I told you chapter 3 would be up soon!
Thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. My OC Fiona is all that is mine.
.
.
.
.
Sure enough, Edward Cullen was missing for the rest of the week.
Fiona was able to catch up on her sleep and usually woke up just after Charlie would leave for work. Her third day in Forks, Renee called Charlie in a panic. Fiona hadn't answered any of her e-mails and she was afraid Bella(Fiona) was upset about the move. Fiona searched around Bella's stuff and had found out her e-mail address but couldn't for the life of her figure out the password. She calmed Renee down on the phone and explained she was having problem with her account and would be setting up a new one. She did it while still on the phone so Renee could immediately contact her.
At school she felt an ease she didn't have on her first day and enjoyed getting closer to her new friends. While she got along fine with Jessica, Ben, Tyler, and Eric fine she had clicked the most with Angela and Mike.
Mike and Bella got on like a house on fire. They both geeked out over their shared interests and argued loudly over opposing views at lunch. It would get to the point where they attracted stares and the others would have to get after them to shut up.
Angela didn't have too much in common with Fiona but she did shared her passion for reading. She also took Fiona's over-exuberance in stride as it seemed to flower without the looming fear of being brutally murdered in her sleep. She was able to wrangle it effortlessly and bring the girl back down to earth. That was a big plus in Fiona's books.
Lauren had not warmed up to Fiona at all. The more Fiona loosened up and felt more free to be herself, the more Lauren seemed to loathe her. Fiona didn't get it. Did she think Fiona was trying to horn in and steal her friends? Lauren had plenty of opportunity to jump into conversation. No one excluded her. In fact, Angela and Jessica made it a point to try and pull her in. But whenever Fiona was around she seemed to shut herself off, only jumping in to add a sarcastic or lightly disparaging remark.
Fiona tried to be patient with her. She tried to see it from her point of view. She tried to convince herself Lauren wasn't being so cold-hearted on purpose. She just had a sucky home life, But the girl was sure as hell making difficult. Nothing Fiona said or did seemed to appease her.
After school she would hang out with Angela and Ben at the diner in the lodge doing homework and sometimes gorge on greasy food. Mike didn't join them because of his job at his parents store, but they planned for everyone to go out to the beach on one of his days off.
After Charlie got home from work he would talk with Fiona over dinner about their days and the friends she was making out school.
"Edward Cullen was kind of a dirtbag." The teen admitted one afternoon.
"How so?" Charlie asked, his forkful of homemade mashed potatoes hovering over his plate.
"First day at school he looked at me like I murdered his puppy or something." She stuffed her face with green beans as she spoke. "Major serial-killer stare. Total creep."
Charlie grunted in confusion. "Well that's odd. He's usually a pretty good kid. I'll call Dr. and Mrs. Cullen later and talk to them about it."
Mayday! Red alert!
She was not going to pull Charlie into this vampire bullshit.
"No!" She yelled across the table.
Charlie jumped slightly, jostling the table and nearly knocking over his glass of Coke. He stared at her like she had grown a second head.
"It's just..." She continued in a more acceptable tone. "He's been out sick all weak. I guess that first day he was just ill and I must of done something that ticked him off."
Charlie was extremely skeptical of this explanation.
"Seriously, Dad. Don't worry about it. If he bothers me again I'll let you know. I swear."
Charlie reluctantly backed off on the issue, still carefully studying her for a hint of dishonesty, but was eventually satisfied by her promise.
Saturday, Fiona lazed around the house and surfed the web. She talked to Angela on the phone for a time but she was busy helping her mom around the house. When lunchtime rolled around she decided to drop off some food for Charlie in effort to find something to do. She hung around the station while they ate and met the dispatcher Waylon Forge. She had to leave soon after so she didn't distract her pseudo-father from his job and spent the rest of the day vegetating on the couch watching John Hughes movies on TNT.
On Sunday she slept in and hung out at Mike's house with him and Eric playing video games. Eric was pretty exuberant, if a little awkward. Fiona had a feeling Mike may have been his only real friend.
Mrs. Newton was really nice about her and Eric being over and would good-naturedly scold the teens when they got too boisterous. Mr. Newton sat in the living room with them and even tried his hand at Guitar Hero. Which proved to be spectacularly amusing since he had no idea what he was doing.
Sunday nights the Swan family ate at the lodge so after screwing around on Fallout 3 Fiona headed back to the house in time to meet Charlie. Over dinner she was introduced to a few people Charlie knew in town.
Even though the thought of her real home still nagged at her, by Monday she had fallen into a comfortable routine. She cheered when it snowed early in the school day. Her first real snow.
Mike had to direct Fiona to her next class as she was to distracted by trying to eat the falling snow. Half way there someone lobbed a snowball at Mike's back and he ran off after them with a quick farewell.
During lunch she got caught in a snowball fight with her friends and some of the kids on the basketball team. They gave up as the snow began to melt into a consistency to difficult to throw and retreated to the cafeteria to get what they could finish eating in time for the next period.
Fiona's hands were still frozen as she scarfed down her banana and dodged a wet hat Tyler tossed her way. She almost choked as it smacked Angela on the side of the face. She coughed out guffaws as Angela bitched him out and smacked him repeatedly with the knit cap.
"Edward Cullen is staring again."
Fiona's grin fell and all her good cheer came crashing down as she processed Jessica's words.
She hesitantly turned and saw a snow dampened Cullen staring at her with puzzled interest.
"Balls."
Jessica giggled and Fiona flicked some chip crumbs in her direction.
"It's not funny, he's creeping me out."
"Maybe he likes you."
Fiona grimaced in disgust and set Jessica and Mike off. "Thank you for those nightmares I didn't need."
"Oh, come on! He's not that bad." Tyler put in.
She followed Mike, Eric, and Angela to Biology, pouting as rain poured down from the sky and washed away the slush. The four were even more damp when they entered the class.
"Ah ha! I see we have some of those responsible for the mess outside the cafe." Mr. Molina commented as he straightened a stack of papers.
"I was provoked!" Fiona defended as she slowly trudged to her seat.
"Uh-huh." The teacher responded. "That's not what I saw."
"Mike shoved ice down my shirt!" She tattled.
"Yeah after she smacked me in the face with a slush ball!"
"Alright, simmer down."
Fiona, no longer able to delay the inevitable, slumped into her seat with a groan and buried her head in her arms.
She jolted as the chair beside her scraped lightly against the floor and a book flopped on the desk.
Cullen sat beside her with a smile that was meant to be pleasant but left her gut churning in anxiety.
"Hello." He greeted, his voiced hushed as he watched more students filed in the room.
"Hey." Fiona returned dully.
"Isabella Swan, right? I'm Edward Cullen. I didn't get to introduce myself last time."
"Yeah, you were kind of busy starring daggers into the side of my face." She replied briskly. Her tone manner-of-fact.
He pulled a face and nodded. "I apologize for that. I was a little out of sorts the other day. I was coming down with a terrible cold and taking out my irritability on everyone else."
Fiona hummed in disinterest and quirked a brow. "You just got over a terrible cold and decided to romp around in the snow?"
Cullen made to speak again but Mr. Molina called attention to the class.
She went on the assignment as quietly as possible only giving him quick, short responses when he questioned her. He purposefully grazed his arm against Fiona's at one point and she could feel her lunch wishing to make an reappearance.
She saw Angela glancing at her in concern but couldn't manage to flash her a reassuring look her way. She was sure her unease was plain on her face but she refused to give in.
When they completed examining the slides and filling out there quiz papers Cullen sent her a friendly grin. Fiona could see his white teeth gleam under the florescent lighting. Her eyes focused on his canines and her stomach gave another lurch accompanied by audible gurgle.
Cullen frowned, his eyes shifting briefly between her belly and her face.
"Are you alright?" He questioned.
Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to find words. "I-I think..."She then noticed her mouth watering in the telltale sign she had grown too familiar with when her anxiety acted up.
A brief 'Oh shit' rang threw Fiona's brain.
The next second had to be the most embarrassing and simultaneously glorious moment in her life.
Her belly gave a final damning lurch and she blew chunks all over Edwards Cullen's lap.
"Duuuude." A kid behind their burst out followed by raucous howls of laughter.
She didn't know whether to cry or fall down in crazed hysterics.
"Oh boy." Mr. Molina could be heard from the front of the room. "Would someone please-"
Angela and Mike both shot up out of there seats and rushed to their friends side. Angela pulled her out of her seat and Mike grabbed her things before rushing her out of the classroom.
As Fiona was helped out the door she caught a glimpse of Edward's ridiculously shocked and disturbed face. He was frozen in disbelief.
It was only then she felt the hysterical giggles bubble out past her lips.
As the trio made their way down the hall to exit the building Mike to began to snicker which brought them both to full on laughter.
"Did you see his face?!" Mike exclaimed. "Andrea Hillcrest had her phone out so you know that will be all over Facebook later."
This only renewed Fiona's hysteria.
"You guys are horrible." Angela admonished half-heartedly, trying not to let her lips quirk. She caught Fiona as she tipped precariously over the entrance of the main building. "You okay there, crazy?"
Fiona was able to nod before leaning on Angela as the drew closer to the nurse's office. "That had to be the single most greatest moment of my life." She breathed out, her voice hoarse. She snorted as the over-dramatic look of horror on Cullen's face swam back in her mind. "Oh God."
She was able to calm down after her friends left her to lay in the nurse's office and wait for Charlie. She talked to the nurse, Ms. Fabiano, about what happened and made small talk until Charlie entered the office. His face was worried as he examined the teen.
"You okay, Bells?"
"I ralphed all over Edward Cullen's pants." She answered dopily. "I'm awesome."
Ms. Fabiano clicked her teeth in reprimand while Charlie just rubbed a hand over his eyes.
"I'm sure that made you very happy." His voice was dry but there was a hint of humor hidden underneath.
"My tummy hurts."
Charlie stopped by the grocery store to pick up some sherbet and ginger ale before dropping her off at the house. He made sure she was tucked in on the couch before leaving for work again and told her to call him if she needed anything.
Fiona spent the rest of the afternoon eating orange sherbet while watching the tail end of 'Days of Our Lives' and 'General Hospital'.
Shortly after school ended Angela showed up to tell her that Andrea Hillcrest had uploaded a video of the incident and that Edward hadn't been seen the rest of the day. She had dropped off the work she had missed and they lazed around finishing it all up while the local news played on in the background.
Angela ate dinner at the Swan residence that night. Charlie seemed pretty chipper over the fact that Fiona had made such a good friend so quickly.
The next morning she got up and was greeted to snow as soon as she exited the house. Making her way to the truck she ended up slipping in the drive way and falling flat on her ass.
"Owie."
She rubbed her sore bottom after pulling herself up and spotted the chains on her tires. A strong sense of deja-vu swept over her. Fiona tried to remember why this was significant and it suddenly struck her.
"Oh no!" She hollered. "No! No, no, no, no, no! I'm not doing this! Nope! Not happening!"
She dropped her bag and leaned against the old Chevy.
If she just stayed home like Charlie suggested she could skip the whole big reveal showdown and none of the drama would happen.
On the other hand, Tyler's van could end up careening into a less sturdy car and most likely kill him.
Fiona cursed and banged the back of her head a few times against the truck. She wasn't going to risk the life of her new friends. As long as she just parked and didn't tarry by the truck, Tyler van would slam against the side of the Chevy and he'd be fine.
Well, he'd probably have a concussion and whiplash- but he wouldn't be dead.
With an irritated growl, the teen shoved her bag into the vehicle and made her way to the school.
She parked in her usual spot and quickly jumped out into the frigid air and shoved the keys into her jeans pocket. She took a deep breath to steal her nerves and could of sworn there was a faint scent of sweet pea's in the air. Fiona didn't give it much thought and went to walk on but found her jacket caught in the door. She tugged but it refused to pull out. She felt a rush of panic to get out of the way and reached for her keys but found them gone. She saw three of the Cullen's, including Edward, scrutinizing her. A screech of wheels and people yelling echoed in the air but they only served as the background to a familiar high-pitched, menacing giggle.
Rena.
Fiona tried to pull her jacket off but by the time she had gotten out of the garment it was far to late.
In what felt like seconds she was forced to the ground with a figure looming over her and the sound of metal groaning under pressure replaced the sound of giggling in her ears. Her head was knocked onto the side of the old Chevy, jarring her brain a little and sending her senses for a loop. Glass rained down from overhead, pieces catching in her hair.
All the while, the smell of sweet pea's growing stronger until it was suffocating. Black dots popped up into her vision and just when she believed she would pass out from the lack of oxygen - it disappeared.
She took a deep, thirsty breath of cold air and sunk further to the ground.
"Isabella, are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Fiona paused as she slowly absorbed the words. Her belly was on the frozen asphalt and there was slight pressure on her back. Someone was laying over her.
Cullen.
"Five by five, Superman." She slurred. "That was some remarkable footwork considering you were clear across the parking lot."
"Bella, I was only a few feet away."
Fiona laughed humorlessly. What the hell, she was screwed either way.
"Nope, I'm pretty sure you were standing over by your brother and sister. I saw you."
She could here Cullen's jaw crack. "You must have imagined it." He coaxed, as if talking to a small child. "You hit your head pretty hard."
"I saw you before I hit my head. We made eye contact."
Cullen growled faintly before pulling himself off of her.
The pair were pulled out of the small space after Tyler was safely retrieved from his seat. Edward waved the medics off while Fiona was forced towards an ambulance. As they did a minor examination the reality of the situation began to sink in. Her body shivered violently in the cold air, exacerbated by the shock. Charlie pulled up just before they pulled off and nearly hugged the life out of her, promising to meet her at the hospital. Fiona felt a few tears of relief and exhaustion slip out of the corners of her eyes when The Chief ran a hand down the back of her head. Just like her mother would.
After being taken to the hospital and checked out Fiona sat with Tyler in a room. A cut on his head had been stitched together and his arm put in a splint.
"I'm so sorry, Bella!" He exclaimed as she sat on the bed beside his. "The asphalt was slick and it happened all so fast! I thought I was gonna kill you!."
"Dude, it's fine. Aside from a little shock I got the 'all clear'." Fiona reassured him. "You can't control the weather. I'm more worried about you- you look like crap. Are you alright?"
Tyler sighed and shook his head. "Yeah. It's just a hairline fracture." He looked back at her with woebegone eyes. "I really am so sorry."
Fiona waved it off and briefly rubbed his shoulder.
He looked down at the ground in contemplation for a moment. "How did you get out with out a scratch?"
Fiona shrugged. "Cullen ran over and knocked me out of the way."
"Edward?" He asked, disbelief soaking his tone.
"Yeah, I was shocked too."
They sat in silence for a while until Cullen came sweeping in.
"Edward, man, I'm sorry! I didn't -"
Edward shook his head. "No blood, No foul."
Fiona bit back the urge to comment.
"What about you two? What's the verdict?"
"Hairline fracture and nine stitches." Tyler answered.
"They told me I was fine." Fiona added. Just as the words had left her lips, Charlie and Dr. Carlisle Cullen approached.
"Hello, Isabella How are we doing?" The doctor asked.
"You alright?" Charlie added.
"I'm fine" Fiona repeated. "Really. They told me the X-ray was normal and I don't have a concussion."
Dr. Cullen nodded. "Any pain?"
"Yeah, just an annoying knot on my head."
"You were very lucky." The doctor remarked.
"Yeah, lucky Edward runs so damn fast." Fiona watched as the two vampires shared brief looks. "Maybe you should try out for track."
Charlie turned to Tyler. "We're going to need to have a talk, Tyler Crowley."
"Dad, it's not his fault. It was a complete accident caused by the weather."
"I'm so sorry, chief!" Tyler once again apologized.
"You should be. You can also kiss your license goodbye!"
Fiona grabbed Charlie's arm. "Dad, please."
Charlie sighed and pulled the curtains closed between the beds to block out Tyler's pleas.
Fiona saw Edward smirk and sent him a brief glare.
"Well, your free to go." Dr. Cullen finally announced. "Take some Tylenol when you get home and I don't see why you shouldn't be fine. If you have any trouble at all don't hesitate to return."
"Hallelujah!"
Dr. Cullen's smiled slightly as he lowered his clipboard. "Your friends are waiting for you outside."
Walking out of the room Fiona realized no matter what her feelings, Cullen had saved her life. And most likely her friends too. She inwardly groaned and stopped Edward just outside the door. Charlie was still in conversation with Dr. Cullen as they headed towards the waiting room.
She was actually going to do it.
"Look, I'm only going to say this once." She threw out in a whisper. "You saved me and my friend with your freaky super powers-"
"I have no idea what your talking about."
Fiona snorted. "Yeah, okay."
Edward's face turned stone cold. "Isabella, you took a significant blow to the head. It stands to reason-"
"I do not have a concussion and I know what I saw!" She hissed. "And I saw it before I hit my head."
Cullen bit out a cruel laugh. "Do you really think anyone will belie-"
"Look!" Fiona yelled. "I am trying to thank you here, okay!"
Ugh.
Edward inspected her. His gaze still stony but curious.
Fiona sighed and rubbed the bump on the back of her head. "This isn't easy 'cause I barfed on you the other day and I still think you're a total douchebag for acting like I was some kind of leper oozing bodily fluids into you personal space. That made me feel really uncomfortable bee-tee-dubs and I knew you knew what you were doing. You're kind of an asshole."
Edward's glare intensified. "This is a thank you?"
Fiona scowled and held her breath for five seconds. "I'm trying, okay."
"It was a terrible attempt."
"Would you just let me finish?!"
"You knew what was going to happen." Edward stated calmly.
That brought Fiona to a shocked pause. "What?"
"You were upset when you got to school. Nervous, angry. You panicked when you couldn't loose you coat from your truck."
Jasper was such a tattle-tale.
"You were looking around for something. You were afraid."
The pair glared at each other for a few beats.
"Well I guess we all have our secrets, don't we?" Fiona spat.
Edward gave a pleased smirk. "I guess we do."
"Thank you for not letting me and Tyler bite it." Fiona finally got out, pun fully intended. "I really appreciate it."
She felt so dirty.
"There! Is the moment over? Can we go back to not talking now?" She put her hands in her pockets and looked away as she asked this.
"Fine."
"Fine!"
"See you at school."
"Not if I see you first!" She shouted over her shoulder when he walked past her.
What a lame comeback.
She caught Charlie staring at her from the end of the hall, his hands on his hips.
"What was that about?" He asked after the Cullen's departed.
"Just thanking him." Fiona answered.
Charlie nodded giving her a once over. "Uh-huh."
Fiona pulled her hands out of her pocket and froze as she saw her keys held in her hand. The keys that had conveniently disappeared earlier. The giggles echoed in the hallway sending a violent chill down her spine.
"You okay, Bells?"
Fiona fell out of her state and forced a smile. "Yeah, fine. I guess I'm just still kind of in shock. It all happened so fast."
Charlie wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave an awkward one-armed Dad-Squeeze which she returned. Taking what comfort she could get.
"Let's get you home before you give me another heart-attack."
"Third times the charm."
Fiona met with her friends in the waiting room. Everyone was there- even Lauren. She supposed the blonde was there more for Tyler's benefit than hers though. She had given Fiona a curious and assessing stare before proclaiming she was glad she wasn't dead, so that was some progress at least. After promising to talk with them all tomorrow Charlie ushered her out of the hospital for home.
When she had gotten home she was forced to talk Renee down from her panic. She felt bad for Bella's mom. She imagined her own mother would have reacted the same way if put in the situation and tried to talk with that in mind.
She didn't immediately go to bed that night. After typing down the days events she went over the crash again. When Fiona tried to change events to the way she wanted them, Rena saw fit to force her back on to the right path by using dirty tactics. Was that her punishment? Follow the story or you and those around you will suffer?
Fiona hugged herself as she remembered choking on the thick perfume of flowers. Of her vision fading and feeling the energy drag out of her body. Of how easily Rena could bend her to her will.
If Rena would do that, what else would she be willing to do.
Charlie didn't need to keep checking on her throughout the night.
Fiona didn't sleep.
So, this story is actually beginning to developing a plot. That is a thing that is happening now. I was writing down a timeline and events I want to happen and boom! It wasn't part of the original plan but I'm rolling with it.
Tell me your thoughts :)