It was days like this that I really wished the voices would just shut the fuck up.
I was rusty, like I was after every summer, and I wanted to bash my head against the wall just for a little peace from the clamor.
The start to every school year was always bad, people's thoughts filled with extra does of whining, vanity, excitement, boredom. But of course this particular year in the public school system hellhole, Forks had to go and get itself a new student. A new female student. The perceptions of her varied but the mental images I was getting were all pale and brunette and thin. The male population was going nuts.
It was so easy to stir the pot with humans. To get people's minds worked up to such a racket that I could barely discern normal conversations. It was all just noise. Noise, noise, noise.
God, I hated school.
A solid tap on my hunched shoulder had me quirking up one side of my mouth in an almost-smile. I held out my hand without even glancing away from my locker and felt the familiar pill bottle fill it with the promise of relief. My fingers trembled as I popped the cap and shook two painkillers into my mouth, swallowing dry.
Thank you, Jasper.
I turned to face my best friend, nodding my thanks, and he grimaced sympathetically. Out of anyone, he understood what I was going through the best. At six foot two, with shaggy blonde hair, sharp blue eyes, and the permanent solemn expression he wore in public- Jasper cut an intimidating figure. But then my eyes noted his ever-present cowboy boots and I smirked.
You could take the man out of Texas...
I shut my locker door and we walked in silence to our first class, my steps trudging and reluctant. People unconsciously moved out of our way, as always, and I took small vindictive pleasure in that. I gave a forced smile to the teacher after we entered the Math classroom, handing him my medical paperwork.
You know, just in case he had forgotten who I was over the summer.
"Yes, errr...Welcome back Mr. Cullen. Please have a seat. You can collect your extra credit at the end of the class." I suppressed an eye roll as I nodded politely and snagged my customary seat in the back corner of the room. Mr. Varner was happy to have me further away.
Tuning out the standard first-day drivel, my eyes stared longingly out the window at the woods and rain that always seemed to threaten to overtake the school.
It would be so QUIET out there.
As the clock ticked closer to the end of the hour, Jasper started to fidget. His internal voice was easy to discern and I nearly laughed. A certain faye-like raven haired girl was in Jasper's next class, and he was actually nervous. Decades of experience and yet, here he was: hopeless. From the moment she had strode into our English class like a miniature whirlwind sophomore year, Alice Brandon had had the stoic Jasper Whitlock wrapped around her tiny finger. He couldn't seem to find the guts to talk to her, even after two goddamn years, but he had gone so far as to sign up for art classes just to spend more time with her.
I had hinted strongly that she was every bit as sappy about him, but when it came to Alice, Jasper was stubborn. He was adamant she not get too close, but he didn't want to just use her for a little fun. So for two years I had watched them stare longingly at each other and do absolutely nothing about it.
I was this close to just shoving them both in a closet and locking the door. Their mutual frustration was stifling.
The bell rang and I gathered my extra credit work from an uneasy Mr. Varner before heading off into the crowded chaos of the halls; the medicine making it almost tolerable. Esme and Carlisle had argued when we moved here that giving me an extra workload was unfair, but the Principal had countered that I needed to do something for my participation grades. If I couldn't speak and wasn't going to be in a "special" school, it had to be balanced out somehow. I was just thankful that I got to stay here with my family to keep me somewhat sane. And to keep an eye, or rather ear, on them.
Every class was a basic repeat of the first, and the routine was both comforting and smothering. Hours passed, papers were handed out, and nobody really listened. Just like every other year. I drummed my fingertips along my desk in English, silently willing the clock to move faster. Hopefully at lunch I could escape for a much needed cigarette. I was already getting twitchy.
The bell finally toned and I quickly made my way to my locker, keeping my head down, a futile effort to block everything out. Grabbing my smokes and my lighter, I sighed and made another vain promise to quit. Then the voices welled up again and I slammed my locker closed bitterly.
I really needed to work on my defenses or I was going to go ballistic before the week was over.
The sight of the round table off to the side in the cafeteria was enough to make me grin as I bought my usual sandwich and coffee in the lunch line. No one passed by too close, though they would never really be able to explain why other than "The Cullens keep to themselves and don't like to be bothered." I shook my head and paid, wondering how long this human charade could last. Emmett and Rosalie were making a scene of themselves as always, sucking face with abandon. Jasper predictably was staring across the room at Alice who was...with the new girl.
The mental images I had been harassed with all day seemed to be fairly accurate. Very slender with milky white skin and long wavy chestnut hair. Pretty enough girl, from what I could see. But her small shoulders were hunched forward and her head was ducked as she apparently conversed with Alice. Her posture was almost defensive, and based on what I could hear and the amount of stares she was getting, I gathered she didn't like the attention.
New Girl was going to be eaten alive in a school this small.
Rosalie stopped mauling Emmett long enough to give me her usual beauty-queen icy smile as I approached. I flipped her off and I smiled back. She just rolled her eyes and tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder before taking a dainty bite of salad. Emmett inhaled some greasy school pizza, and the contrast between the two of them was nearly hysterical. Her the graceful, statuesque, ever-aloof Southern beauty; and him the dark-haired mountain of a man with years of dick-jokes in his arsenal and the manners of a chimp.
How they ever worked was beyond me.
"How's the first day back, E?" Emmett boomed around a mouthful of food and I winced, my expression fading while I sat down. He swallowed and his face became a little sheepish as he lowered his voice to a more normal decibel. "Sorry bro. That bad?" I shrugged and took a sip of my coffee, unable to stay glum when confronted with Emmett's relentless enthusiasm. His thoughts gave him away a second before he acted and I neatly dodged the french fry he lobbed in my direction.
Asshole.
He shook his head, annoyed as always that I avoided his "attacks", but then something to my right caught his gaze and his huge dimpled smile widened further. Grabbing Jasper around the shoulder playfully, he pointed.
"Look Jasper, your girlfriend is totally smitten with the new girl! Wouldn't have pegged Alice as a lesbo, would you?" Jasper ducked out from under his arm and narrowed his eyes, before punching Emmett in his massive bicep. Hard.
"They're cousins you neanderthal! And don't make fun of Alice. You know she's straight."
"Lighten up, Jasper! I was kidding. Besides, you make fun of Rosie all the time." Emmett mock pouted and Rosalie was quick to "kiss it better". Jasper and I both looked away, making the same disgusted face. Those two were relentless.
"She's my sister. We gotta mock each other. It's in our blood." Emmett laughed at that before turning his childish mirth on me.
"So Edward, is Little Miss Brandon over there filling in Bella on all the school gossip?" My brows furrowed and I glanced over at the table where Alice sat with New Girl; who's name was apparently Bella. Focusing, I tuned in to the insanely cheerful thoughts of the little pixie. Sure enough, she was happily running through the ins and outs of Forks High for her cousin. Turning back to my family I nodded and Emmett looked at me in exasperation.
"And? What's the new chick like? What's her deal?"
I sighed. Emmett was a bigger gossip than half the girls I had ever met. But I knew he wouldn't shut up about it until I gave him some dirt, so I reluctantly looked back in Alice and this "Bella"'s direction. For an instant I was met with the gaze of deep chocolate eyes, before Bella looked down at the table top, evidently embarrassed at having been caught staring.
Odd. I should have heard her thinking about us.
I picked up Alice's internal voice in a heartbeat, an she WAS thinking about the Cullen's. Well, she was thinking about telling her cousin what she knew about us. And there were the ever-present thoughts about Jasper. Coming from the seat across from her where the petite brunette sat there was...nothing. I could see her lips moving softly and hear her replies in Alice's mind but where her thoughts should be there was just a blank.
Unsettled, I shifted in my seat and let down all my guards, digging through the ungodly riot of noise for the one voice that was...missing. Surrounding this unassuming girl was a brick wall of silence. Her big brown eyes peeked over in my direction again, and I stared back, hoping some mental proximity might let me hear her. Nothing. It was like the more I tried, the less I could hear. The ever-present chaotic thoughts seemed to dim as I focused all my effort on her silence. No one had ever beaten my "gift" before.
Who was this girl?
Heart pounding, red flags going up all over the place, I wrenched my gaze away. Immediately the flood of voices came back. I ran a shaky hand through my unruly hair and grabbed my coffee cup before dashing for the exit.
What the fuck had just happened?
Leaning against a picnic table in the rain, I pulled my leather motorcycle jacket closer to my neck and smoked my cigarette angrily in between sips of coffee. I could hear Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie all wondering what my problem was. I sent Jasper some assurance I didn't really feel, because I honestly didn't know what my problem was. Maybe it was just a fluke. Maybe her inner voice was just...really quiet?
In another futile effort, I dug through the tumult to try and locate the one voice I knew just had to be there somewhere. I found Alice again.
"Don't worry about Biology next, Bella! It's probably not as tough as your old school, and Mr. Banner is dorky, but nice." Her inner monologue continued amiably and I struggled to hear anything but Bella's verbal replies. No dice.
Well, it seems we all have Biology together next period. I smirked as I stubbed out my cigarette on the wet pavement, feeling slightly uplifted. I was going to prove this was all just a mistake. A mystery easier to unravel than an episode of Scooby Doo.
I gave my siblings a cursory wave from outside before stalking off in the direction of my locker.
Just a few more minutes, and I'll have an answer...
***A/N: Hope you enjoyed! I know not a lot happened in this chapter, but we've got a LOT of ground to cover and I don't want to rush anything. Chapter 2 might be up tomorrow, but no promises. I'll do my best :) Cheers!****