Hello all! Here we are again with another chapter of this fic, one which I'm surprised I even managed to write at all, but nonetheless exists. Lol.

Thank you for all those who fav'd, followed and reviewed (you guys especially), your support is much appreciated, and I shall reply asap.

Thoughts on this chapter? Um, it was super weird not writing about the typical twi-teen characters, and instead the teachers, but realistically, that's who she'd hang out with. Bella is sweet on the outside, but bland on the inside, and though we will see Matiás occasionally, please rest assured that this is still Edward/Catalina. Catward, ha.

Oooh, by the way, I realized the diction in this fic can be abit confusing when coming from Cat's POV, because in narration she uses contractions but in speech she doesn't; that's because she thinks in Spanish, which is her native language and the one that she's most comfortable with, whereas she's not so used to English that she can speak it without effort. Of course, when speaking to Maria or Matiás its in Spanish, hence her speech manner changes then as well. Hope that's not too confusing! If there are any questions, feel free to ask. And if anyone wants a Catalina face claim, its Emmeraude Toubia, who I'm entirely in love with.

Much love to all,

Review?


"You met the Cullen kids yet?" Asked Mrs Gobb on Tuesday morning as we sat in the staff room, sipping coffee. A few other teachers milled about, on the couches and at various work spaces, but otherwise the small kitchenette was empty but for she and I.

Mrs Gobb -or well, Maria, as she insisted on being called- was a plain but kind woman, looking to be around her early forties and occupied a post at the school as their Spanish teacher. Mrs Cope had told me about her the previous day, but I'd only just gotten the chance to meet her, when I'd come in to make myself a cup of coffee before my next period. At first glance, she seemed much like everyone else in this small backwater town, all gloom and doom, and nothing like the hot-blooded Mexican she claimed. She'd married a Forks local, and had been here so long that she'd become one of them. Her skin was the color of ivory and she'd picked up the local accent, but it was still nice to speak Spanish to someone, even if we occasionally stumbled at each others dialect.

An image of Edward and siblings flashed across my mind in response to her query, and I nodded quickly, "Si," I breathed out, and apparently it was more than enough to convey my amazement judging by the sage nod of agreement that Maria gave me. "They're very beautiful." I said, though it was a gross understatement. Stunning, sublime, flawless -the list went had to be some on the most breathtaking people I'd ever seen in my life, all made up of silverdust and starshine, and while I'd never been a fan of pale, their skin was so smooth and moonlike that I couldn't bring myself to mind too much; they seemed like the galaxy personified.

Maria looked amused, "All that and more. They'll be your best students no doubt, they're the smartest kids around, heck, smartest people around. They give even us teachers a run for our money!"

My interest peaked, "You say it like they're not from around here..." I pointed out, to which she nodded affirmative, sipping at her coffee.

"Oh no, they just moved here, it hasn't been too long, around two years?" She guessed, a thoughtful frown coming over her features. I frowned, because to me, two years didn't warrant a "just moved here", but to be fair, the town looked small enough that everyone's grandparents had probably been in diapers together. I guessed that anyone who hadn't been around for at least a decade was 'fresh off the boat'.

I could just imagine Matiás' disdain should he ever set foot here, and just managed to bite the inside of my cheek to hide a smile.

"They came down from Alaska, the father having accepted a job at the hospital -and if you think the kids are good looking, you should see the Doctor.Como un ángel directamente del cielo!" Maria continued to gush, and honestly, I couldn't bring myself to doubt her.

Still, this family seemed to be the only interesting body around for kilometers, and I'd always been a shameless fan of gossip, so I pushed on. "Y la madre?" I asked nonchalantly, my bringing my own cup to my lips, blowing at the steam. Maria seemed to hesitate at my query, looking vaguely uncomfortable.

I arched a brow expectantly, and the older woman caved. "Just as beautiful as the rest of them, does a lot of charity too, a kind soul. Only, well, the poor woman can't have children." She whispered conspiratorially, and I blinked.

"But the kids-?" I started, causing Maria to wave a hand dismissively, her eyes darting around to see for other listeners. I didn't understand why she was trying to keep our conversation on the low, what she was sharing seemed like it would be common knowledge.

"All adopted, though the two blonds are her niece and nephew, gemelos." She stated, to my momentary confusion. I'd only met one blonde, the girl with the with shimmering flaxen hair and confidence that just radiated off her in heavy waves. I'd had her in my first Senior class the previous morning, along with a burly boy with black cupid curls and a mischievous grin. To think there was another one.

Before I could voice my chagrin however, a man with dark, greying hair and wire framed glasses walked into the room, carrying a lunchbox.

"Oh," he said, pausing mid step at seeing me, "You must be the new music teacher, I'm Bruce Banner, the biology teacher."

I couldn't help the look laugh that escaped my mouth, and the man rolled his eyes with a put upon sigh, taking a seat next to Maria. "Yes, yes, very funny, I know." He grumbled.

I lifted a hand to my mouth to try and muffle my amusement, "Can you blame me? And you are a biology teacher, as well!" I let out a few more giggles, and luckily Bruce didn't seem too angry. Still, I forced myself to get my act together, "I apologize, that was rude of me. I am Catalina Augustín, it is great to meet you." I said with a smile.

The biology teacher smiled, "Its really no big deal, I've been dealing with it since childhood. Its nice to meet you too, Ms Augustín."

I winced, and Maria snorted, "Call her Catalina, she feels the Ms makes her old." The woman said, causing Bruce to squint at me curiously.

"You are awfully young, why you could even pass for one of my seniors if I didn't know better." He said, cracking open the flaps of his lunch box, and pulling out a lettuce-heavy sandwich. He saw the excessive amount of greenery in his meal, and sighed.

"Wife at it again, is she?" Maria remarked, a knowing glint in her eye.

"Don't even start, Maria." He warned, opening the bread and beginning to deleaf his bread. Maria simply tittered in amusement, and I hid a smile behind a sip of coffee. "What were you guys talking about, before I rudely interrupted?" He asked.

"I was just telling Catalina here about our resident Royal Family." Said Maria, gesturing towards me.

Mr Banner caught on immediately, unsurprisingly. "Oh the Cullens," he closed his sandwich, "Yeah, they're pretty well known around here, though they keep to themselves mostly."

My eyes flickered over to Maria, who was nodding beside him, "Very close knit as well." She added, only for Bruce to let out a derogatory snort.

"Too close knit, if you ask me." He said around a mouthful of his meal. Maria slapped his arm in disapproval, but I looked pointedly towards her for an answer. She twiddled her thumbs around the handle of her mug.

"Well, they're all together." She stated, shifting uncomfortably. My brows rose to my hairline, and I leaned back in my chair in surprise.

The way she said "together" clearly meant more than the typical sibling closeness that was expected from them, and way more than what was expected from a group of adopted teenagers.

"Oh." Was all I could say, and okay, maybe pseudo-incestuous relationships weren't what I was expecting, but I could roll with it, mostly. A bit weird (maybe a little more than a 'bit', really), but nothing that was morally offensive. And obviously it was none of my business what went behind closed doors, and if their parents were okay with it, then, yeah, okay. Plus, it wasn't like they were actually related so it didn't really count as incest did it? I was an open minded person, and as long as there wasn't any underage or noncon going on, then it was fine.

Dios, they were all living under one roof though -no Catalina, don't even get into it.

Bruce and Maria were watching me carefully, and I gave an awkward chuckle, "Well, it is not that bad, is it?" I ventured, trying to seem totally unperturbed -which I was. "They are not related, as you said." I added, and the other woman gave a slow nod.

"You see, Bruce?" She said pointedly, before turning to me, lifting her hand to cover her mouth slightly,"Bruce is a bit of a bigot-"

"-I am not!" The man in question protested angrily, but she only ignored him.

"He has trouble accepting new ideals, but Marge and I are working on it." She finished, making no attempt to lower her voice. Bruce huffed, biting into his food with an unnecessary amount of force.

"I just think that certain things shouldn't be morally allow-" he started in defense, but Maria was having none of it, much to my pleasure. It was nice to know I wouldn't be the only one in this small town that subscribed to progress, even if I was a bit unsure of this particular case.

"Anyway," said she, smoothly cutting him off, "They all do make such lovely couples, you should see them together. Edward's the only one of them who is single."

I found that hard to believe, not with the boy's bronze hair and perfect jawline. All the girls of the school must've been falling over themselves for his attention.

"Maybe he's gay?" Bruce speculated, voice rude and I rolled my eyes.

"Mr Banner, just because he has not yet taken an interest in anyone does not mean he is gay, and if he is, then maybe he is just not ready to go public." And that wouldn't be surprising if everyone in this town was like this biology teacher. Small town America wasn't exactly...tolerant.

I hadn't had enough interaction with the boy to debate his sexual orientation though, and it wasn't as if gay had a look either, so judging by outward appearance was ridiculous. Regardless, gay or not, I had no doubt he had fans of all genders willingly throwing themselves at him.

Maria fanned herself, "If I were only a teen again," she breathed, and I cringed. I hoped at least, that Maria kept her attraction for him under wraps and firmly superficial.

Edward, for all his mature good looks, was still underage, and it was entirely creepy for Maria, a woman well into adulthood to be sexualizing him. I knew what it was like to be preyed on by a teacher. I'd once had a science teacher in highschool who liked to get...handsy. There was nothing more uncomfortable than having an older person look at you like a piece of meat. Luckily in my case, the teacher had been caught with some compromising photos of himself and a younger second year student, and was fired immediately.

Goodness, it was creepy that we even sat here talking about his sexuality. I felt the disgust at my actions and my thoughts; seeing a grown woman fawning over him from an outside perspective was jarring, because I'd had similar thoughts just yesterday. I vowed to get my act together and look upon them with a firmly professional eye.

I hoped for the sake of the Cullen children, that the other teachers were doing the same.

Just then, the bell signalling the end of our break rang, and Bruce hurriedly finished off the last of his sandwich, "Better get back to dealing with those hellions, God save us all." He grumbled, standing and gathering his things. Maria followed after, a wry smile on her face.

"You'd think after four years they'd at least be able to say Hola." She said tiredly, to which I snorted.

"See you around, Catalina." Bruce said, fixing his glasses before leaving.

The other woman lingered a few moments more, "We'll talk more later." She told me, a smile on her face, to which I nodded.

She seemed nice enough, if a little misguided, and it would be nice to have someone to converse with, even just a little. "Of course!" I answered brightly, with a wave.

Most teachers in the room quickly dispersed, moving hurriedly out the door and to their next classes, shooting me polite smiles on the way. I didn't linger either, staying only to rinse my cup out at the little sink in the kitchenette, but on my way out, I was almost bowled over by a frantic form, the force causing me to almost topple over. As I blinked, dazed, the person made an angry sound. "Watch where you're-!" They started heatedly, only to fizzle out just as quick.

I looked up and saw a bulky man, twice as wide as me easily, all muscle. He was slightly redcheeked, and a sheen of perspiration dotted his forehead. Donning a cap (only he knew why, considering Forks never got any sun), a whistle, and a sporty ensemble, I gathered he must have been the P.E teacher. I frowned at him, because big or not, he'd bumped into me. "I think the fault is with you, sir." I stated sternly, and to my surprise, he nodded vigorously in agreement, stepping aside from the doorway.

"Yes -Yes, all my fault, I'm very sorry." He said, eyes wide. "Are you the new teacher?" He asked, sounding surprised, and I smiled.

"Yes, and I accept your apology." I answered, stepping forward to leave. He jumped in front me suddenly, and I startled, shifting backwards warily. He coughed, smoothing down his oversized blue T-shirt.

"I'm Coach Clapp -well not Coach Clapp, that's not my name, but I'm the phys ed teacher here at Forks, I whip those slackers into shape -uh, not with an actual whip though." He introduced in a rush, holding out a hand.

I shook it after a moment, "Nice to meet you, Coach-"

"-My name's Jeff, well it's Jeffrey actually but, I mean, its just Jeff." He interrupted, a little sheepish, and I nodded slowly.

"-Jeff." I rectified easily, pulling my hand away. "I am Catalina. It is nice to meet you, but I am afraid I have a class right now and-"

Again he jumped, this time to the side, leaving the hallway visible. He was surprisingly nimble for a man his size. Jumping Jeff, I thought in amusement.

"Wow, you must be late! I'm sorry, again. I'll just..." He made a vague gesture, shuffling out of my way entirely. The motion was awkward with his hulking size, and I gave him a genuine smile as I made my way out.


Principal Johnson of Forks high had decided to make my music classes mandatory throughout all the grades, and considering the school had a total of about three hundred and fifty, we'd decided to divide each grade into two separate groups, over a period of four days, which meant that I taught eight classes, Monday to Thursday, and had a long weekend.

Monday's I held Groups A of the Seniors and Juniors, Tuesdays were Groups A of Freshmen and Sophomores, Wednesdays I had Groups B of Freshmen and Sophomores, and Thursdays were Groups B of Seniors and Juniors. Two classes a day, one before and one after lunch.

Honestly, it was all a bit daunting, considering I had to make lesson plan upon lesson plan for each level, also taking in the fact that Fork's music program had been entirely lacking to the point that it was a wonder they couldeven call it a music program. It meant that on top of what I'd originally planned for my six month duration, I'd also have to take time out and drill the students through the basics, and that couldn't be done in one day. It was pushing me back by weeks. It was needless to say, very inconvenient.

Still, it was anything I couldn't do, and it was an opportunity to ground them in a bit more than the standard curriculum; my goal for every posting, was to leave the students a bit more open minded than I'd found them, and sometimes that could be a bit difficult if they were already stuck in the straight, unyielding mentality a lot of music teachers demanded. At least Forks had a chance.

I found my groove quickly enough, acclimatizing to the increased workload and organizing myself to fit it, and within a few days I found myself settling into a stable, if busy routine. The students were sweet and lively, and they tolerated my occasional lapses in English with a sort of fond exasperation. The first week was always the easiest however, but I was hoping they'd keep their friendliness throughout the time I was here. Goodness knew it was hell working with troublesome students.

The people of Forks were all quite nice as well, if a bit nosy. They fell upon me within the first few days, claiming neighborly intentions (despite the fact that I had no neighbors for several kilometers all around), bearing food (mostly baked goods) and cheerful smiles, all the while letting their eyes roam unsubtly around the house, commenting in only slightly judgy voices "isn't it a big for a young girl like you?". I only smiled and shrugged helplessly. In Forks, it seemed no one under forty lived alone, and even then it was rare. Nevertheless, I was used to the scrutiny; I frequently found myself posted within small communities, so I'd grown used to it and didn't begrudge them their interest.

I met the parents of many of my students, including Isabella Swan's father, the resident police chief who'd stopped by Tuesday evening to personally welcome me, and to inform me that if I ever encountered any problems, to go directly to him. He was an awkward man, much like his daughter, but also kind, and so I'd given him one of the numerous muffins I'd received and a bright smile in thanks, causing him to blush terribly and bolt.

Thursday afternoon, I had my first class with his daughter, who's shy behavior made much more sense upon meeting her father.

She sat as far from the front as possible, shoulders hunched inwards and her curtain of brown hair acting as a shield to block others out -not that it seemed to be helping much. A blond boy named Mike Newton was frequently twisting around from where he sat in front of her, chatting away happily and clearly ignorant of her discomfort.

I watched them from the corner of my eye the entire class, but I chose not to intervene. She seemed like she needed a friend, and while talkative, the blond boy looked nice. And the girl didn't particularly look harassed, and would occasionally mumble something back in reply, so I took it as a good sign. Highschool was hell when one didn't have anyone to accompany them throughout, and it wouldn't do for girl like her to be ostracized. Her whole demeanor just screamed "vulnerable!".

My speculations were confirmed when she tripped over her undone shoelace at the end of class, catching herself on the edge of my desk just in time, face a bright tomato red.

"It is alright." I said with a smile, immediately putting down the white board eraser in my hand and coming around to help her stand upright, before crouching down to help tie the lace.

"Oh, no, I can do it..." she told me, but I simply waved a hand in dismissal, tightening the other lace that was half loose. She probably wouldn't have made it five steps without tripping again had I left it.

"There," I said, standing and smiling at her. "Those will stay tight until at least Christmas, so you are fine!" I exclaimed jokingly, but she didn't even crack a smile.

"Thank you." She murmured, eyes downcast, and my frown turned upside down, cause that must have been the most depressing thanks I'd ever heard in my life.

"...Are you well?" I ventured carefully, but she only deflated even more. "What is wrong, Isabella? Are you being bullied?" I asked worriedly. Maybe I'd been wrong, and that Mike boy really was bugging her more than I'd thought, but before I could speak again, she shook her head. The gesture wasn't all that convincing.

"No, well not really...It doesn't matter though, its fine." She tried to move around me and leave, but I called her back.

"Isabella, I know I am a teacher and you may not be very comfortable but, if you have a problem here, you can tell me." I told her, and she worried her lip unsurely.

"I thought you were a student, that day in the office. It would have been nice knowing that I wasn't the only new girl around." She said eventually, almost as if she was admitting something deeply embarrassing, but I tried to give her a smile of encouragement.

"You are not -I am new here too, I understand in can be hard in a new environment-"

"Its not a new environment." She stated, sounding even more downtrodden, and wow okay, this wasn't going how I'd planned at all. Isabella continued, "I'm not being bullied, it's just there's this one guy and I think I may have done something to make him not like me. That's really all it is."

Ah, guy problems I though with relief. I could deal with that easily, and hopefully in a way that wouldn't make her more dejected. I changed my initial assumption of vulnerable, to fragile, because Dios, she looked like she could fall to pieces at even the softest breeze. "You have only been here a few days, Isabella. I do not think you could have done anything to anyone in that time." I tried, but she just shook her head again and made a sound of disagreement, and it all came out in a rush. .

"You didn't see him, he looked angry, almost hostile when I sat next to him, almost as if I'd personally insulted him or something." She huffed slightly, "I don't know, maybe I did, I don't understand anything. I just want to apologize, but now Edward's gone and disappeared and his siblings are all looking at me like it's my fault."

I found myself surprised. Edward Cullen had behaved well enough, and he'd been very polite, going so far as to help me gather my things. I tried to imagine him as she'd described, but even though I'd barely even interacted with him, I couldn't really. And to the point that even his siblings had turned on the poor girl? It was very strange.

"Maybe you said something?" I asked, trying to puzzle it out.

Isabella frowned, "I didn't say a word. He's been gone the whole week, and even tried to transfer out of our shared class."

I winced inwardly, because that was a bad sign if any. But Isabella seemed sweet, if timid, I couldn't believe she'd done anything to him either. "...I doubt very much that it has anything to do with you. Perhaps he is simply unwell." I decided.

She didn't seem very reassured. "Maybe." She allowed. The final warning bell rang for her last class, and with a halfhearted tilt of her lips, she was off.

I watched her go feeling vaguely disappointed. I wished I could have helped her a bit more, if only to lay down her fears, but she probably really was just reading too much into things. It was very unlikely to me that she could drive him away just by her presence. And anyway, this was highschool; teenagers had a million and one reasons for why they behaved the way they did, that was just adolescence. If you gave them enough space, they'd come around on their own eventually.

Hopefully, at least.

I thought back to my own teenage years with a cringe, and honestly, I was the last person to be giving anyone younger that twenty any advice.


With the arrival of Friday, I was able to take advantage of my long weekend to finally, finally, get my act together and go get myself connected to a cellular network, so that I may once again, be connected with the rest of humanity. Forks had a way of drowning people, its endless greenery seemingly cutting off everything else not connected to it, and after five days, I was feeling positively stifled by it all.

So I got my simcard and a monthly cellular plan, but they told me if I wanted anything even resembling WiFi, I'd have to go up to their branch in Port Angeles, because for some Godforsaken reason, Forks had decided that living in the stone ages was preferable to being potentially exposed to the twenty-first century and all it entailed.

For the moment however, handheld internet was enough to get me by, and after letting my phone sit and spasm around worrisomely for about five minutes straight -a result of the numerous notifications I'd missed during my week in the great green outback-, I did the good thing, the responsible thing.

I called Matiás.

I was nervous, very nervous in fact, considering we'd parted on less than warm terms -meaning a screaming match in the middle of the airport, if one wanted to be specific, and normally I wouldn't be all that worried because that was just how we were; hot and explosive, competitive and jealous, and always fighting for the last word. We fought and then we fucked, and then it was over, whatever disagreement we'd had blown into the wind to make way for a calm breeze, that is until the next tempest made its way in. And yes, our relationship was dysfunctional and probably unhealthy, but it was us.

But this time it was different, it wasn't about him and his constant business trips, or my flirting with other men to make him jealous -this was me having left for six months two weeks after we'd been engage, all the way across the ocean. It was selfish of me, I knew, but I was a selfish person and my mother had always taught me self love above all else. That didn't mean, I enjoyed hurting him, or that I didn't feel guilty at putting our relationship on hold for half a year.

So I made myself look extra pretty, gave myself a pep talk, and dove into FaceTime.

He picked up on the first ring, which typically meant...I took one look at his surroundings and resisted the urge to sigh. He was working.

"Lina, how good to see you alive, mi cariño." He greeted idly, shuffling through some papers on his desk. I gathered he was using his tablet, the camera facing him at an angle. It was probably situated just to the left of him, sitting upright on the desk.

He looked much the same as I'd least seen him, his curly golden hair a crown on his head, vibrant in the light streaming through the window. Eleven years my senior, Matiás was a man fully confident in himself, all roguish goodlooks and brilliant sunshine. Dressed suavely in a navy suit, he looked like the typical male protagonist in a telenovela.

"Won't you look at me, Matiás?" I challenged, raising a brow expectantly.

Ocean blue eyes flickered towards me for an instant, before they were back on whichever document he was working so intently on. "Beautiful, as always." He stated simply.

"You're angry." I said knowingly, and he nodded, making a sound of agreement at the back of his throat.

"Am I not supposed to be? You left me-"

I bristled, "-You make sound as if I broke up with you-!"

"For a country across the world, and then you disappear for a full week without even a phone call to tell me you've arrived safely." He continued smoothly as if I'd made no interruption. "I'd thought that's what fiancés do at least. You know, call each other."

I winced, "I didn't have a number yet." I tried, but the look he leveled me was a dry really? which okay, I guess I hadn't made an effort. Number or no, I could have found a way had I really wanted to. "I wanted us both to calm down." I said instead, honestly this time.

He squeezed the bridge of his nose, a typical sign of stress on his part, and let the papers drop. "You understand why I'm not happy?"

I nodded immediately, "Of course I do, but-"

He held up a hand to stop me in my tracks, leaning back into his leather office chair tiredly. "As long as you understand my side of things, that's enough for now. And while I haven't exactly accepted your decision, I'm letting it lie."

I stared at him. "So you're no longer angry with me?" I ventured slowly, and he scoffed.

"Of course I'm still angry," he told me, and I breathed a sigh of relief because it would've been weirder if he was suddenly all calm about everything. "But I think for now, I shall back off. Eventually, one of us will bend."

I nodded in agreement, "You, of course." I said confidently, because it certainly wouldn't be me. I was in this till the end, whether he liked it or not.

The grin he gave me was full of cunning, an expression I was more used to on his face. "In time, we shall see." He declared simply, "Now tell me of this Forks-" he said the English word like it was dirty, full of disdain, and I snorted "-you left me for."

I puffed my cheeks and pouted, "Oh, es absolutamente triste!" I moaned pitifully, eying the sunlight filling up his office enviously. Five days in, and I'd seen not even a glimpse of it.

Still, Matiás only nodded sagely, as if my words were already a known, indisputable fact of life, and I adored him for it.