Walking into Mr. Banner's room, I'm filled with a sense of dread and anxiety. Knowing that as soon as I walk in front of the fan, my scent will waft through the room and put me in danger.
Taking a deep breath and walking up to Mr. Banner's desk, I smile and act like I don't know that Edward is fighting himself over his vampiric instincts.
"Isabella Swan?" Mr. Banner asks, nodding at him as he signs the slip for Mrs. Cope, "You can take the seat next to Edward Cullen. Welcome to Forks."
I tuck the slip back into my folder and turn to walk towards the first of many events that will put me in danger. Sitting beside Edward, I give him a small smile and freeze, not expecting how sharp his glare is.
His eyes were pitch black and his brow was pinched in. Seeing the look on his face, I felt guilty. Knowing it was my blood making him uncomfortable, I scooted my chair as far from his and tried to focus on the lecture Mr. Banner was teaching.
Sitting there I couldn't help but feel concerned for him. Feeling my anxiety starting to spike I made a split-second decision and raised my hand.
"Yes, Isabella?" Mr. Banner acknowledged me. Schooling my face into one of discomfort and pain I reach my other hand down to grasp at my stomach.
"Mr. Banner, I need to go to the restroom. I'm not feeling too well."
Giving me a scrutinizing look, he hesitates and looks at his watch, "Go and try to hurry back. If you need a late pass come back and let me know and I'll send word to Mrs. Cope."
Standing up and thanking him graciously I hurried from the room, the opposing aura making me more uncomfortable the longer I was there. As soon as I made it to the bathroom I locked myself in a stall and pulled out my phone. Debating on calling Charlie and seeing if I could get out of the rest of my classes, deciding against it I lean against the wall and wait out the rest of the period.
Hearing the bell ring, I walk out of the stall and wash my hands. Slowly making my way back to Mr. Banner's room, and pausing in the doorway at his obvious disapproval, I give him a sheepish smile.
"I'm sorry Mr. Banner. The first day nerves on top of the school food made me sick. I'll start packing a lunch from now on to avoid this."
Seeing a flash of disgust on his face he hands me a slip and tells me to stop by the front office and get Mrs. Cope to sign it. Apologizing again, I grab my school bag and turn to make my way to the office.
Opening the door, warm air envelopes me. Carrying the scent of cinnamon and apples. Stopping in my tracks as tears well up in my eyes, my thoughts immediately go to Marissa and her preference for apple cider and cinnamon candles.
Shaking my head, as if that would clear the memories, I step up to the front desk and make myself look nervous.
"Mrs. Cope? Mr. Banner gave me this slip to get signed. I got sick in his class and ended up staying in the bathroom for a bit and he gave me a late slip."
"Oh, honey. If you're not feeling well I can call down to the station and let your father know. I'm sure that he wouldn't mind coming to get you." Concern flashes across her face as she studies me.
"Thank you, Mrs. Cope but I think I can handle one more class, it was mainly the cafeteria food not sitting right," I lie to her and grimace a little, "If it happens again I'll take you up on that offer though."
Making my way into the gymnasium, I walk up to the teacher and introduce myself.
"Hello, I'm Isabella Swan, I have a late slip from the office and a slip for you to sign as well."
The teacher looks down at me, and wow, is that something I have to get used to? Going from 5'9 to Bella's small stature of 5'4 is honestly not fair.
"I'm Coach Clapp. Your uniform has been ordered but hasn't arrived yet so you can sit today's activity out." He pulls a pen out of his shirt pocket and I hand him my slips, signing them he points me toward the bleachers.
Watching the two volleyball games going on makes me miss my team, I may not have been close to all of them but I do miss the camaraderie of being on a team. Getting lost in my thoughts, I don't notice as Mike walks up to me and starts talking to me about something.
Zoning back in as he reaches out to touch my shoulder, I instinctively move away from him. Throwing a sharp glance at him I scoot a few inches away.
"Can I help you with something?" My tone is less than friendly as I asses his body language.
"Uh, y-yeah. I was gonna ask how you were liking Forks so far." He turns red and runs his hand through his hair, "I was also gonna ask if you wanted to go out sometime?"
I laugh and look at him, "Uh, no. Why would I do that? I don't know you, I literally just moved here."
"Well, I figured since you were new, it'd be nice to have someone show you around." He mumbled looking at the floor.
"Thanks, Mike. However, I'm sure if there's anywhere I need to go I can have my dad show me around." I turned my attention back to the floor of the gym, watching the last two groups finish out their volleyball games.
Not taking the hint, Mike sits down beside me and tries again.
"I just meant that, like, if you didn't want to hang out with a stuffy old adult, then I could take you out and show you some cool spots or something."
Snapping my head to glare at him, I can hear the anger in my voice, "Mike. If I was going to have anyone show me around, it would not be a male that I do not know. Learn how to take no as an answer and leave people alone when they obviously don't want your company anymore."
Seeing the shock on his face as I finished with my little rant. I stand up and grab my things. Intending to cut class a little early, starting towards the door, Mike stands up and grabs my arm to stop me.
"You don't have to be so rude about it. I was just trying to be friendly and show you around."
Looking at him with shock on my face, I yank my arm out of his grasp. I don't remember him being this persistent in the books. My shock clears and the anger comes back. "Listen here, buddy. If you ever touch me without my consent again, you will regret that decision."
Storming out of the gym as the bell rings, I head straight to my locker and hurriedly open it. Throwing the books that I don't need to take home with me. Standing in front of my open locker I take a few breaths to calm down and close my locker. Turning and making my way to the door, I head to the front office so I can end this day.
Opening the door to the front office, I shiver at the temperature difference. Still not used to the cold weather. I relax a bit as the comforting aroma of apples and cinnamon hits my nose. Grabbing the slip out of my folder I take a step in and freeze, seeing Edward at the front desk talking with Mrs. Cope.
He was speaking to her in a low voice, almost seeming to argue about something. Not being able to hear him clearly but understanding what he was trying to do, I squeezed as close to the wall as possible.
Hearing the door open behind me, cold air rushes in and blows my hair around my face. Quickly reaching up and smoothing it back in place, I can tell the damage has already been done.
Edward tenses up as my scent wafts around the office. The girl who opened the door places a piece of paper in the wire basket and quickly walks back out. Edward turned slowly - a glare etched upon his handsome face - looking at me with cutting hate-filled eyes.
I immediately shrunk into myself, trying to make myself as small as possible.
Turning back to Mrs. Cope, he hastily said, "Never mind then, I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help."
He turned on his heel and left the office, not once sparing me a glance. After I was sure that I could speak without my voice trembling I walked up to Mrs. Cope's desk. Handing her my signed slip.
"How did your day go dearie?" Her soothing maternal voice helped me focus and I cleared my throat before answering.
"It went pretty well." I couldn't tell if I was lying or not. While the day had some rough spots, it also had some smooth and pleasant parts as well. At the moment though, I couldn't tell if the good outweighed the bad.
Heading out the door, I looked around the almost empty parking lot to see if Charlie had shown up yet. Not seeing the cruiser anywhere I take a seat on the bench outside the office.
As I'm reaching into my bag to pull out a book to read, I hear footsteps approaching me. Ignoring them, I continue with my task. Pulling out the first Harry Potter book
"Bella?" Looking up when I hear Angela's timid voice. Smiling at her, I mark my place in my book and set it beside me.
"Hey Angela, what's up?"
"I saw you sitting here and came to make sure you were okay."
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just waiting on my dad to come pick me up."
She gives me a concerned look, checking the watch on her wrist. "Do you need to borrow a phone to call him, or do you need someone to wait with you? It gets dark pretty soon and I'd hate to leave you out here by yourself."
Smiling at her concern and giving a small shake of my head, "I should be fine Angie. Thank you for the offer. If it gets too late or the staff are almost all gone, I'll head inside the office and give him a call."
She gives me a nervous smile and says goodbye and heads over to her car.
Looking back down at my book, I burrow into the large sweatshirt I was wearing and get lost in the world of witches, wizards, and all sorts of magical creatures.
Getting halfway through my book, a loud honk sounds and startles me. Looking up I see the cruiser pulling into the parking lot. Putting my book in my bag and standing up, I wait for Charlie to park and start heading his way, basically throwing myself into the passenger side, I sigh in relief at the warm air that surrounds me.
Giving me a weird look, Charlie pulls out of the parking lot.
"How was your first day, kiddo?" Now it's my turn to give him a weird look.
"Overall, it was fine. There were a lot of nice kids. Obviously highly hormonal kids but, nice anyway. I think the kid I sit next to in biology might be getting sick though, he looked like he was gonna throw up the entire period." I say as I adjust my legs so I'm curled up in the seat. Seeing this, Charlie raises an eyebrow. "What? It's comfy."
Chuckling he looks back at the road and we drive home in a comfortable silence. Staring out the window, I start thinking about what my next moves are gonna be. Do I follow the same path that Isabella takes in the story? Do I just keep to myself? How am I supposed to deal with Vampires and Wolf shifters by myself? Letting out a sigh, I look over at Charlie. This man was put through a lot due to Bella's relationship with the Cullens. I can't bring myself to make a decision based on simply what I know from how the media portrayed this story.
Making my decision, I position myself towards Charlie so I can talk to him. "Hey, Dad. Do you want to get something from the diner to take home? Or maybe a pizza?"
Charlie glances at me and then looks back at the road, "Sure Bells. We can get something to take home."
Smiling at him I relax back in the seat and enjoy the ride home.
Walking into the house behind Charlie, I kick off my shoes and let out a sigh. Charlie glances back at me and chuckles, "Rough day then." I look at him and glare harmlessly, I huff and start toward the kitchen, intending to make some tea and bead up to bed. Looking through the cabinets I realize that we have no tea.
Groaning I turn towards the doorway of the kitchen and yell out, "Dad! We need to go grocery shopping soon, there's no tea in this house"
A muffled "Mhm," is all I get in response. He's probably half-asleep in front of the TV. Figures.
Annoyed, I shut the cabinet a little harder than necessary and head upstairs, deciding to just call it a night. The exhaustion of the day is pressing down on me, making my body feel heavier with each step. Once I reach my room, I shut the door and lock it. I don't want any interruptions.
Collapsing onto my bed, I stare up at the ceiling, willing my mind to just shut off for once. But instead, a slow panic starts creeping in. It starts small—just a weird flutter in my chest, a tightness in my throat. Then, all at once, it crashes over me. My breathing turns shallow, and my fingers grip at the blanket like it's the only thing tethering me to reality.
What if this isn't real? What if I'm not real? What if none of this matters?
The thoughts spiral fast, too fast to catch. My vision blurs. I squeeze my eyes shut, willing the feeling away, but it's like trying to stop a tidal wave with my bare hands.
I force myself to focus on something, anything. The book series. The reason I'm here. The reason any of this is happening.
Shakily, I reach for my notebook and a pen, flipping to a fresh page. I start writing every single thing I can remember about the series. The characters, the plot, the smallest details—stuff no one else might even think about. I jot it all down, making a game plan. If this is happening, if this is real, then I need to be prepared.
The scribbling of my pen slows as exhaustion catches up to me. My head feels too heavy to hold up. The words blur together, and at some point, I must close my eyes, because the next thing I know, I'm dreaming.
And it's not peaceful.
I'm running. The air is thick, heavy with the scent of something metallic. Blood. My feet pound against the ground, but it feels like I'm not moving fast enough. Shadows twist around me, shifting into figures with glowing eyes, fangs glinting in the darkness. My breath comes in ragged gasps.
Then, a whisper, right at my ear.
"You can't run forever."
I jolt awake with a gasp, my heart hammering in my chest. It takes a second to remember where I am, to remind myself that I'm safe. But even as I sit there in the dark, catching my breath, I know the feeling won't go away that easily.
Because deep down, I know this isn't just a dream.
This is only the beginning.
Quick AN - sorry it takes so long for me to upload! It's hard to find motivation these days :) I'm glad you guys are enjoying this so far, I have another draft that deviates from chapter 6 and a complete "rewrite" from chapter one that I'm playing around with. If that's something you'd like to read, let me know :D
If you guys have any questions or suggestions, please leave them in a review! I do read them! And I love getting feedback!
To reply to some of the reviews:
I saw a few people comment on how I made Bella stand up for Esme, and that also rubbed me the wrong way when I read the books. People's private medical issues should be just that. Private.
Skull hall 2235: to answer your question the term that most people use is "Self-Insert" or SI/OC, there's quite a few of them around and if you use Reddit there's a subreddit called "Twilight Fanfic" they have a "help me find" tag that makes it easy to search through the subreddit.
Shiro7: I'm still debating on if she's gonna fall in with the Vampires or if I'm going to go completely off canon and add in more mythical creatures!