I don't own any of the Twilight characters...

---

It was after a long night of tossing and turning that Bracken awoke the next morning. She felt as though somebody had pulled back her eyelids and poured grains of sand inside. Bracken sat up, flapping her hand irritably to get rid of the sheets that were draped over her body. She yawned, rubbing her eyes with clenched fists. Her head felt as though it was filled with water as she got to her feet. Bracken threw out a hand to grab onto the bedpost, shaking her head for a few moments before her vision focused.

Right. Today was a new day. She was not going to dwell on people with oddly similar eyes and deathly pale skin. No. She was going to be good and concentrate on school and working, and making friends who weren't just after gossip. More enthusiastic after this firm thought, Bracken walked to the chest of drawers less drunkenly than a few moments ago. She yanked open the drawers, yawning again and scratching her head as she sifted through her clothes. Eventually she settled on a grey lace shirt, with a hooded sweatshirt and a black skirt.

She pulled a pair of ash-coloured tights and then her black boots on, then leant on the dresser, repeating her earlier thoughts several times like a mantra. She then grabbed her bag with an air of finality, threw it onto her shoulder and exited her room. She was along the corridor and down the wooden staircase in a flash. Bracken left the reception quietly, not wanting to attract the attention of the grumpy receptionist who seemed to take pride in glaring at her whenever she passed.

Bracken was surprised to see an old blue car parked outside the Inn. The paint was peeling in places, and somebody was draped out of the window. "Oi, Brac, hurry up! We've been for ages!" Bracken hurried forward as she recognized Cleo, nearly tripping over her own feet in her haste. She returned Cleo's grin. "What are you doing here?" she said, spotting Symone in the driver's seat beside Cleo. Cleo sighed and poked Bracken towards the back door. "Giving you a lift to school! Move, idiot!"

Bracken obeyed her friend with no more objections. She slid into the back seat, slamming the door shut. It creaked as though it was complaining. The journey passed fairly quickly. The conversation was mainly about school and Cleo's boyfriend Alex, which suited Bracken fine. She didn't want to let her thoughts wander...

Bracken took a moment to brace herself against the anticipated stares before getting out of the car. As her feet hit the ground, she felt the eyes burning into her. Trying not to blush, Bracken headed towards the main building with Cleo and Symone. She couldn't help her curiousity as it rose in her chest. Bracken raised her chin very slightly to peer around through her honey-coloured hair. She glanced around the car park quickly. It seemed she was alright. They weren't here.

Bracken raised her head further as this realization went through her. She pushed her fringe out of her eyes so she could see where she was going. Cleo was still babbling on about Alex to Symone. Bracken stopped listening, singing songs in her head to avoid her mind skipping away to rest on another subject. Laughter sounded from somewhere behind her. But it wasn't like normal laughter – it was somehow beautiful. Was that even possible? Beautiful laughter?

Somehow, she already knew what she going to see before she looked over her shoulder. There they were. The three people she had been dreading seeing. The slight, elfin girl, the tall blonde boy, and the black-haired boy. A hot blush spread over her whole face. Their laughter intensified. Bracken couldn't help thinking that maybe they were laughing at her – though she was pretty sure they were way too cool to bother with the likes of her. They looked it, anyway.

As they reached the steps, Cleo skipped ahead. Bracken looked down, her fringe falling over her eyes again. Suddenly, her feet weren't on the ground anymore. She was flying. How curious.

Then the ground hit her. Bracken blinked, completely confused. She shoved her hair out of her eyes to see people crowded around her. Before she could say a word, Cleo's face appeared. "Hey, are you okay?" She was frowning. Bracken watched as the crowd gradually dispersed. She blinked. "Yes... What happened?" Cleo suddenly looked furious. "Oscar Cullen shoved right past you! He didn't even stop and help you or anything! Jerk!" She shot a look inside the building. Symone was there, too. She held out a hand to Bracken and helped her up.

"I don't know, Cleo," Symone said uncertainly. "It happened so fast. Bracken might have just tripped." Bracken sighed. It was possible enough. She was still getting used to using her legs. But Cleo stubbornly refused to believe anything otherwise. "No, Sym, I saw him!" she insisted. Bracken grabbed her bag from the ground and began to walk inside. Her friends followed her, still bickering about the incident.

Something suddenly clicked in her mind. Who did Cleo think had knocked her over? Oscar Cullen? Cullen? It could've just been a coincidence. Bracken fought the urge to ask for a moment, then gave in. "Who is Oscar Cullen?" she asked, her exasperation clear in her voice. She just wanted to forget about the embarrassing incident, but not until she knew what Cleo thought she had seen.

"Black hair," Cleo said absently. "Quite good-looking. Bit weird. He was in the stupid shiny car. But that's not the point..." Bracken forgot to listen to Cleo's next words. Black hair. He was in the shiny car. Oh God. It was one of the three from yesterday. Her faced burnt painfully. And Cullen was his surname. It seemed her suspicions had been correct. But then again, Cullen was a common enough surname. Wasn't it...?

"Cullen... Is he one of Dr Cullen's foster kids?" she asked, interrupting Cleo. Cleo shot her a glare as though her questions were nothing to do with the matter. It was Symone who answered her question. "Yes," she said, her voice uncertain, as though she wondered how Bracken knew about Dr Cullen. Bracken knew that Symone would never ask (she was far too polite) so she answered the unspoken question. "Dr Cullen was one of the doctors who helped me when..." She trailed off. Symone nodded, not needing the whole sentence to understand.

So she was right. The three were Dr Cullen's foster children. But what was with their resemblance? They couldn't all be related. Or could they...? Bracken shoved the thoughts away angrily. She had promised herself she wouldn't dwell on the Cullen's! She wasn't even in school yet and she had already broken that promise. How useless was that?

Bracken found her concentration slipping around like silk all day. In Calculus she could not answer one of the questions the teacher shot at her. His venomous look had made her want to sink right down under the table and through the floor.

At least Games was her last lesson before lunch. She didn't mind Games, and there would be a distraction from thinking about the Cullen's. Bracken got changed into her kit quickly, and grabbed a racket from the bag. She joined the handful of other people who were changed already, practicing swinging her racket around. She caught Luke Gregory full in the face in one swing, as he passed. She gasped. "I'm really sorry," she apologized, guilt making her fumble over her words.

Luke paused for a moment, obviously in pain, then smiled at her. It looked more like a grimace. "S'okay, Bracken," he said through his teeth, before walking to stand a good distance away from her. Bracken tried not to feel guilty. Maybe he would stop staring so much now.

The lesson was easy, as she expected. She just concentrated on hitting the ball back and forth to Poppy Ratterford, who had partnered up with her. Bracken had noticed with a small smile that Luke stayed away from, not offering to be her partner.

"Oops!" Bracken laughed as she misjudged a hit and it bounced from the net back towards her. Poppy joined in, giggling. "I thought you were better than that, Bracken," she teased, her sandy curls bouncing as she jumped from foot to foot. Bracken grabbed the ball from the gym floor. "I'll show you just how good I am, Poppy Ratterford!" she yelled, still laughing under her breath. She threw the ball up into the air, and hit it with all her strength. The ball didn't seem to want to obey her will. It sailed off to one side at full speed, and...

Her life ended.

Bracken's hands flew to her mouth as the ball struck the back of Oscar Cullen's head. She actually bit her hands with horror. Poppy was gasping, too. Everyone who had noticed was staring at Oscar, waiting for his reaction. Oh God, oh God. The thoughts flew through her brain like frightened birds. Bracken waited for the explosion.

Oscar turned slowly, the ball in his hand. He was walking towards her. Bracken gulped. She locked eyes with Poppy, who had gone very white – her freckles stood out on her skin like ink. Bracken quickly mouthed goodbye at her new friend. A moment later, Oscar was stood before her. He held out the ball. "I believe this is your's?" His voice was not like the voice of someone who had just been hit on the back of the head with a ball flying at high speed. It was light, almost amused. What the hell? Bracken searched her completely baffled mind for an explanation. "I... I..."

Oscar's other hand shot out. Bracken automatically flinched, still anticipating a temper tantrum of some sort. He looked upset by this. Bracken felt him take one of her hands and drop the ball into it. She gasped as his alabaster skin touched her's – it was as cold as touching ice. He seemed to register her expression and sudden intake of breath, for he turned quickly and began to walk away. "Oh, I... I'm really sorry!" she called after him. Her voice sounded full of fear.

Oscar hesitated, then turned and half-smiled at her, before continuing on his way. Bracken exhaled for what felt the first time since she had accidentally hit Oscar Cullen with the ball. She looked at Poppy, who was scurrying towards the net. Bracken followed suite, so that they met in the middle. "Oh my God, Bracken, I can't believe you managed to hit him!" Poppy gasped. Bracken blinked. "Thanks for that, Poppy. Like I'm not already mortified." Poppy giggled weakly. "Sorry."

Soon after this Coach Clapp appeared and scolded them for the lull in playing. The rest of the lesson passed without incident, though every few seconds Bracken's face flooded red as she remembered what she had managed to do.

Lunch afterwards was worse. Poppy had told Finlay everything (as always) and Cleo had somehow heard the story. She, naturally, had spread it far and wide. Bracken found her skin burning for the entirety of lunchtime. She was glad to escape to Art afterwards, and sit in her seat to work on her painting for the hour long lesson.

As Bracken walked out of the classroom, she heard giggles erupt from a table of girls as she passed them. Bracken tossed her hair as though she couldn't care that they were laughing at her. She quickly left the building without Symone and Cleo. She'd just walk back to the Inn – she didn't feel like talking about her Games class, and knowing Cleo, that would be the subject the whole way home.

In her haste to get away, Bracken tripped over her own feet, as she so often these days. She threw out her hands to break her fall, but a hand caught her elbow. She looked up, expecting one of my friends. Her heart juddered painfully as she looked into the face of Oscar Cullen. She'd never noticed before, but... But he really was good-looking, like Cleo had said. Not just good-looking, though. He was beautiful. Every feature was perfect, his syrupy eyes, the point of his nose, the way his ebony hair just sort of fell this way and that, the way his hair contrasted with his eyes.

Bracken took a moment to compose herself. "I.. I... Um.. Thankyou," she said eventually. Oscar's hand was still tight around her arm. His expression had changed. At first he had been smiling, probably at her stupidity. But he looked odd now. As though he was fighting something. And, a second later, he was pulling on her arm, tugging her away from the crowd.

She took a moment to register what was happening. "Wh-what are you doing?" she said, fear piercing her voice. She looked over her shoulder. Nobody was looking at them. Wait a second, how had they got so far away from the crowd so quickly? They were only metre's from the woods that surrounded the school already. Bracken grabbed the hand around her arm in one of her's, and tugged. "Get off me! Please!" Real panic was winging through her like a flaming bird now. She tried to pull his hand several more times, but it was like stone. It was like trying to break a piece of rock.

The trees loomed over then like monsters. Tears were wet and cold on her cheeks as Oscar continued to pull her. "Where are you t-taking me? Please let me go," she was begging now, her voice lisping with tears. She couldn't help sobbing in her panic, but her captor didn't say a word. She could hear his breathing, fast, as though he was out of breath. But still he moved at an inhuman pace, without any signs of slowing.

Bracken dug her nails into his white skin, before letting loose a loud scream. "Let me go or I swear I'll-" His other hand clamped over her mouth. She continued to shout under his palm, though the sound was muffled. Her mind was a confused mass of panic. What was he doing? She'd only hit him with a tennis ball, for God's sake! Was he that angry? He hadn't seemed angry before!

Bracken gasped as he sudden released her, pushing her onto the ground. She whimpered where she fell, her injuries from the fire roaring with pain. She looked up at Oscar, tears blurring her vision. "P-please don't hurt me," she begged. "I'm s-sorry for what happened, I r-really am!" Oscar hesitated for a moment. His face was twisted. Bracken prayed she had appealed to his better nature. Her hopes were useless, though. He was crouching, his face set now. He wasn't frowning. He looked crazed. Terror shot through Bracken.

"Let me go you freak! Let me go!" His hands were on her face, pushing it back against grass. His finger was on her throat, pressing lightly on her pulse. She struggled, but his grip was like a vice. Oscar's eyes met her's. "I'm sorry," he said, speaking for the first time. He bent his head, as though he was going to kiss her. Bracken was frozen with utter terror. She couldn't even find it within her to scream. It looked like this was the end of the road.

She was going to join her family.

----

Please, if you read this, review. Good, bad, etc. I don't know if I'll carry on with this as it hasn't been as successful as my other story.

Thanks!