Disclaimer: Not mine. Title is also not mine. It comes from the poem "The Broomstick Train" by Oliver Wendall Holmes.
A/N: Ohmigosh. Thank you so much for the favorites and follows. And the reviews. And the well wishes. You're all lovely.
Bella Swan slammed her locker door shut and shoved her bookbag onto her shoulder. The homecoming committee, of which she was reluctantly a member because she needed more activities on her transcript, was meeting during lunch on a day when she conveniently forgot hers. She hurried to the classroom that acted as the designated meeting spot and thought longingly of the carton of yogurt that she left on the kitchen counter. She would have to throw it when away she got home. Not for the first time, since leaving her lunch on the counter was not a new experience, she wished the school had an open campus policy. There had been a number of petitions; she had signed at least four in her three (point two) years there, but none had amounted to anything other than sheets of paper with illegible signatures, some of which bore a suspicious resemblance to Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse.
Her freshman year, the seniors told the new students that the principal and the schoolboard were afraid of the woods. Several years ago, the seniors told them, a couple of students wandered off and were never seen again. Bella knew the stories were just that – stories and rumors. She had lived in the same town for most of her life and had yet to see the woods swallow anyone whole. Still, she shivered, she didn't exactly want to go into them and found out.
Emmett McCarty, the senior class president, and the object of one of Bella's crushes, was tapping his pen on the desk top when she skidded into the classroom just ahead of the bell. He kept clearing his throat but no one was paying any attention. Bella and one of her best friends, Rosalie Hale, agreed that Emmett had been elected because he had looked cute in the yearbook. It was not his leadership skills.
She dropped her bags on the floor and winced at the crack that signaled the death of another pencil. At least, she hoped it was a pencil and not her iPod, which she might have accidentally left in her backpack. "I miss anything?" she asked Rosalie.
Rosalie shrugged, understanding that Bella meant the pre-meeting drama that normally happened when Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory repeatedly dropped things in front of Emmett to get his attention. "Nope, the gruesome twosome has been oddly quiet."
Bella glanced over her shoulder at the two girls who sat in a corner of the classroom. "Do you think they're worried about their college applications?" Bella had mailed her applications out a month ago but she still worried if she should apply to more schools.
Rosalie snorted and started giggling. "God, Bella, you're such a dork." She covered her mouth and waved a hand in front of her face to stem the laughter. "No, nerd. I think you're the only one stressing about that. Most of the rest of us still haven't applied yet."
Bella shoved her hair behind her ear and cupped her cheeks in her hands to cool the flush she could feel building in them. "My mom and dad made me. It's not like I had a choice."
Rosalie laughed harder and patted Bella's elbow sloppily. "You're such a goody-goody."
"I'm not," Bella mumbled into her hands.
"You so are." Rosalie nodded. "Name one bad thing you've done. You can't." She tilted her head in the direction of Jessica and Lauren. "Most likely they're hung over. Ali told me there was a party near the clearing last night."
"But it's only Friday." The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them and Rosalie started giggling again.
Emmett looked over at the sound and raised his eyebrow. "You okay over there, Red?"
"Yup." Rosalie nodded and sucked in a large gulp of air. "All good. Lead on, captain."
"That's president to you," he told her. "Ranks higher than captain."
"Oh, so sorry." Rosalie placed a hand over her chest. "I hope I didn't offend you." She opened her eyes wide then blinked rapidly and Bella wondered if she meant to look innocent.
"Something in your eye?" Bella whispered.
"Shut up." Rosalie nudged her in the side.
Emmett took advantage of the attention and called the meeting to order. Bella sighed and took out a notebook to record the minutes. She tried to force herself to pay attention to each member as they reported the status of their assigned tasks, but her mind wandered. She watched as her classmates fidgeted and drifted off slowly only to jerk back to attention when their names were called. She focused on Lauren and Jessica, who sat quietly in the corner, their heads braced in their hands. Despite her protestations, Bella knew she had a shockingly clean record. She didn't break curfew; she'd never been caught drinking, although, thanks to Rosalie, she'd been drunk; and she'd never caused her parents to worry over her like other parents did with their teenaged children. It wasn't that she wanted to be boring -she would never tell Rosalie, but she was almost jealous of Jessica and Lauren's hangover- but she didn't think she had it in her to be anything else. And she liked the repetition and patterns in her schedule. She was definitely boring.
When the meeting ended before the bell rang, she forced her notebook into her already full backpack and turned to Rosalie. "Have you ever been there?" she asked.
Rosalie flipped her out from under the strap of her messenger bag and looked at Bella. "Been where?" she asked. She was used to Bella's habit of starting conversations in the middle of a thought, but sometimes, like now, she needed clarification.
"The clearing." Bella waved a hand at the woods that surrounded the school.
"You mean to one of the parties?" Rosalie asked. When Bella nodded, she said, "Hell, no. Besides you would have known, because I would have dragged you along with me." She shuddered. "No way I'm going back there. Not even for a party."
"I've never been there," Bella told her.
"Yes, you have. We went with Ali when we were little, remember? We rode our bikes out there and our parents got so pissed at us."
Bella shook her head. "It wasn't me. I would have remembered."
"Was it just me and Ali?" Rosalie furrowed her eyebrows and tapped a finger against her lower lip. "That doesn't sound right."
"Whatever," Bella shrugged, "I just know it wasn't me."
"Really?" Rosalie huffed out a deep breath. "Nuts. Now I have to go back."
"Why? Exactly?"
"Because you need to go before we graduate and leave for good."
"Whatever," Bella repeated. "I got to get to class."
"Want to come over tonight? I want to dye my hair." Rosalie shook her heavy pony tail at Bella. Currently, her long hair was shocking shade of red. Bella wasn't sure if Rosalie remembered what her original color was anymore. "Maybe we can go into the woods before."
"Call me," Bella said. "I get done tutoring at four." She slipped into the cafeteria and missed Rosalie's reply.
"So here's my idea," Bella said as she dropped her bag on the floor and slid into one of the cafeteria's chairs. "I am going to wear something super slutty on the day of the next homecoming committee meeting."
"This is not a good plan," Alice Brandon pointed out helpfully.
"No, no," Bella protested, waving her hands in front of her. "It is. It will work. Look at Lauren and Jessica. They get tons of attention."
"They get tons of attention because they are slutty. Truth in advertising and all that." Alice gestured to Bella. "You," she pointed at her, "are not slutty. You are the opposite of slutty."
Bella blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. "This is the second time today that I've basically been called boring."
"You are not boring," Alice said with indignation. "What I said was a good thing. Who wants to be super slutty at seventeen? Even if it is nice alliteration. Who called you boring?"
"Well, you, just now," Bella pointed out, "and Rosalie at the homecoming meeting."
Alice frowned. "Why did she call you boring?"
Bella shrugged. "She didn't actually use that word. Just implied it. Because I was shocked that Lauren and Jessica were hungover on a Friday. And because I'd never been to the witch's place in the woods."
Alice muttered something under her breath that Bella couldn't hear and then said, "And this makes you boring?"
Bella shook her head. "No, what makes me boring is that I am. I've never done anything remotely interesting. I'm dull. That's why Emmett doesn't like me."
Alice put down her pen and shut her notebook. "Him still? Bella, I don't know how to break this to you, but the guy has no brains. He's a pretty face with nothing behind it. You'd be so bored within minutes. You are way too smart for him."
"But he's so cute," Bella whined. "And it's not just me," she defended herself. "Ro thinks he's adorable too."
Alice gave her a look, but didn't say anything.
Bella sighed. "I know," she admitted.
"We need to find you someone else to crush on," Alice said with a nod of her head that suggested finality.
"We could find someone for you," Bella suggested.
"Nice try, but I think that would annoy the boy just a leetle beet." She pinched her two fingers together. "He appreciates the fact that I'm not cheating on him."
"Worth a shot."
"What's worth a shot?" Edward Cullen flopped into a chair next to Bella and stared woefully at his school supplied lunch. He nudged the slice of pizza on his tray with his finger and waited to see if it would nudge back. When it remained in place, he took a large bite.
"Nothing," Bella said. "I was going to set Alice up with someone."
Edward's eyes widened and Alice rushed to explain the joke, hoping he wouldn't take it seriously. Jasper, her boyfriend, was one of Edward's best friends. "Bad joke," she said.
"Yeah, I got that," he swallowed his bite of pizza, "I'm new to the whole sarcasm thing, but I got that."
She smiled sheepishly. "Right. Of course you did."
"So, really, what are we talking about?"
"Nothing," Bella sing-songed. "Nothing at all."
"Yeah, that convinces me. But I'm going to let it go."
Bella sagged against her chair in relief. "Thanks."
"Sure," he shrugged, yanking on her ever-present ponytail. "Besides, it was probably boring."
"It wasn't boring. And gross. You have greasy pizza fingers." Bella pushed him away and he wiggled his fingers in front of her face.
"The better to touch you with, my dear," he leered.
"Stay away," she laughed, holding her textbook up as shield.
Alice eyed them and sighed. "Children, the bell is about to ring."
Bella swatted at Edward's hand again before putting her book away.
*/*/
"What about Edward?" Alice asked as their last period class let out.
"What about Edward?"
"He's cute. Smart. Sarcastic."
"Sarcasm's a quality we want?"
"It is when we're talking about you. Can you imagine how bored you'd get if someone wasn't some what of an ass?"
"Yes, it would be lovely." Bella hitched her bag higher on her shoulder.
"No it wouldn't. It'd be awful."
"Still. Edward?"
"Yes, did you not just hear me list some of his many good qualities?"
"Some of his many… Maybe your sales pitch needs work," Bella suggested.
Alice sniffed. "Seriously, though, just think about it."
Bella shook her head. "He's a friend. And he doesn't like me like that anyway."
"Mebbe, mebbe not. Just think about it. Okay, I'm off. The mom-mobile is picking me for a dentist's appointment. Call me later, 'kay?"
Bella rolled her eyes. "I've got to get to tutoring. Bye!" she called over her shoulder.
The Hales and the Swans lived in a subdivision that bordered the woods. Geographically, there was no distinction between the woods that surrounded their houses and the woods beyond the development, but anyone who grew up in the area knew where the development ended and the woods began. It was an invisible line that seemed to shout "too far" when crossed. The development, a meandering grouping of houses, was built by a man who did not know, or care to learn, the local history. Encouraged by his success in the one venture, he began elaborate plans to spread the development. His progress was halted, however, by local historians, conservators, and naturalists. The groups joined together and looked for something, anything that would stop the bulldozers that idled at the edge of the woods. They found their answer in a rare flower and even rarer snake, so the development remained isolated at the edge of the woods.
Rosalie was eight when they moved into their house and she remembered throwing fits at the idea of moving into the witch's woods. At first, her parents tried to soothe her, to calm her down, but their patience wore thin and eventually they told her stop crying and to help pack up her toys. Her first summer in the house, Rosalie became convinced that she was seeing things that could not be explained. A light spot in a shadow, a shadow crossing the sunny yard.
Each night, she went to bed braced for the cold feel of the witch's hands on her ankles. When each morning came and it was obvious nothing happened, she relaxed a little and grew a little more daring. So that same summer, when lemon-yellow July faded into the deeper shades of August, she rode her bike onto the trail behind her house and headed straight for the clearing.
She stood at the edge, not quite brave enough to step on it, and nothing happened. She rode home and told Ali Brandon what she had done. Ali, as Rosalie was hoping, demanded that Rosalie bring her to the clearing, so the girls went back. Rosalie dared Alice to stand in the middle of the clearing, and crossed her fingers behind her back as she swore up and down that she had done it and was perfectly fine. Not wanting to look like a chicken, Alice hopped in and almost immediately hopped out again. Rosalie held her breath and waited, but nothing happened. Except for getting grounded later that evening for leaving the house without her parents' permission.
But that night, after her second visit, long after she stopped fearing the witch's grip, she was became convinced that she could hear things. A branch on the chimney, a scrape of wood against the brick in the wind. And even though it was August and the air-conditioner only clicked on at 72 degrees, Rosalie pulled her blankets over head and tucked her pillow around her ears. She did not go back.
"Bella, Bella, bo bella," Rosalie yelled as she thundered up the steps of her best friend's home. "Are you ready for Little Bella's Big Adventure?" She threw herself on the bed, making Bella's body bounce with the force.
"Just let me finish," Bella murmured as she rushed to finish the paragraph she was reading.
"Nope." Rosalie yanked the book out of Bella's hand. "No time for such nonsense." She slapped a hand on Bella's leg. "Up get."
Knowing that all arguing with her friend would accomplish was waste time, Bella heaved herself into a sitting position. Propping herself up on her hands, she glanced over at Rosalie. "Is there a reason why we're doing this?" she asked as she scooted to the edge of her bed. She fumbled around for her shoes. When she didn't see them at the foot of the bed, she slid of the mattress and began to search under the bed for the sneakers she had been wearing earlier.
"Yes," Rosalie hung over the edge of the bed. Her bright red hair dusted the floor as she maneuvered her body to peer under the bed. She nodded in her upside down position. "We're young and we're stupid. We don't need any better reasons than those."
"Of course," Bella murmured and inched a little more under the bed. Her fingers closed around the heel of one the shoes. She pulled it out with a triumphant, "Aha!" and dove back under the bed in a search for its mate. "What was I thinking?"
Rosalie shrugged and stood up. "No idea." She handed Bella her other shoe, which was over by her closet door, and bounced in place while she waited for her friend to get ready. "All set? Good." She nodded. "Let's go get scared by a piece of ground."
The leaves crunched under their feet as the girls shuffled through the woods. Late afternoon sunshine washed the trees in a golden bath. Had Bella been in the mood for hiking aimlessly around the woods, she might have liked the sight of the fallen leaves and ochre colored trees. However, since she had been yanked out of her nice, cozy bedroom, she was mostly just grateful that the sunlight was still strong enough to alert her to fallen branches and soggy patches of ground that lay in wait for her. "How much longer?" Bella struggled, and failed, not to whine.
"We're not far," Rosalie told her. She paused and surveyed the woods. "I think it's just a few minutes farther."
"You think? You're not sure?" Bella huffed. She bent at the waist and rubbed an achy calf muscle that had been twinging since her tutoring session when a freshman banged her bag into it. "I feel like we've been walking forever."
"It's not like I've timed it," Rosalie said. She looked back over her shoulder at Bella. "And what kind of an athlete are you?"
"The not kind." Bella stood up and jogged a little to catch up with her friend.
"Buck up, little buckaroo." Rosalie clapped a hand on Bella's shoulder and pushed her forward a bit. Bella stumbled a little from the force of the blow, but righted herself. "We'll be there shortly and then you can stand in the creepy clearing, get spooked, and we can go. You can't grow up here and not do this. It's practically illegal."
"Illegal?" Bella shoved her hair back into a sloppy ponytail and rolled her eyes.
Rosalie waved her arms, brushing aside Bella's comment. "Or irresponsible. And you," she pointed, "are big on responsibility."
Bella pushed a low hanging branch away from her head and ducked under it. "You make me sound like such a nerd."
"You are." Rosalie pounced on Bella's back and hugged her shoulders. "But you're our nerd."
"Great. Pet nerd."
Rosalie unwound her arms from Bella's neck and stood up straight. "Hey! We're here!" she exclaimed. "Behold the graveyard of silo cups."
It was eerie, Bella conceded, the way the plants stopped at the clearing's edges. The trees twisted away from it, their branches were mangled and contorted as they strove to avoid growing over the ground.
"Well?" Rosalie prodded. "Go stand in it so we can go back and eat junk food."
Sighing, Bella waded through the knot of brambles and blueberry bushes that ringed the blank spot. The air shifted as she moved to the border. She hesitated on the edges, one foot hovering over the empty dirt, reluctant to stop onto ground where nothing lived.
She glanced back at Rosalie, who made shooing gestures with her hands. "Seriously, Bella. It's going to be dark soon."
Bella took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and stepped down. Nothing happened. Cautiously, she peeked out of one eye. Everything still looked the same. She turned around. "Start the clock," she told Rosalie.
Rosalie glanced down at her watch and gave Bella the thumbs up signal. "Your five minutes have started."
"Is, um, something supposed to happen?" Bella asked after a minute.
"No," Rosalie answered.
"So why am I doing this?"
"I already told you. It's a rite of passage for Mercy Borough's youth. You need to do this. It's like a Bat Mitzvah."
"So at the end of this I'm a woman?"
"No, at the end of this, you've spent five minutes of your life standing on a barren piece of ground," Rosalie explained patiently.
"Great," Bella mumbled, "so glad I let you talk me into this."
Rosalie nodded enthusiastically. "Aren't you? Two minutes down."
"Why five minutes?" Bella wondered. "Why not six or ten or – why five minutes?"
Rosalie tapped a finger to her chin and squinted at the trees of the far side of the clearing. "I think," she said tentatively. "I think I remember someone saying once that that was how long it took her house to burn."
"The witch's?"
"The very same."
"If she existed," Bella added skeptically, but, ridiculously, she shivered in the late afternoon sunshine.
"Well, yes, there is that," Rosalie conceded. "But you have to admit, it is an odd little spot, isn't it?"
Bella shrugged. "I guess." She paced along the perimeter of the clearing. "I remember reading this article once for a project in earth science," both girls made faces at the mention of that class, "and it talked about these odd geological spots where gravity was all off. Maybe this is the equivalent of those things, but for plants?"
"Maybe," Rosalie grinned. She curled her fingers into claw shapes. "Or maybe it's the witch!" She pounced at the edge of the clearing and grabbing at Bella and shaking her as she landed next to her.
Bella laughed and prized her arm out of Rosalie's grasp. "Nut." She ambled to the farthermost edge of the clearing. "How much time is left?"
"One minute and change. I'm keeping track."
"So, um," Bella began, then stopped. She swung her arms from her front to her back in large, slow arcs as she studied the sky above her.
"So?" Rosalie prompted.
"Emmett looked cute at the meeting – all flustered and disorganized," she pushed the words out in a rush.
"Hmm," Rosalie murmured, but she didn't say anything else.
"Didn't you think so?" Bella prodded. "I mean, he's getting a little better at running the meetings, right? But it's still cute how he can't get anyone to listen right away."
"I guess," Rosalie said. She looked at her watch. "Time's up."
Bella, who had wandered to the near-exact center of the clearing while remembering Emmett's blush, walked slowly to its edges.
"Hurry, Bella," Rosalie waved anxiously, "it's been more than five minutes now."
Bella hopped over a low-lying branch and landed with a soft thump on the other side of the border. "I'm officially able to leave Mercy now," she announced to Rosalie and the forest at large.
"After high school and graduation," Rosalie amended.
"After that," Bella agreed, "there's nothing holding me back." She spread her arms and lunged forward into the woods. The girls giggled and hurried in the direction of their houses. Neither of them noticed, as they jogged out of the woods, that the ground had rumbled in disagreement.
It was quiet now and dark. The sound of time passing by her no longer sounded like wind through the trees. It was almost enough. So very close to being enough. The ground rose and fell just a little, as the clearing took its first breath in years.