Chapter Four
"In a world of devestations,"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and-"
"MISS! ULEY!"
I fell out of my seat, too enthralled by the episode of Pokemon I was watching on my phone to put my enhanced senses to use and realize I was being hollered at by my first period teacher.
See that girl on the floor, looking like an idiot? That's me!
You're probably wondering how I got here...Well yesterday I had a breakdown over realizing I'm stuck in a book and I also turned into a dog, while mourning the death of my previous life, sooo today seemed like a good day to give my brain a break. Hence completely ignoring the education before me some poorer people would kill to have.
"Sorry!" I squeeked, because I knew it was wrong and I'd been caught red handed.
Or should I say...earbud sleeved-eded?
"If you think you can skip out on this material and avoid having your phone taken away because you're new, then you take me for a lesser teacher" The bald headed authority figure sulked towards me like a panther on its prey, snatching up my discarded device.
I reached out after it in horror, saying nothing- only to realize another thing I'd completely missed…
It smelled like death. Which only meant one thing.
And on cue- a light little peal of bell like laughter met my ears.
I turned my head ever so slowly to the left to realize that Alice Cullen was sitting not far from myself. She must've come in late, I thought. Otherwise it would have definitely been impossible to miss. I wondered if vampires also had the same issue. If they too got distracted and tuned out their own inhuman abilities to focus on tasks at hand. Or if maybe they were a different level of genetics and instead couldn't help but hear every single thing.
Alice was and is gorgeous in case anyone wasn't sure.
I picked myself up like the sham of a high school student I was, blushing profusely for having made a fool of myself in front of my future sister in law, and fixed my seat before returning to it; risking another peek to get a better look at her outfit.
A choker of what looked to be real roses, and a black jumpsuit, paired with ruby red shoes like out of that Wizard of Oz movie. I smiled openly in approval. I expected nothing less. The actress for the movies also did her no justice, try as she might've. With her short bob cascading dark tight curls around her ears- Alice held a sort of asian complexion with a slight monolid and round cherub cheeks. The curls were moussed or hydrated with something- very much matching the wet hair trend Rihanna sent the world into frenzy over in my original universe. This real Alice was devastatingly cute. Which I pretty much expected after seeing Edward.
Just thinking of his name sent me into a dizzy state of emotions and I abruptly turned my head to the front of the class in an attempt to refocus. I was beginning to feel more and more like Bella as I fanned my red cheeks away.
The day went on boring as ever. If you call ignoring millions of little whispers boring. Which I do. Everyone who wanted to be on my good side would shut up as soon as I entered the vicinity. But that didn't stop others. Others like Lauren Mallory.
She looked like a mermaid princess.
But the minute you made eye contact and she opened her mouth, you just knew you were talking to Ursula.
I was on the way to spanish class- fighting the urge to go chasing after my imprint who I could sense the minute he arrived on campus- when it happened.
A broad shoulder hit the front of my chest. Pale as ever and you guessed it, belonging to Lauren Mallory. Of course not only had I been slightly jacked before phasing, but with the transformation, in a simple 24 hours I too (like Edward) became tough as a brick wall. And thus not-so unfortunately- she fell on her ass. Hard.
The hallway froze for a second as if none of the other students wanted to take so much as a breath, and possibly miss what could turn into a catfight.
"Bumping into a tweaker, great! Why don't they just let Moe, the homeless man outside of Greens, enroll next?" She cattily announced, holding her arm up and just expecting someone to help her up.
Surprisingly...no one did.
It seemed that no one wanted to appear as though they were picking sides and possibly end up on the receiving end of the drama.
I gave the flustered Queen Bee a cheesy grin full of teeth and then outright laughed.
After all, even though I was no longer dreaming- I had no reason to fall for her little insults. To give in to what she wanted and be upset. If calling me a crackhead is all she's got, she'll have to get more creative. The only bullying that got to me were about my weight, which wouldn't be occurring in my new body most likely, and real material stuff. Like ruining someone's belongings- that would upset me.
Here, in this new world, in this new body, I knew I was gorgeous. Not that Lauren wasn't but that seemed to be the root of her problem with me.
She was upset when Bella received some attention in the books, so for the new Quileute girl to steal ALL of it...yeah it wasn't going over well. Who could blame people? We're pre programmed to be attracted to people who give off pheromones most different from our own. So putting a female shapeshifter in a school of humans is like giving a bunch of cats catnip just out of reach. All the men wondered who would be the one to pee on that particular fire hydrant, and claim me.
How silly.
Wait until I wife Edward up- I thought, rolling my eyes specifically at a peering Tyler Crowley.
Lauren's glossed lips formed the most sour of frowns and her gaze turned scathing like fire.
She brushed the debris off her skirt and rose to stand. I looked away, snickering.
"You won't be feeling all high and mighty when I tell everyone the real reason you attend our school, and not the one you should be."
The words turned my veins slightly to ice, but I quickly composed myself, and turned to reassure Lauren that I still held the same 'make-you-furious' toothy grin.
"Honey, I don't give a damn what you say about me. Tengo que ir a buscar una educación para no terminar dando a luz a bebés tontos como tu madre."
I have to go get an education so I don't end up giving birth to dumb babies like your mother.
The crowd that had slightly formed erupted in, guess what, whispers just like they'd been doing all day. Probably already coming up with their own ideas for my supposed 'real reason' for transferring.
Ignoring the rest of the situation, I went on to class to leave Lauren to plot my demise. I was more worried about getting my phone back than trivial crap like what she was spewing. Maybe things would be different if I wasn't internally an adult. But there's no maybe anymore. There just is or is not.
I spent the majority of spanish class trying to come up with a plan to make myself feel better. And what could that possibly entail? Well, I really really desired to form a deeper connection with Edward.
Going so much as a single day without trying to court his fine ass was making me antsy.
Originally, I'd feared what my love for him meant for Bella. But after giving it a lot of thought, I came to the conclusion that like a lot of things it was out of my control. I didn't choose the imprint and to try to fight it when I could be happy would be ignorant. There are so many alternate universes that probably exist, I now knew, that I realized she could easily find true love in somebody else in this one and it was actually not my responsibility.
And by giving it a lot of thought- I of course mean I was up for half the night worrying.
I thought about trying to do things all old school like when he was human, but realized it would just remind him of the years where he was sick, and decided upon making dinner for his family.
But vampires don't eat. Per se.
So what could I substitute, was the question?
With nothing but information to offer, I decided by lunch time that I would get the Cullen's personalized gifts. Having mastered Spanish in my previous life- it was much easier to sketch out my ideas and tune out the material than earlier in first period with the whole losing my phone thing.
For Esme- I would plant a tree somewhere near their property for her to visit. Because she fell out of one when she was sixteen, and that's how she met Carlisle. A small but important fact. Something that probably could come from her husband but regardless of where it came from, would be something that she could visit with or without him and realize how far she's come.
I drew a cherry blossom one, with a happy face next to it.
For Carlisle- a trophy for being the world's number one vampire. He deserved a personal thank you, I felt, for the good he did for my new world. People could one day cure cancer thanks to him. He saved individuals and gave them a better life. You can argue your opinion on immortality, but every member of his family was rescued by him.
I drew how I pictured the trophy, and a small speech scroll resembling a diploma.
For Rosalie- the hope of having a child. I didn't want to send her on a wild goose chase though, so I'd have to enlist the help of Edward to track down the person I was thinking of. In the book Life and Death, there had been a background vampire that wasn't in the original series- just a witness for the scene with the Volturi. One who had the ability to control the biology of a vampire. So if you had that person come stay with Rosalie for the term of the pregnancy, she could carry a child. Her body froze when she was turned, yes. But with someone who could unfreeze just the reproductive region...I would be changing everything for her and Emmett if I accomplished such a feat.
I drew a baby holding out a tiny thumbs up.
For Emmett- stuffed animals from Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It would smell like home. I decided on one of a black bear, the kind that killed him when he was human, and one of an angel, to represent Rosalie.
I drew a nose sniffing the stuffed bear, obnoxiously large.
For Jasper- peace of mind. I'll tell him something he, nor any of the Cullens had ever discovered, which is that the feeling of being thirsty manifests in a wavelength that his power does pick up. Which means he isn't just 'still learning.' It means that things are supposed to be harder for him. That if people were to change their hunting schedules, he would probably struggle less at school.
I drew a clock and a desk with a sad face.
For Alice- the story of her past. As hard as it would be to hear, she'd always wanted to know and I could give her that. I knew she was wondering about it when I was checking out her outfit in class that morning, but I got distracted thinking about Edward of course…
Finally, I drew a shocked emoji and a magnifying glass.
And wouldn't you know it, my beloved himself appeared outside of my last class before lunch just in time to walk me to the cafeteria?
Edward was leaning against some lockers, smiling almost nervously, his hands in his pockets and his backpack slung over one arm. He wore a blue plain polo shirt, and a pair of black jeans, with white sneakers. I wondered briefly if Alice had anything to do with his stellar wardrobe or if he too had an amazing sense for fashion.
"Come here often?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows saucily.
He looked like he was trying not to laugh as he took my books without me even having to ask.
The fangirl in me kind of did a sweatdrop, like, uh such a gentleman. I wanted to cover him in kisses. I replayed the memories of our possible future in my head with delight as we began casing the hallways, making our way towards our destination.
"What did you do to make Lauren Mallory go home early, wondering about a gun license?"
He asked me it so sincerely, that I did believe it, and did a double take- before he finally released that laugh I so craved to hear. It warmed my soul and made me feel all jittery to see that I was succeeding. He likes me, I thought, unashamed and just pretending like I didn't know he was hearing everything I thought.
"Very funny" I bumped shoulders with him "you had me! I was genuinely worried!"
Edward then, to my fluster and surprise, placed an arm over my shoulder and we just fit. It seemed natural. Like if we weren't at each other's side and touching then something was wrong and uncomfortable. With him being the opposite of my species, and not smelling the same way his siblings smelled (like a dead rat sadly)- I assumed the nice refreshing coolness I got from when our skin met wouldn't be the same if I were to say shake hands with Alice. To most the imprint might've been a little much at first. But to two individuals that've been through a lot, who would love to have just one person as a partner, and to make that commitment; I'd say we were doing almost too well with the imprint. Luckily, there's no such thing.
"So!" I began excitedly as we reached the front of the office, the last building we'd be cutting through, happy to see there were little to no people around "Before we get too close to the cafeteria for your siblings to hear us, why don't you pop open the red notebook on top and flick to page five?" I suggested cheekily, running a hand through my short locks.
I thought about In'n Out as a way of tuning out my thoughts so he couldn't spoil the contents for himself, peeking in my brain and such.
I could see his eyes widening and his footsteps, therefore our footsteps, faltered as he reached the bottom of my idea page for gifts. If vampires could cry- I'd at least of made my love's eyes watered. He seemed genuinely warmed by the amount of thought I put into it, and absolutely amazed by the array of things I knew.
We continued and I pushed open the doors to the office hallways with grace, still dizzy with appreciation for any minute spent with him.
"I don't even know how to articulate how crazy this is, how crazy you are, or how much you mean to me in such little time" Edwards words fed my high "but...I'm very very happy to have met you, Serena Uley. And I think my family is going to be just as in love with you as I am."
I looked both ways, ensuring the coast was clear, before deciding to be daring and shoving him against the wall.
My belongings hit the floor with a clatter but I paid them no mind.
My lips were inches from his- our eyes staring straight into each other's soul.
You deserve the world, Edward Anthony Mason Cullen. I thought plainly.
We closed the bridge of distance between us, his lips feeling not rough or hard like most of a vampire's physique, but soft. Maybe it was because he was my imprint? I didn't care why. They were so soft. And his mouth tasted like candy. And Edward seemed to like the aggressive stance I took on romance, kissing me back with the passion of an eternity behind it. I could've just made out him until I passed out, to be completely honest
If it wasn't for the dramatically loud gasp, we'd been caught, and the way Edward's grip around me grew tight. So tight that he must not have known how tight. If I was human, it would've definitely been bruised. Then I would have done just that and kissed him until my lips fell off.
I turned my head to see who could be so affronted by our amateur porn- only to be dead surprised.
Bella fuckin' Swan. There was no mistaking her in her plaid long sleeved shirt and mismatched yellow corduroy pants, short, with pale skin, heading to get her schedule.
What are the chances she arrives the day after me?
I thought I would at least have a month to get settled before she showed up and gave me nightmares of losing my imprint to her. Also- in the original story, didn't her first day start in the morning? In the movies and books originally, I would remember if she arrived late the first day.
Regardless- She was pretty, to my utter misery. With long cascading brown careless waves and the biggest brownest eyes I'd ever seen, rivalling that of Sam, she stared at myself and Edward as if she'd seen a ghost. As if she somehow knew who I was, and why it should be wrong for us to be together.
Of course she couldn't. And I didn't have time to worry about that.
In fact- I disregarded everything, threw caution to the wind, and kissed Edward again.
This kiss was heated, angry, and vicious. He bit my bottom lip and licked the tiny tiny drop of blood that inched out. I didn't mind, in fact I adored the sensation. I finished by giving him a bit of air that I knew he didn't need or want, and peppering smaller kisses on his cheeks. My attempt at distracting him and refocusing his desire to drain Bella dry on lust with me worked.
Well, for long enough to take her blood singer self into the semi sealed room where she'd receive her schedule.
With only a second to spare; I grabbed my fallen belongings and we hauled ass without another word to the cafeteria to inform his family of the development.
I held his hand in a death grip. Terrified that he'd run away to Denali just like in the original series. And even more scared that Bella somehow did know I was stealing her happily ever after.
