Hi my name is Mieczysław Stiles Swan you can just call me Stiles and I am currently trying to calm my psycho cat Loki... he really does hate cars and the close proximity to Bella my twin sister is probably annoying him. Yes I have a twin and this twin is a girl and I am a male. I think my cat and Bella have a mutual hate for each other.
Our mother drove us to the airport, my window rolled down. Bella prefers to be stuffed inside the car where the heat easily stifles any and all positive emotions. Ok, so she didn't use those words, but I know my sister, and she's just about the most emo person I've ever known. But, hey, that's not my problem. As long as Bella keeps her grouchy emo-ness to herself, then I'm fine. Don't get me wrong though I love my sis I really do but she just needs to lighten up.
Bella gives me a stony look, as if she knows exactly what I'm thinking. I smile widely at her, just to really annoy my twin. She's wearing her favourite shirt today-sleeveless, white eyelet lace. I'm wearing one of my favorite super hero shirts and a red flannel.
My sister and I are on our way to a place called Forks, that's where our Dad lives. Our mother lived there too until she ran off with me and Bella when we were only a few months old. Guess she didn't like the rain. Cause rain is definitely what you'll get in Forks. I actually liked the rain. It's fresh and it has this weird way of making you feel alive, if you stand out in it for long enough. I like to think that it washes away all your bad feelings, the shit that just seems to stick to your soul.
Bella thinks Forks is gloomy and depressing, just like her so shouldn't that mean she should like it. And that's exactly what I told her. That earned me a glare and stern look from our mother. She always takes Bella's side, but I suppose that's because Bella agrees with her about Forks and is the girl in the family. Both of us have been going there every summer for one month. Until we turned fourteen however and Bella refused to go anymore. I thought she was being stupid, but as usual our parents bent to her wishes and Dad came down to visit us instead in California for two weeks during the summer instead.
I've missed Forks, and I miss Dad a lot too. Ok, I guess I can admit it, I'm more of fan of my father than Bella. But that's mainly because I actually enjoy conversations with our father. He struggles, and we can both tell it doesn't come easy to him, and yeah, it can be awkward, and he doesn't always say the right thing. But Charlie tries, he really does, and I think that's what is most important. He's a really awesome dad.
But now Bella and I are moving to Forks. Bella is not a happy bunny, obviously, then again, when is she ever? But I'm quite excited. Not that I hate Phoenix or anything, I loved living there though there were times I was bullied for being gay but I still loved it. It might be nice though to live in Forks. You never know.
Mother stops us before we get on the plane and says,
"You two don't have to do this" She's said it about a thousand times before, and I understand it's more for Bella's sake than for mine.
Our mom looks a lot like Bella, except with short hair and laugh lines. I feel worried as I watch at her wide, almost naive eyes. And for not the first time I wonder if leaving her is a good idea. Will she be able to cope without us? I mean, she has Phil now obviously, so he'll pay the bills and all that stuff, but...our mom's such a fragile person. Again, a lot like Bella.
I'm really not like either of them. My hair is darker, almost black, I like to keep it wild. My eyes are a brandy brown as my mom puts it I just think they look like the color of my cats shit. Personality-wise, we're really different as well. Bella is reclusive, quiet, insecure, but also kind-hearted, compassionate and caring-when she chooses to be. I do love her, even when her mood swings drive me crazy.
I'm sorta the opposite in some ways, which basically means wild, outgoing, overly independent and, yeah, I have ADHD so I'm basically hyper all the time. But that's ok too, it's not like we have to be exactly the same to get along or anything. We do share the same love of books, although where Bella leans towards classic tragic romance, I'm more into the action/adventure and mystery books. Give me some Sherlock Holmes and I shall call it elementary, my dear Watson. Also my obsession with comics I can't help it.
"Don't worry mom we are going to be fine!" I kind soured out while poking Bella's cheek.
Our mother smiles slightly at us both.
"Say hi to Charlie."
"We will Mom." Bella replies a little tightly.
I scoff, pretending to sound put out,
"I don't know Mom, that's a lot of pressure to put on Bella, she'll actually have to speak to him to say hi. Better let me worry about that." I smirk a little at my twin, and even though I'm obviously teasing, Bella narrows her eyes at me.
Mom smacks my arm playfully.
"Oh now, Mieczysław, don't tease your sister. Both of you, be nice to each other from now on, ok. You'll need each others support."
I almost laugh at that, the day Bella supports anyone but her own whiny ass is the day I get rid of my comics. And that is never happening, I can assure you.
Mom ignores my smirk and Bella's snort, saying,
"I'll see you soon. You can come home whenever you want, I'll come right back as soon as you need me."
"Again No need to worry, Mom" I say.
"We'll be fine" Bella adds, "I love you"
"I love you too Bella."
We step out of the car and I grab the kennel that my cat is in.
She hugs us both tightly, she then grabs my face, "Mieczysław if you have any issues with your classmates cause of who you are you can always tell me or your father." She says while pinching my cheeks. My parents know that I'm gay and I'm glad they took it so well. I smile at her softly. "I know mom I love you."
then we get on the plane and she's gone.
It's a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks. I don't mind flying, athough sitting next to an intensely angry cat made Bella McEmo face grumpy as hell which almost left me in tears.
"Are you alright?" I ask, Bella is looking a little tense as we get closer and closer to the airport that Dad will pick us up from.
Bella shrugs, and then huffs a little, eventually saying,
"It's gonna be awkward with Charlie."
Ah, so that's what has her all shifty.
"It might not be that bad at least not for me." I reply, with a grin because it really might not be that bad.
Bella gives me another narrow look.
"Charlie isn't exactly the best at conversation, it's gonna be majorly awkward."
I think about that for a moment, and then say,
"You can't blame Dad for that, you're the one that didn't wanna continue coming over to forks."
Bella huffs again,
"I know that, which is why it's gonna be even more awkward."
To be fair she's probably right. But Dad's been really great about us coming to live with him. He sounds genuinely happy about it, and he's already got us registered at school which I'm a little worried about cause of it being a small town and all and me being gay might no go well.
But I do think he's a little confused about why Bella would agree to come and live in Forks, just like our mother she never made her dislike of the place a secret.
"Nah, it'll be ok. You have me to fill all the silences up with my awesomeness." I grin at my twin.
Bella pulls a face at me and shakes her head,
"Oh, God, that'll be even worse you'll probably go into a rant about how important it is for us to watch Star Wars."
I flick her on the forehead,
"I take serious offense to that. My amazingness knows no bounds. You shall see Star Wars one day I don't care if I have tie you up!" I throw my hands up dramatically.
After that Bella puts her earphones back in and ignores me for the rest of the flight. As is her usual M.O. I just continue trying to get my cat to be somewhat calm swear he's as bad as me.
When the plane finally lands it pouring outside and I have to shield my cats kennel with my flannel so he doesn't freak out from the rain when we step out.
Our dad is waiting for us by his cruiser. I think we both expected that. Our Dad is the Police chief of Forks. Which is why Bella wants her own set of wheels, because she really doesn't like being driven around in a car with blue and red lights on top. Me on the other hand, I like the flashy blue lights.
I watch in both horror and awe as Dad hugs Bella; it truly is horrifyingly awkward. Then I throw myself into his arms and he spins me around, which is the way we've always greeted each other.
It's not that Dad loves me more, or anything like that. I'm just not afraid to push our Dad out of his comfort zone a little and tell him what I want. Bella just expects him to know. And that's not how anything works you have to say what's on your mind or he won't get it. He's not exactly the best at subtlety.
"It's good to see you both." Dad says smiling at us brightly.
I smile back and say, "It's great to see you too Dad."
After I nudge her arm, Bella nods and says, "Yeah, good to see you, Cha-Dad." I try to contain my frown, why is it so hard for her to accept him.
After Bella and I get our meager belongings locked and loaded into the cruiser, we set off for Forks.
"I've found you a both a car, it's good, cheap too"
I grin at that, finding myself excited to see what Dad considers a good car.
"What kind of car?" Bella asks.
"A blue Jeep."
"Really, cool, I've always wanted one of those" I say, not even lying, because I do think Jeeps are cool.
"Where did you find it?" Bella asks, shooting me another dry look, seeming almost annoyed at my enthusiasm. Well one of us has to be grateful.
"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?" La Push is the tiny Indian reservation on the coast.
I nod straight away, smiling at the far off memories. "Yeah, of course" at the same time Bella says "No"
"He used to go fishing with us." Dad prompts Bella.
Bella screws her face up a little, and I know she's trying hard not to remember. Bella was not fond of fishing. It's not like I was super wood man either, but I did catch a fish once, and it was awesome. Right up until I accidentally -and I swear it was an accident despite whatever Bella might argue- hit Bella in the face with the before mentioned caught fish.
It. Was. Awesome .
Bella did not agree. But I like to think the fish did, and Billy laughed, so that's all that really matters.
"Billy's in a wheelchair now." Charlie continued. "So he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his jeep cheap."
I feel bad then, I liked Billy quite a bit. I hope he's coping alright, it can't have been easy to lose such a vital part of yourself.
"What year is it?" Bella asks, she seems to be getting a little more into it now. I can tell from Dad's change of expression that he was hoping we wouldn't ask that question.
"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine - it's only a few years old, really." Dad tries to hedge.
He should know by now that Bella is not going to give in that easily. Neither would I, really, but I think it's best to let Bella take the reins on this one since she's the one who pushed for a car in the first place.
"When did he buy it?"
"He bought it in 1984, I think."
"Did he buy it new?" I ask, knowing the answer already, but wanting to confirm.
"Well, no it had been in an accident the car battery was somehow ripped out but he repaired it," he admitted sheepishly.
"Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic..." Bella tries, looking disgruntled.
I arch an eyebrow at her.
"Come on, Isy, you know I can fix cars up pretty well." One of our moms Exs was a mechanic and he taught me some stuff before he and mother broke up. Bella knows that, she's just being difficult for whatever reason.
Bella full on glares at me, and I try not to laugh when I realise why. She really hates it when I call her 'Isy', which is why I started doing it so much. Childish, I know, but I can't help myself from poking her sometimes, especially when she's being irritating.
"How cheap is cheap?" Bella asks after a long pause, obviously deciding not to fight me on it this time.
"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you guys. As a homecoming gift." Charlie peeked at us both in the back with a hopeful expression.
I smile widely at him, jamming my elbow hard into Bella's side until she smiles too."That's really great Dad, thank you."
"You didn't need to do that." Bella adds.
"I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." Dad says, sounding more chipper than before. He looks away though as he says it. Dad isn't good at expressing emotions, which is one thing Bella really did inherit from him. They are the most awkward potatoes I've ever met.
"That was really nice of you Dad." My twin mutters, but I can see the obvious train of thought in her mind. Bella will never be 'happy' in Forks.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes and say to Dad,
"You still didn't need to buy us a car for that, Dad, I'm just glad for a change in scenery, I missed Forks."
All of which is true. I just didn't realise I wanted a change until I just said it. Bella looks at me with a question in her eyes, but all I can do is shrug, because I'm not sure how to explain it, even to myself yet.
"Well, you're welcome." Dad mumbles, obviously embarrassed by our thanks.
We all seem to lapse into silence, and despite what I said on the plane, I let it lie. I'm too busy looking out the window at all the beautiful nature surrounding Forks and poking my cat. Forks really is amazing, like a whole other world. I think about all the stories I can write about this place, with all this inspiration staring me right in the face.
Eventually though we arrive at Dad's. He still lives in the same small-ish two bedroom house that he'd bought with Mom when they started out on the path of their doomed marriage.
Dad doesn't hover over us as Bella and I unpack our stuff in our rooms. He left exactly how we had them which I was okay with cause I still loved the same things except there was a poster of a girl in a bikini on my closet door... I had put that up there thinking that what normal boys did. I was a confused child. I grabbed the poster and stuck it in my closet. I released my evil but adorable cat from his kennel and he immediately started running around and sniffing everything till he plopped into my bed and fell to sleep. I unpack all my stuff placing my comics and books in my huge ass bookshelf and unpacking my clothes. Back at school I was on the swim team so I have a lot of short shorts which I will never ever wear outside of home. After I'm done packing I head towards Bella's room.
I watched as she put away her last box and we then heard someone pull up in the driveway, "And, that must be our new car." We head down stairs and Parked in the driveway is what I assume is mine and Bella's new jeep. It's a faded blue color, with black doors. I find myself smiling again, as I realise how much I really do like it. The jeep looks somewhat solid, like it could withstand any crash. I like that in a vehicle.
I turn to Bella, and watch in slight surprise as she appears quite pleased with the jeep as well.
"Well aren't you a beauty." I say staring at the jeep.
Bella gives me a hard stare.
"Stiles, don't be weird."
I make an affronted face.
"Don't be jealous just cause the jeep is prettier than you."
Bella rolls her eyes at me,
"It's an old jeep Stiles how am I going to be jealous."
I stare at her affronted and whisper to the jeep. "Don't worry she didn't mean that, you're probably the prettiest thing for miles."
"ITS A JEEP STILES!" Bella snaps in exasperation.
"Of course it is, Isy don't you know you automobiles." I stare at her incredulously
Bella glares at me again,
I sigh heavily and pinch the bridge of my nose,
"You're being ridiculous" Bella snips huffily at me.
I shake my head,
"I'm not talking to you anymore" Bella says, looking really ticked off.
I wave at Baby, ignoring my emo twin who has no sense of humour at all.
"Hey beautiful." I call out, still waving.
Bella slaps at my hand. I slap back at hers, and soon enough we've descended into a full on five year old slap fight.
Dad does nothing to stop our fight, he never really does. I understand, it would take a braver man than Charlie to get inbetween two teenagers slapping each other and saying things like 'Cars can't be pretty!' and 'Blasphemy! I demand you recant that vile statement and apologise to Baby!'.
We do stop after a few minutes though when I manage to slap Bella's hand and throw myself towards the car. I hear laughing behind me and turn and look to see Billy and Jacob Black staring at us. I grin widely and hug both of them Jacob blushing slightly when I pinched his cheeks. "Hey Jacob! Look at you all grown up, you have to let me braid your hair later!!" I said while still pinching his cheeks, his face seemed to get more red with every word I said. I heard Charlie chuckle and he said "Mieczysław leave the poor boy alone!" Charlie said while still chuckling. I let go of his cheeks and grinned. I turned to Isy and saw the clueless look on her face. Oh this is gonna be fun. "Hey Isy you remember Jake right? We use to make mud pies with him." I said this while grinning the whole time. She sent a slight glare at me but turned to Jacob and smiled. "Yeah I uh remember." She said hesitantly. Jacob beamed at us glad that we remembered him. "Thank you guys so much for letting our dad buy this off of you guys!" I grinned at them brightly and sorta spazzed out. I saw Jacob staring at me with a light blush, Oh god he's probably embarrassed for me I guess I'm acting a little too excited. I tried to real in my excitement some and turned to Jacob. "So you think you can show me how to start it up?" I said to him. He blinked and stared at me for a few seconds then said quickly, ". O-Oh yeah I can do that." I smiled and went into the car. He showed me how to start it up correctly then they left after hanging for a bit. Me and Jacob exchanged numbers and Bella and him seemed to get along somewhat.
"So you ready for school tomorrow?" I asked Bella before I headed to my room for the night we were currently in her room.
Bella doesn't reply, she just curls up on her bed and stares out the window. I sigh inwardly; this is going to be a long two years. I approach her and touch her shoulder "Hey look at me everything is gonna be ok for all we know we might have the funnest times of our lives here!" I told her with my most calm voice knowing she was fragile right now. She nodded softly and I hugged her kissing her forehead goodnight.
Forks High has only three hundred and fifty-seven - now fifty-nine- students; there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone back home. Everyone here knows each other from...forever ago. Bella and I would be the only new students.
I know my sister is worried about fitting in, and honestly, so am I. Back home, despite our differing personalities, we were both kind of outcasts. Although my loner status was more by choice rather than anything else. I probably don't even look that much like someone from California, with my pale skin, the same as Bella's. But that's not really the point. It was never about how I looked, I just preferred my own company a lot of the time.
I guess I was popular in the sense that everyone liked me and quite a few wanted to be my friend, but I wasn't actually close to anyone at all. None of that bothered me though, I was happy to lose myself in my books, or my own writing, or going for a run, or listening to music or playing the piano. Those things made up my life, and I was glad, in a way. I didn't feel the need to be normal, or even try to act as if I was. Me being gay there was some issues but I was good I had gotten into a few fights but nothing serious.
My weirdness is different to Bella's. She's awkward and clumsy, whereas as I'm just a bit of an awkward alien superhero in human clothing, you know.
I never felt...like I belonged though, in Phoenix, and I'm not sure exactly why.
I slept ok that night, but from the bags under Bella's eyes, I guess she didn't. I know Bella is scared that people at school will think we're freaks or something silly like that. I try to reassure her, but she doesn't want to hear it.
"It's like a cage." Bella mutters, gesturing at the sky, and I immediately know what she means. I also don't agree.
"Nah I think it's more of a shoebox." I say teasingly to my twin.
Bella doesn't reply. But I knew she wouldn't.
Breakfast with Dad is pleasant enough, with me supplying most of the talking as usual, but not caring because at least I know Dad is actually listening to what I say. He cares, I know he does, and that means a lot to me. He even said he liked my t-shirt. It was a blue shirt with the Superman logo on it.
Once Dad leaves for work though, the mood turns even more ominous, and I give all the credit for that to my emo twin. She looks about ready to throw herself in front of a bus. I would, of course, call out for her to stop such nonsense. I mean, what if she hurt the bus?
"Hey you ok?" I ask kindly. She may be annoying, but I don't actually want my sister to be unhappy.
Bella sighs and fiddles with her nails, looking forlorn as all hell. Finally she looks at me and says,
"Don't you feel...you know...uncomfortable?"
Uncomfortable? I give her a questioning stare, and Bella gestures at around the room. I frown at first, and then realise what she means. There are pictures of us, as babies, school photos, pictures of us, Dad and mom together at the hospital. I can see where Bella's coming from, it's clear from the kitchen alone that our Dad never got over Mom. But it doesn't make me feel uncomfortable. Maybe just a little sad.
"Not really." I say thoughtfully, "But I can see why you are. I get it Bella, I do. But just give Forks a chance."
Bella stares at me unemotionally for a long moment, and then finally let out a long breathe.
"Let's go to school."
I want to say no, that it's too early, but one look at my sister's face tells me that she'll leave with or without me anyway. So I get up from the kitchen table and lead the way out of Dad's house.
It's foggy outside, and I can almost feel the tendrils of cold biting at the skin of my face. I allow myself to enjoy the icy weather a bit, looking up at the sky and breathing in the freshness of it all.
As soon as I see the jeep my uneasy mood changes to one of pure joy; and, mostly to ruffle Bella's feathers, I open my arms wide and run at full speed towards Baby shouting, "GOOD MORNING BABY!"
I pretend to hug the jeep and begin stroking it lovingly as Bella quickly approaches. She looks pissy. Ha, results!
"Would you please, stop being stupid! I don't want to be stared at all day just because you're openly a complete weirdo." Bella hisses at me.
I just grin at her and reply,
"As apposed to being a secret weirdo, you mean?"
"Shut up" Bella snaps, and she slams into the truck with an almost violent huff.
I get in after her, not trusting Bella to wait for me before driving off to school. Bella turns on the radio before I can say anything, and I allow her to sulk in silence the way I know my twin enjoys. And she calls me the weirdo. I'm not the one who brought a pet cactus to Forks from Phoenix.
Bella manages to park Baby without killing us, which is a miracle within itself, so I call a silent win, although Bella glares at me as if she heard it. We already got our schedule's from the office, and now I'm trying to decide if Bella is actually going to be sick or not.
"I think you're overreacting Isy, there's nothing to really worry about." I say casually, wrapping my arm around Bella as we walk closer and closer to the Forks High's main building.
Bella sniffs at me,"I know that,"
"Well then tell your face."
She frowns, and shrugs off my arm,
"I'm just nervous,"
"I know, Isy, so am I, it's fine."
But I know Bella isn't really listening to me. Again. So I don't say anything else, and just keep as close as I can, trying to make her feel more comfortable with my presence at her side. I think maybe it helps a bit, because she appears more comfortable as we hurry into school. I hope so at least, I don't want Bella to be tense all the time for the next two years.
Although I do worry as I leave her alone. We share quite a few classes according to our schedule's, but apparently not this first one. I would have thought they'd keep us together, but nope.
"Everything will be ok, don't panic. If you need me, then come find me" I whisper to her. Bella simply nods tightly before shuffling inside her classroom.
Once I arrive at my own classroom, I watch for a moment as students hang up their coats on hooks. I quickly follow suit before anyone can do something annoying like tell me how to hang up a coat. I'm a new student, yeah, not a moron.
I shove my slip into Mr. Mason's hand, and before he can say anything, or God forbid introduce me to the class, I stride to a seat in the back and make myself at home there. I look down at this years reading list, and find myself relieved that I've already read everything. Feeling grateful to Bella for once for loving all that sort of stuff and leaving her books lying around back home. I ended up reading them when I was bored or just too lazy to get up and retrieve a book of my own.
It turns out Bella was right about one thing though, everyone is definitely staring at me. It's kind of disturbing. A few times I stare right back until the other person turns away, embarrassed. Once or twice I even make faces at them when Mr. Mason isn't looking. That earns me both giggles of amusement and looks of 'wtf is this creature'. Which I'm fairly used to anyway.
I find myself zoning out as Mr. Mason talks, and soon enough the bell rings. I get up, ready to leave, when suddenly a kid with dark hair with a slightly slanted jaw leans over the aisle to talk to me.
"You're one of the new kids, Swan, right?" He says smiling.
"How did you know?" I ask curiously even though I already knew the answer. "This is a small school and plus I know everyone here." He said proudly. I grin widely and ask "well that's cool but what's your name?"
"Oh it's Scott!" He said.
"Well it's nice to meet you Scott!" I grin widely and hug him. I cant help it I like hugs. "N-nice to meet you to." He stutters out.
"I'm flattered Scott, really." I pat him again, just to make sure he doesn't fall over, as he looks to be in some sort of daze right now. Whoops.
Scott appears to blink himself out of it though, and he asks me,
"So, what's your next class?"
I think for moment, then answer,
"Government, with Jefferson, in building six."
"I'm headed toward building four, can I walk with you?" Scott asks, sounding almost nervous. I feel a little bad about making him get so upset, so I nod in agreement.
As Scott and I walk towards our classes, I ignore all the people blatantly gawking at me. People in small schools really have no lives.
"You seemed to zone out of Mr. Mason's class pretty quickly, do you not like English lit?" Scott asks, sounding genuinely curious.
I shake my head, "I do like English lit, it's just that Mr. Mason's voice makes my eyes droop."
Scott chuckles a little and then tips his head towards me in agreement, "Yeah, I know what you mean."
I study Scott for a moment, he looks like the sort of dorky type and someone I can get along with.
"What class do you like, then?" I find myself asking.
Scott gives me a small smile, "Uh, oh I like Lacrosse though I'm not very good at it, but I enjoy the rush the people cheering and yelling it gets me pumped."
I smile up at Scott.
"I'm sure you're awesome at it, although I prefer to write stories, I can make a story out of anything, and that's the magic of it." It's only fair that I share a bit of myself when he shared that with me.
It's strange, but all my life people have trusted me with their secrets, it's like they feel compelled to confide in me, even if, like Scott we've only known each other a short time. Which is nice, and slightly worrying at the same time.
Scott drops me off at my next class, and we agree to talk at lunch. I mostly agree to it because he looked so damned hopeful, and I'm a sucker for puppy eyes on a boy.
My next few classes go ok, mostly because I skip them to go sit and write inside Baby. I just felt compelled to write a story in that moment, and when my fingers start to twitch in that way, I know it'll drive me crazy until I pick up a pen and start writing. It's a curse with me, but I wouldn't want it gone. My mom calls it passion, Bella calls it an excuse to do whatever I want.
It really isn't. An excuse I mean. But if my hand wants to start itching right before trig class, then I'm all for it. Ugh, I hate trig. Or anything related to it, which pretty much puts all mathematics on my 'meh' list of things to care about. It's not that I'm stupid, me and maths just don't get on all that well.
When the lunch bell tolls though, I force myself to go back inside so that I can meet up with Bella, to check and make sure she hasn't gone all emo on everyone. I can't see her anywhere, and for a moment I worry, but then I mentally slap myself. Bella will be fine, she isn't a baby for christs sake, she can find the cafeteria by herself without me having to hold her hand.
I smile though when Scott waves me over, and I make my way towards him, still ignoring all the people staring at me like I'm sort of fascinating insect. Scott and I find ourselves a mostly deserted table, and I ask him about his new shirt. It's different to the one he was wearing in English lit, and begins to tell me a story about what happens when you trip whilst carrying acid. Very entertaining stuff.
Bella comes in not that long after with a girl who's clearly chatting her ear off. I wave at her to join us, but she's too busy looking awkward to see me and ends up sitting down with chatty girl and all of her friends. I think about going over there, but just then my eyes stray to a table full of the oddest looking people I have ever seen.
There are six of them. They don't appear to be talking or eating, even though there is untouched food on trays in front of them. Huh. Of the four boys, one is big - muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. Another is taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond. The last two are walking side by side, one of them is slim looking, less bulky, although the other one had a way more toned body and he had dark short hair that looked combed and gelled to perfection, whilst the other has untidy, bronze-colored hair.
The girls are each other opposites. The tall one is statuesque. She's beautiful and built like an hourglass, her hair is golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. The other is pixieish, very thin, with small features. Her hair is a deep black,cropped short and pointing in every direction. Still pretty though.
Even though none of them appear to look alike they still have an air of 'sameness' about them, as if they have the same sheen to their skin, or the same kind of magic to their almost graceful stillness. If such a thing is possible.
All of them are beautiful, in the extreme even. It's astoundingly fascinating to me how removed they appear from the rest of the world. As if they don't quite belong. The feeling resounds within me, shining a bright light on my own deeper, darker, thoughts. About life. About myself. About how removed from real life I already feel most of the time.
Quite suddenly, tinker bell jumps out of her seat and practically dances out of the room. I think she might be a little deranged, but then, I've danced out of plenty of places, especially comic book shops, so I can't really say much.
I shift my attention back to Scott for a moment and I ask, out of pure curiosity, who they are.
"So who are they?" They all look a little Bella-ish, if I'm being honest, and isn't that just a scary thought.
"They are the Cullens,"
The Cullens? Does he mean that like a club...or...family? Could they be family? They definitely don't look related, again,...but...then...there is something similar about them all, with their unnatural beauty and strange stillness. Like a flower pressed between two pieces of glass.
I look away from Scott, back at the...Cullens, and I'm a bit startled to see one of them looking right at me. His gaze flickers slightly towards Scott, but then comes back to rest heavily on me again. I meet his gaze head on, curious beyond belief, although I don't really know why. My heart starts to beat a little faster, and I can feel a slight prickle of warmth slide up and down my spine as we continue to stare at each other for a very long moment.
I raise an eyebrow at him, and just like that, his dark eyes flicker away. I watch as he nudges his brother? who was, ironically, watching my own twin. I look over at Bella, who appears embarrassed about something, but my eyes find their way back to the males especially the one who was staring at me. Maybe they're just interested because Bella and I are are twins. There can't be too many of them in this town. If any at all.
"What are their names?" I ask Scott pointing at the two guys, feigning only slight interest.
Scott shuffles a little next to me and answers.,
"Uh, the two guys right there are Edward and Derek, I think."
"Are they...adopted?" I guess out loud, hoping Scott will know the answer.
Luckily for me, Scott seems to be happy to fill me in.
"Yeah, Dr. Cullen and his wife adopted all of them. The two other boys are named Emmett and Jasper, the girl is Rosalie and the one who left is Alice." Scott gestures slightly at each of the Cullens as he tells me their names.
Wow, cool names. A little old fashioned. Different. I like that.
"They're all together" Scott goes on, "I mean Rosalie and Emmett, and Alice and Jasper"
Together? Like, romantically?
"And they all live together" Scott adds.
Eh, it's not like they are related that doesn't seem wrong.
Scott goes on to tell me about how they only moved here two years ago. I attempt to push the Cullens out of my mind, especially the Cullen who I know keeps looking at me. Derek. Hhhmmm, Derek. He's handsome, incredibly beautiful, for sure. But that doesn't mean much to me. Although I find myself interested, despite myself. I want to ask him questions, to know him, more than I've ever wanted to know anyone, and that scares the shit out of me.
I'm not normally one to hide from things that freak me out, but this time I'll make an exception. So, I pay avid attention to Scott as he talks about his life, trying to engage with him and ignore the pull I feel towards Derek. It's hard, but I just about manage it. Sort of. Ish.
Before lunch is over, I excuse my self from my new best friend, and grab hold of my sister, not bothering so stay and play nice with her new people. I pull her towards our next class, once again not one we have together, but the classrooms are opposite each other, so I suppose that counts for something.
"So, how's your day been going?" I ask my sister conversationally.
Bella looks at me sharply and shrugs,
"Not as good as yours clearly, considering you cut class already"
I wave a hand uncaringly,
"Ah, don't worry about it"
Bella sighs in exasperation,
"But, Stiles, this is only our first day-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, I'll try to behave, ok." I mutter, rolling my eyes.
"No you won't." Bella mutters back, but I don't comment on it so she lets it go. We do that, you see. I let go of her emo-ness and she lets go of my...well, me-ness. It's a fair enough trade.
After a brief silence, Bella whispers to me, more excitement in her voice than I've heard since we left for Forks.
"Did you see them?"
I know who she means, but I decide to play dumb just in case.
"Who?"
"The Cullens," Bella replies, "You know...the...attractive ones...in the cafeteria."
'The attractive ones'? Really, sis?
"Um, nope, didn't see 'em." I lie.
Bella swats my arm,
"Yes you did, I saw you look right at them."
"Then why did you ask if I'd seen them?" I argue.
But Bella is now looking dreamily off into the distance, dear God...I have to stop myself from slapping her.
"He's beautiful." she says quietly.
"Which one?" I ask, wanting to slap myself for giving into temptation.
"Edward," Bella answers easily, and I groan inwardly when a little part of me is relieved. I have no idea why, it's not like I have any claim on Derek. I don't even want a claim on Derek, thank you all very much.
Bella and I part as we go into our separate classrooms. I look around for a free seat, and much to my annoyance, the only free seat is right next to the person I'm trying really hard not to think about. God damn it!
I level a glare at Derek, blaming him and fate both for this, only to find that he is glaring right back at me. The heat and fury in his night black eyes momentarily stuns me, but I recover quickly and go to sit down next to him.
It's pretty clear to me after only a few moments of sitting next to Derek, that he's purposely leaning away from me, his face twisted, as if smelling something foul. I barely resist the urge to ask him what the hell his problem is. But I don't. Because I really, really, don't give a flying fuck. Or at least I shouldn't. Either way, I'm still no asking, so that counts.
But despite my best efforts to ignore him and pretend to concentrate on the actual class, I find myself sneaking covert glances at Edward. I notice how tense he seems, which doesn't appear to lessen at all throughout the entire hour of the lesson. I also realise that his thin t-shirt reveals strongly toned arms, and muscles that appear to be cut out of marble.
There is a look in his eyes though, those cold black hole eyes, that seem almost...predatory. Danger actually rolls off him in waves, but at the same time I feel myself drawn to him, like a moth being sucked in by a flame. Although this flame is definitely ice cold.
All of this only interests me further. And that repels me completely. I don't want to be interested in this...person. But I am, I really am interested. I want to introduce myself, I want to talk to him, find out all his secrets, crack him open and see every corner of his mind and soul.
That kind of curiosity is bad for me, and I don't need boy drama bullshit in my life right now.
My eyes flicker up for one moment, and our gazes lock. I see bright fury in the depths of his eyes. It pisses me off. I glare right back at him, not willing to back down for a single moment. Asshole, who the hell does he think he is to look at me with such hatred.
Derek seems abruptly taken aback by my measuring glare. Good.
The bell goes only moments later, and I swiftly look away from Mr.Sour face. Although somewhere inside my head I've begun calling him Der, because I knew a Derek back home who was also an asshole, and hated it when people called him 'Der'.
Anyway, Derek/Der manages to escape from the classroom before I can even turn around. I feel relieved. Not at all disappointed. I promise.
I grab my stuff, intent on getting to my next class before my hand can start twitching again, but I'm stopped by another male voice behind me, not Scott this time though. Unfortunately.
"Aren't you Mieczysław Swan?"
I look up, suppressing a sigh. The boy in front of me is blond, cute and friendly. The usual all american small town kind of guy. Like I said, I don't like to judge, but this time I think I'm definitely right.
"Yeah but you can call me Stiles." I reply readily, a smile on my face, trying to be friendly for once. I don't want to be mean to this kid just because another guy I don't even know is an asshole.
Blondy blinks rapidly at me, as if unsure how to respond. But eventually he says,
"My names Isaac Lahey I already met your twin, Bella."
I wave a hand and joke,
"Nah, Bella and I aren't twins. She's actually adopted, we just molded her to look like me in the lab"
He gives me that goldfish stare again, which is why I decide to name him officially, Goldy. Apparently people in this town have a thing for ignoring weird things, however, because Goldy just says,
"Do you need help getting to your next class?"
I shake my head quickly,
"No, no, I've got gym, I think I can find it"
But then Goldy's face lights up like a puppy, and I internally groan before he even gets the next words out of his mouth,
"Oh, great, that's my next class too"
So we end up walking together, making small talk.
Goldy ends up telling me his life story though, including the fact that he lived in California until he was ten, so he understands about missing the sun. I don't, not really, but, I do wonder if he told this story to Bella. She'd probably get a kick out of it.
When we get to the gym however, Goldy lingers instead of going into the locker rooms, and says,
"So, did you stab Derek Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."
I decide to play dumb again,
"Who?"
"You know, the guy you sat next to in bio." Goldy supplies.
I shrug non-commitally,
"I dunno," which is true, I really don't know why Derek was acting so oddly towards me, "I haven't spoken to him," and I don't intend to either.
"He's a weird guy." Isaac says seriously, he smiles warmly at me "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."
Oh dear demon babies everywhere! What is happening? This is freaking me out. I think I'd rather be glared at by Derek.
"Um, thanks Goldy, have a good...gym...meeting...thingy" I say before quickly slipping into the boys changing room.
When the final bell rings, Bella wants to go and hand something into the front desk. I rush out instead so I don't have to deal with questions about my skipped classes. I can deal with that tommorrow. Or never, maybe.
I wait inside Baby for Bella. Only a few minutes later, Bella comes out and gets inside Baby, slamming the door. Hard.
My sister looks about to cry, which means she is either really pissed off, or genuinely upset.
"What the hell happened?" I ask worriedly, wanting to know what fuckhead made my sister feel this distraught so quickly.
Bella sniffs a little and shakes her head,
"Nothing, I'm fine."
"Liar," I argue, "Tell me."
Bella squeezes her eyes shut and whispers,
"He hates me,"
What?
"Who hates you?" I ask in confusion.
"Edward Cullen" Bella spits out.
Ah, so both the Cullens need a swift kick to the face.
"Why would you think he hates you?" Still not really getting it.
Bella looks right at me and says, sounding hurt and confused,
"He kept giving me a disgusted look all the way through class, and then I heard him in the office trying to switch classes so he wouldn't have to be in the same one as me"
Ok, well now I think she's overreacting. There's no way anyone would cut a class just to get away from someone they haven't even spoken to. That's just stupid.
I try to convince Bella of this, but she won't listen. My twin sinks into a pool of her own self hatred, and there's nothing I can do to yank her out short of crashing our car. Which I won't do, because I love Baby too much already.
On the drive home I find myself thinking again about Derek Cullen and the rest of his strangely compelling family. I get the feeling that no matter what I do from now on, my life won't ever be simple again.
Thank you so much for reading this leave a comment if you think I should continue!