I have to clarify some things in my story.
The Cullens are Vampires
Bella is biracial (NOT black)
Unlike in Twilight, my vamps do NOT sparkle. I won't tell you what happens in order to torture you guys a bit. Mwahahah! (I iz evil)
SERIOUS SHIT:
The focus of this chapter is to provide some insight into Bella's life and earlier childhood.
***WARNING: The chapter delves into sensitive subjects of racism and colourism. If it is too difficult for anyone to read then I suggest they skip this story altogether because these subjects will come up many times throughout the story.
**If you're NOT 18 you should not be reading this story because there will be future lemons.
*As you have noticed, there is strong language in my story and you will be seeing more of it in the future.
Big hugs and sloppy kisses to my wonderful Beta SarcasticBimbo for editing this chapter. She's got mad skills; I call her superwoman in my mind.
That is all.
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, I just like to fuck with it.
Chapter IV: Dismal Contemplations
"Bells, is that you?" Charlie calls from the front door.
"No, it's my shadow, Dad!" I yell over the roar of the mixer. Dinner is almost cooked. At the moment, I'm preparing dessert knowing how much of a sweet tooth Charlie is, especially when it comes to brownies.
"Very funny, Bells, I see that sarcastic attitude of yours has not been adjusted," he scolds as the sound of his footsteps near the kitchen.
I turn to look at him, seeing his mustache twitch in amusement and I know my sassy comment is forgiven.
"What smells so good?" he wonders with his nose in the air, smelling the delicious aroma of basmati and curry wafting from the cooker.
"I made chicken curry with basmati rice and now I'm making dessert," I tell him as I pour the batter mix into a pan and place it in the warm oven.
"Sounds delicious, Bells. What kind of dessert are you making?" he asks in an excited tone.
"It's a surprise," I smirk in response. Giving his reply from yesterday back to him.
He gives me a mock glare and goes to freshen up. Meanwhile, I plate up dinner and put it on the table.
Charlie comes down from the bathroom and we have dinner in companionable silence.
"That was really good, Bells," says Charlie with a smile, taking the dishes away, despite my protests, to wash them.
I take up another couple of plates and set them on the table. When Charlie is done with the dishes he sits down with me, and asks me about my first day of school. I take this as the perfect time to broach the subject of the Cullens.
"It was good, Dad. A bit overwhelming being the new student, and surrounded by the regular high school drama. Though, it's nothing I can't handle," I tell him with a smirk.
"Bells, don't start trouble from your first day. I know that look, I used to have it when I caused mayhem," he says in a serious tone.
"You! A troublemaker?! I need evidence of that, Chief," I cackle.
"That smartass attitude of yours is going to get you in trouble one day, young lady," Charlie says in his "Chief" voice, giving me a mock scowl.
"Dad, I'm not a smartass. I'm merely skilled at pointing out the obvious and speak fluent sarcasm," I reply in my most serious tone and expression.
His mustache twitches and he snorts at my response while shaking his head.
Ding!
Ooooh! The brownies are done!
I take them out of the oven placing the pan on the counter to let it cool. I turn around to see Charlie drooling at the chocolatey goodness.
"I can see you drooling, Chief,"
"That's not drool. That's a liquid compliment and love for your cooking."
"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it, Dad?" I reply in a smug tone, giving him my signature smirk while sitting back down.
"How do you think I snagged your mother?" He replies with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
"Ew! Dad! I don't want to know how you snagged Mom!" I shudder in horror and disgust.
He chuckles at my response, his cheeks turning pink.
AW!
We sit in silence for a few minutes, the atmosphere turning serious.
"I'm saying all this because I want you to be happy, Bells," he looks at me with a hint of sadness in his eyes.
Suddenly my throat feels tight.
"I am happy, Dad. Really."
He stares at me for a while before sighing in resignation.
"Just don't push people away. That's all I'm asking."
"I don't even need to push anyone away when a lot of them don't even try to know me and make preconceived judgments on the basis of my heritage."
He knows that I'm talking about the incidents that went down at my previous high school.
Charlie doesn't say anything, though I can see the anger and sadness in his eyes. He is well aware of the instances of discrimination, bigotry, prejudice, and bullying I have previously faced. These instances caused me to develop a thick skin; not giving a shit anymore about what people say or think. I refused to manifest those bitter experiences in the form of self-hatred. I would be damned if I would be made to feel guilty about my heritage.
The sarcasm and smartass attitude, however, is a trait I got from my Dad and, with time, I honed this skill and turned it to art.
Looking at Charlie, I simultaneously feel sad and proud knowing it was not easy for him, either, to have a biracial child in a world full of ignorant people. He did, and still is, trying to protect me from such vile and ignorant people by ignoring the whispers in order to avoid altercation and to deter my attention from said whispers.
During the summer holidays I came to visit Dad for two weeks. Even though I was much younger, and regardless how hard Charlie tried to protect me, I could see how the locals gave him disapproving stares. They whispered- because they were too cowardly to say anything to his face, behind his back for marrying a black woman and subsequently having a biracial child with her, which was the cherry on top of the huge scandal back then.
Even now, the whispering and stares continue to follow him wherever he goes. Though now, me living with him for the coming two years will stir up the rumour mill again.
Watch out bitches! The black witch is here!
"I don't lose sleep over it, Dad," I tell him in a soft tone to alleviate the sombre mood in the kitchen.
"Besides, if I am going to make friends, they should at least match my level of crazy," I smirk at him.
Finally, he cracks a smile, the sadness and anger leaving his stunning hazel eyes that I was also lucky enough to inherit, and pats my hand.
I think carefully before phrasing my next sentence.
"There are a few interesting students at the school. There is this group of teenagers, I think their last name is Cullen. They seem to be keeping to themselves"
At the mention of the Cullens Charlie becomes mad and tells me not to listen to the "stupid gossip" revolving around the family and that the folks here should be grateful to have the most "brilliant surgeon the community has never had." Apparently, they moved from Alaska a couple of years ago and are still the center of some of the community's world.
Wow, they must have boring lives.
He goes on to praise Dr. Cullen and his wife for having raised such "well behaved children."
I almost snort at that comment. If he knew how one of those said "well behaved children" treated me, he would make sure his gun's bullet would be introduced into said child's rear.
The asshat known as Edward is so uptight that if you shove a lump of coal up his ass, in two weeks you will receive a diamond.
You know, for someone who claims they hate Assward you sure talk about his ass a lot.
What can I say, I'm an ass girl.
Does he have a nice ass?
I wouldn't know, he walked too quickly out of class for me to get a good look.
You sly biatch, you want to check that fine ass don't you.
It wouldn't hurt to observe, for science of course.
"For science," riiiiiight…
Charlie goes on, "Just because they look different and the kids are quiet people assume things."
Yes, their appearance does set them apart from the rest of us mere mortals. It also doesn't help that they choose to be isolated from the rest of the school.
Why do you think the isolation is on their part?
Because, they could easily befriend anyone from school with their looks and, judging by the clothes they wear, their wealth. Everyone is enamored of them, so it wouldn't be so difficult for them to be accepted by the student population.
"Dad, you know I don't listen to gossip. I'm simply saying they seem interesting… and they're sort of beautiful," I explain to him.
He laughs. "You should see Dr. Cullen. The nurses have a hard time concentrating around him."
Charlie may not be a man of many words but that doesn't mean that he isn't perceptive or shrewd. He has to have those qualities to have been promoted to the rank of Chief.
I just hope he's not too perceptive.
~E&I~
Bob roars as I turn on the engine and drive to school. The sound of the rain pelting against the hood and roof send me into a state of Zen.
OMMMMMMMMMMMM
*HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK*
"THE FUCK?!"
The horn of a car startles me out of my reverie causing my heart to hammer.
My surprise causes me to jump in my seat and bang my head against the roof of the car with a loud smack.
A silver car shoots past me and realization dawns on me as I notice it is a Volvo.
Motherfucker.
Oh Assward, you're going to pay for this.
I've got a banana buddy, and I'm not afraid to use it!
I make it to my first class, Calculus II, with five minutes to spare, grumbling under my breath the whole way about 'stupid asshats.'
Unlike its start, the rest of my morning seems to go by smoothly and it's already lunchtime. The smell of grease wafting from the cafeteria's kitchen turns my stomach upside down and I'm happy that I decided to bring lunch from home. Just picturing chicken curry with veggies and rice and the brownies for dessert, which Charlie absolutely loved and could not stop complimenting my baking skills after each chew, made me salivate.
Since yesterday's episode of High School Slam, Jessica and Lauren have been giving me the stink eye. I might have to start waving a crucifix in their faces to ward off their bad aura. Or, I can scratch my ass and hope for the best.
I make my way to an empty table, not wanting to sit with those two-faced hags. I plop down in a chair near the window, take out my lunch and my book of Emily Dickinson's poems. Even though I enjoy my own company, I can't help but feel sad that I wouldn't get a chance to talk to Angela anymore. She seems really nice and I could see us becoming friends, but I guess after the debacle yesterday, she wouldn't choose to risk her friendship with them by talking to me. I'm the new kid on the block and they've probably known each other from diapers.
A sudden wave of loneliness hits me and I can't help but blame myself-this time, for ruining a potential friendship. It has always been just Renee and me and even though most of the time we couldn't relate, I enjoyed our crazy times together. Now, with her having gone away with Phil, I find myself longing for someone to look past my ethnicity and accept me for who I am.
As I open my book, irony's wicked sense of humour stares right at me. I read the poem:
It might be lonelier
Without the Loneliness -
I'm so accustomed to my Fate -
Perhaps the Other - Peace -
You just have to look at the brightside of loneliness. As Emily says, it could be a state of peace, you just have to find that within you. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself. You can't change the past, what's done is done. Just focus on your classes.
I shake myself out of those negative feelings and turn the page. The first two lines of the poem 'Tis so much joy! 'Tis so much joy! If I should fail, what poverty!' put a smile on my face. My previous negative feelings all forgotten.
After a few minutes of reading in relative silence- as silent as it could be in a packed cafeteria, I feel a pair of eyes burning into my head. Instinctively, I know it's him and I hate myself for being conscious of that.
I look up and am met with the most stunning topaz eyes I have ever seen.
Topaz?! His eyes were black yesterday. Is he wearing contacts?
Sitting across from my table are none other than the Crypt-dwellers, er, Cullens.
The chief asshat is staring at me with a look of frustration across his devilishly handsome features, although I detect a hint of softness there as well.
Stop being ridiculous, did you forget how he treated you yesterday? You're just seeing things that are not there.
His black eyebrows are furrowed over those captivating eyes and that vile mouth is set into a firm line. He's staring at me as If I'm an alien creature that confounds him.
Regardless of how handsome he is, his attitude is shitty, and his earlier ploy angers me.
His blatant staring is making me uncomfortable and I give him my 'look away' glare. The fucker simply smirks at my glare with mirth playing in his eyes.
I raise my eyebrow, unimpressed at his antics before returning to my book while mumbling "someone should teach him manners" under my breath.
~E&I~
I'm sitting at the table in the biology classroom, waiting for class to begin. As I wait, I sketch random things on my notebook. I hear the chair next to me being pulled as Assward sits next to me. After a few seconds I can feel him staring at me but I choose to ignore and continue with the sketching.
"Hello," he says, in a quiet, musical, and amused voice.
Am I a source of entertainment for him?
My long curls were blocking my view of him, so upon his surprising initiation my head whirls toward him, causing my long curls to brush his right shoulder, making him flinch.
Seriously, what's his problem?
He continues. "My name is Edward Cullen, I didn't have a chance to introduce myself yesterday. You must be Bella Swan."
I give him my "Are you a bipolar asshole?" look and scoff at his attempt at friendly introduction when I see him trying to hide his smirk.
"Yes, I'm sure glaring at me for absolutely no reason and behaving like a colossal ass made you forget to introduce yourself," I tell him calmly, my face set in an unimpressed look.
That wipes the smirk off his face, anger replacing it in its stead.
I continue, not giving him an opportunity to reply, "And what was with the rude honking this morning? You could have passed me without needing to illustrate your assholery."
His smirk comes back. "I could have, but your reaction was far more rewarding. I simply could not pass up the opportunity. As for my behavior yesterday, I certainly do not have to justify my mood to you because it is none of your business," he says rudely.
Is that so?
"It certainly becomes my business when you feel the need to direct your foul mood at me. But, I don't care about your moods and I certainly don't care about yesterday."
Liar!
:"What I need to know is if I can always count on you to be an asshole, which will be enough for me to stay away from the likes of you."
His anger comes back and he hisses angrily at me. "For someone who criticizes others for being judgmental hypocrites, you are proving yourself to be one of them. Your assumption of me is on the basis of a foul mood that I happened to be in at that particular moment."
"How am I a hypocrite? Your actions yesterday indicate you're an asshole. Your escapade this morning just confirms it." I hiss angrily.
"I reiterate, you are a hypocrite, because you seem to conveniently forget that I just genuinely tried to politely introduce myself. You assume I am an asshole simply because of the manner in which I behaved yesterday, when I was in a foul mood, and that is what makes you a hypocrite, Ms Swan," the fucker replies back wittily.
You do act like a bitch when you're angry, but that doesn't mean you're a bitch, so maybe he has a point there?
Shut up!
"On the contrary, your foul mood is enough evidence for me to conclude you are an asshole, because if you weren't, you would have apologized for your behaviour instead of pitifully trying to save your ass by continuing this argument." I reply back with my own wit.
"Well, I don't see any reason to apologize. Why should I? Did you not just say that you do not care about my moods and the incident that took place yesterday? And I certainly am not the one continuing this argument, I addressed you in a friendly manner and you took it upon yourself to continue this meaningless banter," he replies in a triumphant tone.
Is he fucking kidding me?! He acted like an ass yesterday and continued it this morning. Then he is going to pretend nothing happened by being "friendly" when I could see him flinch at me?
As I open my mouth to put him in his place Mr. Banner suddenly calls the class to be quiet. I jump in my seat, having forgotten that we were in class.
I immediately notice the close proximity of Assward's and my bodies.
In our heated argument we had moved really close to one another, our chests almost touching. I can feel power emanating from him and instead of warmth, there is coldness.
Being this close to him I can smell the most alluring scent I have ever come across. It is a mix of pine, cinnamon, and leather that makes me feel intoxicated. I discreetly inhale it deeply and it causes a shudder to run through me. I look up into his face and notice the same frustrated look etched in his eyes. A second later, he also notices our proximity, which causes us to move away quickly from each other.
My retort forgotten, I turn to look forward and try to listen to Mr Banner's class while trying to calm my rapid heartbeat.
When the bell rings 45 minutes later, Assward makes his swift escape yet again.
~E&I~
I climb inside Bob, inhaling the smell of rust and leather that instantly calms my nerves. Gym went by smoothly, we played volleyball and my team won. Of course, having Mike on the team helped, as well. He came by before class to apologize for being rude. I told him he has the right to his opinions but his comments were borderline bullying. He had the decency to look embarrassed and contrite, so I accepted his apology. He beamed at me and told me to be on his team and we won.
I come back from my memory, waiting for my plan to commence.
I had set everything up before I even entered the school this morning, and now I can't wait to see the outcome.
I see the Cullens walking to their car with Assward leading the way. I pretend to be looking into my bag so as not to appear suspicious.
He unlocks the car and gets inside, waiting for the rest of his family to climb in.
When the rest of his family are seated I wait with bated breath.
I can hear the car trying to start and stop myself from snickering.
He tries it a couple of times more and then climbs out angrily from his car. He says something to his siblings and pops up the hood. Blondie climbs out of the car and checks the engine with him.
Hmmm, does Blondie have a penchant for cars?
She shoos him away and he angrily stomps to the driver's seat and turns the key again to no avail. Blondie probably tells him that the engine is fine, so he angrily climbs out and goes over to her, tells her something and closes the hood. She climbs into the driver's seat and he goes to the back of the car.
I hold my breath.
She starts the car again and it emits the same wheezing sound. McAsshole looks down to the exhaust pipe, and makes an "again" gesture to Blondie and crouches down. What happens next surprises the shit out of the entire school.
As soon as he crouches, Blondie chooses the exact moment to turn on the ignition.
SPLECH!
I could not keep calm anymore and burst into a raucous fit of laughter.
At least his car is working now.
Asshole is shocked into stillness. He's still crouched down covered in banana remains and soot, while the rest of the students in the parking lot burst into a fit of laughter after the initial surprise wears off.
His family quickly make their way over to him with shock on their faces. Hulkboy lets out a snort of laughter, trying to control himself. He only manages for a few seconds before huge, rollicking guffaws explode from his lips. The rest of his siblings are not faring any better. Alice is laughing along with Hulkboy, Rosalie has a huge grin on her face and Jasper has his head buried in Alice's neck, his shoulders shaking.
The shock on his face is replaced by fury as he glares at the students - some have taken their phones out and are capturing my ingenuity,- with banana and soot enhancing his expression. His eyes suddenly find mine and I double over in laughter, tears streaming from my eyes. I hold my stomach as the force with which I am laughing is starting to cause me some pain..
His furious eyes fill with shock as he realizes I'm the mastermind behind this clever scheme.
I barely calm myself down as I wake Bob up from his rest and back out of my parking space, but not before giving him a smirk and a finger wave.
The last thing I see before turning out of the parking lot is the look on his face, which is vacillating between shock and rage, with his mouth hanging open. His family members' expressions range from the shock on Blondie and Emo-boy's faces, to respect, in the case of Hulkboy. The look on the Pixie's face, however, confuses me. She looks gleeful, the wide smile on her face giving that emotion life. But, the look in her eyes is… triumphant? It's almost as if she expected this to happen.
I don't give the last observation much thought though, as I'm too immersed in my triumphant joy to care.
I happily drive home with Bob loudly rumbling almost as if he is laughing along with me.
Bella: 1
Assward: 0