Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or anything to do with it, however the OC's are all my own. The concept of Jasper being the 'God of War' is something that I've read in a few fics, but I don't know where it originates, so I'm sorry for not giving credit where credit's due! Plus, I have no idea what Louisianna, or Wisconsin are like - I'm from England, so please, forgive any mistakes. Have a great day, and I love you guys!
Camilla POV
October 2020
Madison, Wisconsin
"Camilla! Pass the ball!," a girl I had made friend with, Malory Davidson, shouted from across the court, and I did, I threw her the basketball, with aim and precision, and she caught it. My heart pounding loudly in my chest, I searched for another opening in the opposite team, and once I found one, I shuttled myself into it, with a speed and precision that was not my own. I held out my hands, awaiting the ball, and another girl, Georgia Lou, handed it to me.
The opposite team were getting highly irritated and incensed over the fact that we were currently beating them 22-14, but c'est la vie, and we spitting playful banter at us. Taking my time, I exhaled, before aiming, then shooting the ball, and with whatever luck I had absorbed over the last few weeks, the basket was scored, shuttling out points to 24-14 to us, and the loud, grating whistle of Coach Abel, a very stern-looking hard-assed gym teacher, alerted us to the fact that the game was over, and we, in fact, had won.
Jokingly, I made a face at a few of the other girls on the opposite team, and they rolled their eyes, playfully, back at me. I was revelling in the fact that I had finally made a comfortable amount of friends; and I was cordial with everyone else. In the last month, I had made rather close ties with those of the Cullen-Hale family, and I was surprised, to say the least, at that fact, as I was sure, no, I was certain that they hated me.
Alice was the first to speak to me, to a welcoming degree, followed closely by a surprisingly warm Charlotte, who I found to be equal parts intriguing as adorable. She was the true definition of a Southern Belle; blonde, buxom, beautiful. Her boyfriend, Peter took a little longer to warm up to me, however, one day, he just.. Was fine with me. He smiled at me whenever he saw me, he made frequent conversation, jokes, sarcastic comments, and had such an enjoyable, yet reserved aura about himself that I couldn't help but feed off of it.
Their relationship's dynamic was strange; they worked in unison, yet were completely different in every facet. Similar to that of Rosalie and Emmett, who I found to be nothing but a big ol' cuddly bear - his dimples only added to his appeal, and he was the funniest, most endearing guy I had ever met, besides my brother. Rosalie was vain; there was no other word for it. She walked into a room and expected eyes to be on her, and if they weren't, she made it so they would. She liked compliments, and Emmett showered her with them, daily. Sometimes I would catch them giving each other those horrid couple-y googly-eyes and I felt my stomach lurch with something foreign inside of me.
The only member of the family that gave me no recognition was the one who had been missing - Jasper. According to Alice, or at least whenever it is brought up, mostly by Clyde, on accident, he was visiting family in Alaska, although there was something dodgy about their story, I couldn't exactly call her bluff, because it wasn't really my place. I wasn't a part of their family, so therefore I had no say.
Alice.. Alice was a different kind of girl, to say the least. In my mind, she would never have been the girl to get with my brother; she was too vocal with her happiness, too cheery and far too bubbly, however they just.. Worked together. And it was mind-boggling. I just didn't get it.
They had first started talking not a week into the school year, and, if I were being honest, I felt very annoyed by that fact. She was supposed to be my friend - not his. She tried her hardest as to not make me feel bad about it, and even went so far as to invite me over to their house for dinner. Immediately, I declined, of course, however after a long conversation with Clyde, who pretty much tore me a new asshole for being an idiot, and I had to accept.
That was three days ago.
Tonight was the night we would go to the Cullen residence, and eat dinner with them. I say 'we' because there was no way I was going without Clyde, even if I was mad at him.
-0-
"You 'bout ready to go, Cher?," Clyde yelled from his bedroom, where he was putting the finishing touches to his outfit. I yelled back a loud, "Yeah," before slipping in my plain silver studs into my ears. I backed up slightly, and glanced at my reflection, giving myself the once over. My hair had been straightened, and tied at the base of my skull in a neat, elegant bun. Over my shoulders was a simple pussy-bow pale peach blouse tucked into a pair of high-waist denim, skinny jeans, which accentuated all of my curves, but still being professional and respectful. Over the blouse was a slate grey, fitted blazer that was cuffed at the middle of my forearm, and on my wrist, a gold watch, that I had gotten from my mother for my birthday. Apparently she could do some good in the world. On my feet were a casual pair of slip on, glossy cream ballet flats, with cute bows at the toe.
I had brushed some mascara onto my lashes, as well as a thin spread of pencil liner along the top and bottom of my eye, if only to draw attention to my eyes. I pushed my glasses onto my face, and found that they suited the outfit better than if I had worn my contacts. I rolled on a it of deodorant, and, after picking up my beige leather satchel, which contained my phone, purse, house keys, along with a bottle of water and half an empty packet of chewing gum that I had bought earlier this week.
Quietly, I slipped out of my room, noticing Clyde was doing the same, and, well, shit, when I say he could scrub up well, he could goddamn scrub up well. His hair had been freshly cut, still curly but neater than usual so I could tell he was at least trying to make a good impression on the family. His attire was simple; a clean-cut, ironed dark blue button up shirt, which was cuffed, similar to my own, at the elbow rather than his forearm, and a pair of dark slacks, kept up with an expensive looking belt, and smart shiny shoes.
"You look smart, why are you so dressed up, Cher?" he asked, with a quirk in his eyebrow. I tilted my head to the side, slightly, with a small smile on my face, and shrugged, minutely, simply replying, "Well I thought I might as well you see. I don't wanna look shabby when you look so damn good."
He blushed, lightly, and scratched the back of his head, while mumbling, "I jus' don't wanna look bad in front of Alice's parents. She means a lot to me."
My stomach clenched, uncomfortably, and I felt the awkwardness that I was graced with at birth settle in quickly. I stammered, "I k-know, Clyde, I can s-see that."
He grinned, playfully, poking fun at my stammer, and I blushed under his gaze. He simply held out his elbow for me to take, of which I did, and led me downstairs, and thus out of the house. Our dad was out at work right now, but I left him some sweet potato pie in the oven - his favourite - that I had baked earlier this afternoon. Clyde slid into the driver's seat of his Coupe, and I into the passenger's seat, winding down the window on my side, hoping that the fresh air will quell the nervousness in my chest.
"You sure you're okay, doll?" he asked, more concerned, this time. My only answer was a shaky nod, while my right hand scratched at the base of my throat, hard enough to cause a blemish to appear.
-0-
Arriving at the Cullen home, or should I say mansion, was intimidating to say the least. It was three-storey's high, with an attic, and was an affluent mixture made up of straight, steel edges, clean-cut, transparent, spotless glass and the walls were painted a pristine white. It looked as though it were pretentiously expensive, which made me feel a little under-dressed, and very poor. To be honest, this showy display of obvious wealth was, in essence, useless, because the song-and-dance wasn't shown publicly, as the home itself was shielded by a forest of dull jade green treetops.
They could have been living in a shack for all its worth - it shouldn't matter to other people because they wouldn't see it. From what I could tell, the Cullen's were very private people, they liked to keep to themselves, which only made this soiree even more strange. It was clear from the rumors around town that they didn't invite just anyone to their homes, so why was I asked here? Clyde I can understand, but me? I wasn't anything special.
My thoughts were interrupted as I felt Clyde shuffle out of the driver's side, and I copied his actions, slipping out of the car, and my feet touching the freshly graveled pathway. The large, snugly fitted garage, along with the rest of the house, was painted white, with modern looking, gray shutters, locking whatever costly vehicles they had away. A little awkwardly, and feeling as though there were pairs of invisible eyes watching my body, I walked up the footpath, alongside my big brother, who took the initiative, thankfully, and knocked on the door three times.
Within seconds, the door was opened, and light was flooded from inside, blanketing us in its warmth, making me squint as the sudden rush of bright, invasive light burnt my eyes and made them tear up, and we were hit with the herbal scent of what I would assume was Italian food. Alice's cropped hair was the first thing I noticed, as it was stark against the pristine light that haloed behind her, besides her blinding, megawatt smile.
"Hey! I'm glad you came, I was getting a little nervous," she admitted sheepishly, and gave me a short hug, before grasping my brother's hand, and leading him further into the house. I followed behind them, only to feel a rush of pure discomfort settle inside of me at the scene plying out in front of me.
Was I going to be the third wheel?
Quietly, I blanched at that thought, and wondered, idly, if this was some kind of grave mistake that I would eventually regret for the rest of my days.
"Come on, lemme introduce you to the family!" she said, happily, and led us up the three-steps, and into the living room, where majority of the family was seated, with the rest in the kitchen, I believe.
Absentmindedly, Rosalie and Edward regarded me with a slight nod, and went back to their prior dispositions, whereas Bella gave me a diminutive wiggle of the fingers as to say 'hello'. Emmett hopped out of his seat to high-five my brother, in that stupid manly gesture guys always did, and hugged me, tightly, spinning me slightly. He was always very hands on with his affection, and I found that I wasn't entirely against it. He was a nice guy, once you got to know him, I guess.
I glanced upward when I felt the piercing, intimate caress of eyes on me, and I fell upon the heated gaze of Jasper fucking Cullen, leaning against the wall, his arms locked, tightly, across his chest. Wasn't he supposed to be in Alaska? As a matter of fact, wasn't he just not supposed to be around me. I couldn't think clearly with him around me - he did something to me that I wasn't comfortable or familiar with. He made my chest ache, and I hated it with every fiber in my being. He didn't look entirely content with my being here, a fact that kind of pissed me off a little, because he had no right to be angry at me for that.
"Em, lemme down please," I asked, quietly, and Emmett, with an 'oh, sorry' settled me onto the balls of my feet, and I smiled up at him. He apologised, "I'm sorry, I get a little over excited sometimes, apparently," and shrugged, flippantly. His arm was thrown over my shoulder, and I chuckled to myself at the size of his compared to my own petite stature as he tugged me towards the kitchen.
"Let me introduce you to my parents, Camilla," he said, as though he were talking about somethin' casual, like the fuckin' weather. I tensed, and he laughed, the sound loud, but not intrusive, and happy, but not at all annoyingly so. He was just a nice person to be around, he had a good, clean energy that infected everyone around him.
"Camilla, this is Esme, my mom," he introduced a very beautiful-looking woman, who looked as though she were stepping into her mid-twenties, not her forties that rumor suggested. She had auburn, mid-back length hair, and the same golden eyes as the rest of her family; a trait I was increasingly becoming more suspicious of as the days went by. It just didn't seem to add up to me, and I felt like I had been wracking my brain forever, trying to figure out what I missed.
Shaking my head, dispelling those thoughts, I took the hand that Esme, the yummy mummy, offered me, and shook it, lightly, smiling, softly, as I did so. Emmett went on, "And this is my dad, Carlisle."
Carlisle, the doctor, the healer, the perfect father, the family man. These were all labels that flew around this relatively small town about him, and honestly, they all were true, in a sense. His aura personified his quiet confidence, as well as his kindness, what with his soft molten gold eyes, and businesslike, professional demeanor. He was exuding compassion and empathy, and I soaked it in like a flaccid sponge. I shook his hand, as well, and introduced myself to them both, somewhat quietly.
"We didn't know what you liked, but Alice says that Clyde likes Italian.. We hope that our assumption was correct?," Carlisle asked, worriedly. I simply shrugged it off, and said, "No, I'm fine, I like anythin', I don't mind what kinda food we eat here," my accent slipping through due to my intense bursts of anxiety.
This was so fucking uncomfortable, I could barely breathe. Why did I have to come? I felt the unease settle low in my stomach, causing goose-flesh to break out all over my body, making the hair on the back of my neck and arms stand on end. My heart had to have been pounding at nearly double the usual rate, and I thought that I might as well have dropped down to my knees and suffered a cardiac arrest - anything just to break this inanely awkward sensation, nearly crippling my slight form.
Jesus, could this not just end?