I smiled at her. She actually spoke up without having someone speak to her. Angela grinned at Bella, nodding her head.
"Actually, those are really good ones." She muttered in appreciation. Jess smiled, turning to look at Angela. I shook my head and continued to munch on my apple, listening to the mindless conversation that was going on. I was brought out of my reverie when I heard Bella speaking. I looked away from my nearly finished apple and followed her gaze, admiring the group of people that were walking into the cafeteria. Jessica turned to where we were looking and turned back to look at us.
"The Cullens," She stated. "Doctor and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids; they all moved down here from Alaska like two years ago." Jessica explained. I was about to question how she knew this before reminding myself that Forks was not that big and news would definitely travel fast in this town.
Angela looked at them for a second before looking at us. "They kind of keep to themselves," She added. I continued to observe them; they did not look anything alike (and then I remembered that they were all foster kids and had absolutely no similarity) – the first girl to walk in; she had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue or even Cover Girl, the kind that made every girl around her go on a diet and never eat anymore just by being in the same room. She was accompanied by a boy – he was big, muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. I tore my gaze from them in time to hear what their names were: Emmett and Rosalie.
I continued to listen to the conversation as I stared at the other couple: the short girl, Alice, was pixie like, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction. One word summed up everything about her: adorable. The boy with her, Jasper, was taller, leaner but muscular and honey blond. They looked like a good couple. I smiled to myself when I saw her lead him to their table. The last to walk in was lanky, less bulky, with untidy bronze-coloured hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college or even staffs of the school rather than students.
And yet, they were all exactly alike. I pondered when I remembered that they mostly kept to themselves. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. I thought Bella and I were the palest, since we were albino. They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones. All their features were straight, perfect and angular. I frowned slightly when Alice looked at me, flashing me a small smile.
I looked away from her and was about to talk to Bella when I realized she was gazing at their table intently. Upon closer inspection, I saw that she was actually staring at the lanky guy – Edward? – And I smiled to myself. It was a rarity for me to see Bella taking interest in a guy. She hardly had the time to date back in Phoenix and it was nice to see that she was actually eyeing someone, even though it was purely out of curiosity.
[ ]
I ended up dropping Bella at the diner where we had agreed to meet up with Charlie. With an excuse of being somewhat tired and not wanting to be around more people, I told Charlie I was going to go to The Thriftway to get food, seeing as Charlie had practically nothing in the house. After promising that I would at least get something to eat, I was on my way to The Thriftway. It was not far from the school, that I remembered, just a few streets south, off the highway. It was nice to be in a supermarket; it felt normal without the constant stare from people. When I got home, I unloaded all the groceries, stuffing them in wherever I could find an open space. I hoped Charlie would not mind. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered a steak in marinade and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge.
When I was finished with eating, I took my bag upstairs, into my room. I changed into a pair of shorts and pulled my damp hair into a messy bun and walked to Bella's room. "Hi, Bells." I murmured as I sat on the floor, beside her bed. She looked up from her laptop. "Did mom email you?"
"She did," Bella answered after a few clicks. "Sent me three messages – have you checked yours? She is panicking... Phil says hi," Bella said after a few minutes. I decided to start on the homework Mr. Mason assigned earlier. "She used our full names by the third email. I'm just going to reply her now before she does anything rash." Even without looking at Bella, I knew she was shaking her head. Our mom was like that; she worried too much and when she said she was going to do something, she would go ahead and do it. "Would you like to say anything to her?" Bella asked and I looked up from the homework I was doing and nodded my head.
"Just tell her I said hi and I miss the both of them," I told her. "And tell her to call us soon," I added after pondering a few seconds. Bella nodded her head, typing what I was saying before closing her laptop. "So, how was school for you?"
Author's note:
I would like to thank my very first two reviewers for dropping their piece of minds! I'm glad you enjoyed it - definitely made me happy to read it. Hopefully, I'd be able to get more reviews in the future. I know for now it's somewhat slow and not going anywhere but bare in mind, this is seen/shown through Marie's eyes. But don't worry, there will be a time where I will do a whole chapter on another character or some sort. Thank you to those who put the story on Alert/Favourite. Don't forget to leave your reviews! I would definitely want to know your thoughts regarding the story. Hope you enjoyed reading it!