Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Author's Note: See, told ya I'd get the chapter up quickly, didn't I? Lol. Anyway, please read and enjoy! This chapter is dedicated to all of the mothers out there in the world and all that they do for us. Happy Mother's Day!
Chapter One: Home
Elizabeth Cullen
I smiled as I stepped out of the airport. The weather was cold and rainy, and gray clouds covered the sky. There was a little bit of a breeze, and blew my brown hair from around my shoulders. I smiled; I had missed the weather of Forks, even though the warm climate all throughout Europe that summer was a pleasant change from the rain.
A taxi pulled up to the curb where I was standing and the driver got out of it. "Need a hand?"
I nodded and said, "Yes. Thank you."
The driver, who said his name was Jamal, helped me put my bags in the trunk of the cab, and soon he was driving out of the airport. I told him where I was headed and then sat back in my seat, smiling with contentment as I watched the rain fleck the windows of the taxi cab.
Forty minutes later, we passed the sign that said, "WELCOME TO FORKS, WASHINGTON, population 3,120". I could feel the excitement and joy at the prospect of seeing my family build up in my system, bursting to expose itself. The feeling only heightened as we passed through the town, heading towards my mom's bookshop.
The taxi pulled up in front of the bookshop and stopped. I handed Jamal some money and got out, grabbing my bags from the back of the car. As the taxi drove away, I stood looking at the bookshop for a moment, taking in the feeling. I had missed the bookshop so much. I had worked there during the summers, all through high school.
I took a deep breath, gathered up my bags and entered the shop. Before I did though, I moved my engagement ring over to the other hand.
"Hello?" I called out. Nobody was in there. "Anyone in here?"
My Mom leaned around the corner of the bookshelf. A smile appeared on her face when she realized it was me. "Elizabeth!" she said, dropping the books that she was holding in her arms and rushing forward to give me a hug. I hugged her back tightly.
"Oh, I missed you!" I said, my smile growing bigger by the minute.
My Mom pulled back and held me at arm's length, looking me up and down as if inspecting me. "You look wonderful!" she exclaimed. "We missed you around here all summer. I was just about to get ready to pick you up from the airport."
I smiled. "Well, I thought I would tell you the wrong time and surprise you."
Mom pulled me back in for another hug. "Well, you definitely surprised me. Come on upstairs."
The apartment upstairs hadn't changed. It was the same level of coziness and feeling. I put my bags on the floor near the couch as mom grabbed the kettle off the stove and filled it with water.
"Do you want some hot chocolate, sweetie?" she asked.
I nodded my head vigorously. "Yes, please," I said. I grabbed the hot chocolate from the top of the fridge and then sat down to put into the mugs.
"So, you must tell me all about Europe. Did you like it?" my Mom asked as she sat down across from me at the table.
A shy smile crept up on my face, and I said, "I loved it. It was so amazing. When were in Paris … absolutely amazing. I can so see why dad took you there for your honeymoon. It's so … romantic." I smiled. "The lights at night are so beautiful."
Mom nodded her head in agreement. "They are. Did you get any pictures?" Mom asked.
I nodded, and I was pretty sure I was getting a dreamy look on my face; I was absolutely in love with photography. "I got so many pictures and sketches."
The water kettle began whistling, and I got up to grab it. I brought it over to the table with two spoons. I stirred my hot chocolate and brought the mug up to my nose and took a long whiff. I heaved a heavenly sigh. "American hot chocolate. I've been craving it since I left Italy."
My Mom laughed. "So, how was your flight?"
"Pretty good," I said. "I slept all the way to Florida, but I'm pretty sure the jet lag will catch up to me later."
She laughed again, and said, "Well, I'm sure you'll be able to sleep tonight. Your grandmother is very excited that you're coming home today. She's making your favorite tonight for supper, just so you know. Are you going to be there?" She smiled as she said the last line; she knew that I wouldn't miss it for the world.
I smiled. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, mom. I've missed you guys so much." I took a long drink of my hot chocolate and added, "And American food, especially Esme's homemade cooking."
There was a meow and all of a sudden something gray and furry jumped into my lap and meowed. I looked down.
"Molly!" I said, picking her up in my arms and hugging her to my chest.
Molly was our one and a half year old cat. We had gotten her after Gizmo, the cat that we had had since before my younger brother Nathan was born, died year before. We were all very sad after his death; we had all grown so attached to Gizmo and loved him dearly. And then one day, my dad came home with Molly, who was only six months old at the time. We had all fallen in love with her immediately.
"I missed you," I said, and she meowed back in response.
After, she curled up on my lap and started to snooze.
"So, you look oddly happy," mom commented, raising her eyebrow while smiling a suspicious smile.
I blushed – an embarrassing trait that I had inherited from my mother. "What do mean by that?" I asked cautiously.
She shrugged. "Nothing different; you've always been a happy person. But, it's like you have a secret that you brought back with you from Europe. Is there something that you never told us over the phone?"
"Well … I do have some news," I said, smiling shyly. Under the table, I twisted my engagement ring around my finger. "And you'll find out that news at supper tonight."
~~0~~
Nathan Cullen
Algebra 1.
My last – and possibly the worst – class of the day.
I had five minutes left. Then I was free. I could make it through the last five minutes of Mr. Boone – the Algebra teacher – droning on about the quadratic formula. I am never going to pass this class, I mentally groaned to myself. And it will all be the quadratic formula's fault.
Math and history weren't my strong points, but English and all the other required subjects for junior year were easy. Gym, especially, was super fun. Thankfully, I didn't take after my mother, who was a klutz and perfectly accident-prone (my older sister, Elizabeth, inherited that). I did, however, take after my dad. I had inherited lanky build, crooked smile, messy, bronze hair, and tall figure (I was only sixteen and I was 5 foot 8 inches, already leaning on 5 foot 9 inches).
Bri-i-ng!
Finally! The bell had rung!
I could barely contain my joy as I stuffed my Algebra book and notebook into my book bag as Mr. Boone shouted over the noise of chattering students, "Please do problem set 1 and read through chapter 2 for homework, both due for Monday!"
I headed out of the classroom, glad to be free from the confines of the room. I went down the hallway towards my locker, and was grabbing books that I needed from it when I heard my name being called.
"Hey, Nathan!"
I turned around. My best friend, Zeke Nixon, was coming through the crowd of students. "Hey, Zeke!" I said as he approached me.
"So what did you think of Mr. Boone? I have him first period for Algebra 1. I have a feeling that I'm not going on to the twelfth grade," he said, putting in the combination to the lock on his locker.
"I thought I was going to die in there," I said. "I did not understand one thing that man was saying. Who uses the quadratic formula out in the real world anyway? Maybe I can get my sister to help with math." Elizabeth had enjoyed Algebra 1 when she was in high school, and had understood it and was very good at it, so maybe she would help me.
"You're lucky that you have a sibling that understands math. All I have is a six year old sister who can't even times 6 by 8 yet," Zeke said, and I laughed as we walked away from the lockers.
Outside the air was chilly, and it was a couple of drops here and there. It felt nice to be outside in the fresh air. I spread out my arms wide, leaned my head back, and breathed in a deep breath. "Freedom!"
Zeke slapped me in the chest with the back of his hand all of a sudden, saying, "Dude, look. There's Mackenzie."
I immediately let my arms fall down to my sides and stood up straight. "Where?"
Zeke pointed and I followed his point. And I saw her.
Mackenzie Serra, the girl I had had a crush on since middle school. The reason why I had a crush on her? She was beautiful, shy, and kind. She beautiful light brown hair that was thin and straight. She was perfectly smart, got good grades, and never got into trouble. She wore lawyer type glasses that fit her face perfectly. Her beautiful blue eyes large and round.
The best thing about her was that she wasn't into gossip, and wasn't like those girls who gossip about other people, lie, or backstab their friends. She was normal.
Absolutely normal.
And perfect….
I snapped out of my reverie as she walked by. I waved at her. She seemed to notice it and gave me a small smile, then continued walking on.
"She waved at me," I murmured weakly, staring after her. I was pretty sure that there was a goofy smile on my face. Zeke rolled his eyes and laughed.
All of a sudden, a very familiar voice called my name. "Nathan!"
My eyes went to the origin of the voice and I grinned when I saw who it was. It was my sister, Elizabeth, leaning against the side of her small blue pick-up truck.
"Hey, Zeke, I'll catch you later, dude," I said, punching his shoulder lightly and then running over to my sister.
Elizabeth was grinning as I approached, and she said, "Hi, little brother!" She pulled me into a big hug and hugged me tight for a few seconds. Then she held me at arm's length, looking me up and down. "What did you do, grow ten inches over the summer while I was gone? Man! You're tall!"
I laughed. "Well, I didn't grow ten inches but I did grow about five. I spurted up all through the month of July. Oh, and happy birthday!"
"Why thank you, Nate," Elizabeth laughed, rustling up my already messy hair. "So, how about a ride home? I doubt you'd want to walk in the rain."
It was true – I didn't want to walk home in what was now beginning-to-pour rain.
As we were driving down the road, Elizabeth said, "Listen, Nathan, I have something to tell the family tonight at supper, and I wanted you to know first. I really need you to keep this a secret, so you can't tell anybody."
"Even Mom and Dad?" I asked, grabbing my water bottle and taking a chug from it.
"Especially Mom and Dad," she said. "I'm getting married."
I choked on the water and spat it out. "What?!"
"I'm getting married," she repeated.
I looked at her. "Wow. You're getting married! Congratulations, sis."
All of my life, or ever since I learned that Elizabeth had started dating, I had sworn to myself that I wouldn't be happy, because my favorite and only sister would get married some day. And here I was, actually happy for her!
She smiled a large smile at me. "Thank you, Nathan. At least somebody living under the roof of our house is gonna be happy."
I grinned. "Now all you have to do is tell Mom and Dad. And no, I won't tell them for you."
Author's Note: What'd you think? Who liked the Nathan's POV?? Please read and review and tell me what you think, and I'll post quicker. It took me a lot of the afternoon to write this chapter. The next chapter will be up soon, so no worries.
Happy Mother's Day! Until Next Time: Lemonade Ninja
P.S. Who liked the New Moon Movie??? I personally loved it!
