A/N: Responding to a guest reviewer named HOOT- thanks for your review! It was muchly appreciated and definitely made my morning. Jules' gift is a more limited version of telekinesis. The limits, we will explore in a later chapter, I've already planned it out so please do be patient. She's not very strong at all actually, the wheels of her skates are easy to move because they're made for moving, and levitating a few inches is the same as pushing oneself up on a table with your feet off the ground. Unlocking doors is something she's spent years mastering from within her own bedroom. Like she said, she's not saving anybody's life anytime soon.
Jules' gift is a manifestation of her own need for self-control in situations, developed from how helpless and 'not in control' she has felt her whole life watching every person she has cared about die- and it is also a manifestation of her impulsive nature. Her power is literally her willpower, her force, her impulse- whichever you would care to call it. I like to call it telekinesis.
As for the Cullens, all will be revealed soon- but Jules' reaction is, as Edward has described in Midnight Sun (I think- don't quote me on that), her self preservation and human instincts telling her predators are nearby and predators are watching her. Whether or not they want to get rid of her, whether they know of her gift, whether they have classified her as a threat- this would be a spoiler, and thus I cannot tell you. What I can tell you is that only three Cullens were there to watch her after school- three with gifts.
Also, in case anyone is wondering, Edward, Alice and Jasper Are Freshmen (So they're 14-15 which I think is ridiculous, how could Edward ever pass for fourteen?!). Jules was a sixteen year old freshman because they kept her back because she studied in a foreign country. It made sense they would make her start high school from the start so she could ease into it. Jasper and Rosalie are meant to pose as twins however, so I'm electing to make Jasper sixteen and therefore of driving age, but also held back a year so he can be in the same year as Alice. This means Edward would not be able to drive a car yet, technically, and therefore he would not have his Volvo yet- so it makes more sense that Jasper would borrow Emmett's jeep while Emmett and Rosalie use Rosalie's car.
I hope this clears up any confusion thus far! Again, thank you for the likes, the reviews, the follows, the joy. I really appreciate each and every one of you. Anyway, ONWARDS WITH THE STORY!
Forks Community Hospital sat on the other end of town from where Jules lived, a modest but well equipped complex built with ample parking space, right by Forks Bible Church. It was to this hospital that she flat-out refused to go when she woke up the next morning feeling like death warmed over.
She recalled getting sick often when she had been a child, back when she had a fondness for peanut brittle and remained blissfully unaware of her mild peanut allergy. It had always started off with a sore throat, and it always ended with the symptoms of acute bronchitis. After she became aware of her sole kryptonite, and begrudgingly began avoiding it, she had found she hardly got actually sick at all. Her Mamie had always been there for her, armed with tourin and consommé, constantly alternating between the two until she was feeling better again.
Charlie Swan was not her Mamie.
Despite how horrendous she felt, and the fever Charlie insisted she had after forcing a thermometer under her tongue, Jules was adamant it was probably just a twenty four hour bug. She did not protest when Charlie called the school to tell them she was sick and would not be attending for the day, and she didn't argue as he made her up far too much hot tea in a thermos she kept for camping, leaving her phone by her side for her to call him if she needed him. Jules did little more than roll over and go back to sleep while he left for work.
Her fever, unsurprisingly, was worse by nightfall- and her Uncle drew the line. And so, she leaned her head against the cool windscreen of the cruiser, breathing out of her mouth because of how stuffed her nose was. She felt like a wreck, staring out through glassy eyes at the building looming over them.
"Save yourself the trouble- drive straight to the morgue." Jules bemoaned, Charlie chuckling at her side. "Evil little man."
She wasn't being very effective in her complaining, she couldn't pronounce half of her letters from how bad her congestion was and her voice was shot. Charlie just kept chuckling, shaking his head and pulling in to park. Jules felt even worse after they got out into the cold air, scowling as she brought a fresh tissue out of the pack stuffed into the pocket of her coat, holding it up to her nose. How can it be fully blocked and drip like a faucet at the same time? How? They didn't linger outside, and for that she was grateful as her Uncle corralled her into the warm lobby.
Jules, for all it's unnecessary splendour, continued to try to appear as if she wasn't sick- even though she was clearly and irrefutably very sick. She held her head high, trying to appear casual while she chucked her used tissue into a bin they passed by, and fished out another one to hold up to her nose just in case. She felt a familiar itch at the back of her throat, and she knew she was about to sneeze and that it was going to make her brain feel like it was going to explode. Hurriedly, she held a finger flat across the tissue up against her nose as if making a Hitler moustache with her pointer- it did the trick, the sneeze abating before it could begin. The horror of the almost-sneeze remained upon her face, the near PTSD of her sneezes earlier in the day where her head had felt like a bomb-blast.
"Chief Swan." The male nurse at the eerily empty desk in the eerily empty waiting room blinked up at them both as they approached, and if Jules hadn't felt too horrendous to care, she probably would have found him mildly attractive.
"Hey Kwan." Charlie nodded his head at the pale, muscled young adult in scrubs. "Brett not in?"
"No, he's got an ER shift. What can I do you for?" The nurse- Trevor Kwan, judging by his name tag, smiled as his eyes flickered over to Jules while he pulled out a form. Oh nothing at all Trevor, just here holding a tissue to my face because I like the feel of it.
"I think it's the flu- she's got a fever but it's lower now than before. Keeps spiking though. Sounds like she's been hacking up a lung all day." Charlie grimaced. Jules scowled from behind the tissue. Yes, thank you, hacking up a lung. So attractive.
"Just a cold." Jules tried to correct him, but Trevor was already frowning with concern. And then the prickling on the back of Jules' neck began again.
"I'll take them Trevor."
The voice behind them made Jules jump, and to her credit, so did Charlie. Charlie's reaction melted very quickly into a look of relief- the same could not be said for Jules. The man was drop dead gorgeous, pale blonde hair swept over to one side with a warm smile on his pale face- the palest Jules had ever seen. The man looked like he was white as a sheet beneath the white tube lights of the hospital waiting room, the hideous hospital green walls seeming to literally reflect on his skin. But his eyes- his eyes Jules had seen before. At the same time the conclusion came to her mind, Charlie spoke it in relief. "Doctor Cullen."
"Chief Swan." Doctor Carlisle Cullen approached them with a duck of his head and that lingering kind smile, accepting the clipboard from Trevor. "And you must be Juliette."
"Jules." She corrected him reflexively.
"Freshman Flu's a common case this time of year, especially if you get caught out in the rain." Doctor Cullen seemed to be trying to set her at ease, but she felt the exact opposite, squinting a little. He can't know I tried to flee his children in the rain for no good reason, right? That's stupid. "I think we can fill this out in my office and get you sorted out, shall we?"
"Thank you Doctor Cullen." Charlie's shoulders sunk in relief as they began to follow the man. "She's a little better right now, but she was a wreck an hour ago."
Jules scowled. "I took a hot shower. The steam helped. Look, Doctor, I just need some meds and I'll be good to go. I'll stay at home until I'm not infectious, get plenty of bedrest, drink lots of hot fluids. It's just a cold. I know the drill."
"Nevertheless, I would like to give you a proper diagnosis. Make sure it's not a viral infection." Doctor Cullen insisted, pushing a door open and holding it for Jules to enter and for Charlie to scuffle in after her. He shut it behind them, gesturing at a stool next to his desk and at one of two chairs opposite. "Please."
Jules sat down on the stool, sending her tissue with perfect precision right into the bin in the corner without a second thought. "Good aim."
Jules only froze for a fraction of a second. He sounded so calm, so gentle and nice- but there was something in his eyes as she met them once more that swam with knowledge. There's no way he could notice that was more than just a good throw. No chance. Non. Is paranoia a symptom? "Now, let's start off with the basics, shall we? Full name?"
"Juliette Elizabeth Rowe." Jules watched as he wrote her last name neatly and swiftly into the form followed by her first name and the initial of her middle, not bothering to ask about her marital status as he wrote 'single'. He checked off 'yes' for if her name was her legal name, and before he could open his mouth to ask, she was already prepared to get this out of the way as quickly as possible. "August the 22nd, 1986. Seventeen."
"I'm sure Chief Swan can handle the rest." Doctor Cullen seemed to sense her impatience, smiling kindly once more before offering the clipboard to her Uncle. "Now, when did your symptoms first occur?"
"After I skated home in the rain."
"Jules!" Charlie looked appalled while Jules winced at his expression. An angry Charlie Swan was not something she experienced often, and it was something she would rather not experience often.
"That sounds terribly dangerous, least of all for your health. You could have lost control and slid into oncoming traffic." Doctor Cullen lectured her with concern lining his features, Jules squirming with discomfort at the suffocating paternal energy in the room.
"You could've called. I could've come pick you up." Charlie eased up thankfully. Jules shrugged. "No more skating in bad weather. Promise?"
Jules rolled her eyes, her middle and index fingers pressed together as she brought them up to her lips and offered it towards him. Unlike usual, when they made a deal or a promise and they would both kiss their fingers and press them against each other- something Jules had done since she was a child- this time Charlie just crinkled up his nose at her fingers as if they caused him offense. It took a second for Jules to remember that she was desperately ill and most likely infectious. "Ah. Yes. Well, air pinky promise I guess."
Doctor Cullen chuckled, taking some notes. "Now, symptoms?"
"Blocked nose, runny nose, bouts of fever. Irritated cough- I can feel it dripping back down my throat from my nose and ugh. Phlegm's green, I know green is not good. My joints ache and I've got chills and sweats. I just want to sleep forever." Jules listed through quickly, desperately wanting to get back home and crawl into her bed and away from the creepily pretty man smiling unflinchingly at her. "The cough's progressively getting worse."
"It does sound like the common flu, but I would still like to run some tests to be thorough." Doctor Cullen offered.
"Blood test?" Jules wrinkled up her nose, already knowing the drill- hence the reason she had been so adamant in avoiding the hospital.
"Not a fan of needles?" Doctor Cullen looked amused as he pressed a button to call in a nurse.
"Is anyone a fan of sharp pointy things penetrating their skin?" Jules grimaced.
"She's not real fond of blood either." Charlie looked equally amused, earning a scowl from Jules as she fished out another tissue to blow out her nose.
Unfortunately, it was in the middle of this exact act that Rosalie Hale knocked and ducked her head through Doctor Cullen's office, much to Jules' absolute horror. The blonde appeared apologetic and not at all startled to see the two in there, her father rather obviously in the middle of an appointment. "Hi- uh, I brought dinner. Where should I put it?"
"Just over there's fine, thanks." Doctor Cullen smiled once more as his bombshell daughter accepted the invitation and entered the room fully. Jules could only stare like an idiot from behind the tissue she had just blown her nose into, a mixture of mortification and awe as the girl she had done her best to avoid swept like a cloud over to a cabinet in the corner, setting two Tupperware boxes down on top of it. "This is my eldest daughter, Rosalie. Rose, this is Chief Swan and his niece, Jules."
"Hi." Charlie offered while Jules waved with her free hand, scrunching up the offending tissue and standing up to take it to the bin in the corner this time. She took the opportunity to turn away from the girl she could swear was glowing in the corner of the hospital room. "Uh- you might wanna steer clear. Not sure if we're infectious or not."
"Oh I'm up to date on all my flu shots." Rosalie assures softly, and Jules could swear her voice was like hearing the flutter of feathers. There was no way someone sounded that good. When Jules turned around, Rosalie Hale's golden eyes were on her, lips twitched into an almost smile. "I think we're in the same homeroom."
We literally have all our classes together. Trust me- I noticed. "Yes, I think so."
"I'd recommend staying home for the week, I'll write off a note you can drop at the school for her Chief Swan." Doctor Cullen took the opportunity to move swiftly on. "If you'd like, Rosalie could pick up your assignments for you?"
"Oh non, it is not-"
"I insist." Rosalie cuts her off, and Jules feels her jaw clamp shut. There was something about this girl and how much she yearned for her approval that terrified her right to the core. Why do you affect me so? Snap out of it Jules. Rosalie smiled, and it knocked the breath out of her lungs and made Jules erupt into a fit of wheezy coughs, literally choking on the air that rushed out. "Leave your number with Carlisle? I should get going, Emmett's waiting outside for me."
As if noticing the feeling of overexposure in the air from her mere presence, Rosalie was out the door just as swiftly as she had entered it, Doctor Cullen attempting to distract her and Charlie with her prescription. Jules tried to pay attention, really, but she was too busy etching the perfect image of Rosalie smiling into her memory for all eternity.
Jules had never felt this way before, and it only added to the swell of questions twisting and turning in her mind. She could only wonder what made Rosalie Hale so special.
