Chapter 1:
Late October, 2006
The infamous Forks weather upheld its reputation, rain sprinkling onto the citizens who left for work/school. The small, run-down blue house with missing shutters hadn't changed much in the last seventeen years. Theresa sat in her recliner, smoking a cigarette, and watching Wheel of Fortune on TV. Ian was asleep in his room upstairs, having worked overtime at the garage the previous night. Seventeen year-old Pandora stood in front of her full-body mirror, staring at her reflection in a condescending manner.
The thin young woman had long legs that were covered by a knee-length pleated skirt, having been forced into wearing the skirt by her aunt. An average sized bust was hidden behind her argyle sweater vest and button-up blouse. Wincing when she noticed her large feet, Pandora's line of sight made its way up her body, and finally landed on her facial features. The young woman had acquired her father's square jaw, her mother's uneven lips, a long, flat nose, and her father's blue eyes that shown a silvery color.
Pandora swung her dull, lifeless brown hair across her shoulder and combed through with her fingers. Flicking her eyes over to the clock, Pandora took notice of the time.
"You're going to be late," Ian grumbled as he stood in Pandora's doorway. Pandora jumped at her uncle's sudden appearance, but grabbed her backpack without a second thought.
"I know!" Pandora rushed, slipping into her flats. Ian pulled his car keys out of his back pocket and jingled them in front of Pandora.
"Take Morty," Ian offered.
Silver eyes widened as Pandora stared at him in awe, "I can't take Morty! He's your pride and joy!" Ian laughed and threw the keys to Pandora, watching as she barely caught them.
"Just take care of him, will ya'?" Pandora nodded and clasped the keys tightly in her hands, smiling to herself.
Ian watched as Pandora slid past him and went down the stairs. Theresa ignored Pandora's existence as the latter left the house. Pandora let out a sigh, relieved that her aunt hadn't yelled at her for running late. The cherry red '82 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am caught Pandora's attention, forcing a huge grin on her face.
The car purred to life as Pandora twisted the key in the ignition. Turning up the stereo, Pandora let out a laugh as New Kids on The Block played; NKOTB was her uncle's guilty pleasure.
::
Arriving at school with time to spare, Pandora let out a huge sigh and stepped out of Morty. A few students were awestruck by the sudden appearance of Morty, having never seen the car before.
"Nice," one of the Cullens shouted, catching Pandora's attention. Like most of the other students, Pandora was intrigued by the Cullens. Something about them was off: they all shared the same pale skin tone and golden eye color. Emmett had been the one to throw out the comment, causing Pandora's face to flush.
Not knowing what to do, Pandora just nodded and continued to walk away. Interacting socially was not one of Pandora's skills. Being socially inept was actually her biggest attribute.
First period for Pandora was Mythology, taken for the extra credits, which her teacher thought was ironic. Mr. Gray always made comments to Pandora when they covered a new piece in Greek Mythology.
Angela Weber took her seat next to Pandora and offered the girl a smile, having it reciprocated.
"Ian let you borrow his car?" Angela wondered in her quiet voice.
"You saw that?" Pandora asked softly, wincing as Mr. Gray started to write on the chalkboard.
"I'm pretty sure the whole school did." Pandora lowered her head; had she known that taking Ian's car would've brought attention, she'd have rather walked and been late. "It's probably not as bad as you're thinking, Andy."
"Any attention is bad." Pandora ignored the nickname Angela was using in an attempt to calm her.
"You just need to-"
"Attention class!" Mr. Gray interrupted the talking students, "all faces turned here!" Pandora and Angela both turned to the front of the room, taking out their books. "This week we will be going over the humans who played a big part in Greek Mythology." Pandora mentally groaned, knowing where this was leading: "Caenis, who became Caeneus by the hand of Poseidon, one of the few known transgender myths; and the infamous Pandora who couldn't resist the temptation of opening that box." The class snickered and all turned to Pandora.
"Would you be able to handle the temptation, Mr. Gray?" One of the students from the back asked.
Pandora chose this as her moment to be a smart ass, "Had you been given a box that could possibly contain anything you imagine, would you be able to keep it closed?" Angela hid her smile by letting her hair fall in front of her face, while Mr. Gray laughed and nodded in agreement with Pandora.
"She has a point, Mr. Stone." Pandora smiled in victory, maybe it was finally the end of the jokes. "Did Eve resist biting into that forbidden fruit? Each religion has a different theory, but temptation was the biggest downfall for these women."
::
Pandora sat alone at lunch, biting into an apple as she read her book. A tray slammed onto the table, the bottle of water tipping over and rolling to Pandora. Pandora picked up the bottle, sat it upright, and handed it back to its owner.
Elaine stood, waiting for Pandora to look up from the book. Pandora finally looked over the top of the book, noticing the glare her friend was giving her.
"What?" Pandora asked, taking a large bite of her apple.
"Ian let you borrow his car and you didn't give me a ride?" Elaine hissed, placing her hands on her hips.
Elaine was the eccentric one of the duo, her motto consisting of "shock and awe." Elaine was of Quileute descent, but her parents had moved to Forks so Elaine would attend a better high school. Her silky brown hair, brown eyes, and natural tan skin shown her relation to the tribe; one thing that set Elaine away from the others was the array of freckles across her nose and forehead.
"I didn't know that he was planning on giving me the car today," Pandora answered as Elaine sat down across from her. Elaine rolled her eyes and popped open the bag of chips on her tray, crunching a few in the process.
"Sure," the word was muffled as Elaine crunched the chip in her mouth. "So the old man is forcing me to go to the tribe meeting tomorrow…" Pandora's eyes flicked up to Elaine's fake-innocent smile.
"No," Pandora whispered as she shook her head. Elaine made a noise in protest, wiggling in her seat.
"C'mon, Andy!" Elaine was known for being persistent, just like Pandora for being stubborn. Pandora shook her head more forcefully, ignoring Elaine's gaze. "You just need to come with me, sit for five minutes, and then we bounce."
"I'm not intruding on your Quileute stories; I refuse to be an uninvited guest who ruins everything." Elaine's eyes narrowed in on Pandora.
"You're going, because afterward…" Elaine smirked, "we're going to the beach for a party."
"Are you trying to kill me?" Pandora hissed.
"Of course not! I'm trying to make you more sociable." Elaine persisted, "it's not optional, and you're going."
Pandora shook her long hair in front of her face, taking a huge bite of the apple. The sound of the apple caused Elaine to twitch.
"Must you chew so loudly?" Elaine grunted, flicking a pea from her plate toward Pandora.
"Sorry," Pandora blushed, hiding her face behind her hand. Elaine smirked to herself, popped a tater tot into her mouth, and thought up a plan inside of her head. There had to be some way she could fix shy little Pandora.