Yet another close update! I wonder if I can keep it going this way?
*Thank for your response to the last chapter :) I've answered all the guest reviews at the bottom.
**big, big, BIG thank you to the lovely JackieOh for the cool new story cover! You should check out her Teen Wolf stories, they're awesome :)
***I've also included a timeline at the bottom of this chapter. It does includes the events of this chapter so please wait until after you've read it. Unless you want to be spoiled. Then go ahead and knock yourself out.
****Finally, on my tumblr I made a post full of face claims for my OC's and some of the Twilight characters who don't appear in the movie. A couple of them have yet to make an appearance. There is a link on my profile to the blog and then search my 'TootahWrites!' tag.
Disclaimer: Twilight and all it's characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Fiona and any other OC are from my imagination.
After a restless night spent watching TV and Charlie checking on her periodically, she finally became exhausted enough to sleep around noon. Charlie let her stay home that day so she ended up sleeping for nearly fourteen hours. When she woke up it was the wee hours of Thursday morning.
Going into school was like being on exhibit at the zoo. There were stares and whispers constantly being put her way. Even a few dramatic gagging sound effects that she repeatedly fought back with hot glares.
Fiona and Cullen had gone back to ignoring one another unless absolutely necessary and it seemed his family had decided to follow his example.
Now in the late after noon, the girls were lying on Fiona's bed while Mike played on the computer.
"I had to thank him." Fiona moaned.
Angela looked up from her homework. "The horror."
"I felt so unclean."
"He saved your life."
"Ugh! Don't remind me."
"You're being a dick."
Fiona's mouth slammed shut. She stared at Angela in frustration before begrudgingly assenting. "Fine."
"Look," Mike pushed the chair back from the computer to face the girls. "-I don't like Cullen anymore than you do. But don't you think you're being kind of harsh."
"You guys are defending him?" Fiona asked incredulously. "Seriously?! This is what is happening is right now?"
"Yes, it is." Angela declared. "Because besides glaring at you and saving your life,-"
Fiona scowled at her.
Mike snickered. "-And you barfing on him-"
"- you guys haven't had much interaction. He hasn't really done anything."
"Not yet..." Fiona muttered.
"What, are you psychic now?" Mike asked sarcastically, turning back to the computer.
"Yes, Michael. It just so happens I am."
"Right."
"I don't like you tone, young man."
Angela cut in. "You're not psychic."
"And even if you were," Mike took over, "-you can't condemn him for something he hasn't done yet. It's not fair."
Angela nodded. "Exactly. Thank you, Mike."
Fiona squirmed under the gazes of her friends before giving in. "Okay, fine!" She pouted. "It's not like I was saying anything to his face anyway. I'll just continue on as I have and attempt to be civil. Happy?"
The rest of the week went by quietly.
The longer the Cullen's kept their distance, the easier it became for Fiona to relax in their vicinity. She hadn't forgotten Rena though.
When she was alone she would find herself looking or listening for signs of the fairy. Her dreams were plagued with the scent of sweet peas. Of running only to find delicate, dainty hands wrapping around her throat and squeezing tight until it crushed. Baby pink nails digging into her skin with deadly force.
But Rena never appeared in the waking world.
In a fit of paranoia she had re-written all her notes in a cheap thick notebook from the drugstore and deleted them off the computer. When she wasn't writing in it, the notebook never left her bag.
The only somewhat strange thing to occur was the attention she was starting to receive from Lauren Mallory. Occasionally she would catch the girl staring at her intensely. Not in a mean, glaring way. It was more as if Fiona were a puzzle that Lauren needed to figure out.
The next Monday after the accident she found herself corned by Lauren at her locker.
"So last Tuesday was pretty crazy."
Fiona looked up from where she was stashing her books in surprised confusion. "Uh...Yeah?"
Lauren leaned against the nearest locker. "Feeling any better?"
"Definitely."
There was a long and awkward pause.
Fiona shut her locker and pulled on the strap of her bag. "Listen, is there something you needed to say? Because usually you hardly acknowledge my presence. Not that I'm complaining."
Lauren tucked in some hair behind her ear. "It's just so lucky Edward was able to get to you in time. Especially all the way from his car."
Fiona froze and glanced around. "You noticed that too, huh?" She questioned.
"Yeah." Laurens nodded and her golden waves bounced softly. "I mean, thirty feet in three seconds? That's nothing to sneeze at." She leaned forward conspiratorially, a playfully calculating look in her eye. A faint whiff Chanel No. 5 gently wafted off her and under Fiona's nose. "You even made it out without a scratch. That's got to be a miracle considering all that glass flying around. In other circumstances, who knows what could of happened?"
Fiona was careful not to let her face express her mounting disbelief. Instead her knuckle clenched around her purse.
Did Lauren know?
No. There was no way. Lauren Mallory?
She couldn't!
Fiona maintained a forced calm. "What do you mean?"
Lauren shrugged in practiced nonchalance. "It's just kind of weird. You know?" Lauren looked over Fiona's shoulder and pulled a positively wicked grin.
Fiona's head flipped around to see Edward and Alice Cullen standing not ten feet down the hall. His eyes sizzled with unspoken rage targeted towards the blonde bombshell. His look briefly drifted over to Fiona's before he stalked away. Alice just shook her head in exasperation, trailing after.
"I'm having a birthday party next Saturday." Lauren piped up. "You should come." And with that she sashayed away.
Fiona watched after her in unconcealed awe.
Lauren knew about the Cullen's. The Cullen's knew she knew and somehow she was still breathing.
"What the fuck just happened to me?"
The minute the final bell rang she rushed home and up the stairs to her room. Her mind was on over-drive.
This hadn't happened in the book or the movie. Lauren was just supposed to be some mean, bitchy queen-bee.
Would the Cullen's try to harm Lauren for what she did?
Why had Lauren been hinting at the Cullen's supernatural nature?
Was she trying to warn her?
How much exactly did she really know?
How did she find out in the first place?
What the hell was she supposed to do with this? She was at a complete loss. The game had changed. Fiona wanted to curl up under the bed and never come back out.
That night over dinner Fiona was unusually quiet and Charlie took notice.
"You okay, kid?"
Fiona looked up from where she had been shifting her peas around on her plate and blanked a moment before nodding. "Yeah, fine. I just got a lot on my mind."
Charlie stared at her carefully as he chewed his chicken. "You having trouble with something?"
Or someone, Fiona could read on his face.
"Sort of." Fiona gave a wan smile. "American Gov. is kind of kicking my butt." Lie.
Charlie didn't really buy it but he didn't push the issue either.
The following day it was as if nothing had happened. Lauren had reverted back to her usual 'lovely' self and the Cullen's were still ignoring her. Mostly.
Fiona had glanced toward there table at lunch only to be caught by Rosalie Hale. What was it with the people in this world giving her the evil eye all the time? Fiona stared back dumbly before giving a painfully awkward wave and turned quickly back to the table. Angela had seen the movement and sent her an amused look.
"Shut up."
"I'm so proud of you." Angela teased.
"I was waving at Rosalie, not Edward."
Angela shook her head. "Progress is progress."
"I hope your not expecting me and Cullen to eventually become BFF's or something. I'm really sorry to crush your dreams or whatever. but that is just not gonna happen."
Angela choked on her apple. "I'm not that naive." She stated and wiped away some juice from her face.
Fiona cautiously eased into the relative normalcy that had fallen over the proceeding couple of weeks. She was all too aware how easy that could change.
She was proven right when she watched the local news the day before Lauren's birthday party.
She had been eating a bowl of cereal when the report came on the morning news. The house felt oddly silent as the newscasters read the report.
"Breaking new: The Clackamas County Sheriff's office of Oregon City, Oregon was called in to a grisly scene early this Friday morning. A security guard for Grisham Mill, Anthony Barr, was found dead at the end of his shift by a co-worker. According to the Deputy Sheriffs called in to the scene, Barr appeared to be attacked by an animal."
And eerie feeling caused Goosebumps to rise on Fiona arms as photos of the scene minus the body flipped across the screen. The hairs on the back of her neck standing to attention.
"Not much is known as to how or where the animal got into the mill as investigation into the incident has only just started. It is however speculated the animal may have possibly been a wolf based on-"
Realization struck and the plastic cereal bowl thudded to the floor.
James, Victoria, and Laurent. It was already starting.
Fiona sat there staring at the television but not really paying attention. Her mind was sent back to the accident. What would Rena have in store for her now? Fiona could avoid the meeting on the baseball field but how long would it be until Rena pushed James into her path some other way. Should Fiona try to warn the Cullen's ahead of time? Edward and Jasper could tell she knew what was going to happen in the parking lot, would they believe her about this. She tried to remember but failed to recall if they had figured out nomad vampires were responsible for the attacks before the baseball game. Her hands fisted in her hair as she tried to figure out what she was going to do.
She cleaned up the mess she made as she brainstormed. She could try to do what Lauren did and subtly hint at what was going on. Would Rena be able to catch her if she was discreet? Maybe she could make up some kind of code Rena wouldn't understand?
She dropped the bowl in the sink and rubbed her face in frustration.
That was a stupid idea.
At a loss of what to do she snatched up her bag and headed out to school. She still had a little more time to worry about it later.
Fiona woke up late the morning of Lauren's birthday. She had been up most the night researching and printing out articles. A few were on the attack the day before but she had picked a few others that she thought seemed a little suspicious. A couple of weeks before the attack in Oregon City, a thirty-one year old woman in Burns, Oregon had been found ripped to pieces by what also seemed to be an large animal. Before that it was a twenty-three year old guy in Grangeville, Idaho. She was able to form a sort of sloppy zigzag pattern on a printed out map. She tucked the articles into the pages of her notebook and pasted the map against two pages over the book so it would fold in half.
Now she just needed to know what the hell to do with it all.
Fiona was sandwiched in between Angela and Jessica, clutching her bag as they approached the entrance to the Mallory home. They had arrived earlier before the other guest were to arrive. The house was larger than most homes she had seen in Forks, and if Lauren's wardrobe was anything to go by, the family was pretty well off. A woman who could only be Lauren's mother answered the door.
"Hello, girls." She greeted with an elegant smile.
The teens echoed greetings back.
Mrs. Mallory gave Fiona an assessing look before reaching to shake her hand "You must be Bella. It's nice to meet you, sweetheart. Lauren's told me an awful lot about you."
Fiona blanched. "She has?!" She spat out in surprise without being able to stop herself. Lauren hated her guts! What exactly had she told her?
Angela nudged her in the ribs.
"I mean- It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Mallory." She quickly shook the older woman's hand, ignoring Jessica's badly hidden snickering.
Mrs. Mallory nodded, her eyes twinkling. "Go on ahead and put your gifts on the table. Lauren's waiting for you in the lounge."
Fiona followed the other girls who seemed to know their way around pretty well. Along the way her eyes ran over the professional looking decorations. Mrs. Mallory must have been put in charge.
When they reached the lounge it was clear they had interrupted something. Lauren was seated on the sofa glaring petulantly at the man stood by the far window. The man was rubbing a hand tiredly over his brow and looked up at the girls after they entered the room.
"Hi, Mr. Mallory." Angela greeted.
The man, Lauren's father, gave a weary smile. "Hello, Angela. Jessica." His eyes trailed over to Fiona and an odd look crossed his face. But it was gone as quickly as it came and he stepped forward. "And you must be the Isabella I've been hearing so much about." He shook her hand.
Fiona saw Lauren's face darken angrily over Mr. Mallory's shoulder.
"Your father was very happy to hear you were coming to live with him." He went on. "He wouldn't shut up about it when I asked."
Fiona frowned in confusion. "You know my dad?" Charlie hadn't talked much about him besides a few vague reference.
"We're more acquaintances really." Mr. Mallory explained. "But I'm pretty sure he told just about anyone he came across that week."
Fiona nodded and gripped her elbow. She shuffled her feet under his stare. It was the exact same one Lauren had gave her in the lunch room.
Seriously, what was with all the staring? She was starting to feel like a science experiment.
Mr. Mallory seemed to notice her discomfort and looked around to the other girls. "Well, I leave you all to it. Lauren," he looked to his daughter, "-please remember what I said."
Lauren rolled her eyes behind his back as he left the room.
"Not having a happy start to your birthday?" Jessica asked.
Lauren growled, flopping back in her seat.
Jessica dropped down beside her patted her knee. "It'll be fine. Tyler's coming."
Lauren hummed disinterestedly.
"Happy birthday." Fiona said after a brief pause.
"Thanks." Lauren said without the usual distaste that she held when speaking to her.
After more guests arrived Mrs. Mallory put on some pop music for the kids. Lauren's earlier upset had seemed to be forgotten as she schmoozed among her well-wishers. Or it was at least a spectacular facade. Fiona hung around mostly Mike and Eric during the party. Angela had gone off with Jessica to dance. Mr. Mallory had walked around taking many pictures at his wife's command.
Around seven it was time for the presents and cake. Fiona had gotten Lauren gift card for Anthropologie after Jessica told her she liked to shop at the one in Seattle. The birthday girl had given her a small smile and told her they should go shopping to spend the money soon. Fiona was half convinced Lauren had been replaced by a pod person. Or had multiple personalities.
After a bit of dancing Fiona found herself sitting on the patio in the attempt to find some quiet. It wasn't her smartest idea, since her coat was in Lauren's room along with her bag. She started a bit when the patio door slid open.
"When I actually want them around they're never here and when I want them gone I can't get rid of them."
Lauren stepped outside and dropped in the seat beside her. The happy expression she had been wearing had disappeared and was replaced with a tired grimace. "This party was so lame."
"It's not that bad." Fiona defended.
Lauren glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. A moments pause and then she shrugged. "It's alright." She looked off into the backyard. "I think they're trying to make up for last year."
Fiona took a moment to process that this was actually happening.
"What happened last year?"
Lauren picked at her skirt. "They were both out of town. I stayed with Jessica and her mom made me a cake."
"They didn't give you a party when they got home?"
Lauren sighed. "Didn't need one. Jessica's mom made sure we had a good time. It was fun."
"You know..." Fiona said after a long pause. "I think this is the first real conversation we've ever had."
Lauren huffed. "Don't get too used to it."
"The thought never crossed my mind."
Lauren watched Fiona for a few beats and saw her shiver. "You know," Her tone had softened and lowered.
"If you wanted some quiet the study upstairs is free. It's just down the hall from my room."
Fiona frowned in confusion before getting caught in the other girls stare. Fiona felt heat rise up her neck from the intensity of Lauren gaze. Wow. She hadn't noticed before but Lauren's eyes were blue. Like really, really blue.
Like water. Well, ocean water. Not water, water. That would just be stupid because water isn't really blue. Right? It's just with the ocean the water is reflecting the sky- or was it light refracting something... science...What is science?
They were nice.
"Are..." Fiona asked hesitantly. "Are you coming on to me."
Lauren broke into laughter and tossed her a look. "Get in the house before you freeze."
Once again Fiona was left to watch dumbly as she glided away. Her blonde tresses blown delicately by a small gust of wind.
"How does she do that?"
Another gust, stronger this time seeped through her sweater making her teeth chatter. Fiona took the other girls advice and made her way upstairs to the study not far from Lauren's room. As she passed it she saw a few girls she vaguely recognized from school putting on their coats and getting ready to leave.
She reached for the knob of the study door and slowly opened it. The door made tiny creaking sound as she gazed around the room. Sure enough it was empty.
A laptop sat open on the wooden desk. Behind the desk was a large cabinet that likely held some of Mr. Mallory's alcohol. She stepped into the room and simply spun in a circle as she examined it. There was a closet opposite the desk that was cracked open and her curiosity was peaked.
She really shouldn't.
Which just meant she wanted all the more to do it.
Giving in to her childish urge she tiptoed to the closet and pulled the doors open.
She immediately regretted that decision.
She gulped at she stared at the arsenal before her. Guns of various shapes and sizes were hung on display. As were a few deadly looking blades that gleamed in the light overhead. There were some drawers and cabinets as well but she didn't dare open them.
She couldn't jump to conclusions. There was probably a perfectly reasonable and logical explanation.
'Yea, the Mallory's are psycho's.' A voice whispered in the back of her mind.
She quickly and quietly shut the doors of the closet and spun around. She should just leave. When character's on TV and in books hung around at this point only bad stuff followed.
But her eyes were drawn back to the cabinet behind the desk.
"God damn it."
She walked across the room and pulled the cabinet open.
"Okay, you know what?" She said aloud. "I could of sworn I was in Twilight. Not Supernatural."
Jars and bottles filled the shelve. Some had dried herbs, some had odd names she couldn't place, and some were filled with very questionable liquids.
"This cannot be happening." She turned to the laptop on the desk.
This whole situation was suspicious. The room had been set up as if it were waiting to be found and snooped through. All that was missing was a big blinking sign.
Lauren.
She had subtly tried to hint things to her at school. She had suggested coming up to the study.
What was it she wanted her to find?
Fiona plopped down on computer chair and examined the laptop screen. Various windows were open. There were articles on past animal attacks. A virtual map had been marked and had a similar pattern to her map. Only this one had more hits.
What truly gave her pause were the pictures.
Her mind flashed to Mr. Mallory taking photo's of the party.
These pictures were of crime scenes. No bodies, but there was blood. She felt a sick feeling in her gut. After she got past those she came across some pictures of the Cullen's. The were candid's taken from a distance. And then there was her.
They had been following her. Why had they been following her?
Fiona shot up out of the seat and ran from the room. As she rushed down the hall she failed to see where she was going and smacked right into another body.
"What's going on?"
It was Mrs. Mallory. She gripped Fiona's arms to steady her but her eyes were focused on they open study door.
"Get a little turned around?" The older woman asked.
Fiona nodded, her heart in her throat.
Mrs. Mallory rolled her eyes and looked towards the stairs like she was silently cursing someone.
"You should probably get downstairs. I'm sure they're missing you."
Fiona bobbed her. "Yeah! Definitely!" Leaving was good. She rushed away from Laurens mother and rushed to grab her things from the girls room. She practically ran down the stairs attracting a few stares. When she was nearly home free she stumbled into yet another person and her bag dropped to the floor, spilling some of it's contents.
"Whoa!" Mike exclaimed. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Fiona smiled falsely as she shoved stuff back in her purse. "I just really need to get home."
Mike frowned. "Are you sure, 'cause-?"
"I'll see you Monday, Mike!" She called as she darted away.
"Hey, wait! You-"
His words were cut off as Fiona ran out the door.
She didn't stop running until she reached home.
Tadaaa! What did you think? Good, bad, okay? Let me know if you spot any typos.
Timeline:
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009 - Rena banishes Fiona into Twilight
Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009 - Fiona arrives at Forks
Monday, Jan. 12, 2009 - Fiona has her first at Forks High School and meets Angela, Mike, & Co.
Monday, Jan. 19, 2009 - First snow. The Great Puking Incident.
Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009 - Rena The Scary Godmother forces Fiona into the car accident with Tyler. Fiona and Edward confrontation.
Wednesday Jan. 21 - Fiona stays home to recover from shock.
Thursday Jan. 22, 2009 - Edward and Fiona go back to ignoring one another. The school gossips.
Monday, Jan. 26, 2009 - Lauren reveals subtly that she knows something is fishy with the Cullen's
Friday, Feb. 6, 2009 - The news reports an animal attacked a security guard at Grisham Mill in Oregon City.
Saturday, Feb.7, 2009 - Lauren's 17th birthday party.
Teran: That will forever be my most favorite thing I have ever written.
Ourlovestory221: Thanks! I glad you found it funny. I will not be quitting this story anytime soon!
Bianca: Yeah, I love Angela! That whole thing kind of bothered me too. Thank you :)
Hanna: Yeah! And here's another one! Hoped it met your expectations. Like I told someone else, I wanted her their introduction to be bungled by the worst thing possible. This is what came to mind. :) I'm happy you guys all thought it was funny. I was a little scared it might a little too lame. Yeah I wasn't to hot about Edward either. I'm hoping to try and eventually change the parts of his character that bothered me. Have him grow a little more. Thank you :)