Chapter 2 - Adrian Cullen

In life, Adrian had been a gamer. Not a delinquent, not a brainiac, not a jock, but a gamer. This set him apart from pretty much everyone in his adoptive family, in that even though the Cullens were definitely those once-in-a-lifetime encounters, they could still fit into a typical high school category that helped them to blend in. For example, Emmett was all jock all over, even though he didn't exert himself in joining any sports teams-for obvious reasons. Jasper was very much the delinquent amongst them, even though his "don't mess with me" attitude that was more often than not the result of how hard he struggled to control himself around humans. And Edward was of course the shameless brainiac who wasn't beyond casually flaunting his vast stores of knowledge or the fact that he could tell what any of them were thinking at any time. All of them had some place that they could fit in at well like some pre-set camouflage.

For Adrian though, especially considering that the gaming community was all digital and online anyway, there just wasn't a real-life equivalent to fit in to. Sure, when it came down to it, the seven of the Cullen pretend-siblings just hung out with only each other anyway, but for the Cullens it was a return and a fallback to their old lives, whereas for Adrian, everything was completely new.

He was technically supposed to be twenty years old now, but physically he was stuck at seventeen and would be stuck there for the foreseeable future of forever. After being turned by Carlisle back when the Cullens had found him bleeding to death in the Alaskan wilderness after an expedition gone wrong, not only had Adrian's body changed forever, but so had his entire life.

Usually, if he was being honest with himself, he'd use any excuse to skip school and hang out with the dudes online. But when that excuse also happened to be that he couldn't control the maddening urge to rip into something and tear it to pieces, now that was a problem.

Three years, according to everyone, was a remarkably fast time to get over the urge and be able to act semi-normal around humans, though Adrian knew it wasn't a record. Nope, Barrier-Badass-Bella had that down, but since she also had the whole shield thing going on with her, and not to mention having hung out around werewolves for a while, she had a bunch of cheats to help her through it. For Adrian, the full agony of being a newborn came about completely unexpected and left him craving a fix like some druggie. Good thing that where the Cullens took him there were only caribou, bison, and seals to really hunt.

Anyway, case in point, that was how long it took Adrian to get past everything, and in the process also make it easier for himself to be around humans and thus finally complete his high school education. Not that he needed it, considering that everyone who'd known him had already marked him down as lost and dead in the Alaskan wilderness, and Carlisle was super rich and could afford to support their family with whatever they wanted for multiple lifetimes—and they didn't need food, so that was already saving a great expense—so he could have technically skipped high school. But, Carlisle being Carlisle had insisted that he finish up regardless, "for his own integrity" if nothing else. Personally, Adrian thought this was just practice for getting him to be around humans.

Yeah, whatever.

In any case, besides the whole vampire bloodlust thing and being super fast and strong—and sparkly, bonus—Adrian noticed that he was also, like...tens of times better looking than he remembered that he was. Not only was his skin flawless, but things like his reddish hair and freckles, things he had been so self-conscious about before, suddenly looked like they exemplified the new sexy.

And besides which, there were those amazing things he could do with the senses, things that he hadn't fully explored yet but wanted to...

"Adrian." Edward's curt warning tone usually stopped any train of thought before it could even happen. Yet another annoying thing about Mr. Perfect Mind-Reader. To that thought, of course, Edward only smirked.

It was a rare thing for them to be late for anything—no one wanted to risk standing out more than they already did, and besides which everyone was "committed" to making sure Adrian attended all his classes and passed high school the first time around—but they couldn't help it when the sun decided to shine on Forks on one of its rare days, and this time it had extended well past the weekend, so they'd had no choice. It was a good opportunity to hunt though, so no one really complained. Still though, Adrian had taken the opportunity to casually sneak away in their overly-complex game of hide-and-seek, and for once he might almost have gotten away with it if only his smug thoughts didn't transfer over to Edward like an echo in the mountains. He would have to work on that in the future.

As they were crossing the parking lot to get to class, it was impossible not to notice the not-so-distant figures of two girls, one familiarly Janice Ridgewood, and the other...

A brunette girl with hazel eyes wearing a bubblegum pink rain slicker and wellington boots, whose lack of fashion sense was instantly explained due to the fact that she was obviously blind. Or...was it obvious to Adrian just because he was a vampire, or was it more of a thing he could sense since he had that power thing with senses anyway? To give or to take away any of the five, just by instinct without even thinking about it. Just like that though, he knew. He knew and...oh boy, he had trouble looking away.

"Adrian."

It was Edward, telling him to hurry up as usual and not get distracted. Besides which, there was a fair warning tone in Edward's voice, as he read where Adrian's thoughts were headed—What would it be like since she really can't see me and then wouldn't know that I'm different?

Normalcy was something that all of the Cullens craved on some level or another, but Adrian as the newest member to their lifestyle had been particularly missing it. Not much fun missing out on Comic Con and the new Star Wars movie premiere, after all.

Hands in his pockets, Adrian shrugged away from the rest of them, even though he, Edward, and Bella all had the same bio lab anyway. Janice and the mystery girl were headed over there too it looked like, so it wasn't his fault if they just coincidentally happened to be in the same class, right? Right. And besides which, Adrian was proving too much of a challenge for his current lab partner, Bea, who squirmed and looked like she was going to cry every time Adrian passed her the microscope. Maybe Bea wouldn't mind switching, huh?

Before Edward could admonish him a third time, Adrian strode forward into class and took his seat, already getting to work on a nervous-looking Bea. Two minutes and he'd have the straight-A student begging Mr. Nolan to have them switch partners.

And right on cue, Janice and mystery-girl walked in.

Charlotte's P.O.V.

I feel Janice clutching my arm extra tight for a second once we enter class, but then she relaxes once she introduces me to the teacher, Mr. Nolan. I say my hellos and try to ignore the feel of the stares on me. I'm not sure if it's because I'm the new girl or that I'm blind—probably both—but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I'm kind of praying that things will change, and soon. Just the first day, hurry through it.

"M-Mr. Nolan?"

"Yes, Miss Parker, what is it?"

"S-sir, I-I was wondering i-if I could switch lab partners." This Bea person is wearing bracelets, I think, and the clinking of them is pretty constant. I'm pretty sure she's shaking, though whether it's a nervous tick or on purpose, I can't tell; based on her stutter though, I'd guess the former. "Y-you see, I-I have been saying that m-me and A-Adrian aren't suited as l-lab partners because we're not really helping each other out, right? W-we're both n-not that good at biology you see, and I k-know that J-Janice is i-if she's in this class now, so..."

"An excellent idea, actually. I was just about to suggest it, but I'm glad you brought it up. Now, this is Charlotte Blyth, our new student. So, if you'd like to pair up with her—"

"Oh yes, sir, that'll work—"

But Bea cuts in before Janice can finish her sentence. "A-actually sir, I was h-h-hoping that I might take Janice as a partner. Y-you know how I am, s-sir, and my mother did write up that n-note last time w-with...you know, you remember, sir, a-at the beginning of the year when I went to the nurse's office? I-I just think I'm more comfortable with people that I know, a-and I do know Janice from club meetings, sir."

Mr. Nolan sighs really deeply. "Yes, I'm aware of that, Miss Parker, but Miss Bluth here is a new student and I'm not sure how comfortable she would be and with what partner. Between the two of you, your marks are slightly higher than Mr. Cullen's, so perhaps—"

"Actually, sir, you'll remember that on my midterm I scored higher than Bea."

A new person speaks up, male this time, and it sounds like he's talking from somewhere in back of the room. There's been some mixed whispers and chatter until now, but suddenly it's gone completely silent and it's like the stares have transferred from me to him.

"Besides which, I think you really should give more consideration to Bea given what's already happened with me as a new partner. I'd be happy to give her a chance to be comfortable and I'd be more than accommodating for the new student. I can even write in Braille if we ever need to exchange notes."

His voice is like a combination between the tingling of jingle bells and the sound of waves on smooth sand. I've never heard anything like it outside of music, and yet he's definitely talking and not singing. It's a soothing voice, for sure, but—

"Well then, if Miss Blythe agrees then, I see no problem. Miss Blythe?"

Janice whimpers just a bit in her throat, but, if I'm being a bit selfish, I kind of want to hear more of Adrian Cullen's voice up close, see if I can place the sound. Besides which, I want to ask him how on earth he heard what was being said between Bea and Mr. Nolan when they were whispering and even I had to concentrate to pick up what they were saying over the chatter of the classroom. So, from all the way in back, how would Adrian be able to—?

I may not be able to see and understand what Janice meant about the Cullens as a family, but at least this way I can sort of paint a mental picture just through hearing.

So, I agree, and then Bea leads me back to her old seat, right at the lab table beside Adrian Cullen.

Class begins.

A/N: For the most part, we're still mainly in introductions territory in this chapter, since even though I got Charlotte covered, Adrian himself still needed some details. For the most part though, the purely exposition-related stuff should be over for my OCs, and from this point on the story will mainly be building on that and be plot-based. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter and its connection to more of the Cullen family history. I will be adding more, more, more slowly but surely!

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