Bella
I was staring at my alarm clock when it went off, having been unable to sleep much. I slammed the stop button with a heavy hand and buried myself under the covers.
"Bella!" Charlie called up the stairs, "Don't make us late!"
I groaned and threw the bedspread off, then stomped over to the bathroom. I dallied too long in the shower and the water suddenly turned ice cold, making me even grumpier than before. After getting dressed and towel-drying my thick brown hair, I pulled it up into my usual pony-tail to keep it out of my way. I hadn't brought any of my school stuff in my rush to pack without my mom noticing, so my book bag was full of my favorite classics rather than texts. I brought them along anyway. One sure-fire way to avoid unwanted interrogations by my classmates was to keep a book in front of my face at all times.
I reached the bottom of the stairs just as Charlie was about to come looking for me.
"I made breakfast," he stated proudly. Unfortunately the roiling of my stomach would make it impossible to eat.
"Thanks Dad, but I'm not hungry."
"Bells, you need to eat something."
"Fine," I sighed heavily and grabbed a granola bar from the pantry.
"It's just school, Bella, not the end of the world."
That's what he thinks.
I got into the passenger side of his police cruiser and stared fixedly out the window. Arriving to my first day at a new school in the middle of junior year in the sheriff's car was just the icing on top of a spectacular year.
One good thing about getting a ride instead of walking to school, besides being out of the rain, was being able to appreciate the scenery. Forks is nestled on the western edge of the Olympic National Forest, and there were trees everywhere I looked. I felt like I had never truly seen the color green before. The sage-green and brown-green of the desert just doesn't compare to the overpowering emerald tones of the grass, ferns, and moss that grow everywhere and on everything up here. I could only glimpse the cloudy sky if I looked straight up, and suddenly I felt a strong wave of claustrophobia that increased my nervousness ten-fold.
"Are we there yet?" I asked my dad, desperately trying to keep my breathing under control. My skin was starting to prick with sweat in spite of the chilly morning air. I needed to get out of this car.
"Actually, yes we are." Charlie pulled the car up to a little brick building with a sign stating Administration. Where was the school? I saw nothing but a grouping of small brick buildings nestled in the trees.
I jumped out as soon as we stopped and let the rain wash over me. So much for non-frizzy hair this morning. I stood in the fresh air while Charlie went in to get my class schedule. I guess being the chief of police means you never have to wait for anything. Ten minutes later he returned with my schedule and instructions. First stop was the library to check out my textbooks. I almost asked him why they didn't require a photo for a student ID, then decided against it. I was definitely not feeling photogenic at the moment.
"I can take it from here, Dad. You should get to work."
"Okay kiddo. Good luck." He gave me a warm hug and I relished one last moment of peace before entering the lion's den.
As he drove away I studied the map of the school I'd been given, trying to discern which of the brick buildings in front of me was which. I was very early, no one else seemed to have arrived yet. The largest building in the middle housed the gym, cafeteria, and library. I entered and gave my book list to the librarian, who smiled warmly as she stacked my texts on the counter. As I waited, the door opened and a boy entered. He almost walked right past me, then looked at me again with furrowed brows.
"Hi," He greeted me, "are you new here?" I nodded. "My name is Eric."
"Bella." I answered him, swallowing my nerves. "Hi."
He rewarded me with a huge smile, like I had just made his day. "So, where're you from Bella?"
"Phoenix."
"Oh wow! That's so far away. How come you moved here?"
I sighed. Here we go. He seemed really nice but there was no way I wanted to get into my family drama with a complete stranger. Luckily the librarian had found all my books and I heaved them off the counter. They almost toppled over as I lost my balance trying to hold on to them.
"Here, let me help you." Eric offered, taking a few off the pile.
"Thank you," I told him, relieved.
"So what's your first class?"
"Umm…" My schedule of course was in my pocket, completely out of reach now that my arms were full of books. I had only glanced at it before. "AP… something."
"Nice! That will be English, there's only one AP class each period. I'm in it too, come on I'll show you."
I followed him to class, almost in shock. At my school in Phoenix, students sorted themselves according to the clothes they wore and the music they listened to. No one had ever spoken to me for as long as Eric just did the entire time I lived there. Not that I had minded. Less talking meant less personal questions. But it was actually nice to have some help finding my way around, and Eric seemed completely genuine. He walked me to class all morning, since we both were taking all of the Advanced Placement courses available. Having no social life in Phoenix had left me plenty of time to focus on my studies.
More and more people were noticing me as the morning went on. I kept my head down and pretended I couldn't hear the whispers, but I was certain my skin was bright red the entire time. I felt like a spectacle. By third period Eric and I were joined by a quiet girl named Angela, and then in fourth by Angela's friend Jessica who was her complete opposite, bubbly and talkative. I tried to keep up with her run-down of the school's social gossip, but was soon completely lost. Finally lunch came around, and I was of course starving after skipping breakfast. Jessica's boyfriend Mike and his friend Ben sat with us at the lunch table. They all wanted to know about life in Arizona and being the daughter of the police chief. I tried to keep my answers as brief as I could. Even so I had never talked so much in my life. I was starting to get a little out of breath and almost dizzy from answering the continuous onslaught, but I found I didn't mind. Everyone here was so open and friendly. I was just starting to think that maybe it wouldn't be so bad here when it happened: the cafeteria door opened and in walked the most gorgeous girl I had ever seen.
Her face was perfection: dark eyes with long lashes, dainty nose set between high cheekbones, and full even lips all framed by luxurious waves of golden tresses. My jaw dropped as my eyes involuntarily travelled down her voluptuous curves. I don't even know how long I had been staring when my trance was broken by the arrival of a tall muscular guy who stepped in behind the goddess and wrapped his tree-trunk arms around her tiny waist. I snapped my mouth shut and looked around anxiously, suddenly terrified. How many of them had seen me openly ogling another girl? How could I have let this happen? All my years of forcibly conditioning myself to never reveal my true inclinations had been shattered by the appearance of this sultry siren. Thankfully, it appeared I wasn't the only one staring. The vixen commanded the room, and my indiscretion seemed to have passed unnoticed. I sighed in relief, then glared at her, furious that she had almost become the catalyst for my undoing. I vowed I would never so much as glance at her again. Blondes aren't my type anyway.
The lunch hour was almost over, and my roller-coaster of emotions combined with the endless questions had left me drained. I excused myself and took my tray over to the garbage bin, once again wishing I could be invisible. I was looking at my feet instead of in front me when I crashed right into the back of tall boy with chin-length wavy blonde hair. He gasped in surprise and spun around, and when he did I gasped too. His face was a masculine mirror image of the girl who I'd been staring at only moments before, so beautiful I was almost attracted to him. Almost. Something about the look on his face sent chills down my spine. His dark eyes were wild and his lips curled into a snarl. I backed away from him, but before he could say or do anything two girls appeared, one on either side of him, and grabbed him by the elbows.
"Oh my- I'm sorry I-" I stammered, trying to regain my composure. The three of them were gone before I even got the words out. I was still shaking my head in confusion when Eric and Mike found me to walk to Biology.
"Geez Bella, what'd you say to the Hale kid? I've never seen him look so mad!" Mike said as we walked.
I was still bright red from embarrassment, and Mike's comment made me flush even deeper. "Nothing, I just… bumped into him."
"Oh, suuure!" Mike retorted teasingly.
"No really, it was a complete accident!" I insisted, mortified that he would assume I ran into the guy just to see him up close and personal.
"Nice try, just be a little bit more subtle next time." Mike was laughing.
"Oh c'mon Mike, like you never 'bumped into' Rosalie before" Eric chimed in.
"Rosalie?" I asked.
"Rosalie Hale, she's Jasper's twin sister. You know, the mega-hot blonde."
"Oh, um," I cleared my throat nervously, "I hadn't noticed."
"But seriously, Bella, stay away from that guy. He's totally weird and besides, his girlfriend Alice is very… protective of him." The laughter was gone from Mike's voice when he told me this.
"Which one was she?" I asked.
"The short one with the black hair."
"Okay." I replied, trying to remember what she looked like. They had left so quickly I never got a good look at either of them. "And the other girl?"
"Evie Cullen. She never talks to anyone."
"Why not?"
"No idea." Mike shrugged, "Never really thought about it." We entered the classroom and Mike and Eric took their seats, leaving me to look around for an empty desk. Like a typical Biology classroom, there were blacktop tables set up for two people each. Finally I spotted an open chair in the very back, next to a girl with unruly auburn hair whom I suddenly recognized as Evie Cullen. Just my luck.
I reluctantly made my way to the back and took my seat, avoiding eye contact. Evie must have still been angry about my bumping into Jasper. She sat at the very corner of the desk, her body angled away from me. I got the feeling she detested even being in the same room with me. I was a little confused, I had thought Mike said the short dark-haired girl was Jasper's protective girlfriend, not this one. Maybe I had heard wrong. I shrugged it off and tried to concentrate on the lesson, ignoring the waves of hostility that emanated from my lab partner. Finally the class ended and Evie disappeared before I had even closed my binder.
Last period of the day was gym. Great. I shuddered to think what would happen in there. Unless we were running track there was a good chance that I would be making a royal fool of myself. I wasn't wrong. Before we were even halfway through the volleyball match I had managed to jump wildly away from the ball flying toward me, trip over my own feet at smash my face right into the pole that held up the net. My face turned ten shades of fuchsia as everyone in the gym started to laugh, and I ran out as fast as I could, completely humiliated.
I ran into the girls' restroom, fighting back tears of pain and embarrassment. The day had been going so well. I knew it was too good to be true. I bent over the sink to wash the trickle of blood off my forehead, wondering how I could possibly show my face back here tomorrow.
Suddenly I was startled by a stall door slamming open behind me. My head snapped up and a scream caught in my throat. In the mirror I saw a face behind me so fearsome I felt terror race through me. Black eyes rimmed in blood red and mouth wide open to reveal rows of deadly sharp fangs. I was rooted to the spot, not daring to breathe. Before I could blink the creature sped out through the window, but not before I glimpsed the unmistakable auburn curls of one Evie Cullen.
Other
I ran through the forest, not caring where I went. Branches whipped my skin as I raced through the trees as fast as I could, desperately trying to reach open air. Finally I found a clearing and collapsed, letting the cold air clear my senses. Soon I could think again, but still could not forget the smell of her blood. It had completely overpowered me, and all my years of training and conditioning myself to live amongst humans disappeared in an instant. Her scent was intoxicating, impossible to resist. I wanted nothing more than to sink my teeth into her tender throat and savor every last drop of her. And yet somehow I had resisted. I pondered this as the daylight faded away, postponing the moment when I would have to say good-bye to my family. I knew now that my only option was to leave. I could not risk exposing all of us for what we truly are. I would not.
Finally Alice found me.
"Evie," she said softly, her voice full of sadness, "don't leave us."
"I have to, Alice. It's my only option. Surely you can see that." The bitterness in my voice surprised me.
"My sight is subjective. It depends purely on the decisions you make. You know that as well as I." She sighed. "Besides, it doesn't seem to be working the way it usually does."
I sat up when she said this. "What do you mean?"
"Well, for one thing the incident with Jasper in the lunchroom. I should have seen that coming! I let him come into full contact with a human, he is in no way ready for that yet, you saw it yourself." The fear in her voice surprised me. I couldn't recall ever seeing Alice so shaken. "And now, whatever has led you to believe you must leave us surely was catastrophic enough that it would have been known to me. I don't understand anything right now."
"So you're telling me you had no idea what happened today at the school? That I almost… hurt someone?" My mind was racing now. If Alice hadn't seen what had almost happened to me, what did that mean?
"Of course not! If I had I would have stopped you immediately. Although it appears I didn't need to. You say you almost hurt someone, but obviously you didn't. What happened?"
I told her everything, how the moment the girl sat beside me in biology I was consumed with bloodlust, how she overwhelmed all of my senses until I couldn't even think. It took every ounce of my considerable self-control not to tear into her right then and there. I still don't know how I managed to resist her. I bolted out of the room the minute class ended and sequestered myself in an infrequently used restroom. But then, of all things to happen she walks into the very same room, bleeding! In my panic to escape her infuriatingly delicious scent I fled through the window, hoping she hadn't seen me.
"Evie, we have to know if she saw you." Alice responded gently. I closed my eyes.
"I can't go back to that school, Alice, not as long as she is living here. You will have to figure out another way."
"There is no other way, you know that."
"But what if-"
"I won't let that happen! Look at how far Jasper has come. With my help you can beat this."
I shook my head. "You don't understand. This is not like resisting the rest of the humans. Her scent is much too powerful! I won't risk it." But as I said this a part of me hoped that Alice would convince me to go back. More than anything I had ever wanted in my long life, I wanted this girl. It would be an accident. My family wouldn't blame me, they would be sympathetic when we would have to move away to avoid being implicated in her death. I had been so good for so long, I deserved this. She was mine to have and nothing would keep me from her!
"Alright," I said with renewed vigor, "tomorrow then."
"Wonderful," Alice smiled at me, "I know you can do this."
Damn her unfailing optimism. Disappointing her would be worse than all the others.
"Please don't tell the others," I asked her, "not yet."
"Of course."
We left the clearing together and I breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow, Alice had failed to see the drastic change in my future as a result of the decision I had just made. I broke my own rule and tuned in to listen to Alice's thoughts. Her vision of tomorrow clearly showed me at school observing the girl, presumably reading her thoughts to find out if she had seen anything today. Nothing about my plan to follow her after class as she walked home in the darkening twilight. Nothing about me asking her to wait up, offering to walk with her, letting her divine aroma intoxicate me until we reached the alley behind the supermarket and I was finally able to pounce. I would do it slowly, appreciating every detail. The feel of her hair as I brushed it away from her neck, the softness of her skin, her pulse beginning to pound as adrenaline spiked the blood racing through every vein…
Even as my plot solidified in my mind, Alice remained completely in the dark about what I had planned for this particular human. There must be something wrong with her visions. Oh well, I would worry about that later. Everything was falling into place.