Chapter Text
PREFACE
She had never given much thought to how she would die, but even if she had, she certainly hadn’t imagined it would go like this.
She stood across the long room, staring into the eyes of the hunter, a chill passing down her spine as she readied herself.
Surely it was a good way to die, sacrificing herself for someone else. It was brave, it was selfless, noble, even. Was it the right choice? Who would know.
She knew in her heart that if she hadn’t gone to Forks, she wouldn't be facing death now. Even as terrified as she was, though, she couldn't bring herself to regret the decision.
The hunter smiled sweetly, a wicked glint in his eyes as he sauntered forward.
CHAPTER 1
Reneé drove to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was a pleasant seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue, the sun glittering.
Bella resided in the passenger’s seat, wearing her favorite sleeveless, white eyelet lace shirt, a pair of faded blue jeans, and a flannel sweater wrapped around her hips. Where she was headed, she was going to need it.
In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks existed under a near-constant cover of clouds. It rained here more than any other place in the United States. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that Reneé escaped with her daughter when she was only a few months old. It was in this town that Bella had been compelled to spend a month every summer until she was fourteen. That was the year she couldn’t take the doom and gloom of the town and finally put her foot down. Now, these past three summers, Charlie, her father, vacationed with her in California for two weeks instead.
It was to Forks that she returned, despite her qualms with Forks. She loved Phoenix, with the bright, cheerful sun. She adored the vigorous, sprawling city. It made it feel alive. Forks? She hated Forks. She hated the rain, the neverending clouds, the absence of the sun. She hated the silence, the fact that it felt like a ghost town. There was practically no life here, and she didn’t understand how anyone could tolerate it. Unfortunately, there was a reason she was coming to stay.
"Bella," Reneé sighed once again before Bella boarded the plane. "You don't have to do this."
Bella felt a sliver of anxiety as she stared at her mother. She didn’t want to leave her mother, she didn’t want to leave the only thing she ever knew, but she needed this. She needed time away, time to think, to get her bearings, to figure herself out. She needed to do this.
"I want to go.” She promised, and she did. This was for her own good.
"Tell Charlie I said hi."
"I will."
"I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want - I'll come right back as soon as you need me." She told Bella with a warm smile, but the teenager could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise.
"Don't worry about me," Bella reassured. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom."
The pair hugged tightly for a minute, then Bella boarded the plane.
It was a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks. Flying didn’t bother her much, it wasn’t the first time, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. The hour in the car with Charlie, though, was what had her worried.
She loved her father, she did, and she was a bit eager to catch up with him, but she knew that he was confused by her abrupt decision to move in with him. Of course, Charlie had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that Bella was coming to live with him. He had even registered her for highschool and was going to help her get a car. The thing was, neither of them knew what to say to each other, and it left the silences more than just awkward.
When she landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. Figures. She wanted to be surprised, but she wasn’t.
Charlie was waiting for her with the cruiser, which she also wasn’t surprised by.
Charlie was Police Chief Ortiz in Forks. Bella’s main reason for buying a car, aside from not having enough money, was that she refused to be driven around town in a cop car.
Charlie gave the girl an awkward, one-armed hug when she stumbled her way off the plane.
"It's good to see you, Bells," he sighed, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied her. "You haven't changed much. How's Renée?"
"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad."
Bella had only a few bags. Most of her clothes were too permeable for Washington, so Reneé and Bella had pooled their resources to buy Bella some winter clothes.
"I found a good car for you, really cheap," Charlie announced when they were in the car.
"What kind of car?" Bella asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."
"Where did you find it?"
"Do you remember Billy Black?"
"No."
"He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Charlie prompted.
Well, that would explain why she didn't remember him. She did a good job of blocking painful, unnecessary things from her memory.
"He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when she didn't respond, "so he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap."
"What year is it?" Bella could see from his change of expression that that was the question he was hoping she wouldn't ask.
"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine - it's only a few years old, really."
Bella hoped he didn't think so little of her as to believe she would give up that easily. "When did he buy it?"
"He bought it in 1984, I think."
"Did he buy it new?"
"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties - or late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly.
"Ch - Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic..."
"Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore."
"How cheap is cheap?"
"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." Charlie peeked sideways at Bella with a hopeful expression.
She hadn’t been expecting that, if she was honest. She sighed, "you didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."
"I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said that. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. Bella had inherited that from him.
"That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it." No need to add that her being happy in Forks was an impossibility. He didn't need to suffer along with her. Besides, who could say no to a free truck?
"Well, now, you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by her thanks, which made her smirk a bit in reaction.
They exchanged a few more comments on the weather, and then it all fell silent, save for the rain hitting the car.
It was beautiful, Bella couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, mossy tree trunks, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. It was a massive change to the dry Azironian land, with sand, dirty, some trees, rare grass and copious amounts of cacti.
Eventually they made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with Reneé in the early days of their marriage. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was Bella’s new truck. It was a faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab.
To her surprise, she found that she loved it. Granted, she didn't know if it would even run, but she could see herself in it.
"Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" This made tomorrow much more bearable. She wouldn't be faced with the choice of either walking two miles in the rain to school or accepting a ride in the Chief's cruiser.
"I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed again.
It only took one trip to get all of Bella’s stuff upstairs. She had gotten the west bedroom that looked over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had been belonged to her since she was born. The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains around the window, the rocking chair in the corner; it was all nostalgic. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as she got older. The desk now held a second-hand computer — which she aimed to replace with a newer model —, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack.
There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which Bella would have to share with Charlie. That was going to take time to get used to.
One of the best things about Charlie was that he didn't hover. He left Bella alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for Reneé. It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let just a few tears escape. She wasn't in the mood to go on a real crying jag. She would save that for bedtime, when she would have to think about the coming morning. She knew she needed this, but a huge part of her was already regretting her decision.
Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven - now fifty-eight - students; there were more than seven hundred people in Bella’s junior class alone back in Phoenix. All of the kids here had grown up together - their grandparents had been toddlers together. She wasn’t going to fit in at all.
She would be the new girl from the big city; a curiosity, a freak. Not only that, but this place was home to mostly white people. It wasn’t exactly known for its diversity — as far as she knew anyway.
When Bella finished putting her clothes in the dresser and closet, she took her bag of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean herself up after the day of travel. She looked at her face in the mirror as she brushed through tangled, damp curly hair.
Bella was every bit like her mother. She was tall, had soft brown skin with constellations of freckles everywhere, and deep chocolate hues. The only difference between the two was that Reneé’s unruly brown curls were barely to her shoulders, whereas Bella’s fell to her mid-back.
The teenager winced at the knots and tangles, managing to get them out after a good while of yanking.
Facing her reflection in the mirror, she was forced to admit that she was lying to herself. It wasn't just physically that she would never fit in, she didn't relate to people her age. Hell, she didn’t relate to most people at all. Even her mother, who she was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with Bella, never exactly on the same page. Sometimes she wondered if she was even seeing the same thing as everyone else. Either way, she could feel that things weren’t going to go well tomorrow.
She didn't sleep well that night, even after she had cried herself to exhaustion. The constant beating of the rain and the howling wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background. She tried to drown out the sound with music from her phone, but she couldn’t fall asleep until after midnight, when the rain finally settled into a quieter drizzle.
Thick fog was all she could see out her window the next morning, and she could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on her.
Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished Bella good luck at school, then left for work.
After he left, Bella sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor. Nothing had changed. Reneé had painted the cabinets eighteen years ago in an attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace in the adjoining handkerchief-sized family room was a row of pictures. First, a wedding picture of Charlie and Reneé in Las Vegas, then one of the three of them in the hospital after Bella was born, taken by a helpful nurse, followed by the procession of Bella’s school pictures up to last year's. Those were embarrassing to look at - she would have to see what she could do to get Charlie to put them somewhere else, at least while she was living there.
Bella didn't want to be too early to school, but she couldn't stay in the house anymore. She threw on a leather jacket and headed out into the rain.
It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak her through immediately as she reached for the house key that was always hidden, and locked up. The sloshing and thud of her boots was unnerving. She missed the normal crunch of gravel or dirt and sand as she walked.
She couldn't pause and admire her truck again as she wanted. She was in a hurry to get out of the misty wet that already clung to her hair.
Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Charlie had obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled faintly of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint. The engine started quickly but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. It wasn’t so bad, though, not like she had been expecting it to be.
Finding the school wasn't difficult, though she had never been there before. The school was just off the highway. It didn’t look like an ordinary school, rather it looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs, Bella couldn't see its size at first.
Bella parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading front office. No one else was parked there, so she was sure it was off limits, but she decided she would get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain.
She stepped unwillingly out of the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges. She took a deep breath before opening the door. Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than she had assumed. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, and a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made Bella feel overdressed.
The red-haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?"
"I'm Isabella Ortiz," Bella informed her, and saw the immediate awareness light her eyes. Bella was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter of the Chief's flighty ex-wife, come home at last.
"Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter. She went through Bella’s classes for her, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave her a slip to have each teacher sign, which Bella was to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at the student and hoped, like Charlie, that Bella would like it here in Forks.
Bella smiled back as convincingly as she could before ducking out of the office. On her way to her truck, other students were starting to arrive. Bella drove around the school, following the line of traffic. She was eternally glad to see that most of the cars were older like hers, nothing flashy.
Back in Phoenix, Bella had lived in one of the few lower-income neighborhoods that were included in the Paradise Valley District. It was a common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot. The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out.
Bella cut the engine as soon as she was in a spot, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to her.
She looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it. Having a good handle on where everything might be, she stuffed everything into her backpack, slung the strap over her shoulder, and took a deep breath.
I can do this, she tried to psyche herself up, then stepped out of the truck.
She kept her face shielded by her dark curly hair as she walked to the sidewalk, crowded with other teenagers.
Once she got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black "3" was painted on a white square on the east corner.
Bella felt her anxiety slowly creep up on her as she approached the door. She tried taking slow breaths as she followed a couple of students through the door.
The classroom was small. The people in front of Bella stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. They were two girls, both pale, one with golden-blonde hair, the other with light brown hair. Bella wasn’t so surprised to see how pale they were. This place clearly never got any sun.
Bella took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at her when he saw her name, and her cheeks flushed a deep, embarrassed red.
He sent her to an empty desk at the back without introducing her to the class. She sighed in relief, though it only lasted for a second. Some students couldn’t help but stare at her, and she kept her head ducked, brown eyes glaring at the reading list, waiting to stop being looked at like a zoo animal.
When the bell rang later, a Korean boy with a slight case of acne and black hair leaned across the aisle to talk to Bella.
"Hey, you're Isabella Ortiz, aren't you?" He asked eagerly.
"Bella," she corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at her as she did so, but she ignored them as best as she could.
"Where's your next class?" he asked.
"Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six." There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes, and she hated it. Why were people always like this?
"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way. I'm Eric," he introduced.
Taking a deep breath, Bella nodded. Okay, this wasn’t so bad. He seemed nice, a bit too eager, but he seemed to be good company.
She smiled, shoulders relaxing for the first time. “Sure, thanks."
They got up and headed out into the rain, which had picked up, unsurprisingly. Bella could have sworn several people behind them were walking close enough to eavesdrop. She huffed quietly to herself if that was the case. Why were people so nosy? Was it really this rare to get a new person in town?
"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.
She nodded, pursing her lips. "Very."
"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"
"Three or four times a year."
"Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.
"Sunny," She shrugged.
"Oh… I heard it gets really hot down there. How do you stand it? I visited Florida once a few years back and I thought I was going to melt."
“I guess growing up in the south has its perks. I’ve always been out in the sun, even as a kid, so I guess I got used to it.” She answered, finding that she liked his company. She hoped that other students were as nice as him.
Eric walked her right to the door, though it was clearly marked.
"Well, good luck," he said as she touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together." He sounded hopeful.
She nodded with a soft smile, “that’d be great.” She answered and went inside.
The rest of the morning went by in a similar manner. Bella’s Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, was the only one who made her stand in front of the class and introduce herself. She stammered, blushed, and tripped over her own boots on the way to her seat. It was humiliating, and she swore her cheeks wouldn’t stop burning until the bell rang.
After two classes, Bella started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask her questions about how she was liking Forks. She tried to be diplomatic, but most of the time, she lied or pretended.
One girl, Jessica, sat next to Bella in both Trigonometry and Spanish, and she walked with her to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than Bella’s five feet ten inches. She had wildly curly dark hair just like Bella’s, except hers was tied up in a puffy ponytail, and Bella found she was a joy to talk to, especially when Jessica brought attention to their hair. Jessica complained about how her hair would get tangled five seconds after brushing it, and Bella found herself venting with her and actually enjoying their conversation.
They sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to Bella. The boy from English, Eric, waved at Bella from across the table.
It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that Bella first saw them.
They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where Bella sat as possible. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at Bella, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes.
However, none of these things caught her attention.
What caught her attention was the fact that they didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was dark with the body of a champion weightlifter and dark, curly hair like Bella’s. The second was taller and leaner, with fair skin and honey blonde hair. The last was lanky, with messy, bronze-colored hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers.
The girls were opposites.
One was tall, tan, had a beautiful figure, and golden, wavy hair falling to the middle of her back. The other girl was short, like Jessica, but very pixie-like; thin in the extreme, with small features, and pale. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction to match her pixie aesthetic.
What stood out to Bella, aside their unearthly beauty, was that they all had very dark eyes. They also had dark bags and rings under their eyes, as if they hadn’t slept in weeks. Bella couldn’t blame them if that were the case, high school was a nightmare with tons of assignments and tests.
Still, despite their exhausted appearance, they looked amazing. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful; maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronze-haired boy?
They were all looking away; away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as Bella could tell.
As she watched, the pixie girl rose with her tray and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. Bella watched, amazed at her lithe dancer's step, then the girl dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than Bella would have thought possible.
Dark hues darted back to the others, who sat unchanging.
"Who are they?" Bella asked Jessica, brows lifted, though she didn’t tear her gaze away.
As Jessica looked up to see what Bella was talking about, suddenly the boyish one looked up and over at Jessica for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flicked to Bella’s. He looked away quickly.
Jessica rubbed the back of her neck with a sigh. "That's Edward and Emmett Cullen,” she pointed to the boyish one and the muscular one respectively, “and Rosalie and Jasper Hale.” She pointed to the two blondes. “The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife."
Bella glanced sideways at the one named Edward, who was looking at his tray, now picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening.
"They’re uh... very nice-looking." Bella struggled. She didn’t want to sound creepy for talking about how beautiful they were.
"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle, taking Bella by surprise. "They're all together though. Well, Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. It’s kinda funny, because they live together."
"Which ones are the Cullens?" Bella asked. "They don't look related..."
"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins, and they're foster children."
"They look a little old for foster children." Bella commented before she could stop herself.
"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."
"That's really nice of them, especially when they're so young and everything."
"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and Bella got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, Bella would assume the reason was jealousy. "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness. That didn’t sit right with Bella.
Throughout all this conversation, Bella’s eyes darted repeatedly to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat, barely even conversing.
"Have they always lived in Forks?" Bella asked.
"No," she said, as if it were obvious. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."
Bella nodded, relieved but also saddened for them. It was disappointing that these people were so isolated, but it was a relief because at least she wasn’t the only ‘outsider’ here.
As Bella studied them, Edward looked up and met her gaze, this time with curiosity in his expression. Bella hurriedly looked away. It seemed that his glance held some sort of surprise and expectation, and she wasn’t sure why that was.
"So which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair again?" Bella asked as she peeked at him from the corner of her eye. He was still staring at her, but not gawking like the other students had today, no, his stare seemed frustrated. Weird. Did she do something to offend him?
"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." Jessica huffed.
Bella bit her lip to hide her smile, then she glanced at Edward again. His face was turned away, but it looked like he was smiling too.
After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They all were noticeably graceful - even the big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. Edward didn't look at Bella again as he passed.
Bella sat at the table with Jessica and her friends longer than she would have if she had been sitting alone. She was anxious not to be late for class on her first day.
One of Bella’s new acquaintances, Angela, had Biology II with her the next hour, and they walked to class together in silence. She was shy, too. It was adorable, if Bella was being honest.
When they entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table. She already had a neighbor, unfortunately. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, Bella recognized Edward by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat.
Sighing and steeling her nerves, she walked down the aisle to introduce herself to the teacher and get her slip signed. She glanced over at Edward, and just as she passed the fan, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at the girl again, meeting her eyes with a hostile expression on his face this time. Bella nearly gasped and looked away quickly, going red again. She stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch herself on the edge of a table. She noticed that his eyes were black - coal black, and that unsettled her.
Mr. Banner signed Bella’s slip and handed her a book with no nonsense about introductions. He gestured to the open desk, and Bella kept her eyes down as she went to sit by Edward, bewildered by the antagonistic stare she had received.
She took a deep breath, refusing to look up as she set her book on the table and took her seat. His posture changed, leaning away from her, and sitting on the extreme edge of his stool, averting his face like he smelled something horrible.
Inconspicuously, she sniffed her hair. It smelled like strawberries. It seemed an innocent enough odor, so why was he acting so weird? She let her curls fall over her shoulder, making a curtain between them, and tried to pay attention to the teacher. Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something she had already studied. She grumbled quietly, taking notes anyway, just to keep herself busy.
Bella couldn't stop herself from peeking occasionally through the shield of hair at the strange boy next to her. During the whole class period, he never once relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far away from Bella as possible. She could see his hand on his left leg, clenched into a tight fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin.
He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he had looked next to his burly brother.
The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. He continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn't breathing. What was wrong with him? Was this his normal behavior?
Bella briefly questioned her judgment on Jessica's bitterness at lunch. Maybe she wasn’t as resentful as she had assumed.
She peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at her again, his black eyes full of revulsion. She flinched away from him, shrinking against her chair. If looks could kill.
At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making her jump, and Edward was out of his seat and out the door before anyone else was out of their seats.
Bella sat frozen in her seat for a moment, staring after him, her brows furrowing. What was his problem? She didn’t do anything to him. She didn’t even know him, he didn’t even know her.
Bella sighed, then began gathering up her things slowly, trying to block the anger that filled her. She hated being angry, because it always led her to crying, and she hated crying.
"Aren't you Isabella Ortiz?" a male voice asked.
The girl whipped her head up to see a cute, baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at her in a friendly way.
"Bella," she corrected him with a soft sigh.
"I'm Mike. Hey, do you need any help finding your next class?"
"I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."
"That's my next class, too." He seemed thrilled. Oh well, he seemed nice too, so it wouldn’t be a crime to walk with him.
Unsurprisingly, he was quite a talker, which Bella didn’t mind. He rambled about everything; about how he lived in California until he was ten, so he knew how she felt about the sun.
It turned out he was in her English class, too, with Eric. Huh, guess despite all of that weird nonsense with Edward and all the stares —which were dying down now—, her first day wasn’t going so bad.
Mike nudged Bella with his elbow, a smirk on his lips as he asked, "so, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."
She sighed, shaking her head, causing her curls to bounce. She wasn't the only one who had noticed, and apparently, that wasn't Edward's usual behavior. It still grated her nerves though, that he had gotten so upset by her.
"I don't know," she shrugged. "I never spoke to him."
"He's a weird guy." Mike rolled his eyes a bit. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you." He grinned.
Bella scoffed and rolled her eyes, though it was halfheartedly. “Thanks, Mike.” She smiled, before walking through the girls' locker room door. Mike was friendly and clearly admiring, but sadly, she was still frustrated about the whole Edward situation.
The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found her a uniform but didn't make her dress down for today's class.
The final bell rang at last, and Bella walked briskly to the office to return her paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. She huffed and wrapped her arms around herself.
When she walked into the warm office, she almost turned around and walked back out.
Edward stood at the desk in front of her. She recognized that tousled bronze hair anywhere now. He didn't appear to notice the sound of her entrance, though.
Bella stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free.
He was arguing with her in a low voice, and Bella quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time - any other time.
She rolled her eyes, a scoff leaving her again. Incredible. He was really being this petty about her being in the same class as him. She didn’t even do anything to him, and yet, here he was, nearly begging the receptionist to change his schedule just so he can get away from her. What garbage.
The door opened again, and the cold wind gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling Bella’s hair around her face.
The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again.
Edward's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at Bella with piercing, hate-filled eyes. She clenched her jaw and glared back, despite the sliver of genuine fear and anxiety. The look only lasted a second, chilling her to the core, then he turned back to the receptionist.
"Never mind, then," he said hastily. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." He snarked, and he turned on his heel without another look at Bella, disappearing out the door.
She growled quietly under her breath, then approached the desk and handed the signed slip over.
"How did your first day go, dear?" the receptionist asked maternally.
"Alright," Bella mumbled, glancing over her shoulder at the door, a frown on her lips. The receptionist didn't look convinced.
When Bella got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. She sat inside for a while, just staring out the windshield blankly. When it was cold enough to need the heater, she turned the key and the engine roared to life. She headed back to Charlie's house, fighting tears the whole way there as her anger brewed in her stomach.