Plot/Info: Another Twilight fan fiction, all the girls who are imprinted on turn immortal at the age of seventeen but if they are older they will immediately stop aging.
Recap: Melanie and her family has moved from sunny California to grey and cloudy Forks, how will they deal?
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT, STEPHANIE MEYER DOES AND I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER BUT I DO OWN THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.
Chapter Two
I stood in front of my mirror trying to decide if what I chose to wear was too much. I was wearing dark wash skinny jeans and an ice blue short sleeve shirt with some black flowery graphics. Over it I was wearing a white semi sheer formfitting button down shirt with the sleeve rolled over once so they just covered my elbows and the buttons only buttoned up one more than halfway. With it I paired some black ballet flats. It wasn't raining but it was only sixty degrees out so I grabbed a light, black jacket. I was wearing a tiny eyeliner and mascara and that was it.
"Come on Melanie!" Austin shouted, "It's time to go!"
"Coming!" I yelled and grabbed my canvas beach tote that I used as a backpack.
Austin was driving me to school since Dad left early in the morning to get to work and Mom would still be sleeping. Sophia insisted on taking the bus to the middle school and since I couldn't drive, Austin was my ride.
"I heard Forks High is really big on sports." Austin said as we drove down the nearly empty road, "Are you gonna try out for any? Sign ups are still going."
"I'll probably try out for cheerleading and track." I said. I loved cheerleading because of all the amazing stunts I could do. In my old school I was a flyer because I was the lightest out of everyone and the best at stunts. I was a really fast runner too and I loved the speed and calmness running gave me.
"That's cool, I'm gonna go for football." Austin said grinning at me.
I rolled my eyes, "Of course, now keep your eyes on the road. I don't want to hit any wild animals."
"Whatever sis." He said still grinning.
Even though Austin and I were siblings we got along pretty well. And even though in school Austin was Mr. Popular and acted all cool and tough he wasn't ashamed of talking to his little sister in front of people and outside of school I knew he was really just a goofball.
We pulled up into the school parking lot and our fast, shiny sports car stuck out among the old Hondas and Volvos. Everyone stared at us as we got out and I heard their whispers.
"Are they the new kids?"
"Ohmigod! The guy is wicked hot!"
"The new girl's pretty hot."
"I heard they were from Los Angeles, California."
"That's probably why they're so tan."
"Check out their car."
"Dude, check out the girl."
"The guy is totally stacked!"
I smiled slightly at the students and my brother was grinning. All the boys were staring at me and all the girls were squealing over my brother. Great, now his ego would suffocate me.
"Don't let their attention go to your head." I said while smiling.
"I won't if you won't." He said and winked to one of the girls.
I laughed slightly and we gracefully entered the main office.
"Hi we're the new students, Austin and Melanie Black." He grinned to the receptionist.
The lady gawked at us and I just smiled brightly. "O-of course, we had a new student just last year. I am Ms. Cope and here are your schedules. Are there any sports you would like to sign up for?" She stuttered and handed us each a map and schedule. I looked down at mine and was glad to see they put me in all advanced classes.
"Yes I would like to try out for cheerleading and track." I said smiling.
"Oh good, we need more cheerleaders and runners. Track practice is on Mondays and Wednesdays and goes to 3:30pm. Cheerleading is on Tuesdays and Thursdays and goes until 4:00pm." Ms. Cope said and I smiled happily knowing I could do both.
"I would like to try out for football and cross country." Austin grinned.
"Yes, cross country is on Mondays and Wednesdays till 3:30pm. Football is on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 4:00pm." Ms. Cope said and wrote our names on the appropriate sign up lists.
"Perfect," Austin grinned, "Is there anything else we should know?"
"No, have a good first day." Ms. Cope smiled and we walked out the door.
Austin brought me to my homeroom to make sure I wouldn't get lost and we told each other good luck before he hurried off to find his homeroom.
My homeroom teacher was Mr. Banner and he seemed really nice, he introduced me to the class and told me to sit next to Isabella Swan.
A chatty, loud, bright girl turned to me and said, "Hi! I'm Jessica Stanley! Welcome to Forks High! This is Angela, Ben, Tyler, Lauren, Mike, Eric, and Bella!"
I saw everyone raise an eyebrow when she left out the two pale and beautiful kids sitting next to and in front of Bella. The boy was staring at me in frustration and the girl was staring at me curiously. Didn't they know it was rude to stare? The boy suddenly looked amused and stopped staring at me.
"This is Edward and Alice Cullen," Bella said. She seemed like a quiet, shy and private girl but probably once someone got to know her she opened up more.
"Hi, I'm Melanie Black." I said and smiled. I looked between Edward and Bella and noticed that they unconsciously gravited towards one another and Edward would stare at Bella with such love and intensity. I grinned and Bella noticed what I had just noticed and immediately flushed.
Edward smiled at me and I grinned back silently laughing at Bella's embarrassment. Huh, I think Edward and I could be great friends.
"So where did you live before you moved here?" Jessica asked and I just noticed she was talking that whole time. Oops.
"I lived in Los Angeles, California." I said and sighed. I missed the sun and blue sky. Stupid rain.
"Wow! This must be so different for you!" Mike said suddenly jumping into the conversation.
"Yeah," I said and noticed I stuck out among all these people. The kids around here were white and just barely tanned because of the lack of sun. Bella was paler than usual and the Cullens were pale into the extremes.
"That's what it was like for me," Bella smiled, "I moved here a year ago from Phoenix, Arizona."
"That must've been hard since it's so warm there and so cold here." I said and debated on whether I should put on my jacket draped on the back of my chair.
"I am going to die of hypothermia." I muttered, "And of sun loss."
Bella laughed and said, "You'll be fine. Anyways, it's always sunny down at La Push."
"That's good." I laughed, "Does the rain ever let up and let the sun shine?"
"Maybe one or two days a month." Jessica grinned and I groaned. "Are you doing any sports?"
"Yeah, I'm trying out for track and cheerleading. My brother is doing football and cross country." I said and smiled.
"That's great!" Jessica exclaimed brightly, "Lauren and I are trying out too! We were on the team last year."
"Wonderful," I said through my teeth and Edward laughed. He better shut up before he blows my cover. He laughed again.
Jessica was nice but there was just too much of her. She was very in your face and loud.
"What classes are you in?" Angela asked me softly. I showed her my schedule and Jessica peered at it as well.
"You're in all advance classes?" Jessica screamed and everyone turned to look at me.
"Yeah," I shrugged and took my schedule back before she ripped it with all the stress she was putting on it from surprise.
"What do you have next?" Mike asked me.
"Chemistry with Mr. Molina." I said.
"Oh cool, I have that class too with Bella and Edward, I can show you where it is." He said brightening.
"Okay, thanks." I said and smiled slightly. Mike sort of reminded me of a golden retriever for some reason. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Edward trying to hide a smile. How odd, maybe someone said something funny. He smiled a bit more.
"Who are your parents?" Jessica asked me, "Maybe my parents know them."
"Huh, they did saw they used to live here for a bit." I said, "My Dad is Ephraim Black and my Mom is Melissa Block."
I saw Edward and Alice's eyes flash open in my peripheral vision. Huh, strange. Maybe their parents knew them or something. Edward frowned for a moment.
"Melanie, how old is your brother?" Edward asked me.
"He is sixteen and is in his junior year. He will be turning seventeen in the spring." I said.
"How old are you?" Bella asked me.
"I am fifteen, I will be turning sixteen on June twenty first." I said and smiled, "I can't wait until I can drive."
"Do you have any other siblings?" Alice asked.
"Yes, I have a younger sister who is eleven and is in sixth grade. She'll be turning twelve in late winter." I said, "She was really excited to move here. She hated the city."
"Do you know about the Quileutes?" Edward asked me.
"Is that a type of pen?" I asked because it did sound like a pen, an old fashioned pen.
Mike, Eric and Tyler laughed. "No, Quileute is a tribe who used to live in La Push." Mike said.
"Oh, that's cool I never knew there was a tribe here. Where's La Push?" I asked.
"If you go to the East side of town and keep driving you'll enter La Push Reservation." Eric said and Mike glared at him.
"Cool," I said just as the bell rang.
"Let's go," Mike said and he showed me the different classrooms we passed on the way to Chemistry. The whole way to Chemistry I could feel Edward staring at me with curiosity. I turned around and saw he was staring at me but he was also frowning and Bella was staring at me in awe and amazement. These kids are strange... Maybe it's something in the water...
All of my classes were pretty boring. I already knew a lot of the things were learning. I guess the advanced classes I took in California were a lot more advanced than the ones here. Though I did like chemistry because the teacher, Mr. Molina, was super hyped and excited about teaching and we did experiments with chemicals almost every single day.
At lunch I noticed there were two rectangular tables that were pushed pretty closely together. At one already full table Jessica, Lauren, Mike, Tyler, Eric and some other kids I didn't know. At the other table was Edward, Bella, Angela, Ben, Alice and three other insanely beautiful and pale teenagers. That table had only one seat left and Alice was waving me over.
I sat down between Alice and Angela with my lemonade and Caesar salad with chicken in front of me.
"Melanie, this is Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper. Everyone, this is Melanie Black. She's new and moved from Los Angeles, California." Alice said and giggled.
"Hi," I said and smiled while Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett all looked curiously at Alice and Edward.
"You look like a stereotypical California girl." Emmett said and grinned, "Tanned, blue eyes..."
"But the black hair ruins the image." I said and grinned. Almost everyone I have met here has said that and some people even call me "California" because I look so much like it.
"So, how are you liking the clouds and rain?" Emmett said grinning.
I made a face and said, "It almost never rained in California and had clear skies nearly all the time."
"Just wait till it snows, then you'll be loving Forks." Bella said and I made a face.
"Wonderful, snow. More wet and cold." I said and scrunched my nose. Everyone broke out laughing.
"Hey!" Mike called from the other table, "We're all going to First Beach today after school, do you guys wanna come?"
Lauren, Tyler, Eric, Jessica, Mike, Angela, Ben, Connor, Lee, Samantha and some other kids were going. Bella looked at Edward pleadingly and he sighed. Bella grinned and hugged him and said, "I'm in."
"Sure, I'll have to ask my brother after school though." I said.
"Oh, Melanie, I heard your brother had to go home when I was in the office." Edward said, "Apparently he had a really high temperature and was trembling."
I frowned, "What? He never gets sick. I wonder what's wrong... Maybe I shouldn't go..."
"Aww come on, it'll be fun." Mike pleaded.
"I'm sure he will be okay." Edward said and Bella looked at Edward with astonishment on her face.
"Okay... I'll call home before school ends. I need to tell my Mom where I'm going." I said, "Are you guys coming?"
"No, we're not exactly welcome there." Edward said slowly and I looked at him with obvious confusion on my face.
"I wonder whose fault that is." Rosalie muttered and Edward shot her a dark look.
For some reason I had a feeling that there was more behind my brother being sick and all these weird looks coming from the Cullens.
After school got out I called my house and was surprised when my Dad answered, I thought he was at work. I asked about Austin and he said it was just a short cold and it went away very quickly. I told him I was going down to First Beach with some friends and he thought that was a great idea. He asked about whom I befriended in school and he seemed to like all the kids and kept saying they came from good families. When I said the Cullens he momentarily lost his voice and then said, "The Cullens are a very nice family." I wonder if he knew them. I didn't think he would since everyone said the Cullens moved to Forks just last year. How odd...
We split into two groups and piled into Mike's Suburban and Tyler's Sentra. I was with Jessica, Lauren, Bella, Angela and Ben in Mike's van and the others all squished in with Tyler.
I was excited to be going to the beach because I heard La Push got was always sunny unlike Forks. I knew it wouldn't be as sunny as California but it would have to do.
Fifteen minutes later we arrived at First Beach and we all jumped out of the van. I looked at the beach. It was sandy like California but the sand was more brown than white and the water wasn't as clear blue as California. It wasn't as sunny either but at least it was a somewhat sunny beach.
"Melleny are you coming or are you just gonna stand there like an idiot?" Lauren sneered at me purposely mispronouncing my name.
"It's Meh-LAY-nee." I said and frowned slightly.
"Whatev." Lauren said and went back to flirting with Tyler.
"Don't let her get to you, she's always like that." Bella sighed and I smiled, "Come on."
I really liked Bella and Angela, they were both really nice. The three of us walked to the Beach and saw that they had already started a driftwood bonfire. Those were my favorite types because the flames were blue and green.
We sat down and talked about school and such. I got a lot of questions about California and if I have ever met any famous people in Los Angeles. I laughed and told them you saw them everywhere so people were pretty used to it there and didn't make a big deal out of it.
"I'm so excited, the Girl's Choice dance is coming up this Friday!" Jessica squealed.
"What's that?" I asked confused.
"It's when the girl asks the guy to the dance instead of the other way around. You don't have to ask anyone though." Jessica said, "We have to go shopping for dresses."
"Oh so this is like a formal dance?" I asked.
"Semi-formal, like short silk dresses and such." Jessica said.
"Really? In California we wear fancy beach dresses to semi-formals." I said as I spied a group of boys coming out of the forest.
"Wow, it must be a lot less expensive." Jessica said and Bella crinkled her nose when Jessica mentioned shopping again.
"Hey, that looks like my brother..." I said staring at the group of boys who were wearing only cutoff pants.
"Oh those are the Natives, they're like super hot and untouchable." Jessica whispered, "They don't go out with anyone and once they find 'the perfect girl' they stay with her for like ever."
"Hold on, I'll be right back. My brother is calling me over." I said when I saw him motioning for me to come over.
"Okay, wow, your brother is wicked hot." Samantha said and Lauren and Jessica agreed.
"Please don't say that, that's just weird." I laughed and ran over to where my brother was standing with all the other "super hot" guys.
"Hey Melanie, I didn't know you were coming to the beach." Austin said.
"I thought you were sick." I accused and he grinned sheepishly.
"It was only a small thing." He said, "How was school?"
"Great, I made a lot of friends but some of them aren't here right now." I said, "They said something about not being welcome here... I didn't understand."
The six other boys exchanged glances and Austin asked, "Who were they?"
"The Cullens. They're really nice. Edward and Alice are in my grade." I said and some of the boys snorted when I said the Cullens were nice.
"Cool, Dad knew them." Austin said and smiled slightly.
"Really? I heard their dad is doctor. Anyways, are you sure you're okay? Edward said you went home because you had a really high fever." I said frowning and touched his forehead which was burning hot, "Wow! You're burning! Are you sure? Maybe you should go home..."
"Nah, it's nothing." He said and waved his hand. He turned to the other boys and said, "Melanie, this is Sam, Jared, Paul, Jacob, Embry and Quil. Guys, this is my younger sister Melanie."
"Hi! Do you all live in La Push?" I asked and smiled brightly. My god, these guys were super, super stacked. Not even the body builders in California were muscled like that. They must've been on steroids or there was something in the water...
"Yeah," Jacob said in a deep rumbling voice, "You'll probably see a lot of us now, especially Embry."
All the guys exchanged smiles and grins while I stared at them completely confused. Austin grumbled slightly to himself but I just thought nothing of it because he talks to himself all the time.
"Well, why don't you go off and have fun with your friends." Austin said.
I got the idea that he wanted to hang out with his new friends and I waved and ran off but not before I heard Quil whisper to Austin, "It must be hard knowing she's the only one in your family who is going to die..."
"Yeah..." Austin croaked out.
What? What does Quil mean by that? Is no one going to die in my family? That isn't possible, everyone grows old and dies. I probably misunderstood him but for some reason I had a small nagging feeling that Forks was not what it looked like.
"Hey, what was that? I thought your brother was sick." Eric asked.
"Apparently it went away very quickly." I said frowning. Something was off, way off. If he had a fever as high as I felt then wouldn't he be delirious right now or dead? I swear he must have been at least one hundred six degrees. And how were they wearing just shorts? I was freezing in my jeans and sweater. Something was up in La Push and it wasn't just the really tall seven foot guys.
"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" I called after Mike dropped me off at my house err, more like at the end of my insanely long ass driveway.
"Welcome home honey! How was school?" Mom asked me as Dad picked me up and spun me in a circle before setting me back on my feet. I just realized it but Austin's temperature now matched Dad's. They both had very, very warm bodies. Strange.
"School was awesome. I made a lot of friends and we all went to First Beach except for the Cullens, they didn't come for some strange reason. Anyways at the beach I saw Austin and some of his friends." I said and smiled.
"Which ones?" Dad asked suddenly.
"Umm... There was Sam, Jared, Paul, Jacob, Embry and Quil I believe." I said, "Why?"
"Nothing in particular," Dad said which made me mysterious.
"Okay, what ever you say Dad." I rolled my eyes and went upstairs to my room where I dropped my bag and grabbed my guitar from its stand and my binder filled with sheet music of my favorite songs and songs I attempted to write.
I walked back down the stairs and slipped on my ballet flats and said, "I'm going out in the woods to play!"
"Okay, be home in time for dinner! We have some friends coming over." Dad called.
"Okay!" I opened the sliding glass door that led outside to our deck. It was pretty stupid that our house had a deck and balcony because it rained so much here we would never be able to use it.
I headed into the woods and walked straight and made no turns. I was happy that everything was dry today. After ten minutes of walking I came to a very small clearing where there were no trees growing. In the middle was boulder that was the perfect height for me to sit on to play guitar. My feet were planted firmly on the rock and there was also one other rock that was slightly slanted on top but was taller. It was perfect.
I laid my open binder down on the taller rock and flipped to Mine by Taylor Swift. I sat down and tuned my guitar before starting. I played the opening chords and then opened my mouth to sing.
"Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh
You were in college, working part-time, waiting tables
Left a small town and never looked back
I was a flight risk, afraid of fallin'
Wondering why we bother with love, if it never lasts
I say, "Can you believe it?"
As we're lyin' on the couch
The moment, I can see it
Yes, yes, I can see it now
Do you remember, we were sittin' there, by the water?
You put your arm around me for the fist time
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine
Flash forward, and we're takin' on the world together
And there's a drawer of my things at your place
You learn my secrets and figure out why I'm guarded
You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes
But we got bills to pay
We got nothin' figured out
When it was hard to take
Yes, yes
This is what I thought about:
Do you remember, we were sittin' there, by the water?
You put your arm around me for the fist time
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine
Do you remember all the city lights on the water?
You saw me start to believe for the first time
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine
Oh, oh, oh, oh
And I remember that fight, two-thirty AM
You said everything was slipping right out of our hands
I ran out, crying, and you followed me out into the street
Braced myself for the goodbye, cause that's all I've ever known
Then, you took me by surprise
You said, "I'll never leave you alone."
You said, "I remember how we felt, sitting by the water.
And every time I look at you, it's like the first time.
I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter.
She is the best thing that's ever been mine."
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine
Do you believe it?
We're gonna make it now
And I can see it
I can see it now"
I smiled when I finished and the ending chords morphed into the opening chords for Fifteen by Taylor Swift except I changed around some of the lyrics to make it apply to me more.
"You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors
It's the morning of your very first day
And you say hi to the people you ain't seen before
Try and stay out of everybody's way
It's your sophomore year and you're gonna be here
For the next three years in this town
Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say
"You know, I haven't seen you around before"
'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen feeling like there's nothing to figure out
Well, count to ten, take it in
This is life before you know who you're gonna be
Fifteen
You sit in class next to a brunette named Isabelle
And soon enough you're best friends
Laughing at the other girls who think they're so cool
We'll be outta here as soon as we can
And then you're on your very first date and he's got a car
And you're feeling like flying
And you're momma's waiting up and you're thinking he's the one
And you're dancing 'round your room when the night ends
When the night ends
'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
When you're fifteen and your first kiss
Makes your head spin 'round
But in your life you'll do things greater than
Dating the boy on the football team
But I didn't know it at fifteen
When all you wanted was to be wanted
Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now
Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams of mine
And Isabelle gave everything she had to a boy
Who loved her so and we both smiled
'Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen, don't forget to look before you fall
I've found time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you're supposed to be
I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen
Your very first day
Take a deep breath girl
Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors"
It still didn't fit quite enough because I doubted I would date a guy on the football team and it was sort of sad... Anyways after that I sang and played Bubbly by Colbie Caillat, The Great Escape by Boys Like Girls, Evacuate the Dancefloor by Cascada and of course, California Gurls by Katy Perry. In the songs which had some rap in them I just skipped over that part because I did not rap. I preferred to sing and slower songs and smoother songs but I also liked to play jumpy songs. I was more of an acoustic type of girl than an electric. Sure I did have an electric but I really preferred my acoustic and piano.
"Hey, you're good." A voice said suddenly from behind me. I screamed and spun around. "Sorry, didn't mean to surprise you."
"Oh, it's you." I said clutching my guitar to my chest, "It's okay. What are you doing in the woods?"
"Oh your parents invited us all over for dinner tonight." Embry said and then raised an eyebrow, "Better question, what are you doing in the woods by yourself?"
"I find the woods very relaxing as long as no one sneaks up on me and I don't see any animals big enough that they could eat me." I sniffed and then said, "So you're the people my Mom mentioned... Where is everyone else?"
"Right here," Jacob said and appeared with the other guys I met earlier and two I didn't meet, "So you're in the woods hoping not to run into any big animals..."
"Yep as long as I don't see any bears, mountain lions, coyotes or wolves, I'm fine." I said and stood up.
"Wolves, eh?" Paul said and they all grinned.
"Melanie this is Collin and Brady, Collin and Brady this is Melanie." Sam introduced us and the others looked between me and Collin and Brady as if they were waiting for something to happen.
"What?" I asked and they all shrugged, "Well let's go, my family is probably waiting."
"Okay," Jacob said and they all followed me while Embry, Quil and Jacob walked alongside me.
"So why did you come through the woods instead of driving or walking the normal way? You all look old enough to drive." I asked.
"Actually all of us except for Sam and Paul are in high school." Jacob said.
I dropped my binder in surprise. "What?" I sputtered while bending over to pick it up.
"Yep, we just look old for our age." Embry said grinning.
"No duh." I muttered and went back to thinking about steroids and funky water, "Back to my question about not coming here normally..."
"It's quicker to come through the woods since they are connected and pretty straight forward." Sam said.
"Okay, that makes sense." I said and it seemed like they all let out a breath they were holding.
"I heard from your brother you do track and cheerleading." Embry said, "How fast are you?"
"I can run a mile in six minutes and thirty one seconds." I said, "That's my best time and in cheerleading I'm a flyer."
"That's pretty fast." Quil said surprised, "What's a flyer?"
"It's when people throw you into the air and you do spins and stuff and then they catch you." I said.
"Aren't you afraid they won't catch you?" Embry asked curiously.
"No, in California they almost always caught me." I said and shrugged.
"Almost?" Collin asked.
"Yeah, a few times they didn't catch me but everything was fine." I said, "I've never broken or sprained anything."
"What was the worst fall?" Brady asked.
"When I was on top of the pyramid and it was a pretty tall pyramid and one of the girls on the bottom sneezed really hard and the two girls that were balancing on her hands lost their balance and the whole thing went toppling down." I said smiling slightly at the memory but then wincing, "I hope I never fall from the top again."
They all looked surprised and Jared asked, "You didn't break or sprain anything?"
"Nope," I said as we reached the house, "Wipe your feet before you come in or my Mom will freak out."
I quickly wiped the bottoms of my shoes on the mat and then took them off and put them on the shoe rack next to the door. I then slid on the heels that I wore inside the house. For some reason Mom insisted that I wear heels inside when we had company over and she also tried to get me to where them all the time but... she didn't do too well with that.
I sighed as my feet became uncomfortable in the strappy black stilettos she set out for me. She always set out a pair of heels that would match my outfit, if anything my Mom was obsessed with looking classy, shoes and cleanliness.
"Mom! Dad!" I called, "Everyone's here!"
My Mom and Dad walked out of the kitchen and my brother came bounding down the stairs with his hair wet and his body still slightly wet from the shower he must have taken earlier. And he wasn't wearing a shirt, like the other guys. Since when did Austin not wear a shirt? Why weren't any of these guys wearing a shirt? Or shoes?
Austin grinned at me and then advanced towards me, "Come 'ere Melanie. Let your big brother give you a hug."
I shook my head and said, "No way, you're all wet."
He grinned and then ran at me. I shrieked and flipped over the couch and leapt over the coffee table in the living room. He made a leap for me but I let myself slip down into a split and he grabbed thin air. I flipped up and ran behind Mom who whacked Austin on the head with a wooden spoon and said, "Stop chasing your sister."
"And you," she said turning to me, "don't run in your heels, you could break them or twist an ankle."
I rolled my eyes and walked over to Dad who exclaimed, "How tall are you Melanie? You're getting tall!"
"I'm five feet and eight inches tall but in four inch heels I am six feet tall." I said grinning at him as my younger sister, Sophia, came down the stairs. I noticed Embry's eyes immediately lit up at the sight of her. I shot a questioning glance at my Dad and he sighed. "You're too observant for your own good."
"Melissa, whatcha cooking?" Paul asked and tried to sneak into the kitchen.
Mom whacked him on the head with the wooden spoon and said, "Dinner will be ready soon."
Paul pouted with the rest of the boys and they all flopped down on the couches and chairs in the living room. We had a pretty big living room but these boys were big and took up all the seating. Embry, Quil and Jared were sitting on the floor and Sophia was sitting next to Embry. She was sitting closely next to him, real closely. Did I miss something?
"Oh darn it," Mom muttered from the kitchen, "Melanie, could you go to the store and get some milk?"
"Sure Mom," I said and walked to the front door where I happily kicked off my heels so I could run. I picked them up in one hand and went to reach for the doorknob with the other but the door was being opened by someone else on the other side so I went flying backwards when it hit me.
"Oomph," I said as I landed on my bottom.
"Oh I'm so sorry, I di–" the deep voice said but then suddenly stopped talking.
I looked up and the guy was gaping at me with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. The girl behind him was watching him with shock and annoyance. Ugh, I shot him a glare and slipped past him out the door. I took off running down the street to the store.
The store was only a five minute walk from my house but running it took me only a minute and a half. It wasn't a supermarket but a general store that had general stuff, as the name implies. I quickly found and bought the milk in a minute and then I ran back home and whizzed in the door and into the kitchen.
"Melanie!" Austin called from the living room, "There's a girl on the phone for you!"
"Okay, thanks." I said and took the phone from him and went over to the piano on the far side of the living room away from everyone.
"Hello?"
"Melanie?" a voice sniffled and I recognized that voice to be Claire's.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"It's him!" She wailed.
"What did he do?" I asked her immediately knowing who she was talking about. You see Claire had this huge crush on Quil, who was sitting in my living room at the moment, and they grew up together. She really loved, like loved him loved him. I guess something went wrong...
"I told him how I felt about him and that I've loved him these years and he said that I was too young to know what I want!" She cried. Claire was sixteen and this guy was like seventeen. Eighteen? Actually he looked like he was twenty five.
"He said what now?" I asked surprised. I was ready for all sorts of things she was going to tell me that he said but I did not expect that one.
"I think he still looks at me like a little sister." She sniffled, "He still kind of treats me like a little kid."
"Well you are sixteen and you can drive so you are obviously not a little kid but you guys did grow up together..." I said, "Maybe you just need to wait some."
"Actually, I've been asked to join an art group to study art in Paris." She said.
"Whoa! That's amazing! How long? When?" I asked.
"This year and they're leaving this Friday morning." She whispered, "It's for a year and I'm thinking of going."
"That's a long time," I said.
"What do you think I should do?" Claire asked, "They will have tutoring there so I won't fall behind in school but I'll miss him a lot and my family."
"Well opportunities like this don't come around that often and didn't you say it was your dream to go to Paris?" I asked, "You can still email and text and call everyone and maybe it will be good to spend a year away from him so he can realize that you've grown up."
"Yeah, I understand what you mean. He's grown up with me so he hasn't realized I'm a young woman now." Claire said, "I really want to go too... How should I tell him?"
"If you want to go, then go. It's not like you're leaving forever. Who knows maybe you'll meet some cute French boy." I giggled.
Claire giggled and said, "Ahh, the city of romance."
"And art, and great food." I said, "I wish I could go to Paris to study art or something there for a year."
"Yeah, I'll definitely go." She said, "I would kill myself if I missed out on something like this. How should I tell him?"
"Just tell him that you're going and that you really want to go and pursue in your dream to become an artist and that this is a big deal."
"You're right," Claire said, "Thanks Melanie."
"No problem, but you better send me a lot of pictures!" I tell her and she laughs.
"I wish you could come too." Claire sighed.
"I know but my parents already told me I couldn't." I said, "Don't worry, you'll still have lots of fun, maybe I will come visit or something for the summer or during breaks."
"Yeah," Claire said and smiled, "Well thanks, I should go fill out the forms and find my passport and pack I guess..."
I laughed at her, "Have fun!"
"Oh I will," she said sarcastically and we said our goodbyes and hung up.
"Who was it?" Austin asked.
"Huh?" I said as I put the phone down on top of the piano, "Oh. It was Claire she was calling to talk and stuff."
"Claire? How is she?" Quil asked perking up.
Crap, I forgot Quil was here. "She's okay I guess." I said hesitantly. It wasn't my place to tell Quil that she would be leaving for a year but...
"What did she say?" Quil asked.
"Dude, girl code." I said and started tinkering with the piano. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Quil shaking slightly and all the guys tensed. I heard Quil sigh and he stopped shaking and everyone relaxed. Odd.
"Why don't you play a song Melanie?" Dad asked.
"Which song?" I asked.
"How about A Thousand Miles?" Sophia asked, "I like that song."
"Okay," I said as my tinkering morphed into the opening keys for A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton.
"Making my way downtown, walking fast
Faces pass and I'm home bound
Staring blankly ahead, just making my way
Making a way through the crowd
And I need you
And I miss you
And now I wonder
If I could fall into the sky
Do you think time would pass me by?
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles
If I could just see you
Tonight
It's always times like these when I think of you
And I wonder if you ever think of me
'Cause every thing's so wrong and I don't belong
Living in your precious memory
'Cause I need you
And I miss you
And now I wonder
If I could fall into the sky
Do you think time would pass me by
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles
If I could just see you
Tonight
And I, I
Don't wanna let you know
I, I
Drown in your memory
I, I
Don't wanna let this go
I, I don't
Making my way downtown, walking fast
Faces pass and I'm home bound
Staring blankly ahead, just making my way
Making a way through the crowd
And I still need you
And I still miss you
And now I wonder
If I could fall into the sky
Do you think time would pass us by?
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles
If I could just see you
If I could fall into the sky
Do you think time would pass me by?
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles
If I could just see you
If I could just hold you
Tonight"
Everyone clapped when I finished and I smiled. One stare seemed to be smiling the most and clapping the loudest, I turned to see who it was and it was the guy who sent me flying with a door. Our gazes met and time seemed to freeze and I couldn't see or hear anyone else. His smile dropped off his face and he was amazed and then he broke out grinning. I tore my gaze away from him as quickly as I could. What was that?
"Oh, Melanie," Austin said grinning, "This is Seth and Leah Clearwater, guys, this is Melanie."
"Hello," I said, "It's nice to meet you."
Seth was about to say something but my Mom cut him off by calling from the kitchen, "Melanie, play one more and then dinner will be ready." All the guys cheered and complained that they were starving.
I rolled my eyes and started to play the upbeat opening keys for Nolita Fairytale by Vanessa Carlton. I loved her since she was such an excellent pianist and she was a great singer and songwriter.
"I know, you know, we don't see
We sow our, truth wait, patiently
I walk the streets with a song in my head
We ebb and we flow so
Got my toes on my pup at the foot of my bed
My heart always seems to know
Now take the glitz back, I want the soul instead
Cause I found some kind of fairytale
I used to
Hover, outside my, truth
Always, worry, of what I'd lose
Take away my record deal
Go on, I don't need it
Spent the last two years getting to what's real
And now I can see so clear
I hope you feel just like I feel
I found some kind of fairytale
Ooh, ooh. Ooh, ooh.
Want a garden by the ocean tide
Because I lose my way searching for stage lights
Well, Stevie knows and I thank her so
Cause it's your seeds I sow
And now I know
Nolita flat on rent control
That's the life I choose
And you drag me to the fashion show
The poses that I see through
Ruby's in the afternoon
Cause I found some kind of fairy...tale
Hey!
Nolita Fairytale
Ba da da da da da, Ba da da da da da
Nolita Fairytale
Ba da da da da da, Ba da da da da da
Nolita Fairytale
Nolita Fairytale
Nolita Fairytale"
They all clapped and cheered again for me and Seth was clapping and cheering again the loudest but this time I avoided his gaze.
"Food!" Paul yelled and everyone laughed and followed behind him to the dining room.
We normally didn't eat in the dining room unless we had a lot of company. We usually ate at the kitchen table. I looked to the dining room and everyone had already taken a seat and the only empty one was in between Jacob and Seth. Great.
I squeezed into the chair between them and looked at the food Mom had made. God, she made a lot of food. It was enough to feed an army, heck, there might've been enough to feed all the hungry people in Afghanistan. Did we really need all this food? It could barely all fit on the table! We only had fifteen people eating! Not a million! I knew Dad and Austin ate a lot but Mom, Sophia and I didn't eat a lot! How much did these teenage boys eat?
Jacob must have noticed my surprised and amazed gaze at all the food because he said, "We eat a lot."
"No duh," I said as everyone started digging in. It was crazy, everyone was grabbing for food. I managed to grab a cheeseburger, some fries and some coleslaw. On my burger I put mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, horseradish sauce, and a lot of lettuce.
I nervously munched on my fries while everyone talked and stuffed their faces. For some reason I felt very self-conscious and my hands were shaking. I fidgeted in my seat and squirmed anxiously as I took a tiny bite out of my burger and chewed slowly.
"Are you alright?" Seth asked putting his hot hand on my shoulder.
I let out a tiny surprised squeak and nearly jumped out of my chair. His hand was very uncomfortable because the heat made me squirm and even more nervous and self-conscious of myself. I turned to face him only to see his face full of concern and affection. The way he was looking at me was so intense my eyes darted away from his face and I felt trapped. I needed to get out.
Right then, as if on cue, the phone rang. I jumped out of my chair as if my pants were on fire and shouted, "I'll get it!"
I could feel Seth's gaze on my back, it was full of hurt and confusion. I sighed quietly and answered the ringing phone, "Hello?"
"Hi! Is this Melanie?" a girly voice asked.
"Yes, who is this?" I asked confused.
"It's Jessica!" she squealed.
"Oh hi!" I said, "What's up?"
"Okay, so we're going dress shopping on Thursday since the dance is on Friday. We can't go Tuesday because we have try outs that day. The theme for the dance is Up On Cloud Nine. So that means we will want to get sky-ish colors and float-y dresses." She said, "Bella, Alice, Angela, and Lauren are coming."
"Wait, wait. What?" I asked.
"We're shopping for dresses for the dance." She said slowly.
"But I don't have a date. I wasn't even planning on going to this dance." I said.
"Oh come on! It'll be fun! And are you seriously going to deprive Alice of finding a dress for you? It was all she was talking about today in school." Jessica said making me feel guilty. I definitely would not be able to deprive Alice of her fun.
"Okay, fine." I sighed, "But I don't have a date. Don't you need one?"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll have one by tomorrow." Jessica said slyly, "A very cute date."
"Huh? I thought this was a girl's choice dance." I said confused, "Who's going to ask me?"
"You'll see." Jessica said, "You better say yes because I want you to be there!"
"Wait! Jessica! Give me a hint!" I wailed.
"Sorry," she said and I could just see her grinning, "I have to go! Bye! See you tomorrow!"
"Wait, Jess!" I cried but she had already hung up. "Ugh," I said and let my head fall onto the piano keys which made a very ugly and loud noise.
Instead I decided to play on the piano. I played the relaxing tune to Fur Elise by Beethoven and then I played A River Runs Through You which was a very beautiful melody that someone had written recently. It came out only a few months ago.
I sighed and realized I would be very bored after school now since I would never have any homework. The classes were so easy that I had time to do my homework in class and I also had an hour long study hall which I used to study and do homework I hadn't finished yet.
Everyone was coming out of the dining room and back into the living room and Dad asked me, "Melanie do you have any homework you need to finish?"
"No Dad, I finished it in class." I said as I absently played Love Song on the piano by Sara Bareilles.
"Oh, do you need to clean your room?" Mom asked me.
"No, it's clean." I said and I got the feeling they all wanted to talk without me there. I stood up from the piano and said, "I'm going to go look around the town. Call me if you need anything."
Seth stood up and started to say something but Jacob pushed him back down and shook his head. Seth pouted and Mom said, "Okay, be safe."
I rolled my eyes and said, "Yes Mom, bye."
The downtown area of Forks was really nothing special. There was a supermarket, a Dunkin Doughnuts, a pizzeria, a sports shop, a Boston Clam Chowder restaurant and some other stores that weren't worth mentioning.
I noticed the sports shop was called Newton Olympic Outfitters. I guess Mike Newton's parents owned the shop. I saw Mike inside working and waved to him. He waved back and mentioned for me to stay there. I shrugged to myself and waited, it's not like I had anything better to do.
He came out after a minute or two and said, "Hey."
"Hi, what's up?" I asked.
"A bunch of us are meeting at the pizzeria, wanna come?" he asked.
"Sure," I said and followed him to the pizza place.
At the pizzeria were Jessica, Angela, Ben, Lauren, Tyler, Bella, Edward, Alice and Eric. It seemed like the whole group was here.
"Hey California!" Tyler called grinning, "I tried calling your cell phone to invite you but no one picked up!"
"Sorry," I said and smiled apologetically, "Did you try my house?"
"Yeah but some guy picked up and you weren't available." Tyler said.
I rolled my eyes and said, "That was probably my older brother. We had company over, actually we still do but I kind of was kicked out. I could tell my parents wanted to talk to them all without me there."
"Ooh tough." Tyler said.
"Who was over your house?" Bella asked me.
"Uh, a bunch of really muscled guys and one girl." I said, "Apparently my parents know them."
"Oh yeah, I know them." Bella said nodding, "They live on La Push and they're really nice."
"Do they have a tendency to stare a lot?" I asked suddenly.
Bella's eyes widened slightly and she asked, "No, why? Who was staring at you?"
I shrugged and said, "One of the taller ones was staring at my sister a lot and one of the shorter ones was staring at me."
"Do you remember their names?" Bella asked me and Edward and Alice stared at me intrigued.
"No, sorry." I said because I honestly didn't remember their names. For some reason their names slipped of my mind.
Just as Mike and I sat down the pizzas arrived. There was one large cheese pizza, one large Hawaiian pizza, and one large house deluxe pizza that had everything on it besides hot peppers and anchovies.
Everyone was taking two slices at a time so I did too because I realized I was really hungry. All I had to eat today was Caesar salad with chicken and some fries and one bit of a burger. I took a slice of Hawaiian and a slice of the house deluxe.
I noticed the two Cullens weren't eating so I asked them why. They told me they had already eaten before they came here. I nodded, it made sense.
We all ate and talked and laughed having a great time. I looked out the window and sighed, it was still completely cloudy. At least it wasn't raining since I had to walk home.
"So who's over your house right now?" Jessica asked me.
I shrugged and said, "I guess you could call them the Quileute Boys or something. It's just the big group of boys that walk around La Push, plus the girl."
"You mean the shirtless muscled guys who are like freakishly tall?" Lauren asked and we all laughed.
"Yes, those ones." I said laughing.
"You're so lucky," Jessica sighed happily.
"Hmm... I guess." I said as I took a bite of pizza. They're like a pack of wolves, I thought absentmindedly. They definitely acted like one the way they always hung out together and arrived by the woods. They definitely had manners like wolves with the way they ate. I laughed slightly to myself and rolled my eyes.
I saw Edward look up at me in surprise and I looked at him curiously. Was he reading my mind? Nah, that wasn't possible. I looked at him and it seemed he hadn't heard what I thought that time. So if he could read my mind then it was only when I wanted him to or only sometimes.
Hey, can anyone hear me? I thought to my self and then thought, wow, I feel like an idiot. Edward laughed and then I went back to my theory that he could read minds.
Everyone was taking and laughing about the upcoming dance when Eric turned to me and asked me if I wanted to go. I hesitated and he said it could just be as friends if I wanted. That sounded pretty good so I agreed to go with him. Eric was Chinese and was pretty cute, he was tall which was good and Jessica said he got a lot cuter this year. She said last year he had horrible skin problems and was geeky but this year he seemed more athletic but he was still smart and he had very clear skin.
Right after I responded my phone rang and I picked it up.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Hi Melanie, where are you?" Austin asked.
"Oh hi Austin, I ran into a bunch of friends and we're at the pizza place." I said.
"Okay, just be home soon." He said.
"Okay," I said, "Bye."
I looked out the window and saw it was pretty dark out already and I saw that it was starting to rain. I was surprised Austin didn't offer to pick me up. I sighed, he was changing and probably was getting sick or taking care of and driving his little sister everywhere.
"Hey, it's getting late." Mike said, "We should go."
"Yeah," Jessica sighed, "We do have school tomorrow."
"Do you need a ride home?" Edward asked me.
"Sure, thanks." I smiled at him and we piled into the car with Alice and Bella.
Alice was talking about how excited she was to go dress shopping and Bella just grumbled and sulked.
"You don't like shopping?" I asked her.
"No, I don't but with Alice it's a million times worse." Bella grumbled and crossed her airs.
"Oh I'm sure it won't be that bad." I said smiling, "I bet it will be fun. All of us girls shopping for dresses..."
"Again, torture." Bella muttered and the three of us laughed.
"We're here." Edward said and smiled.
"Thanks," I said, "See you all tomorrow!"
"Bye! See you tomorrow Melanie!" Bella and Alice shouted as I dashed for the door through the rain because now it was torrentially down pouring.
Austin was waiting there for me with the door open. As I walked by him he crinkled his nose in disgust as if I smelled or something. "What?" I asked him.
"Oh nothing," he said, "It's just raining really hard."
"Hmph, I think I noticed." I said as I walked inside slightly dripping.
I walked into the living room and all the boys and my dad scrunched their noses in disgust. "What?" I asked annoyed, "Do I smell or something?"
I sniffed myself and I still smelled like oranges, coconuts and sweet lemons. I didn't smell bad, I smelled good. What was their problem?
"No, no," Dad said, "Who were you with?"
"Um, Jessica, Lauren, Angela, Bella, Mike, Tyler, Ben, Eric, Edward and Alice." I said, "Edward, Alice and Bella gave me a ride home."
"That' nice of them." Dad said as Mom handed me a towel for my hair.
I quickly toweled down my hair and sat down on the floor next to Sophia. Behind me sitting on the couch was, of course, Seth.
"You're all invited to come to the bonfire on Friday night." Sam said to us.
"What time is it?" Dad asked.
"It starts at 7:00pm." Sam said.
"Wait, Friday?" I asked and shook my head, "I can't go. The dance is on Friday."
"Oh yeah, the Girl's Choice Dance." Austin said then turned to me, "You asked someone?"
"No," I said and shook my head.
"You're going dateless?" he asked me surprised.
"Again no, someone asked me." I said, "And you're not going to a dance?"
"Nope," he said.
"No one asked you?" I asked extremely surprised.
"No, I was asked by a lot of girls but I want to go to the bonfire." Austin said.
"You're skipping out on a dance." I said surprised.
"Yep," he said, "come to the bonfire, it'll be fun."
"I can't, I already told someone I'd go with them and Alice really wants to go shopping for dresses." I said, "She's really excited."
"What are you doing tomorrow after school?" Seth asked me.
"I have cheerleading try outs and track try outs." I said, "We're going shopping on Thursday into Port Angeles."
"Who are you going with?" Dad asked.
"Bella, Lauren, Angela, Jessica and Alice." I told him.
"You'll take your cell phone right?" he asked.
"Of course," I said and rolled my eyes and stood up, "I'm going to get ready for bed now."
"Okay," Mom said.
"It was nice meeting you all." I said smiling and went upstairs to my room where I grabbed some long pajama bottoms and a tank top. I took a quick shower and then blow dried my hair and hopped into bed to read.
An hour later I heard a knock on the door and told the person to come in. It was Seth. I wonder what he wanted.
He came in and sat down on the edge of my bed and I could feel the bed sink under his weight. He wasn't fat just he weighed a lot because of all the muscle and height he had.
"Whatcha reading?" he asked after a minute or two of silence.
"The sixth Harry Potter book." I said without looking up, "It's the best series ever."
"Not The Vampire Diaries like every other girl in my school is obsessing over?" he asked and raised an eyebrow.
I snorted, "Oh please, wizards are probably more realistic than vampires and werewolves. Anyways Harry Potter isn't scary."
Seth raised an eyebrow at me again and said, "You never know."
"Oh sure," I said rolling my eyes, "I totally believe that a vampire is going to suck my blood and you are going to turn into a werewolf."
Seth looked seriously at me again and then said, "Are you sure about that?"
"Puh-lease, in my dreams." I rolled my eyes.
"You dream about vampires and werewolves?" he asked perking up.
"No! I dream about Harry Potter." I said grinning, "Draco Malfoy is so hot!"
"So you're in love with a fictional character." he said dryly and then asked, "If you could meet anyone would you rather meet a wizard or a super amazing and super hot and perfect werewolf."
"Wizard," I answered in literally one second after he asked the question.
Seth leaned his back against my wall and stretched his legs out onto my floor. I mentally groaned because that made me want to stretch out my legs as well. They were getting cramped up from being in the same position for a long time.
As if reading my mind Seth gently took my feet in his burning hands and pulled them so my ankles were resting on his far leg. He laid one warm hand on my shin while the other absently stroked my lower calf and foot.
I felt myself nodding off to sleep at the slow, rhythmic movement of his warm hands. I felt my head clunk down onto the pillow and heard the book fall to the floor. I felt Seth stand up and that was the last thing I felt before I fell into a dreamless sleep.
Night-Day Dreamer: It is confusing trying to figure out how to publish stories and chapters... How did this chapter go? If you have anything you want me to add or characters you want to see more of just leave a comment! Please rate and comment!