A/N: Hello again everyone!
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
—
Beau
Beau got up the next day feeling more refreshed than he had in a long time. Practically skipping down the stairs into the kitchen, he quickly made himself some coffee and oats while reading the local newspaper.
Looking out the window, Beau was surprise to find that it was an incredibly beautiful day out. The sun was shining and it was moderately warm for the season, which meant that Beau dressed in his patched Levi's jeans and a mixed dark green and blue flannel button down. I think this calls for some after school exploring! He had wanted to go down to the ocean for the last week, but with moving in and setting up school he had yet to have the chance. I haven't managed to write in my journal in a while either, and Dr. Jong said that it's important to be consistent, Beau thought guiltily.
Getting his stuff together, Beau mounted his bike and set off to school. This time in the right direction. As he pedalled his way over, he was beginning to get more and more excited. That's odd, I've never been one to enjoy high school that much… But as he dissected his feelings he found that it wasn't really the new school that he was looking forward to, but a certain someone he might get to talk to again. Feeling a little silly that Edith could make him feel this light after talking with her for only an afternoon, he shook his head, but smiled anyway.
Once he locked up his bike he realized that he didn't know what classes he had in the mornings, on account of him missing the first half of the day yesterday. Quickly running to the main office, he asked the secretary for directions. She smiled and circled each building in red ink, making sure to give him a new slip to get signed by his teachers and admonishing him for not handing back the one she game him yesterday. In all the excitement from yesterday Beau had forgotten to get his teachers to sign his new student sheet, so he left the office feeling a little embarrassed.
Seeing that his first class was English, he put his lunch and bike kit into his locker and found his way over to class. Ms. Varner was already sitting at her desk, so he managed to slip in and ask her to sign his sheet without causing a huge ruckus.
Turning around to survey the room, he noticed a few familiar faces. Unfortunately not the one he was subconsciously hoping to see. Jessica was smiling and waving for him to come and sit next to her and Mike so Beau picked up his bag and made his way over to the empty desk next to theirs.
"Morning Beau," said Mike happily. "Glad to see you could grace us with your presence this fine morning!"
"Yep," Beau laughed, "no pesky puddles to put me out of commission today. But just you wait, I'm sure something else will come up that is equally embarrassing."
Jessica laughed and flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "So Beau, when do you want to meet up for our math date?" Jess really managed to put the emphasis on the date portion of the tutoring session.
"Er, whenever works for you Jess. I don't really have many plans if I'm being honest. I kinda wanted to get down to the beach or look at some climbing gear after school though, so maybe not today?"
Jessica looked a little crestfallen and replied, "okay, we'll have to set a time for lunch this week then." Mike however looked up excitedly. "Did you say climbing gear Beau?"
Beau turned so that he was facing Mike directly. "Yeah, I have a bad habit of window shopping for stuff I can't afford. Do you know any place in town that sells outdoor gear?"
Jessica rolled her eyes as Mike nodded vigorously. "Yeah," he said, "my family owns the sporting goods store here in Forks! You should come down sometime, I can show you all cool stuff we've got!"
"Hell yeah, that would be awesome!"
Beau could see a relationship with Mike might pay off in more than one way.
—
The material in English was fairly standard, and Beau had read most of the stuff already. I'm sure that I still have some old essays kicking around… or wait… is it considered plagiarism if you're ripping yourself off? He thought idly.
By the time that class ended, Beau had found that he and Mike were pretty similar. Being born and raised in raised in Forks by parents that owned the only sporting goods store had given Mike ample opportunity (sometimes conscripted) for outdoor activities. He hadn't gone climbing before, but was open to trying it. Even Jess said she'd want to give it a spin, but Beau had a feeling that she might just be saying that for a different reason altogether.
The rest of the morning went by pretty uneventfully. Beau had biology which also proved to be very simple. He was in the advanced placement program in his old school and the material they were learning here was a good year behind what he had already learned. At least I'll get practice to see if I actually understood the material the first time, Beau thought with a wry chuckle to himself.
Beau hadn't seen Edith all day yet, or any other Cullen now that he thought about it. I suppose it's possible that I don't have any other classes with them he thought. But in a school this small, that seems pretty unlikely. Not to mention that I don't think I saw their silver Volvo in the parking lot when I got here.
With more anticipation than he cared to admit, Beau walked into the cafeteria hoping to find the Cullen's at the same table they were at yesterday. Not spotting them in the same place, he did a quick sweep of the rest of the room. After coming up empty, Beau felt a little deflated. Mike and Jessica were standing in line for some food, but Beau who brought left overs went to go find a table to sit at. He saw some other familiar faces who waved him over. Beau snagged a seat next to Ben and Angela.
"Hey Ben, hey Angelia. How are you doing today?"
Angelia smiled shyly in response.
"Great," said Ben. "Just mentally preparing for calculus after this. How are you doing today?"
"Not too bad. I'm pumped that I get to re-read the Great Gatsby for a third time." Beau said with mock enthusiasm.
Angelia responded, "Yeah Ms. Varner loves that book. We read it already last year too."
Feeling a little silly, but also really curious Beau had to ask, "Hey do you guys know if it's normal for the entire Cullen family to skip school?"
Ben smiled knowingly. "Yeah whenever the weather is really nice Dr. Cullen takes the entire family out hiking or something. They're all really outdoorsy."
"Huh," said Beau. She's funny, kind, beautiful AND likes the outdoors?!
"Don't they fall behind in school then?" Beau asked nonchalantly.
Ben laughed, "Well two things Beau. One, all the Cullens do incredibly well in school, so they never fall behind on the work, and the teachers seem to be really lenient because they have perfect grades regardless of how much they miss. Secondly, just how many nice days do you think we get here in Forks. I know you're from Vancouver and all, but the normal forecast here is overcast."
"Ah, I guess that makes sense…"
While it did make sense, Beau was still disappointed that he wouldn't get to see Edith today.
As Beau was musing over the Cullens propensity to sojourn on hiking trips, Mike and Jessica joined the table conversation.
"So guys, you still want to head down to the beach when the weather gets nicer?" Jessica asked no one in particular. Some people sighed at her or rolled their eyes. It seems like she might have asked that question once or twice before thought Beau.
Mike dutifully responded, "Yeah Jess! We could make a day trip out of it. Like get some food and drinks and music together and have a bonfire with some driftwood."
Jessica smiled at Mike appreciatively and Beau smiled to himself. It seemed both Mike and Jessica were getting the attention they wanted.
—
After eating lunch Beau made his way over to calculus, and when he sat down in the same seat as yesterday he let out a small sigh. You're being ridiculous Beau, he told himself. You know that she's not in school today. So why are you holding out hope for her to glide in here and sit down next to you?
As it turned out, all the hoping he had done was for naught. Mr. Jefferson barged into the room, and as Beau made to get up and ask him to sign his slip, he waved Beau back down. "After class Mr. Swan. We're having a little pop quiz right now. Everyone to their seats please! That means you Mr. Newton."
Audible groaning could be heard throughout the room as people shuffled into their seats and pulled out their pencils.
Beau wasn't too worried about the test. The thing was, he wasn't some brilliant student who just knew what to do. Instead he had just had so much time on his hands that he needed to fill, that he had gotten ahead in his studies. So thirty minutes later when Mr. Jefferson went around collecting the tests, Beau knew that he had gotten everything right.
—
As Beau walked to gym with Jessica and Mike again, Mike was complaining about the pop quiz. "Damn that was so hard. I didn't understand half the questions he was asking!"
Jessica nodded sadly in agreement. "What did you think Beau?"
"Er, there were definitely some hard questions on there," Beau hedged. He never liked to rub things in, and thought it good practice to be understanding. And I mean there were some challenging questions on the test, he thought.
His reply seemed to make Mike and Jess happy, so he was content. Showing off never pays off anyway.
—
Gym went by in a usual rush and by the time he knew it, he had submitted his slip and was on his bike. He had already prepped dinner this morning, anticipating going out after school so he didn't need to pick up anything from the grocery store. Instead he angled his bike in the direction of La Push and rode on.
The Quilluite reservation was nestled along the Washington coastline, which was a stunning juxtaposition between dense forest and open expanse of cold blue sea. Having missed the sea the most, Beau decided that he could explore the forest at some later point, hopefully after visiting the Newton's sporting goods store.
After peddling for a short while he arrived at a small beach with drift wood strewn across its length. There was a large bleached tree some 20 metes back from the surf that he made his way to. It was smooth and warmed from the sun. As Beau leaned his bike against the trunk, he sat down and pulled out his journal, hoping to make an entry today.
The journal was an idea that his psychologist had suggested. Beau sometimes had trouble sharing the details of his life with people, even thought in recent months he was making progress, and the journal was a way for him to organize his thoughts. He also enjoyed doodling nature scenes, like flowers or rocks so it had become a somewhat mixed media book at this point. Next to his entries for his day you could find a kindergartener's rendition of a dandelion. As Beau tried to sketch a couple pieces of driftwood on the beach he thought, well, I have a feeling that I should stick to math. Even I didn't think there was a stick figure equivalent to a log…
Hearing a shout Beau looked up and glanced in the direction that he heard the noise. To his left were some tall cliffs, and Beau could just make out a figure falling from the top of them into the surf. Oh my god! Beau thought, shooting up off his perch to rush over and try and help. As he got to his feet in a panic he heard some laughing coming from behind him. Beau turned to find a boy who looked a little younger than himself striding towards him.
"Don't worry man, they're cliff diving. They're definitely crazy, but they'll be fine."
A feeling of relief rushed over Beau as he smiled sheepishly and plopped back down onto the beached log. "Sorry, I just got a little nervous seeing them jump is all."
"No worries man. Totally a normal reaction. It's also cold as balls out. I have no clue why Sam and his buddies are doing that in this weather. I'm Jacob by the way, Jacob Black."
Beau froze for a moment. That name… it sounded so familiar to him for some reason. Then it hit him. Beau shot up and smiled wrapping Jacob in a hug before quickly stepping back and smiling sheepishly. "Sorry that might have seemed a little weird without context," he laughed. "I'm Beau Swan. I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Charlie's Nephew. I used to go fishing a couple times with you and your dad."
Jacob looked shocked at first by being hugged by a stranger but it slowly melted into a smile when Beau had finished his explanation. "Oh yeah, you do look familiar. You've got Charlie's blue eyes. I honestly don't remember that much… you know on account of being 6…"
Beau laughed, "Yeah not to mention we both feel asleep in the boat more than anything else."
"I'll take your word for it," Jacob smirked. "How about your sister? Lynne? Is she around too?" Jacob swept his gaze around the beach seemingly searching for Beau's little sister.
Beau's smile slipped sideways, but he tried to recover. "Actually Jacob she and my parents passed away about 3 years ago now. I've just moved in with Charlie, as he's my last blood relative."
"Oh jeez Beau I'm sorry to hear about that… I know it's rough loosing family. My mom passed away just over 2 years ago now in a car accident. That's why my dad is in a wheel chair."
"Thanks Jacob," Beau replied. "I'm sorry to hear about your mom too, I don't remember her too well except that she was always smiling."
"Yeah she was," Jacob smiled sadly while looking out at the Ocean with glazed eyes. Snapping out of his trance Jacob turned to Beau and said, "Well how's about we move onto happier topics eh?"
"Agreed," said Beau enthusiastically.
"Alright, well why are you down at the res? Come to see that little Jake has all grown up?" Jake said laughing.
Beau looked at Jacob and was thoroughly impressed. This kid seemed to radiate happiness. They had just been talking about loosing their parents, and yet he could quickly change track and make Beau smile. Beau really admired that and thought I could learn a thing or two from Jacob. Being sad is normal and healthy, but I've got to learn how to cope better.
Returning the laugh Beau said, "You got me. In all honestly, I just kinda missed the ocean and it was a super nice day out, so I thought I'd take advantage of it."
"Makes sense, that's what I was doing too. I kinda lost track of time in my garage and decided to take a stroll. Sick bike by the way! I've always wanted a road bike."
"Thanks…" said Beau eyeing Jacob up and down.
Jake caught his staring and said defensively, "Don't worry man I'm not going to steal it! We're not all thief's here ya know."
Beau laughed at his look, "No no Jake I was looking to see what shoes size and how tall you were. I was going to offer if you wanted to take it for a spin. I'm a size 12 and you're pretty tall, so it should work!"
"Actually?" Asked Jake with some real enthusiasm. "That would be great, thanks man!"
"No worries. I'm just stoked I met someone who likes biking," Beau laughed.
Jake clipped into the biking shoes, which seemed to fit him really well and then took off down the dirt road, shifting like a natural. Beau was quite impressed.
When Jake walked the bike to Beau slightly out of breath he was smiling hugely. "That is one cool bike Beau!"
"Thanks, I put a decent amount of work into fixing it up after I got in an accident a while back."
"Oh you tinker around a little on the bike?"
"A little bit, but unfortunately it doesn't really carry over to mechanical aptitude…. I wish I knew how to fix my car, it would save me an arm and a leg with the mechanic," Beau said laughing. "That's one skill I've never managed to pick up from either Charlie or my dad. I don't think either of them even knew how to change a tire."
Suddenly Jake was smiling a toothy grin that stretch ear to ear. "Well Beau, I just so happen to know how to change a tire, and maybe even fill up the windshield washer fluid while I'm at it. If you ever wanna learn how, feel free to drop by my place."
"You know cars?" Asked Beau incredulously. He can't be older 15?!
"Yeah, I'm actually rebuilding a VW Rabbit right now. That's what I was doing before coming over here. I can show you if you want?" Jake asked hopefully.
Beau glanced at his watch, noting the time. "Damn Jake, that actually sounds really cool, but if I don't break a few speed limits on my ride home, Charlie is going to go without dinner. Or even worse he might try cooking something himself. Then I might not live to learn about cars…"
Jake laughed affably, "Sounds good Beau. You know where to find me. Don't be a stranger though." With that, Jake waved his hand and sauntered back down the beach as Beau high-tailed his way back home to hopefully avoid food poisoning via Charlie.
—
Beau made it back home just in time to find Charlie putting a tin of pasta sauce into the microwave, and he quickly grabbed it out before the house sparked fire.
"Jeez Charlie, I know you're good friends with the fire department, but there are easier ways to catch up then starting a house fire."
Charlie looked a little sheepish. "Sorry Beau, I saw the stuff you put out in the fridge, but I thought since you've been cooking all week that maybe I should give it a try."
"Well thanks Charlie, you know I appreciate the thought. I'm sorry I'm late, I got caught up talking to Jacob Black down at the Beach. Did you know that he's building a car in his garage?"
"You met Jake?" Charlie asked with a big smile on his face. "Great kid. Yeah, last time Billy was over he was complaining that he spends more time in the garage than in the house!"
Beau laughed, "well he was appreciative of my bike, so anyone who likes the bike is alright in my books. He was going to show me the car he was building, but I ran late. I think I might head down there some other time though."
"I think that's a great idea Beau. Have you met any other friends so far?"
"Well I started talking with Mike Newton , Jessica Stanley in English and there's a kid named Ben who is also super nice." Beau decided not to mention that Jessica seemed a little too nice at times and that there were other kids like Tyler who seemed to be a little hostile.
"Oh yeah those are good kids too. You'd like Mike, his family own the sporting goods store. Maybe get a discount on some camping stuff eh?" Charlie smirked knowing Beau was a sucker for hiking gear.
"Yeah, yeah Charlie, very funny. I've had a kinda long day, so I think I'm going to turn in early. I'll see you tomorrow, and I promise I'll make dinner so don't sweat it alright?"
"Sure thing kid."
Beau quickly made the dinner he had set out in the morning and turned in shortly after.
As Beau lay in bed trying to fall asleep, for the first time that he could remember he hoped that tomorrow's weather would be terrible.
—
A/N: Alright another one down. Let me know what you think. As always comments/reviews are always appreciated, and they let me know that people are still interested in the story. I really wanted to introduce Jacob earlier on in the story but I have a feeling that this chapter may be a bit boring.
On a different note, my workload has eased up slightly, so I think that I can post with more regularity.
Next chapter might be a little longer, trying to cover a couple different days at once. See you in the next one. Cheers! -A.
13