Here we go, chapter 2 as promised. Hope you guys like it :)
Arsinoë's changed, but not all that much. She's more realistic I think, though her hair is still the same shade we've all come to associate with her. There's a reason for it though, trust me. And even if there wasn't, hell, this is a world full of vampires and mystical creatures, sue me if I wanna have some fun with the maim heroine's hair color.
Constructive criticism is always appreciated (please), and I'm always up for hearing and interesting conversation, or even just a silly joke about sparkly vampires, so don't hesitate!
habibi - An Arabic term of affection, like "dear", "darling" etc
Review?
I'd never been particularly religious. My ancestors had been one of the few to not renounce Kemetism when Christianity, then Islam swept across North Africa, and my parents continued to follow said tradition today. Sure, I could probably recite the religious texts from top to bottom, thanks to my mother who'd been trying to plant the fear of the Gods within me since before I even knew what a God was, and whenever it was time for a holy festival or ceremony, I partook in it willingly enough, but I'd never actually prayed of my own volition.
However, there was a first time for everything, and the previous evening I'd gotten on my knees and prayed to whichever Deity was on-duty that the events of the past twenty-four hours had all been a dream, and that I'd wake up safe and sound in my bed in Dublin.
But when I woke up in am unfamiliar bed, to an unfamiliar ceiling, I realised that no, I was still in mystical Forks Washington, and the Gods didn't give a damn.
Nice.
I had a complicated relationship with mornings, mostly because of my inability to get more than five hours sleep on a nightly basis, and even less the previous night, considering that my hand had been too busy running laps to slow down enough for me to get any rest. I did love mornings though, I loved waking up to crisp, biting air, to the sound of rain, and that at least, hadn't changed with my sudden relocation to this remote town on the Olympic Peninsula.
I forced myself to get up and took a quick shower, not wasting any time unnecessarily, brushing my teeth and combing my hair in a hurry. After checking the time on my phone after wrapping a towel around myself (said phone which had thankfully already been in my pocket before I was 'transported') it was with slight horror that I realized I was already late - I couldn't afford any more delays.
But as I glimpsed myself in the mirror, eyes dark and face worn, my brisk pace slowed to a crawl and I wondered if I should even bother. The Gods knew I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed and do nothing all day, ignoring my current situation, and why shouldn't I? I had no obligations to this new world -I still didn't even know if it was real. Why put in the effort?
"Arsinoë! Are you ready?" My aunt's voice called from downstairs, making me snap out of my thoughts.
I took one last glance at myself in the mirror, frowning. Was I ready? To face the outside world?
Was I hallucinating? Imagining all of it? It wouldn't be the first time. But I'd never experienced anything so real and whole. The worst part was that I'd been on the track to recovery before this whole debacle; the dosage of my medication lowered, my therapist congratulating me on my newfound ability to properly interact with society. I was doing fine, with maybe the occasional relapse, but nothing major.
I worried my lip. Why then, when everything was finally starting to go well for once in my miserable life, was I shoved into this...this...I didn't even know what to call it. I didn't want to believe that Lucy could be the cause, I couldn't.
This whole Twilight debacle - I was imagining it. No matter how real everything seemed, I had to keep reminding myself if that.
"Almost!" I shouted down, gulping down my medication that was kept in the cabinet behind the mirror -just like back home, a voice whispered in my ear- and padding out of the bathroom to get dressed.
I decided on a pair of Moroccan harem pants, and an elbow length black shirt with nude colored pumps. I looked nice, but simple enough that I could blend in as 'normal'.
Well, normal if only people didn't glance at my hair.
I tried to tie it up in a bun, though it was in vain when the first scrunchie ended up snapping from the strain, and so I ended twisting it up and pinning it in place in an effort to get it away from my face.
After a second of thought, I also grabbed my phone before heading downstairs. Yes, it was foolish, but I'd only be using it in my car. I'd make sure no one saw.
"Good Morning, habibi. Did you sleep well?" My aunt asked when I arrived in the kitchen, looking extremely posh and elegant in her silver silk night gown and slippers. She was daintily eating a bowl of fruit muesli, assorted fruits cut up inside.
She looked like a fifties movie star, with her hair delicately pinned, I thought in amusement. I sat down across from her, smiling gratefully when a bowl of Coco Pops was set in front of me by Nina, receiving a wink in reply. It seemed she remembered my own preference. I poured the milk and dug in.
"The sound of trees was a bit bothersome, but yes I did." I replied around a mouthful of cereal.
"You get used to it after a few days." Nina answered, "Though it does get a bit dreary, I admit."
I nodded, but said nothing. I didn't want to get used to it, I just wanted to go back to my own, sane life.
"Ah, habibi, I have a surprise for you." My aunt gushed suddenly, green eyes sparkling brightly. "Hurry and finish your breakfast so I can show you!" Aunty Zaho instructed, getting out her chair and heading out to the hallway.
"Best do as she says, Arsinoë." Nina told me in a knowing tone behind her newspaper. My eyebrows furrowed, but my curiosity won out over my hunger, and after chugging down the rest of my chocolate milk, I quickly followed after my aunt.
She'd gone outside, I noticed when I followed, so I decided to grab my backpack (one which had magically appeared already packed and ready, much like everything else. I tried not to dwell on it too much.), that way I wouldn't have to go back inside. When I emerged into the driveway though, I was a tad bit surprised.
Okay, 'tad' being an understatement. Gobsmacked might've been more appropriate.
There, parked in the driveway right outside the garage, was a shiny brand new Range Rover in grey.
I could only stare wordlessly at it for a moment, before turning to my aunt. "Is that mine?" I asked in disbelief.
"You like it I assume?" She seemed worried at my lackluster reaction, "Your mother told me it was what you wanted. Don't you like it?" She asked in concern.
I blinked in surprise, "I love it, of course! I'm just very shocked." I told her and she looked reassured. "Thank you, really."
My Aunt smiled and then handed me a pair of keys, which I took gratefully, noticing the silver and diamond keychain with my name on it. That too, most have cost a fortune. I felt guilty, even though I knew it probably hadn't even put a dent in her pocket. I could have gotten myself a car, one that wouldn't immediately make me stand out upon arriving at school, but I didn't know a way to tell her that without sounding ungrateful.
And then I reminded myself that this was all a very elaborate hallucination, and even the car itself wasn't real, so I decided to just enjoy the car while I could.
My aunt patted down my hair, where curls had already started to escape and gave me a stern look. "Go now, before you're late." She said firmly, and I felt like a child about to start school all over again. "Remember-" But I cut her off with an exasperated sigh, and a fond smile.
"Yes, yes." I drawled, "Go straight to the office, I know Aunty Zaho. I'll see you later you later and tell you all about it." She seemed to think about this for a moment, before shaking her head, loose strands flying.
"Maybe not. I'll be driving up to Seattle for the opening of the new branch. And then there is a cocktail I must attend. You might be asleep by the time I return." She explained and I rolled my eyes, prompting an amused grin to light up her face.
"Just another day in the life of the famous fashion designer." I said, equally amused. "Aye, aye captain. See you then." She nodded and I got in the car. She gave one last wave, before heading back inside.
I arrived at Forks High at 7:48 am precisely. The drive hadn't been too long, and finding it had been easy besides.
Listening to music helped calm me down a little as well, but I was still worried. Everything was just so detailed, from the light dew that covered everything, to the smell of rain in the air. It was unsettling.
The school parking lot was halfway full by the time I arrived, and my arrival drew stares from every direction. I tried to ignored them as best as I could, making my way to the office quickly, to get my papers from Ms Cope. I tried to be quick, already late, but as soon as I entered, it was "Hello dearie! My, what lovely skin you have! And your hair! Is it natural?" and a "And your accent is so exotic and charming, do all Africans speak like you?" It made me embarrassed and slightly shy, because I didn't know how to receive compliments.
To be honest, I had even forgotten I had an accent. Everyone in Dublin got used to it after a while, so they stopped mentioning it and before that I was at home in Egypt for a while, and before that I was in Germany with my dad when he was placed as the stationed there, and before that, I was home again…
I travelled a lot. The point was, I'd picked up many different accents over time and I'd long grown to just roll with them.
After a found pat on the cheek, I was on my way to my first class, which was homeroom. Apparently it was my lucky day, because as I was arranging my new locker, I was ambushed with another round of compliments.
"You're really pretty. I love your hair by the way." A voice said from behind me, making me jump in surprise. I spun around to see who had spoken, only to be blinded by a white flash.
"Smile for the camera." The boy said mischievously. I blinked slowly, trying to stop the stars floating around my line of sight.
The boy was Asian by decent, with his thick black hair and slightly slanted eyes, though his accent was American. Perhaps his grandparents had come over?
He also had quite a bit of acne I noticed, taking in the red spots on his face, though that was quite normal for most males going through puberty. Other than that, he was okay looking -average, with a nice smile.
I told myself to make the effort, to be nice and open, despite the fact that I was interacting with a previously fictional character. "Can I get a do-over?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in inquiry, to which he grinned.
"Nah, looks better when you're unsuspecting." He answered cheekily. "I'm Eric Yorkie." He told me, putting the camera around his neck and holding out a hand for me to shake.
"Arsinoë Zeidan." I replied, taking it. His face brightened like a child at a candy store and I took a slight step back.
"So you're the foreign girl huh! Everyone's been talking about you -our new celebrity!" He declared. I scratched my arm nervously.
"Is that why you've decided to act as the paparazzi?"
"Pretty much." Eric shrugged, fiddling with his camera. "We wanna do a segment on you in the school newspaper, and I'm in charge."
I shook my head. Appearing in the school newspaper was just a sure-fire way to come under attention, something I didn't want. "Um, no please. I don't like the limelight."
His face fell with disappointment, but nonetheless he nodded. "Oh, well that's alright. I understand."
I smiled gratefully. "Thank you."
"No problem." Was his reply. "You have an accent you know." He said, as I started walking in the direction of my homeroom.
Eric followed after me. "So do you." I retorted pointedly. He looked surprised.
"I do?" He asked, sounding self-conscious. I snorted.
"Of course you do. Everyone does."
"That's pretty awesome, actually! Though yours is cooler though, you sound all...Arabic."
I gave him a look that said just how absurd he sounded. "Last I checked, I am Arabic, Eric."
He flushed as we both entered the classroom and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "No -I meant, like those foreign actresses in the movies? Like the really beautiful ladies that always turn out to be a spy in the end and like end up using their hairpins as a weapon."
I laughed, a genuine one. It seemed that I wouldn't have to make that much of an effort after all. "Which movies are these?" I couldn't help but ask.
"James Bond-Mission Impossible ones mostly." He replied with a grin.
I patted my hair bun where it was pinned to my head, and made a displeased sound, "Well, it seems my secret is out. Yes Eric, I am hiding weapons in my hair, and I've come all the way to Forks just to kill you with them." I deadpanned.
He laughed loudly as we took seats near the back of the class by a window overlooking the parking lot. The window was wet with rain, the clouds heavy and grey outside. If there was one thing I didn't mind about all this, it was weather -its familiarity reminded me of Dublin
"Mr Yorkie, I wasn't aware that you had transferred into my class. No one informed me. Please tell me when this happened?" A sarcastic voice asked just as said boy was about to open his mouth again after his laughter had calmed.
I blinked, surprised he wasn't in the same class as me, and yet he'd even gone so far as to take a seat.
"Er, I was just helping the new student get to class, Mr Banner." Erik replied, looking embarrassed, making a few students snicker.
The teacher's gaze slid to me after a moment. "Ah, Miss Zeidan. Nice to finally meet you." He said looking at me through thin spectacles. I smiled and nodded. He turned back to the boy next to me.
"Well, Mr Yorkie, it looks like Miss Zeidan has arrived safely -so is there anything else you need?" He asked, pushing up his glasses. I had a feeling I would like this guy.
"Er, no." Eric replied dumbly, making Mr Banner roll his eyes.
"Well then leave." He stated and Eric did just that, tail between his legs.
I looked at Mr Banner, an amused glint in my eyes and he smiled just a tad.
Homeroom passed quickly, along with Physics and Lit. That was where I met Jessica Stanly and Lauren Mallory.
It went a bit like this;
"Hi! You're Arsinoë right?" A cheerful strawberry blond asked, startling me. I looked away from the window to see an eager face looking at me. She was pretty, I noticed, with her pale skin, blue eyes and strawberry blond hair. There was another girl sitting next to her though, and that one didn't look too friendly.
"Er, yeah?" It sounded more like a question, even to me. Jessica paid this no heed, instead looking at me with probing eyes.
"You're like, from Africa?" She asked again, and I nodded.
"Oh cool! I love you're tan by the way! And is your hair natural?"
"Thanks. Yes, my hair is natural." I answered, not saying more than I had to. Jessica nodded, eager. I remembered from Canon that she was a chatterbox and a gossip, and reminded myself to not to say anything that could possibly be used against me.
And let's just say from then on, she didn't stop talking.
History passed quickly too, and it was slightly interesting learning about the American Civil war but other than that, the morning was quite boring. Much to my relief, lunch arrived quickly and I eagerly left class, wanting only to find a quiet place to read the book assigned in English.
I didn't want to be more involved in this world more than necessary, lest I develop any lasting attachments and become reluctant to separate at all. I had to remember my goal, and that was to go home.
"Noë!" I heard a voice call whilst I was picking up a chicken sandwich in the cafeteria. I looked up to see Jessica waving obnoxiously from a table in the middle of the room, sitting with a group of people. I contemplated running away then and there, pretending I hadn't heard her...but I'd reacted to her call too fast, and everyone at the table was watching me. I didn't want to develop a reputation for being rude. With a slight sigh, I went over.
"Hey Jessica." I said, when I got there. The table's occupants watched me curiously. Lauren didn't spare me a glance.
"Everyone, this is Arsinoë. She's from Africa." Jessica introduced, pointing at me. I couldn't help but laugh a little, because me being from Africa seemed to be the highlight of my reputation, as if it were some mythical continent that was only spoken of in whispers.
Her words was met with a bunch of "Hey"s and "Sup"s and other variations. Introductions were quick, though it was a little overwhelming to be around people I'd previously known to be fictional. I met Mike, Tyler, Angela, Ben, Lee and Samantha (though I quickly forgot who each name belonged to), and they were all very open and friendly, and I received a million and one questions, all which that I answered with exasperated patience,and it was during the process of answering Ben's curious, "Oh, you lived in China? What's it like?" that the cafeteria doors opened.
I don't know what made this different from all the other times it did, because it sounded perfectly normal to me, but apparently not to everyone else, who immediately paused and turned. The words in mouth died as I saw what everyone was staring at.
I blinked for a moment, before comprehension dawned.
The Cullens. It was the Cullens, walking in all graceful-like and bloody intimidating. They looked nothing like their actors - though they were all breathtaking in their own right. Hell, just looking at Rosalie made my self-esteem jump out the window.
And the last to walk in, the one who made every girl swoon and fall over, was Edward Cullen, and my heart just stopped, because my mind literally could not process how it was possible for someone to be that good looking. He was gorgeous, absolutely magnificent, was all I could think as I watched him stride across the room. I was quite embarrassed to think that if Adonis existed, had taken on a physical form then it was Edward Cullen, with his bronze coloured hair that changed colour with every angle, becoming a mix of reds and oranges and browns, a bored expression on his face, but it did nothing to diminish his handsomeness -making it more appealing if possible.
It was understandable why Bella couldn't shut up about him in the books.
Forcefully, I gave myself a mental shove to pull myself together. They're not real, Arsinoë.
I quickly averted my gaze back to the table, trying to restart my pulse, but I'd already been caught staring. "Those are the Cullens." Lauren stated haughtily, as if she'd birthed them herself. "They came down here from Alaska two years ago. Doctor Cullen and his wife adopted them, cause apparently she can't have kids." Lauren sniffed, as if just the mere thought was abhorrent. I frowned at her.
"It's really unfortunate when someone can't have children Lauren." I told her disapprovingly,. "My aunt can't either. I think its really nice that Mrs Cullen did that. And maybe, they might come to appreciate her more than her own kids ever could, because she took care of them when no one else wanted to." I replied, genuinely annoyed with her. I'd always thought that Esme was a really nice person, Carlisle as well, and I didn't like the way Lauren talked about them.
"…Yeah, well anyway, they're all together. Like, together together." She answered, huffing. Personally, even if I didn't know that their sibling act was all a farce, I'd have thought it was none of my business who other people chose to love.
"Well, except for that bronze haired beauty sitting alone, Edward. Apparently no one here is good enough for him." Lauren continued, flipping her hair and trying for nonchalant.
"Learnt this from experience huh?" I asked innocently, unable to resist poking fun at her.
"E-Excuse me?" Lauren asked, affronted and shooting me daggers. Jessica and the girl next to her, were trying to hide sniggers. I shrugged and sipped my milk calmly.
"What she's trying to say is that he's just not interested, so don't bother trying." Said a dark haired girl with glasses. She was very pretty, with hints of Latin blood in her. Angela, I remembered her being.
"Yeah, Ange's right. Just setting yourself up for heartbreak." Jessica finished, pouting and I had a feeling that she too had tried to win Edward's affection, prompting me to smile slightly in amusement.
Why would I commit myself when everything was fake anyway? I shook my head. "I really wasn't planning on it." I said honestly. I looked at the time on the large clock in the room and stood up.
"Where you going?" Jessica asked, noticing my movement.
"I need to go and see Ms Cope about a few of my classes. She said to meet her after I finished lunch." I answered, pushing in my chair and tossing my things into the bin a few feet away. One of the boys let out an impressed whistle.
"Woah, Africa, good aim you got there!" He exclaimed, giving me a high five as I passed.
"I'll see you guys later." I said with a wave and a smile.
The meeting with Mrs Cope ended up taking longer than expected. I'd tried in vain to get out of Spanish, since I already knew other languages, but Spanish was mandatory since it was an Official language of the country. I'd wanted to switch it for a free period, but she was adamant that I could not.
On top of that, I ended up getting lost on the way to Biology, because it was in a completely different building.
"Sorry I'm late! I got lost!" I exclaimed apologetically, five minutes tardy for class. The teacher paused in his explanation, as well as writing on the board, and looked at me. Along with the twenty other students of the class.
"It's quite alright." He said kindly. "Many people get lost. Even I do sometimes." He replied, smiling reassuringly, and I nodded, relieved.
"You arrived just in time regardless, I was just starting. Please take a seat anywhere you'd like." He answered, gesturing to the room….which only had one seat left…And it was currently situated next to a glaring vampire.
Oh shit.
In all honesty, I had forgotten about this part, mostly because I didn't think that I'd have the same effect Bella did on Edward. Wasn't it extremely rare to find your singer? What were the chances that it'd be me?
I tried to sit down confidently, telling myself that nothing could happen. I was safe, these were just my feelings of paranoia manifesting themselves. I was fine.
I didn't even feel insulted when I noticed him discreetly angling his chair as far as possible away from me.
I felt bad even though I knew it wasn't technically my fault. I probably smelt like the most delicious thing in the world to him right now, just testing his hard-earned self control.
I tried to make things easier for him by putting my hair down from its bun that way at least the scent of my blood would be muffled by the apple blossom smell of the shampoo I'd used this morning. It seemed to make things better, I noticed, by the way he relaxed just a miniscule bit more, and his black eyes didn't feel like a fire burning right through me. Now it just felt like fire being sent to me. Quite the difference when you were fearing for your life.
The rest of the forty-three minutes of Biology were spent taking notes, trying my best to not inconvenience him and maybe become dinner, and marveling at how good looking he was, in a discreet way of course.
Looking at Edward close up, even through the curtain of my hair, I could fully understand why Bella couldn't get over his perfection. My mind sure could conjure up the most beautiful things when it wanted to.
Edward was like Greek God who had been thrown out of Olympus for being too good looking and threatening to usurp Zeus by seducing literally everybody.
Including Zeus.
The class ticked by excruciatingly slowly, the clock moving sluggishly. It was the tensest fourty-five minutes of my life -I tried not to move much unless necessary, but I could still see how tightly his fists were clenched from the effort of not devouring me on the spot. It was a relief when the bell finally rang, and I could finally breathe easily again after Edward had basically zoomed out of the room.
The rest of the 'day' went okay I guess, even when I ran into Edward trying to convince Ms Cope to switch his class with something else. It was unsuccessful, and I sympathized, having been in the exact same predicament earlier myself.
The dark glare full of loathing that he shot me was still unsettling though.
"How was your day?" Nina asked later on when I arrived home, looking concerned as I half-dragged myself through the door. She'd been carrying a load of clean laundry and paused in the foyer as I entered.
I tried to give her a smile, toeing off my shoes at the threshold. "Oh, it was good. I made some friends." I said, wiggling my feet.
She looked dubious, her blue eyes unbelieving. "Uh huh." Was her reply. "I'm about to get started on dinner, come help me and you can tell me all about them." She proposed.
My forced smile slipped a little and I shifted uncomfortably. Company was the last thing I wanted at the moment. All I wanted was to crawl into bed and pretend nothing else existed. My day had been draining and I was exhausted. "I'm actually really tired Nina, I'm just gonna go take a little nap before I get started on homework."
She stared at me contemplatively for a long time before she said in a voice that broker no room for argument, "You need some Yoga."