Chapter Two

When you're all alone in the lands of forever,
Lay under the milky way,
On and on, it's getting too late out,
I'm not in love, this time, this night.

Can't help if I space in a daze,
My eyes turn out the other way,
I may switch off and go in a daydream,
In this head my thoughts are deep,
But sometimes I can't even speak,
Would someone be and not pretend?

I'm off again in my World

~ My World by Avril Lavigne ~

I was late to school that day. I know, how can a ghost be late, right? But Charlie was taking his time getting ready and I like to watch him leave for work. He'd forgotten to set the coffeemaker the night before, so I flicked it on and checked the milk. It was still fresh but he'd need more soon so I scribbled it on the shopping list attached to the refrigerator. I'd perfected copying his handwriting years ago and it came in handy at times like these.

I didn't like that he lived alone. He spent too much time by himself. Sure, he was with the guys at the station a lot and he went fishing with Billy Black almost every weekend but when he was alone at home, he was so reclusive it almost hurt me to watch him.

It hurt more to watch him go to my bedroom. Almost everyday he'd stop by the bedroom door and let out a big sigh. On the really bad days, he'd go and sit on the bed for a couple of minutes. I don't understand why he tortures himself like that. I hadn't even lived in it long. Just over a year, when Mom remarried and went travelling with her new husband, Phil. It's a shame I hadn't spent more time with them. I thought about going to Florida to see her but I couldn't leave Charlie. Mom had Phil to comfort her, Charlie had no one. Plus, I'd been kind of mad about the way Mom yelled at Charlie during my funeral. It wasn't his fault. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Story of my life. Or lack thereof.

OK, I'll quit with the dead jokes. After ten years, you'd think I'd have given up on them. But since I'm the only one to be amused by them, I guess I can do what I like.

As I was saying, Charlie was taking his time and by the time the cruiser had pulled away and I began to run to school I knew I was going to miss the start of my first class. Not that this was a huge deal, but it was a little irritating because English was my favourite and the class I was haunting were doing Chaucer and I love that guy. That Wife of Bath? One cool lady. Not that those damn kids appreciate it, for the most part. Hell, I don't think any of them have even read the text, just downloaded a translation from the internet. Mind you, they do have to sleep at night and Chaucer's a wordy bastard. They don't have the luxury of being constantly awake.

I sneaked into the class through the back wall. Sure, I could have gone through the door, but it seemed less interruptive to come in the back way. I know, weird manners for a ghost, right? But hey, manners don't cost a thing. Which is good, because there are very few ways of earning money as a ghost.

I suppose I could apply for Ghost Hunters… but I guess they probably want sensible ghosts who haunt castles and that sort of crap. Not teenage girls who developed a dire sense of humour post-mortem.

I sat at an empty desk by an air vent. One of the tricks of the trade, if a page happens to flip open, people will think it's the vent and I can read to my heart's content. Luckily, no one is observant enough to realise that the pages always flip in time to what the teachers is saying.

Mr Lewis was exploding enthusiasm today. Seriously, he's such a morning person, he makes me sick. And I'm pretty much as sick as a person can get – can you get more ill than dead? Nope, didn't think so. The rest of the class seemed to have a similar opinion and glowered at his caffeine-fuelled enthusiasm.

"Can anyone tell me where the pilgrims intended to end their journey?" He asked brightly. No one replied. "Anyone? Anyone at all?"

"Canterbury Cathedral." I said. No one heard. A moment later someone raised a tentative hand and Mr Lewis pounced.

"Martin!"

"Canterbury Cathedral?" Martin answered timidly and Mr Lewis declared this to be correct, turning to write on the board. I grinned and turned to the next page, reading ahead.

"Have you seen the new kids?" Someone whispered. I looked around and saw Jessica Stanley chattering under her breath to her neighbour, who nodded.

"Yeah, there's, like, five of them."

"And they're all dating each other, how twisted is that?" Jessica pulled a face and her neighbour shrugged.

"I heard they're all adopted, so it's not like it's incest."

"But they live together. Their parents must be so laid back."

This news was mildly interesting to me. Change is always interesting when you can't change yourself. But before long the class was over and I was off to Government. This was a pretty cool class, because I figure in a few years time everything that happens now is going to be 'history' and I'll be sitting here going 'yeah, I know this because I was there'. That'll be kind of awesome, seeing history happen.

See? I'm staying positive. Heck, I'm probably more positive than most living people. I figure, the worst has already happened, right? Dead is probably the bottom of the barrel.

There were no spare seats in Government so I sat on top of a filing cabinet. I didn't bother with a book, reading the notes the teacher wrote on the board. It was a different syllabus this term so I was learning this stuff for the first time. I'd only taken Government once before. It was really interesting and it was a shame that the teacher didn't realise that there was one really dedicated student in his class.

Whispers about the new kids – the Cullens – followed me from class to class, but I didn't go looking for them. No point, I wasn't going anywhere so I was bound to see them at one point or another. I waited until everyone had left Spanish (I am determined to learn another language; I've got forever, it's just stupid not to learn one) before walking to the cafeteria.

Angela was already sat with Jessica, Lauren, Ben, Tyler and Mike. There was an empty chair at their table, pulled out, so I perched on it, listening to their conversation and trying not to look at the food. I miss food. I tried eating it once. I chewed, swallowed and it just fell straight through me. Very disappointing and the flavour isn't as strong as it is when you're alive. I've gotten used to it but there are still some days when I just want to grab a massive burger and chow it down. Or a cupcake. Ooh, or chocolate.

Damn. I miss food. I put my head on my hands, miserable.

"Has anyone met the new kids yet?" Mike was asking and I watched as Tyler nodded, slurping at his juice. Lauren watched as though it was the hottest thing since Vesuvius erupted. Not that Lauren would know what Vesuvius was. Dumbass.

"Yeah, two of them were in my Trig class. Some smoking hot blonde chick and a blonde guy. I think they're twins."

"That will be Rosalie and Jasper." Jessica said as the fountain of all gossip, "Rosalie's dating someone called Emmett, who I haven't seen yet and there's some really short girl called Alice who's dating Jasper."

"How the hell do you know all this, Jess?" Mike asked in disbelief and she shrugged. I knew how she knew. By maintaining a low grade point average.

"I had another boy in my class. His name was Edward." Angela said absently, opening her milk carton, "He was very quiet."

"Look, that's them!" Mike said, far too excitedly. We all looked around and I saw five people walking to a table in the very corner of the room, far away from everyone else. I spied the statuesque blonde girl and was suddenly glad that no one could see me. No girl would want to be looked at when someone like that was in the room. She took a seat beside an enormous guy with short curly dark hair and looked down at her tray in disinterest. The large guy, Emmett, put his arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear. She gave a very small smile and leant against him. The love between them was like a siren, so clear that everyone could see it from the slightest gesture.

Joining them, the tiny girl, who must have been Alice – wasn't even five foot, but had several inches added by her incredible, gravity-defying hair. It was jet black and spiked up, an amazing contrast to her pale skin. The boy who followed her, hand in hand, was tall and slim with wavy blonde hair. He too was very pale and kept his head ducked. Maybe he was really shy.

"Oh, that's Edward." Angela said, nodding to a fifth figure. He was carrying a tray in one hand and a book in the other. I heard Jessica let out a sigh and I could see why. Edward Cullen was just as gorgeous as the others. His tangled, bronze hair and strong jaw had most of the women in the room drooling. I watched as he sat with his siblings and the five of them remained at their table, picking at their food and ignoring the murmurs and questions around them. Alice was talking quietly to Jasper, who was gazing at her in adoration. Rosalie and Emmett were sat in silence but their hands moved more than the others, touching and stroking softly. Edward sat perfectly still, book in hand, but he was frowning.

I turned back to the table, disinterested already but the Cullens were still the main subject of interest for the others. Jessica couldn't stop staring at Edward and Mike looked slightly put out by this. Tyler was talking to Ben about some football game that had been on the night before and Angela was eating slowly, casting furtive glances at Ben before looking away uncertainly. I sighed, wishing she'd talk to him. He liked her, he was just too nervous to say anything.

I decided to go to the library for the rest of the lunch break. I climbed out of the chair, being careful not to nudge anyone and made for the door, breaking into a run as I saw it open and slipping past Leanne Cunnings as she rushed in.

The librarian was in her office, no doubt slurping down her cup of chicken soup. She didn't like variety, Mrs Price, and she really hated late returns. I had, on occasion, hacked into her computer and changed return dates to give people a little extra time if I knew they had things going on and hadn't been able to finish them. You know, just doing my good deeds, in case I ever do move on to the 'afterlife', I'd prefer to find myself going up, you know?

I chose The Lord of the Rings and settled into a deserted corner of the library. I've been trying to read this book for ages but haven't been able to get into it. I'm determined though, because I really enjoyed the film. I had just gotten to Tom Bombadil's arrival when the bell rang. I put the book back onto the shelf and moved out into the hallway, but it was too crowded. I couldn't move through a crowd like this, it made too many people uncomfortable. So I hesitated by the library door, waiting for the kids to get into the classroom so I had a clear path to the biology room.

After a couple of minutes, I ventured out, winding around people. Then something strange happened. I walked past Alice Cullen and she looked at me.

I mean, obviously she didn't look at me, because no one can see me. But it looked like she was looking at me. Her eyes looked right at mine and she tilted her head and gave a smile. Her eyes were a weird golden colour, like topaz. I glanced behind me, even though I knew I was standing in front of a row of ordinary lockers and when I looked back she had glided down the hallway. Yes, glided. She was that freakin' graceful.

A shiver went down my spine. What's the saying? Somebody walked over my grave.

Heh heh.

But really, I was feeling really freaked out. I looked after her and then turned away. I really didn't feel like going to Biology. I knew Biology anyway, but I kept taking it because I liked Mr Banner. He was a good teacher and I liked the way he taught. But I changed my mind and went back to the library instead, determined to crack on with old Frodo and Sam.

~*~

Charlie was late home again. I waited in the kitchen as he turned on the lights and went into the refrigerator to find something for dinner. This was where I really tried to help him.

I had lived with Charlie almost a year after Mom and Phil got married and I'd been horrified by his diet. I'd taken over the cooking but talked to him about his eating habits. He'd gruffly admitted that he could improve and after I'd died he'd at least kept on eating healthier than he had before my arrival. Tonight he stared at the refrigerator and pulled out some fish. This wasn't much of a surprise, because he had a lot of fish. He kept bringing it back from La Push. He also pulled out some carrots, peas and potatoes and started making a fish pie with mashed potato topping. I perched on the kitchen table, watching as he closed the refrigerator door and paused, looking at the picture of us on it. He touched my printed face softly.

"Hey, Bells."

"Hi Dad." I whispered. This happened every night. Every single night.

The phone rang and he went to answer it. Whilst his back was turned, I turned the oven down a few degrees otherwise he'd burn his dinner.

"Charlie Swan speaking." He said flatly and then picked up, "Hey Billy. Yeah, you can come on over. Sure, bring Jake. Come over about six and we'll order pizza. Sure. See you tomorrow."

That was good, Charlie was always in a better mood when he had plans with Billy Black. I'd seen Jacob around a few times, but he was sixteen so had only been six when I died. He seemed like a decent kid and Charlie liked him.

Charlie settled into his armchair when he finished eating and was soon fast asleep in front of the television. I waited for an hour before nudging the chair just enough to shake him out of consciousness. He grunted and peered around sleepily before climbing out of his chair and turning off the television. I watched as he climbed the stairs and went to bed before following and going into my room, not opening the door but walking through because it creaks.

I lay on my bed, with its dusty sheets and stared up at the ceiling, listening to Charlie's heavy snores. Once I was sure he was asleep, I went to the bookshelves and chose one of my Jane Austen novels. I was fond of Jane – she knew what was what.

I closed my eyes eventually. I don't sleep, but by closing my eyes and thinking about nothing in particular, it's a good enough imitation that I do it on a regular basis. Not everyday, but a couple of times a week. When morning comes I wait until I hear Charlie shuffling around and go down to turn the coffeemaker on. Another day.

A/N: Hello, my little raspberry tartlets! Another chapter and the Cullens have appeared. No action yet, but the scene needs setting.

My World – This shows for me how detached Bella is, living in her own little world whilst everything carries on around her.

Love and smooches to my beta, Sarah. You're fabuloso, but you already knew that, didn't you? Lol.

Reviewers will receive their chosen Cullen/Werewolf and a bunch of mistletoe for that seasonal touch!

Love

Katie