I wake up to the bus driver at the front of the bus yelling at me, something about this being the last stop. Still in a daze I quickly rub the drool from my chin and make my way off the bus, into the middle of absolutely nowhere. I turn around to ask the bus driver where to go but am greeted by the squeaking sound of the doors closing. Great.
I look around the small run down town, which is surrounded on all fronts by either rocky cliffs, dense forest or the ocean. Dead ends at all turns, just perfect. I look around for a store to find someone, anyone really, who might be able to help me figure out where on earth I am but I seem to be only met by cautious stares from a few stragglers in the main street. I think this is the main street anyway. You know what would help? Shop signs! But nope, none of the buildings seem to have any signs aside from a rundown gas station and what looks like an abandoned fishing warehouse. This was a mistake, I should just go back, I will make some random excuse tomorrow as to why I don't have a car, maybe it was already crushed before I got here, or maybe it just blew up because the Cullen's shoved a potato in the exhaust! Yeah that's a good reason, then maybe they will be kicked out and all my problems will go away.
"Hey you!", cries a girl behind me. I spin around and see a girl about my age with dark hair and a darker expression heading straight towards me. I look behind me and see no one else around, so I awkwardly point to myself.
"Yeah you", she says, not stopping till she is almost on top of me, "what you doing in my town?".
"Uh I-", I start.
"Your town?" scoffs a young boy running up beside her, "Seriously Leah chill, you almost sound like-". The girl, Leah, quickly turns back towards the boy.
"Don't you even finish that thought", she snarls.
"Then stop acting like him", he says. The two stand off until the girl, Leah, turns away with a huff and makes her way towards a rundown blue building. The boy turns to look at me with a gap toothed grin.
"Sorry about her, I swear she is actually really nice once you get to know her", he says.
"No I'm not!", calls Leah.
"Anyway, I'm Seth Clearwater and the ball of sunshine is my sister Leah Clearwater", he says.
"Oh great, why not tell her where we live next Seth", mutters Leah as she starts down an ally next to the house.
"I'm Isabella", I say shaking Seth's outstretched hand.
"Great to meet you! What brings you to our little town?", he asks. Well, isn't that a great question.
"Uh its kind of a weird long story, but I am looking for a mechanic that is supposedly connected to the police compound yard", I say.
"Oh man yes! I can actually help with this for once! My friend Jake works there! This will be so cool, the guys have been hoping to have more people come in from Forks! Everyone was a bit worried but I knew they knew what they were doing! I have actually been helping out down there on when I can. Jake is teaching me so much cool stuff like the other day we actually managed to get an old truck back up and running!" he says. Ok this kid sounds like he added red bull to his coffee. No I should be nice, he seems like a sweet kid.
"Oh that's really cool", I say, he looks at me like an expecting puppy, "uhh what kind of truck was it?". His eyes grow even wider than before, if that was possible.
"It's an older Chevvy pick up truck! It sounds super loud when it starts but I think it makes it sound like a dragon", he says.
"Oh so it's a monster truck", I say.
"A monster truck! That is great! You so need to tell Jake that! I mean how cool is that! We have a monster truck on the res!" he says and honestly, I can't help but smile along as he starts laughing.
"Actually", he says, I swear I can almost see the lightbulb pop up over his head "I can take you to Jake's garage and we can tell him now!".
"Yeah that would be gre-", I say.
"I'll take her", says Leah coming back out of the ally, eyeing me up and down. I take a deep breath and meet her hard stare. Never let them see weakness. I literally sat in the same room as vampires today, I've got this.
"Besides", she says, breaking eye contact with a smirk. I let out the long breath I didn't realise I had been holding. I think I just past a test? Leah turns back to face Seth, "I have questions for your new friend. AND, you skipped out last time we were on town duty to see Jake and never came back".
"That's not fair! You know he just got the frame for the -!", whines Seth.
"You got a problem with me taking you?", she asks looking back at me. Yes I have a massive problem with that!
"Not at all", I say, I can see Seth's head drop behind his sister. "Sorry Seth if I am in town next time maybe we can come up with a name for the monster truck?".
"Yes!", says Seth, perking back up, "But I am holding you too it, so you better come back!".
"Scouts honour", I say. I don't know what it is, I just really like this kid. I don't think I have ever met anyone who seemed so full of life. I guess once you spend time with a soulless monster, you can really see what happens if you loose that spark. No! I am not going there, Father and Uncle made sure that would never happen again, so stop bringing it up!
"Like you were ever a scout", Leah snorts, breaking my train of thought, "Seth, don't forget you said you would pick up the flour for Dad's fish after your done today", says Leah.
"No Dad asked you!", says Seth.
"Yeah but I am taking your new friend to Jake's, so now you are doing it", says Leah, before Seth can argue Leah looks to me, "Ready?". Not in the slightest, I don't even know what I am meant to be ready for! Rather than ask, against my better judgement I just nod.
"Great follow me", she says clipping my shoulder as she walks past me and over the nearby fence straight towards the forest. Wait towards the forest! I didn't sign up for a stroll through a forest where there could be seven rouge vampires! Leah turns back impatiently.
"You coming or what?", she yells, my feet feel like concrete weighing me down, "don't tell me your scared". Yes, and you should be too!
"No but-", I say.
"Great, you need an official invitation then?", she says turning towards the forest.
"You better go," says Seth, "she is going with or without you, and it is really easy to get lost in the forest if you don't know it." This all over a car, A CAR! Argh, I can't let her go in alone. If they are following me, I could be sending her straight to them.
"Yeah, I figured that would be the case, thanks Seth!", I say, I take a deep breath and push my feet into moving.
"See ya next time", he yells. I try to turn back and wave while jumping over the fence. Not my smartest move. I trip at the top but manage to roll myself into a crouch before almost faceplanting straight into the mud. I look up to see Leah standing over me.
"Smooth", smirks Leah. Why am I helping her again?
"Nice of you to come back for me", I say.
"Oh I wouldn't have missed that for the world", she says.
"That worked out just the way I wanted it to", I say, rubbing the mud off the back of my jeans.
"Sure, whatever you say", she says turning back forwards the trees, "Now try to keep up, you Fork's kids really don't want to get lost in this forest."
"Don't I know it", I mumble.
As we make our way into the trees the world almost looks like it has turned to night, the already clouded sun struggles to break through the trees. Perfect for hiding. Without even a moment's hesitation Leah starts running through the trees.
"Hey wait up", I say quickly following to match her pace. Not that she is making it easy. I follow her as we run over rocks, under branches and make our way through the heavy roots. It takes all my concentration to focus on the path and slowly my mind starts to almost meditate. I can actually feel the gnawing anxiety melt off me the further into the forest we run. Running and breathing, breathing and running, that's all there needs to be right now. Leah does keep looking back at me like she was frustrated I was still there and I am almost positive she keeps speeding up to try and loose me. Not that I care by that point, honestly out of the entire day this is the first time that I feel almost normal. Uncle had made me promise that I would keep up my training, I don't think Father would approve of my methods but at least I am keeping my promise.
Eventually we make our way to a clearing with a river running through the middle and a small cliff face on the opposite side. I look down the river and see a never-ending view of the ocean. When had we gotten so high up! I take a deep breath, trying to hide how out of breath I am. Beside me I can hear Leah doing the same.
"You tired or something?", she taunts.
"You wish Clearwater,", I say, "you're the one that stopped in the first place".
"Only to let you rest, out of the goodness of my heart, I could hear you panting like a cat in heat", she says, "however, since you're not tired, see that cliff on the other side of the river?". I look over the rushing river in between us and the cliff. Its not that bad, I'm sure its not even that deep. There is just a lot of whitewash because of the speed, right? I really don't like where this going, but I have made it this far, so I nod.
"Lets race to the top, if you lose I don't have to take you the rest of the way to the garage", she says.
"And if I win", I say.
"Oh you won't win", she says.
"Hang on how is that fa-"I say.
"Ready set go", she says, running past me to the edge of the river. With zero delay Leah leaps along the rocks sticking out of the river. She doesn't hesitate for a single moment. Almost as if she knows the path, LIKE SHE KNOWS THE PATH! SHE HUSTLED ME! Doesn't she know I am trying to keep her from potentially getting eaten! This is the last time I help anyone, ever! I quickly follow her path across the river. Ok I've got this, I still have a chance to keep up. I quickly look to see which direction she was going and overestimated the distance of my next jump. I land on the curved side of the rock and almost fall into the river. I very quickly become aware of the rapidly flowing water below, the roar of the river threatens to drown out the sound of my heart beat ringing in my ears. I can feel myself slipping further down and look up to see the Leah reach the riverbank. Shit which way did she jump? The toes of my shoes are almost touching the river so I quickly take a chance and jump to the only rock that doesn't seem to be covered in moss. I land on the rock and freeze in place, waiting for the rock to be washed away. As soon as I realise it is staying put, I don't waste a second and quickly jump across to the river bank. I land on the bank and see Leah begin to scale the cliff. I quickly race after her. I know if I want to keep up with her, I cannot follow the route she is taking, so I need to just climb and hope for the best. Thankfully the thickness of the trees blocked most of the drizzle from earlier in the day and the rocks are dried in place. It doesn't take me long catch up to Leah, I keep climbing until I can hear her next to me, so I know we are neck and neck. Suddenly I hear her foot slip out from under her.
"Dammit", she mutters. Before I have a chance to stop and check on her, I hear her foot scraping the rock. She managed to regain her footing but in the time it takes for her to regain her rhythm, I take the advantage, and keep climbing until I can pull myself over the edge of the cliff. Ok fine so I may have been trying to win at the end there, I was always told I was a competitive kid. Not that I have a chance to celebrate this time, my heart feels like its threatening to burst out of my chest, so without a word I just collapse on a moss-covered floor at the edge of the cliff. Leah follows shortly after and without a word collapses next to me.
"Not bad new girl", says Leah as she pulls herself over the cliff and collapses next to me.
"Not bad! I thought you said I wouldn't win", I say still out of breath.
"Oh please you got lucky, that rock came out of no where", she says.
"Lucky? You had a head start and I still beat you", I say.
"Excuse me I didn't run until AFTER I said go, not my fault you were too slow", she says.
"Whatever, so what do I win?", I say pushing myself off the ground. I turn and hold my hand out to Leah who grunts before grabbing it.
"You win not being abandoned in the forest", she says.
"You were already taking me!", I say.
"Exactly you already had a prize, now you have earned it, feels better right?", she asks walking through the trees, "You coming? You might not have heard the stories of the wolves in these woods but if I were you I wouldn't want to be stuck here alone". The reality of the situation quickly dawns on me again. Stupid race! Seriously Isabella you cannot lose focus like that! You know better than anyone the dangers of letting your guard down around vampires. This time it might not have only been you who was hurt! The trees were starting to thin out and the light was starting to shine through. I quickly fall in besides a now, thankfully, walking Leah.
"So what's you deal?", she asks.
"What do you mean?", I say.
"I mean, not many people that were born and raised on the res could keep up with me on that trail", she says.
"What? Let alone beat you", I say.
"Thought we agreed you were lucky" grumbles Leah,
"Oh no I never agreed to anything", I smirk. Leah pushes me on the shoulder, and I quickly jump back to turn and plant my feet, just to find Leah laughing.
"Holy crap chill!", she laughs. I feel my face instantly flooded with heat as drop my guard. I really need to get us out of this forest.
"Naww, your cute when your embarrassed", she says.
"Shut up", I mumble, "you're the one that shouldn't go around pushing people in the middle of the forest".
"You'll live", she says turning back along the path, "So now seriously, what's your story?".
"Like a dog with a bone", I mutter.
"And you are trying to change the subject", she says.
"No, I just know you are going to be sorely disappointed. There really is no story, my uncle was just serious about me being 'prepared for the worst' so he set up a boot camp for me and I used to hang out there most afternoons", I say. Not entirely untrue, but I learned the hard way about telling humans about vampires, so I prepared a few scenarios for when people ask about me.
"No shit! Your Uncle in Forks?", she asks.
"No its just me at the moment. I came to Forks to have a change of pace, start a new life that kind of thing and my family just couldn't come with me", I say. I do wish they came; they would know how to handle all of this.
"Yeah right", she snorts, "I bet you got kicked out of you last school. Stop for a second and let me look at you". She says raising my arms out to my side, then slowly circling around me.
"See anything you like?", I ask.
"You wish", she snorts, "Now hush, you are ruining my process". I feel so ridiculous that I start to lightly shake with holding back a laugh, which is quickly shut down with a whack to the head.
"Ow", I grumble.
"Oh please that did not hurt", she says, "ok I have drawn my conclusion".
"Please do tell I am dying with suspense", I say.
"You got kicked out because you stole the principles car, which was his pride and joy and then you crashed it into the nearest pole because you are suck at driving and then instead of dealing with the consequences you ran from home and now you are living a life on the lamb", she says.
"Shit you got me", I say raising my hands in surrender. I mean she isn't 100% wrong, something kind of similar happened with Uncle. In my defence it had been a really nice car.
"I knew it! Now I need to decide whether to give you up for the prize money", she says, pretending to stroke a fake beard.
"Sounds right, you get a little competition, and you get them throw in jail, if you are sore loser just say so and I will go easy on you next time", I say.
"You are not going to let that go are you?", she asks pinching the bridge of her nose.
"No probably not", I say.
"Ughh, luckily for me, you are almost out of my custody. The garage is just up head come on". Leah runs ahead and quickly disappears out of the tree line. Before I can follow her, I hear the thump of a tree branch falling to the ground, causing me to jump. I quickly turn to find what looks like a small tree trunk across the path where Leah and I came from. I turn and run the way Leah went. I do not want to hang around to find what caused something that size to fall. All I know is that there was no way it could be the wind, because there had been no breeze to carry away the strangely familiar sweet scent that overtook the clearing.