B E L L A S W A N seemed completely out of place in the Rivers kitchen as she sat at the kitchen counter, her decrepit form hunched over a history textbook. For the past hour, she had been mostly silent, only offering occasional nods and affirmations when Erin made suggestions about their project. Erin had initially been surprised when Bella agreed to come over after school to work on their project, but now she was tempted to retrieve the gallon bag of glitter she'd stashed under the kitchen sink. Bella was her partner, and Erin wasn't about to let her coast through the project while she did all heavy lifting. If threats of glitterization meant that the Swan girl would get her act together, Erin was willing and able to deliver.
Participation or glitter.
"So, what events, conflicts, or issues sparked the Russian Revolution," Erin read aloud from the project guidelines as she tapped the eraser of her mechanical pencil against her notepad, the soft tapping the only sound within the Rivers household as they - she worked. Their project outline was due on Friday so they - she'd spent the last hour trying to compile different topics and guiding points. A task Erin was finding increasingly difficult considering her less than stellar partner who didn't even seem to know where she was much less what was going on. She was tempted to call Angela, she seemed to be the only one capable of getting through to the Swan girl as of late. "I know food shortages, inflation, and shitty working conditions were a big one."
Bella simply hummed.
"Social class discrepancies was another one, though I think that'll work as an attached category with working conditions and food shortages."
"Mhmm." She wrote it down on the diagram, placing it to the right of the previously written points before looking back at the Swan girl. She still hadn't looked up from the book, the page still numbered 319 at the bottom. Leaning slightly over the counter, Erin snapped her fingers just above the pages. Bella flinched back, nearly falling off the barstool. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the Swan's coordination, or more specifically, lack there of.
"What do you think, Bella? That book offering any insights into the wonders of the RR?" Erin teased lightly, pencil still tapping rhythmically against her notebook. "Tales of a creepy faith healer? Escaped princesses? An inside scoop on a late-night slaughter of the Tzar and his family?"
The Scarlet Letter had nothing on the redness of Bella's cheeks. "I'm sorry, I've just been kind of distracted lately." She sheepishly spoke, hand rubbing against the back of her neck as she finally flipped the page.
"I noticed," She scoffed in response. "What's got you so distracted? 'Cause, unfortunately, I don't think our project is going to do itself."
"It'd be nice if it did though." Bella offered her a soft smile. "I've just, my friend Jake, he's been..." She trailed off momentarily, a weird look tugging at her features before she continued. "He just started ignoring me all of a sudden. He was sick for a while, so I get it, you know? But he's still ignoring me, and his dad says he's fine, but-"
"Now you know he's ignoring you and you don't know what to do." Erin chimed, not missing the look of relief that crossed her face.
"Yeah."
"Welp, my advice," Erin's signature smirk slipped across her lips, chocolate eyes glinting in excitement as she leaned in close. "Fuck him. He's a bitch, and you can do so much better."
"I-"
Erin put her hand out, palm just in front of the girls face as she spoke. "I don't know you that well, I don't know if I ever will. But God damn girl! You're gorgeous, maybe a dab of lip gloss and some light mascara and I think you could give Newton a heart attack!" Erin could see the flush on her neck as Bella looked at her with wide chocolate eyes flooded with flickering emotions Erin saw no reason to consider as she continued. "Don't waste your time on assholes that don't value you the way you value them. You'll just end up burned in the end."
"Speaking from experience?"
The doorbell rang and Erin was off the stool in an instant, the moment between them shattered, not that Erin truly cared. It's not like she was going to tell the Swan girl her experience, they were hardly even friends. Erin was just nice...sometimes.
"Pizza time!" Erin announced, swiping up a hundred-dollar bill she'd left on the counter before heading towards the door. "You mind grabbing the plates? They're in the pantry - second shelf to the right!"
Erin didn't hear the Swan's response as she left the kitchen. Her footsteps loud against the hardwood floors as she practically pranced through the living room, her fingers trailing the length of the faux leather couch as she went. The front door was just through the living room and to the right. The entryway also the primary access point for the stairs that led up to the second floor. If she'd continued right the house would open up to a second sitting room attached to the dining room. Reaching the oak door, Erin flicked the lock, before yanking the door open with a smirk still tugging upon her lips. "Hey there, what do I owe you." Paying and telling the guy to keep the change, Erin balanced the three pizza boxes on one arm as she shut the door, ensuring the lock clicked into place before heading back to the kitchen.
By the time she returned to the kitchen, Bella had the plates pulled out and all their stuff neatly stacked at the opposite end of the counter. She had a soft smile on her face, hesitant as Erin placed the pizza boxes down on the now cleared counter. "Alright! Pizza then homework!"
Bella didn't need any further prompting as both girls dug into their respective pizzas, eating in comfortable silence. The third pizza box containing a small sausage - pepperoni, having already been jammed into the fridge for her mother to eat when she got home. A mother who should've been home twenty minutes ago. Not that Erin was surprised by her mother's tardiness, more just...acknowledging it. After the Cullens left town with almost no notice, the hospital had found itself down one of its main doctors. Everyone was still scrambling to try and pick up the slack nearly six-months later as they'd yet to find anyone willing to take the position. Fucking Forks, Erin couldn't help but think as another slice of mushroom and onion pizza graced her taste buds, pulling a content hum from her lips. She hoped the pizza place lasted, though she had a feeling it wouldn't - nothing good ever lasted in a town like Forks. It was the curse of living in a small town...though maybe that was just life in general. She'd never left Forks, so she was incapable of know whether it was just small towns or not.
Someone asked her once why she never just left. Why she never got in her car and drove to Port Angeles for a day, or hell, even Seattle was no more than an hour from Forks; it's not like her mother was home all day, every day. Erin had the capability to leave the town, yet she never did. Even Erin herself didn't fully comprehend the why behind it, her response had been a simple, "better safe than sorry." Yet it couldn't have been further from the truth, whatever that truth may be. It was like the moment she drew near the town boundary line, a sense of foreboding would overwhelm her, her instincts screeching for her to turn back. She always did, only to find the sirens call to leave flaring minutes later. It was the oddest thing that Erin would likely never gain clarity on. If her mother knew she'd tried to leave Forks, even just to visit La Push or Port Angeles, well, Erin would have her name legally changed to Rapunzel for that's who she would become.
"Do you-" Bella spoke suddenly. The hesitance in her tone palpable as her voice broke Erin free of her thoughts. Bella dabbed at her mouth with a napkin before continuing. "Do you, maybe, want to do something sometime? Maybe get to know each other a bit better."
The question took Erin by surprise momentarily. Neither of them had made much of an effort in the past to be friends, though Erin couldn't see the harm at the moment. Bella clearly just needed someone to talk to, a distraction even, one Erin could easily provide. She could talk enough for three people. Erin also knew her mother would lose her ever loving mind at her answer, the thought alone was enough for her. She loved breaking her mother's rules.
"Okay."