Much can be said about a father and daughter's relationship. In our case, not much was ever said, and that's exactly how we liked it.
My mom was the opposite, she filled every second with chat, moments that needed none. The worst was at Gran's funeral. Telling your second cousin twice removed about sex getting better as you age was not high on our conversation list, yet there I was listening in… horrified.
As I grew, our conversations developed to the point that I was constantly mortified. She eventually met Phil, easing my burden.
Was it cruel that I didn't want to hear my mother speak anymore? Maybe she opened her mouth so much that the capacity of words you can listen to from one person per lifetime had so surpassed the limit that I just couldn't take anymore of it.
Phil and my mother decided they wanted to start their lives together. His job as a minor league baseball player taking precedence of course, Renee was just a kindergarten teacher.
He was such a stepdad. With a level of creepiness that all middle aged men possess in a teenage girl's mind.
They pretended that it was a choice whether I could go with them or not. At least they tried, I guess. I saw it as a blessing in disguise. I couldn't imagine staying with them until I went to college. The thought was too depressing.
My dad stepped in to save the day. Again, it wasn't a choice but Charlie and I had always shared a deeper bond than I had with Renee. If she had have let me, I would've been gone a long time ago.
I peered out of the tiny plane window onto the gloomy landscape. My stomach jumped and danced along with turbulence. It was that or my nerves.
Miles upon miles of lush, green trees were spread out, tangling in the wind. The drizzly rain blurred my view, lightly spattering my window. A lingering fog overtaking the distance. I sunk into my seat, warmth spreading through my bones.
Despite my mom's hate for the small town of Forks, I had nothing against it. I'd shown my distaste for it when I was young, just because I wanted to spend summer in L.A., not avoiding rain showers every 10 seconds.
My dad was leaning against his police cruiser. His arms were folded, not dropping his sheriff look one iota. I tried to hold back a smirk as I walked towards him, wanting to delay my delight until I was up close.
"I missed you," I said softly. I threw my arms around his shoulders, tucking my head into his chest. He smelled the same, like comfort.
"I missed you too, Bells." Charlie ruffled my hair like he used to when I was a kid. His large mustache twitched as he grinned.
We were quiet after that. I took a deep breath, enjoying the comfortable silence. I could hear the world for once.
Trees lined the roads, covering the little light we had from the sky. The air was thicker here, heavier.
We passed through Main Street in the middle of Forks. The place was hiving, considering it was almost seven in the evening. There wasn't a Starbucks in sight either. The charm of small towns.
My dad pulled into a space outside of a faintly lit restaurant.
"Wait here," he ordered. He jogged out of the rain into the lit up building. Lights were starting to illuminate as daylight slowly dissipated. This was my favorite time of day.
Nearby was an old bookstore, it's signage peeling and weather worn. It was nestled between a coffee shop and a bakery with condensation covering it's large front window.
There was a glistening, black car parked out the front. It was nothing like the old pick up trucks that surrounded it.
I watched as a man as big as a bulldozer picked up a blonde lady and twirled her around. Her head was thrown back, giggles peeling out of her beautiful face. A lanky bronze haired boy joined them. He was being begged by a tiny black haired girl, who looked more like a child in her stature than anything, to recreate their scene.
It wasn't the strangeness of them standing in the drizzly rain that had me stare at them. It was that all of them were shockingly beautiful. Like something you would see heavily filtered on social media pages.
The beautiful blonde girl was the only one who appeared deterred by the rain. She was trying to force herself under the huge guys coat to cover her ashy hair.
The bookstores bell chimed and I tensed in anticipation. A blond man emerged with a few books under his arm. His lips were curved slightly, perhaps from seeing the joviality of the people he joined. He was more aware than the others, his eyes scoping the street seemingly on instinct. The dimple in his cheek was the only thing making him appear younger than his commanding presence.
He was the hardest to look away from.
When I realized I'd been staring like an idiot, I snapped my jaw shut and swallowed the saliva I almost let drip out of my mouth. I did a quick scope of the area, I don't think I got caught that time.
As my eyes dragged themselves back towards the beautiful group against my will, the blond man's eyes glanced my way. My eyes watered from the speed I had to use to get them to look in another direction. My chest heaved with the embarrassment of being caught. I was dying to look back to make sure he wasn't watching the heat pool to my cheeks but I couldn't risk it.
The cruiser door slammed shut and I jumped in my seat. A hot bag of food was dropped onto my lap.
"You OK, Bella?" Charlie asked with a curious look on his face.
The smell emanating from the bag made me swallow. I nodded at him, taking an appreciative sniff.
"Bells, look." He pointed in the direction where I'd been staring for the past while. "There's some kids you'll be going to school with." He opened his door, his foot already outside. "Do you want to go say hello?" he asked, looking back at me.
"No!" I exclaimed. He tilted his head in question. "It's just, I'm so tired and hungry. Besides, they're already about to leave."
He shrugged. "Yeah. Maybe next time."
I blew out a large breath. Didn't Charlie know how awkward that would be?
&TL&
The house was exactly how I remembered it. The only part that was new was the rusty red truck sitting in the drive.
We pulled up beside it, my curiosity peaking. "Do we have visitors?"
Charlie's mustache did it's signature twitch. "I bought it for you. Thought you wouldn't want to rely on me to get around," he finished with a shrug.
Tears stung my eyes. I reached over and wrapped my arms around his waist. I couldn't find the words just yet.
He was still for a moment, before his arms came around my shoulders and he leaned his head on mine.
"Thank you," I whispered, having to swallow away the impulse to let out all of the tears.
I wasn't as nervous as I should be for a first day in a new school. My best friend from Forks, Angela, was in the same grade as me.
We'd spent years of summers together having been forced to by our fathers. They called us both 'trouble', because that's all we managed to get in when we were together.
When I told her I was coming to Forks I almost lost an eardrum to the screaming.
I text her to let her know where I'd be the next day. The reply was a bunch of exclamation marks.
A knock on my door woke me the next morning. "Bella!" Charlie called. "Are you up?"
"I am now, dad, thanks," I yelled back, stretching my limbs. The branch outside my window had kept me from sleep. My eyes felt hot and heavy.
I heard him chuckle. "I'm leaving for the station. Will you be alright getting to school?"
"It can't be that hard to find." I pulled my hair out of the tie, preparing to get to work on it. "See you for dinner."
I rushed through my morning routine, slapping mascara and lip gloss on with a shaky hand. I attempted to make my hair gently tousled but I wasn't sure how successful I was.
I found the perfect first day outfit, mom jeans, sneakers and cute little jumper to tuck into the front. If anyone saw my bedroom and the mess of it already, they'd know exactly how much thought went into it. It looked like a bomb went off in there.
It was a wet morning. The trees splattered hard drops on my truck's roof as I drove to school, reminding me that I needed to get something more waterproof than my current coat.
I pulled into a spot, trying to get as close to the steps as possible. I told Angela I'd meet her at the entrance but I didn't need to go that far. A hand wrenched my car door open and I was pulled out of the truck by my shoulders and wrapped into a warm embrace.
"You don't know how good it is to see you," Angela exclaimed.
I hugged her back with as much force. "I know." I squealed into her ear.
She pulled back, gripping me by my arms. "Let me look at you," she said, turning me from side to side. "You look so grown up."
I played it up, twisting like I was a model before having to pull fluff from her coat off of my lip gloss. "My dad didn't even say that, Ang," I giggled. "Are you still telling people you're eight days older than me?" I gave her my sassiest look. "'Cause you look it."
Her lips twitched. "Maybe." Her arm linked through mine. "Come on, let's go get your schedule."
Mostly everyone we passed stared at us. Angela gave them all huge smiles, her white teeth contrasting against her olive skin. Her positivity was rubbing off on me, making me grin just as wide.
"What are your friends like?" I cringed when I heard the wobble of nerves in my voice.
She gave me a knowing look, staring down at me from her four inch advantage. "They're all very excited to meet you. Promise." She held out her pinky for me to take.
I smiled at her reassurance. She'd better not be lying.
The school was larger than I had originally thought. I hoped to god I had most of my classes with Angela.
There were a number of brick buildings with towering evergreens leading up the mountain behind. It was pretty spectacular but knowing how boring my time would be here I doubted I would appreciate it for long.
I blanched when I saw my schedule. "Seriously?" I moaned. "Gym class in junior year?"
"Look on the bright side, we can be partners." Angela clapped a little over-enthusiastically. She knew I didn't play sports, but she had to know it was for a reason.
I gave her a cold stare.
"Come on," she pouted, "tell me you don't want to watch the senior boys get all sweaty." There was a wink thrown in there that I almost missed with my eye roll.
"Why do we have gym with seniors?"
"We share all our after lunch classes with the seniors."
I'd almost forgotten how small this town was. That would never have worked in Phoenix.
Part of me hoped that Angela's older brother would still be school age but there was no way. I was sure he was a few years ahead of us. I had the biggest crush on him as a kid.
"How's Colin?" I asked. I couldn't help the hopeful edge in my voice.
Angela looked down at her shoes, her playful nature suddenly vanishing. "He's, um, good. Doing better. He just got out of rehab again," she nodded.
My hand flew to my heart. "I'm so sorry, Ang, I had no idea."
She giggled, but it was halfhearted. "Your face," she pointed. "It's OK, Bella, really he's fine."
I swallowed thickly. I never saw that coming for Colin. Then again, what did I know about a happy-go-lucky kid? We all go through shit that makes us deal with it in unpredictable ways.
&TL&
By lunch, I'd met most of Angela's friends.
"So, like I was saying, Edward is definitely the most gorgeous but I guess Jasper does have the best hair." One of those friends who hadn't stopped for a breath was Jessica.
She was a tiny thing, her hair making up most of her height. She was non-stop and I had no clue who she was talking about. My head was spinning by the time I sat down with my sandwich.
"Hey guys," one of Angela's friends said, slapping his tray on the table. I'd been introduced to him in English class but his name was lost to me.
He looked ill. There was sweat beading on his forehead and his eyes were frantic, sweeping the room. I backed away from him, pushing myself as far from the table as I could. There was no way I was catching whatever he had.
Another guy with dark hair and skin strolled up and sat down sideways on a seat, patting Mike on the shoulder.
As conversation started to flow around the table and all the seats were filled, the dark haired guy leaned over and reached his hand towards mine. "Just ignore Mike," he said. "He's got a pop quiz he won''t shut up about." My hand flinched back. I could feel the grimace pulling the corners of my lips down. I quickly corrected it, not wanting him to think he grossed me out. I just really hate germs.
Mike gave a sickly chuckle. "Just pray you don't have Mr Berty, right Tyler?"
Tyler glared at Mike, slapping his arm.
Strange.
Angela was nervously looking to her right where a boy I remembered called Ben was sitting. He was wrapped up in conversation with Eric who tried to get me into the school newspaper. That was a solid no.
I eyed her curiously. When she caught my eye, I glanced between her and Ben, making her shake her head vigorously. I smirked at her. Perfect.
She looked behind, towards the large windows. The rain was battering against them, making the world outside look like a mushy green painting.
That's when I saw them. The people at the bookstore.
I'd almost forgot I'd be seeing them today. I don't know how, they were pretty unforgettable.
Their skin was striking under the florescent lighting. It was chalkier, almost pure white. The little black haired girl was wearing a red chunky cardigan, making her hair and skin appear a stark contrast.
I thought it was just the two blondes that were beautiful, but they were all individually stunning yet strangely similar.
They floated to their table, heads turning in their direction. One little glance was all the crowd took. They must be used to their beauty, I couldn't look away.
"So, they're the Cullens," Jessica whispered excitedly. She gripped my arm with more force than I would have thought possible. I shared a look with Angela. I was going to have a bruised arm by the end of the day from the amount of times she'd grabbed me.
My eyes were on the blond man. He was poking his food with a fork, chatting back and forth with the bulldozer-esque guy.
Angela snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Which one are you gaping at?"
I blinked. "I'm not gaping."
Her shoulders hunched with giggles. "You are."
I rolled my eyes, sneaking another peek.
"Who are they?" I whispered to Jessica, falling deep into the gossip hole.
She scooted closer, her chair scraping as she did. "We've got couple number one: Emmett and Rosalie." She pointed at the bulldozer and the blonde model whose hair was waving like pure silk down her back. "Couple number two: Alice and Edward." Her eyes dropped from the bronze haired boy to the floor, the sparkle disappearing from them.
"You OK?" I asked.
She blinked out of a stupor. "Oh, yeah. Sorry." She cleared her throat. "That brings us to Jasper. The only one that's single and apparently not ready to mingle." She eyed me meaningfully. "He's turned down a lot of girls," she finished with a whisper.
I felt the pout on my lips before I could stop it. "What's the deal with them?"
"They were all adopted by Dr and Mrs Cullen. They live together."
To each their own, I guess.
All of the eyes that had been anticipating my reaction looked away disappointed.
"It is strange, I guess, them all ending up together," I gave them, eventually.
The eyes looked up with glee. "Isn't it," Jessica nodded enthusiastically, "but don't waste your time on Jasper–"
Like his name was called across the cafeteria, Jasper raised his head, meeting our eyes directly.
Dark orbs held mine, interest shining in them. I felt flutters in my belly, his stare making me feel undressed. I stared at him harder, hoping my eyes would do the same to him. Preferably in private.
From the corner of my eye I saw Jessica fluttering her arms. "Oh, my god, Bella," she whispered.
Jasper blinked, looking back at his bulldozer brother – I now knew was called Emmett – who was still in mid conversation. Emmett noticed his brothers distraction, twisting his head to find the source.
I glanced at Angela, the world speeding up back to normal tempo. Her knowing smirk was meddled with shock. "Interesting, Bella. I didn't know you liked blonds."
Before I had a chance to tease her about Ben – she was lucky – the collective eyes shrank under a presence behind me.
"Hey, Jess. Do you have those notes from Friday?"
The unfamiliar, strangely soft voice had me craning my neck behind Jessica. My head was practically resting on my back looking up at Edward Cullen's bronze hair.
"H-hey Edward, they're in my bag," Jessica stuttered, her shaky fingers reaching in to her back pack. I held one side of the material, helping her search through.
Edward's amber eyes met mine. "Hey, you're Bella."
I nodded my head slowly. His pale skin glaringly stood out against his thick dark brow, making him look more like a statue than a man.
"Angela's been talking about you for weeks."
I raised my brow at her. "Yeah, I'm sure she has. It's nice to meet you, Edward."
He wasn't blinking, his brow dropping further towards his eyes. I tilted my head in question, wondering what was running through his head.
His stare was making my skin itch. I flicked my hair behind my shoulder, he was pissing me off.
I was about to give him something to look at when his eyes switched from soft amber to pools of black. I recoiled from the look of fury that pinned me to my seat.
I wanted to get up, to run away. I tried to speak, nothing but a puff of air left my mouth.
"Here you go, Edward," Jessica said, handing the paper up to him. Her eyes were downcast, missing the cruel stare I was battling. I begged her in my head to look up. Please see what I'm seeing.
"Edward," a high pitched voice exclaimed. Alice's head popped out from behind Edward, her spiky black hair glistening. "You left your biology book in the car. Come," she said firmly. Her tiny hands gripped his arms and with surprising force she trailed him away.
I pushed at the pulsing in my forehead. "What just happened?" I asked Jessica.
"He lent me notes on Friday. I had to leave early for the orthodontist."
I shook my head. "No, I got that part. What was with his – he was looking at me weird." I didn't know how else I was supposed to describe it. I'd never even met the guy before, what was his issue?
Angela rolled her eyes. "You think everyone looks at you weird."
"Did you not–" I started, "never mind." I rolled my eyes.
"Edward's a really nice guy. I know he's a little… intense," Angela shrugged. "You get used to it," she said, patting my hand.
I nodded, letting it fly out of my mind with each shake of my head.
Jessica and I took our seats in the auditorium for drama class.
"We'll be painting set display on the stage," Jessica groaned. "My butt hurts for hours after, soak up the comfortable seats while you can."
Mike walked past us practically hunched over. I couldn't help but feel bad for him, even if he was spreading his germs to the rest of us.
A few kids strolled in that I didn't recognize. "Oh, we have this class with seniors, don't we?" I asked.
She nodded. "There's Jasper and Rosalie."
I glanced around, searching for them. I couldn't hide my interest, I wanted to get a good look at Jasper from as many angles as possible.
Their heads were low as they walked, in deep conversation. Rosalie began gesturing wildly making Jasper shake his head, his blond curls bouncing.
Two sets of eyes turned sharply in our direction.
Jessica giggled, dropping her head. "Caught, again."
I shifted in my seat, angling my body away from their stares. After Edward, the staring was not welcome. It wasn't lost on me that I was still allowed to do it. They just weren't.
Something was crinkling underneath me. I lifted a scrunched up piece of paper that was irritating my butt.
"OK, to the stage, please," the teacher announced.
I unfolded the note. "Where are we sitting?" I asked Jessica.
I scanned the single line of text.
"Near the edge so we can swing our legs off the side. I hate sitting cross legged."
I paused, rereading the note.
Tell him if he doesn't bring what we asked and the $50 then we'll bring the knife, OK? I don't care what he says.
"Oh, the new kid. Go ahead and introduce yourself," the teacher said, boredom staining his words.
I gave him a cool stare. He was the first teacher to ask. I dared each one of them with a look, obviously it would be the drama teacher who would be brave enough.
"If you want a part in the spring play that's not the way to go about it," he tutted.
"I don't," I whispered to Jessica, making her giggle.
I dropped my arms to my sides in a sign of childish frustration. The note fluttered to the ground, I paid it no more attention.
I gave the teacher a hasty introduction, making sure to include a sarcastic grin for good measure.
A soon as I could escape, I plonked down next to Jessica, sighing. Her attention was across the stage. I followed her eyes seeing Mike and Tyler almost growling at each other.
"What's that about?"
"Don't know," she frowned.
Tyler was waving something between them, seemingly the cause of their issue as Mike stared at the floor sullenly. It took me a few seconds to realize that it was the note I found under my seat.
Mike's a bit of a freak, isn't he?
This has been a long time in the works, I thought it was time to get it out there. Please be gentle on me, we've plenty more to come. Also, please excuse any mistakes, I've ran my eye over it a lot, but I've probably missed some.