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Chapter Text

Lizzie Swan was under the impression that homecomings were generally a happy event. However, happiness was the one emotion she was not feeling as she waited for her sister to arrive. As she lugged the last few personal items from her old room -- Bella's new one -- to the attic room, Lizzie was bitter. She tried not to be, as their dad, Charlie, was elated that his older daughter finally expressed an interest in spending time in Forks. But Lizzie was less so. As much as she loved her sister, Bella made a choice. She chose to leave Charlie, she chose to leave her, and follow their flighty mother in abandoning them.

She dropped her pillows onto her bed and surveyed her room. The attic was originally a storage area where both Charlie and Lizzie stuffed old things, so there were boxes lining three of her four walls. Charlie had been thoughtful enough to rent out a storage unit in Port Angeles, so Lizzie still had room for her desk and bookshelf. Her bed rested beside the circular window, covered in a dark purple comforter and white pillow cases that matched her sheets.

She had painted the walls a bright white to cover the fading beige colour and to mask the smell of dust. Against one wall sat her desk, wide enough to fit her computer and still give her room for notebooks on the side. Her bookshelf was tucked into the corner, and Lizzie grimaced at the overflowing amount of books she had on it.

She didn't have a closet anymore, so she had bought several racks on wheels that clothing stores used to showcase clothes. Next to the racks was an old worn wooden dresser that Renee had bought Lizzie right before she had left. Lizzie couldn't bring herself to get rid of it. A full-length mirror hung on the wall.

A short siren call came from outside and Lizzie hurried downstairs. Outside, Officer Elisabeth Cahill sat in one of the three police cars Forks had claimed. A smile spread across Lizzie's face. Officer Cahill was a tall, stately older woman with greying hair and the greatest poker face Lizzie had ever come across. Outside her dad, Lizzie was closest to Officer Cahill.

Plus it didn't hurt that they shared the same first name.

"Officer Beth!" Lizzie called in welcome, crossing the lawn with quick steps. The passenger window was rolled down so she leaned over and peeked in.

"I heard Miss Isabella was arrivin' today and I thought I'd come see how y'all were doin'." Officer Cahill drawled in her thick accent and Lizzie's smile slipped.

"Charlie's pretty excited," she said, carefully avoiding how she felt. "He left about an hour ago to pick her up. They should be back soon."

Officer Cahill watched her with sympathetic eyes, her greying hair tied tightly into a bun, drawing attention to her dark skin tone. "Now, darlin', I know you ain't too excited for Miss Isabella to be comin' on home, but you be good to your old man, you hear me?"

Lizzie smiled and nodded. "I will ma'am. Don't worry; I'll be on my best behaviour." She saluted half-heartedly, and Officer Cahill shook her head. Lizzie had spent several weekends at the office as a kid and gravitated to Beth Cahill. The older woman had seen more of Lizzie's brief wild phase than Charlie had, and she was the one who helped Lizzie adjust her course.

Lizzie felt a rush of gratitude towards the warm woman and bid her a goodbye as the radio crackled on the dashboard.

Lizzie watched as the patrol car turned around the corner before she trudged back into the house. Sitting in the driveway, next to Lizzie's older dark blue Toyota Celica, was the truck that Billy Black had dropped off earlier that week for Bella. It was a faded red colour, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. She wrinkled her nose at the giant thing. Because the truck took up so much space in their driveway, Charlie had to park on the street and Lizzie had to start parking down the road so Bella wouldn't hit it pulling in or out.

Personally, Lizzie thought that Bella should be the one parking on the street as it seemed the simplest option, but Charlie insisted that they provide the best options to Bella. As if she couldn't walk across the lawn to the street. When it snowed that might even be the safest option, considering her sister's inability to remain upright.

Although, Lizzie mused as she walked into the house again, Bella wasn't entirely to blame for her balance issues. Bella had fallen out of her crib as a baby and hit her head hard on the ground. For the most part, there hadn't been any lingering issues as she got other, other than her balance was severely impaired and her hand-eye coordination was way off kilter.

Lizzie moseyed around the house, tidying the already tidy house as she roamed. She switched out the laundry, emptied out the dishwasher, and finally ran out of things to do. She sat down on the couch and turned on the television. Flipping through channels, Lizzie finally settled on the Alaskan State Troopers episode that was playing. She had just finished the first one and was preparing to watch the second when she heard Charlie's car pull into the gravel that bordered their driveway.

With a sigh, Lizzie turned off the t.v and stood up. She wandered to the front door and opened the fading wood with a sinking feeling in her stomach. There went her peace and quiet.

Lizzie leaned against the doorframe as Charlie and Bella got out of the cruiser. Lizzie had been slightly smug at the prospect that Bella could have been driving home in her car had she not chosen to show up in the middle of the school year. As it were, Lizzie had been at school when Charlie left. As she surveyed her sister from the doorstep, Lizzie realized that they looked more similar than she had thought.

Bella was taller than Lizzie was by three or so inches, but they shared the same ivory skin tone and dark brown eyes. Lizzie's rich brown hair was a few shades darker and cut to brush her shoulder blades while Bella had grown out her hair to sweep her lower back. Bella was softer, with a round face in contrast to Lizzie's sharp cheekbones and runner's build. Lizzie also noticed with a small amount of happiness that her hair was curlier than Bella's was.

It was something else to disguise the fact that they were indeed twins.

Lizzie remained firmly on the porch, leaning against the doorframe with one shoulder and folding her arms across her chest, as she noticed Bella struggling slightly with the large suitcase. Charlie had his hands full with the smaller bags, and he watched helplessly as it slipped from her grasp and then as she stumbled as she bent to pick it up.

Catching Lizzie's eye, he called for her to help with Bella's bag. With a sigh, Lizzie pushed off the frame and sauntered down the front stairs. She crossed the short distance to the car quickly and hauled the suitcase into her arms, carrying the weight easily. As Bella mumbled thanks, Lizzie followed Charlie up into the house, depositing the suitcase right inside her -- Bella's -- room.

It took only one trip to get all of Bella's stuff upstairs. Bella's room faced west out over the front yard. Lizzie scowled slightly. The room bad belonged to both of them as babies, but it had been so long since Bella had called the house home that it was just Lizzie's room now. Not anymore, Lizzie reminded herself. The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains around the window -- these were all a part of their childhood. Lizzie's old desk now held a secondhand computer. Lizzie had claimed the rocking chair from their baby days that used to be in the corner, now up in her room. Lizzie could see Bella's eyes rest there for a long second before moving on. There was only one bathroom at end of the hall, which both girls shared with Charlie. Lizzie was trying not to dwell on that. It was busy enough in the morning without adding a third person to the mix.

Charlie stood somewhat awkwardly around for a minute before muttering something and returning downstairs. It was incredibly awkward. Lizzie had no idea what to say to her sister, even if they were twins. Instead, she leaned against the door and watched as Bella unpack in silence.

Lizzie could tell Bella didn't want her standing around but Lizzie also knew that if she went downstairs, she'd get sent right back up again. And if she went upstairs, she was going to fall asleep and her homework would … Lizzie frowned. Did she have homework?

"You alright?" Bella asked uneasily. She'd turned to find Lizzie scowling at her computer.

"Yeah." Lizzie shrugged and shifted her weight from one leg to the other. What does one say to a twin they don't even know? "Yeah."

"Okay." And then she was unpacking again. Books this time. Then some sweaters. A dress. Lizzie continued to lurk in the doorway until she noticed that Bella was starting to look a little frazzled. Giving up on sister time as a lost cause, Lizzie meandered over to the bathroom, noticed it was almost nine, and sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, but the dark circles under her eyes told the young girl there was not much use in postponing it. She slipped into the shower and finished up pretty quickly, but ended up standing in the hot water doing nothing for about twice as long as she had been productive. The warmth felt good, and every twenty seconds or so she nudged the shower handle to make it a little bit hotter. Steam begin to fill the room and Lizzie sighed, feeling a little bit more relaxed, deciding that maybe having a sister again might be nice.

When Lizzie finally left the bathroom and found Bella waiting in the hallway, she was almost polite. As Bella smiled at her apology, Lizzie actually got a look at her face. There was something martyr-like about her appearance and with a sinking feeling, Lizzie began to wonder if Bella really didn't want to be here.

As she trudged up the stairs and heard the shower turn on, Lizzie couldn't help but wish not. As much as she despised that Bella was turning her whole world upside down, she also knew that it would break Charlie's heart if he knew.

Lizzie fell asleep to the comforting sound of rain hitting the roof and her window.

Thick fog was all Lizzie could see out the window when she woke up, and she was smiling as she headed down the stairs. Snagging the bathroom as Charlie got out; Lizzie forwent the shower and instead dressed quickly in jeans and a warm long sleeve grey shirt, tucking the hem of her pant legs into her knee-length socks. She brushed her hair out quickly, braiding the curls into twin pigtail braids. Running mascara over her eyelashes, Lizzie surveyed herself in the mirror and nodded decidedly.

Padding down the stairs, she found Charlie standing over the stove. The smell of cheesy eggs hung in the air and Lizzie collapsed into her seat with a groggy, but no less excited, groan. Bella joined them a few minutes after. Breakfast was a quiet event. Charlie wished both of them good luck at school as he left the house. Lizzie hugged him goodbye as Bella thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid Bella. After he left, Bella remained sitting at the old square oak table in one of the three mismatched chairs while Lizzie loaded the dishwasher.

"You can take off," Lizzie told her as she snatched her bookbag off of the counter and rummaged through it. She didn't want to forget anything important.

"Okay," Bella mumbled, standing and moving to the window to look miserably out at the fog. With a sigh, she turned back and looked past Lizzie to the cabinets with a frown on her face.

"What?"

"I remember these being yellow." She said, gesturing to the dark blue cabinets.

Lizzie glanced up at them from where she was hunting for a pen. "Yeah, I painted them a couple of years ago. I'm not really a fan of yellow."

"Oh," Bella said uncomfortably. Renee had painted the cabinets yellow early in her marriage to Charlie, but Lizzie was reminded sharply of her every time she walked into the kitchen. When Bella stopped coming to Forks, Lizzie had leapt at the chance to paint them.

Bella wandered into the living room, staring at pictures with a deep frown and tight posture. Most of them were of Lizzie and/or Charlie, but Charlie had an entire row of Bella's school pictures up there. Neither Bella nor Renee had ever sent them anything less formal. Lizzie watched her for a long second while she stuffed her pencil case into her bag.

"Seriously," Lizzie called out, grabbing her phone from the charger on the counter and sliding it into her back pocket. "You can go. I have to take a different car anyway."

"Yeah?"

"I have classes at the Peninsula campus after school and don't even pretend you want to stick around for that," Lizzie said. "You also have to grab your schedule; they didn't have it ready for me to grab before."

"Peninsula campus?" Bella asked, furrowing her eyebrows together. Lizzie bit her cheek. She hadn't meant to bring this up; as she was pretty sure Bella hadn't known. Which also meant that Renee didn't know.

"Yeah, I'm a senior this year and wanted to get a head start on my college credits. So until I graduate high school and get accepted into other colleges, Peninsula is a great place to get them." Lizzie mentioned offhandedly. She knew Bella was in the advanced program in Phoenix, but it was probably a sore subject that her somewhat younger sister was a grade ahead of her.

Bella nodded somewhat moodily and went to grab her jacket and bag. Lizzie heard her struggling with her rain boots, the slam of the front door, and then the chug of her ancient truck.

Lizzie waited until she heard the roar of the ancient truck vanish into the distance before shrugging into her own jacket and heading outside. It was drizzling still, not enough to soak Lizzie as she reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eave by the door, and locked up. Her waterproof boots had her walking almost silently down the road to her car.

The school wasn't far; nothing in Forks was, so Lizzie wasn't worried about being late. Bella was still parked in front of the main office when she arrived, so Lizzie parked and pulled her hood over her hair. It was raining harder now, so Lizzie had her backpack over her shoulder before she got out of her car.

Running through the rain to her first class, AP US Gov and Politics, Lizzie arrived right before the warning bell. She slid into her seat and smiled faintly at her desk partner, the infamous Rosalie Hale. Rosalie was a foster kid to the Cullens', a family that had moved to Forks three years back and never socialized with anyone.

The blonde merely nodded back as Mr Jefferson walked into the room. Lizzie tried to pay attention, she really did, but a large part of the class was focused on the foreign policies of the President so she didn't really have much of a desire to. Instead, she doodled project ideas for her visual arts class; a sunset here, a forest there. Thankfully Mr Jefferson was the type of teacher who droned on and never bothered to ask the students questions.

English passed in a similar manner. Mr Mason, a tall balding man who spoke excitedly and waved his hands a lot, discussed Macbeth in loud voices and finally got around to assigning the paper right as the bell rang.

Lizzie trudged onwards to P.E. Forks High’s gym was fairly old, and it had the stale, sweaty smell that a gym would get after years of use, and Lizzie had overheard Jessica Stanley had managed to chip a tooth her freshman year by tripping over some spill or other that the janitor hadn’t managed to clean up yet.

As their gym teacher, Coach Clapp, who was a small woman who none the less looked like she could probably bench-press some of the bigger guys at the school, started to divide them into teams for volleyball, Lizzie stretched from her position on the floor. As Coach Clapp called out surnames for teams, Lizzie exhaled quietly as she was put on the same team as Emmett Cullen.

Emmett was tall, towering over most the other kids, and solidly built. He looked like he could smash through a concrete wall and come out the other side unscathed, like in action movies. Lizzie had been sent to the hospital before due to his enthusiastic take on sports.

Even as it were, Lizzie couldn't help the slight shudder that ran down her spine when he grinned at her, the light glinting off his bizarrely sharp teeth.

It took maybe three rounds of the ball before Emmett smacked it and sent it spinning to Taylor Shaw's stomach. The girl went down hard and Lizzie ran forward. "Taylor!"

The tall girl lay groaning on the floor, her arms wrapped around her stomach where the ball had made contact. After a brief scan, Coach Clapp ordered Lizzie to follow Emmett as he took the girl to the nurse.

Emmett easily lifted Taylor off the ground and Lizzie kept pace as they left the room. For what it was worth, Emmett looked apologetic and kept apologizing. Taylor, who looked like she was trying not to be sick, merely nodded every time and croaked out reassurances.

Lizzie held open the door and Mrs Cope gasped as she hurried around the desk. Emmett had to duck somewhat to get through the door.

"There was an accident in Gym," Lizzie told her as they followed him into the little room in the corner. Emmett carefully set Taylor on the bed and backed away, allowing Mrs Cope and Nurse Hammond to attend to her. Seeing that they were only in the way, Emmett and Lizzie both ducked back into the waiting room.

It was almost awkward, sitting silently in a room with a Cullen. Lizzie didn't mind the silence, she enjoyed it, but it was her companion that unnerved her. He was sitting too still, not even blinking so far as she could tell. There weren't any other sounds in the room except her breathing.

After several long minutes, Mrs Cope came back out. "Miss Shaw will be fine, no lasting damage. We've called her mother and you two are free to go."

Emmett grinned and stood up. "Thanks, Mrs Cope." He walked almost elegantly out the door, his gait loping. Lizzie shook her head. It was unnatural, the elegance in the way he walked. Lizzie followed him out the door and back into the rain. Gym was close to being done now, so she walked slowly back to change.

Visual arts was, without a doubt, her favourite class. Mrs. van Hassan was a tall willowy lady who only ever wore skirts. She was a native to France and spoke with a thick accent. Lizzie perched on her stool in front of the canvas and allowed herself to get lost in the art.

After an hour, she was just barely getting done with the outline. For her final project, she had decided to paint the La Push beachfront with a wolf in the background on a cliff. It would be time-consuming and Lizzie mentally resolved to head down there soon to get colour inspirations.

Bella was already in the cafeteria, sitting next to Jessica Stanley. Although she wasn't really friends with any of them, Lizzie headed over there sit with her sister. Bella looked up as Lizzie dropped her tray next to her and a relieved smile crossed her face.

"Morning everyone," Lizzie greeted. She received a handful of responses as she scanned the table. Mike Newton, Eric Yorkie, Angela Weber, Lauren Mallory, and Jessica Stanley were the faces she recognized. There were a few others, but judging by the way they kept their eyes trained on Bella, it wasn't hard to guess why they were there.

Lizzie felt an overwhelming sense of bitterness.

In four years, maybe half of these kids spoke to her twice. Bella shows up and suddenly everyone loves her. Despite herself, Lizzie couldn't help but stare down at her plate and frown.

Maybe it was just the fact that she was new. Lizzie stuffed the negative feelings down and decided she'd give it a month. If in a month Bella was still the coolest thing ever then she'd feel bitter. Lizzie nodded to herself and turned to join Angela and Lauren's conversation.

"Who are they?” Lizzie heard Bella ask, and turned to see who she meant. Bella was staring hard at the Cullen table, a dark pink flush staining her cheeks. Edward looked up and over to them, flitting from Jessica to Bella. He looked away quickly, more quickly than either Jessica or Bella could. In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest—it was as if she had called his name, and he’d looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer.

Jessica giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like Bella was. “That’s Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr Cullen and his wife.” She said this under her breath. Lizzie looked harder and realized that Alice was missing.

Alice was nice enough, although a little strange. The first day Lizzie had gotten her new car; Alice had cornered her in between classes and warned her not to take the freeway home. Although Lizzie was less inclined to believe her, Alice had looked so insistent that Lizzie had listened to her. That night as Charlie was watching the news, they covered the story that a truck had overturned and caused several accidents. Although no one was seriously injured, Lizzie had been left with a sinking feeling. She could have been one of those in the accident.

Since then, Lizzie had always listened to Alice, even though the girl came up to her only a small handful of times.

"They are .. very nice looking," Bella said, hesitating on the understatement. Lizzie supposed she could see where her sister was coming from, they were all indeed very nice looking, but in an unnerving way. Most people had some kind of blemish, some kind of flaw or freckle or something, but all of them looked almost like porcelain dolls. It didn’t even make her feel jealous, just … slightly weirded out.

Jessica was still telling Bella about the Cullens, and Lizzie made an effort to listen in. "So, Doctor Cullen moved here right after his graduation, with his wife and younger brothers and sister Emmett, Edward and Alice. Then his wife Esme’s niece and nephew Jasper and Rosalie Hale lost their parents. The Cullens kind of adopted them, and then Rosalie and Emmett started a thing,” she said with a shrug. "It's weird sure, but no one really talks about it."

Almost as if they heard them, Emmett and Rosalie turned to look directly at the table. Emmett caught Lizzie's eye and grinned, lifting a hand to wave. Lizzie saluted back halfheartedly. Rosalie rolled her eyes at the antics of her boyfriend and whispered something to him.

Edward was still glaring at Bella with increasing intensity. Lizzie's smile slipped down her face and she scooted closer to her sister. Edward's eye snapped to her and she glowered at him.

Suddenly disinterested, he dropped his eyes back to his tray. Lizzie watched him a second longer to make sure that he wasn't going to look up as soon as she turned away before she too looked back to her table.

The conversation had moved from the Cullens to what the drama club was doing for their spring performance. Eric was talking animatedly about the Pride and Prejudice play, and something about how the Elizabeth Bennet actress was causing drama.

Lizzie left soon after that, having completed her high school classes. She had a bit of a drive to Port Angeles, but she didn't mind. And besides, she only had to drive out once a week. The rest of the time she could do it online.

The hour-long drive was pleasant, and Lizzie relished in the silence. There was an audiobook playing for her Mythology class, and Lizzie was engrossed in it. It was fascinating.

Her classes at Peninsula were much different from Forks High. Mr Davis, who taught her General Logic class, was as stern and stiff a teacher she'd ever seen. With his long black hair and constant scowl, Lizzie was reminded of Professor Snape every time she walked into the class.

Mr Jackson, her Greek and Roman Mythology professor, was as different as the day. He was erratic in his teaching, and more often than not had the entire class dying as he chose to act out the myths in class. Lizzie lived for the days she was called on.

Mrs Grace taught her Psychology of Social Issues class. She was small, shorter than most everyone in her class, but she had a voice that carried to every corner. Lizzie would swear she could sing opera but had yet to have her suspicions confirmed.

Bella was home by the time Lizzie made it back. Holed up in her room, Lizzie was just about to knock when she heard the quiet sounds of crying. Curling her hand into a fist, Lizzie left Bella to her own devices and went upstairs to finish her homework.

She had other things to worry about outside her moping sister.

Chapter Text

Lizzie thought the next day was better and a little bit worse at the same time.

People were starting to calm down about Bella. She’d had fewer questions about her sister and fewer people were staring. On the other hand, Bella was getting the beginnings of a fan club: Mike and Eric glared at each other every time the other talked to her. Jessica was following them like a shadow, hoping to get a bit of Mike's attention. Lizzie found it sad that the poor boy was so enraptured by Bella that he missed Jessica who stared dejectedly at him every time he wasn’t looking. A couple of people had tried asking Lizzie about Bella before they realized that she knew her sister about as well as they did.

At least Lizzie could stick with her plan. People were cooling down, and so Lizzie resolved not to feel bitter about of the small handful of people who weren’t.

One thing that Lizzie truly appreciated about Forks High School was the lunches. They had fantastic lunches. In that, they were entirely unhealthy and only filled two of the three basic food groups. Her school back in Phoenix had been one of those 'enlightened' ones that served exclusively healthy foods like tofu and vegetables that didn't come out of a can. In her opinion, any school lunch program that came with a 'vegan' option was disgraceful and un-American. Well, vegan options were fine. But anybody who denied her access to a massive number of tater tots was looking to start something.

Nope, she wanted her lunches fried, smothered with cheese, and with a good helping of ketchup on the side to fulfill the vegetable requirements.

Loading up her tray with an almost impossible number of the aforementioned tater tots, Lizzie wound her way through the lunchroom, peering about for the right table. Generally, the seating followed the standard high school layout. Each group had their designated area—the nerds, the geeks, the arty kids, the debate team, the jocks, the popular kids, and the in-betweeners.

Lizzie floated between the categories fairly easily. Her academic paranoia planted her firmly in the 'nerd' classification, her guitar and cello playing gave her an in with the arty kids, the sci-fi obsession gave her a push towards the 'geek' label—she was a swirling vortex of random characteristics that left her altogether untethered and unaligned.

Lizzie scanned the room searching out familiar faces. She found her own friends easy enough, sitting firmly in the in-betweener section, but they had been forewarned that she'd be sitting with her sister for her first week and so they merely waved to her. It took her a few seconds longer to find Bella, but when she did finally find her sister's mane of brown hair, Lizzie quickly wove her way through the crowds.

She settled into a seat next to Angela. The blonde smiled at her and asked a few questions about her classes, which Lizzie easily answered. Angela and Lizzie weren’t exactly “friends”, but it was easy enough to talk to the taller girl. She was easy going and always seemed to be happy with whatever happened. Lizzie liked Angela.

Lizzie was about halfway through her lunch when a sharp pain blossoming in her shin as someone gave her a swift kick. With a quiet yelp, Lizzie looked up. Jessica was glaring pointedly at her, and as soon as the shorter girl caught her attention she moved her eyes to Bella. Lizzie looked over at her sister, and then followed her sister’s eyes.

The Cullen table. Of course.

Lizzie scanned the table a little closer and realized that something was missing. Edward was absent. With a quick look out the windows revealed that it was in fact still raining, Lizzie's mouth dropped open. Whatever had happened between her sister and Cullen was drastic enough that he was actually ditching school on a non-sunny day.

Lizzie exchanged a wide-eyed look with Jessica before tapping her sister on the shoulder. When Bella turned to look at her, she looked strangely like she was about to start crying. Lizzie furrowed her eyebrows. "What happened?" She asked quietly, tilting her head to ensure that no one could hear.

Bella shrugged. “I don’t know,” she sighed, her voice low and halting. She sounded like she wanted to cry.

Lizzie stared at her for a long moment before Bella looked back down at her tray. Disbelievingly, Lizzie shook her head. How had Bella managed to change so much in less than twenty-four hours?

Lizzie milled around the table until the lunchroom was almost empty. Bella kept throwing fleeting looks at the Cullen table, but Edward didn’t reappear. She had left to her next class with a little more spring to her step.

Charlie was usually the cook in the Swan household, but upon Bella's arrival, she had requested that she be in charge of cooking. With hesitancy, Charlie had given up his kitchen to his daughter. Lizzie refused to hand over the grocery list, insisting that she was very capable of buying food. Bella had wanted to argue, but with a glare directed at her from behind Charlie's back, she had relented.

Lizzie felt kind of bad that she had done so, but there wasn’t much to do at home. For the most part, both her and Charlie were self-sufficient. They both did their own laundry and took turns loading and unloading the dishwasher. They swapped turns setting the table and cleaning up, and they cleaned up after themselves so there wasn’t much to do in the way of chores. Other than making sure the bathroom was cleaned, shopping was one of the few things Lizzie did for the both – all three of them.

Once she had gotten into her car and started the engine, Lizzie dug through her bag to make sure she had what she needed. A shopping list and the cash from the jar in the cupboard labeled FOOD MONEY was sitting neatly in the pocket where she had placed them that morning, and so she was on her way to the Thriftway.

The Thriftway was not far from the schools, just a few streets south, off the highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; Lizzie felt like she was being productive, despite the schoolwork that took up most of her time. The store was big enough that the pattering of the rain outside was muffled, and Lizzie found herself tapping her foot to the beat of the music as she scanned over the bread selection.

When she got home, Lizzie unloaded the groceries and made quick work of the breakfast mess. When she was finished with that, she took her book bag upstairs. Before starting on her homework, she changed into a pair of dry sweats, pulled her damp hair up into a bun, and checked her e-mail. After scanning through the several from her professors and deleting all the junk mail, Lizzie came across something she wasn’t expecting.

She had three messages.

From Renee.

Lizzie stared long and hard at the sender's name and blinked rapidly several times. When the name didn't change, Lizzie exhaled slowly. Renee hadn't sent her an email in years outside of the birthday and Christmas wishes that read a little too much like Bella's emails.

The first one was from yesterday; right after Bella had gotten there. With bated breath, Lizzie clicked on it.

Lizzie, it read. I haven’t heard from Bella yet; has she gotten there safely? Also, tell her I can’t find my pink blouse. Would you ask her if she knows where it is? Let her know I miss her already! –Renee.

Lizzie’s jaw jumped at the contents of the message and she moved quickly on.

Lizzie, the second one read, sent only a few hours later. I shouldn’t be surprised that neither you nor Bella has gotten back to me, it is Forks after all. Tell Bella that I need to hear from her. Did you ask about my blouse? –Renee.

Lizzie seriously considered throwing her computer across the room as she stared at the messages through teary eyes. After years of nothing, all her own mother could talk about was Bella?

Hardly daring to hope at this point, Lizzie opened the last one, sent that morning.

Elisabeth, if I don’t hear back from you or Bella by 5:30 pm I am calling Charlie. –Renee.

No "hello daughter I haven't seen in years!" No "How are you doing?" Not even a "Charlie told me you started taking college classes. I'm so proud!" Instead, it was all about Bella.

Blinking back tears that threatened to spill over, Lizzie replied to her mother.

Renee, it’s great to hear from you too! I’m doing great, thanks for asking. Bella’s fine, but she’ll want to talk to you herself. Love you too! Your daughter, Lizzie.

It was bitter, yes, and she’ll probably hear about it later, but Lizzie was angry. If her own mother couldn’t take the time to remember that she had a second daughter alive and well, then Lizzie wouldn’t give her the leeway to continue.

Shutting the lid of her computer, Lizzie stood in the middle of her room. She no longer felt like doing her homework, so instead, she grabbed her worn copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and settled on her bed. She was just reaching the part where the trio found the Room of Requirement when Bella poked her head into her room.

“Hey Liz, I’m home. How do you feel about steak and potatoes for dinner?”

Lizzie looked off briefly as she turned a page. "Sounds great. Thanks, Isabella.”

“Bella,” her sister reminded before nodding. “Okay.” She hovered awkwardly in the doorway before Lizzie looked up again.

"Oh, by the way, Renee is trying to get ahold you of. You might want to email her back.”

Bella looked relieved at the exit Lizzie just presented her with. “Thanks,” Bella ducked back out of the room. Lizzie heard her stumble on the stairs and call out that she was fine. Still feeling bitter over Renee’s emails, Lizzie ignored it.

She had lost track of time, so when she heard Charlie’s cruiser pull into the driveway through her open window, Lizzie looked up in surprise. Glancing down at her page to mark her spot, Lizzie hurried down the stairs.

"Hi, Dad!" Lizzie called as she slid to the front door. Hugging her dad tightly, Lizzie grinned as he ruffled her hair. Bella was in the kitchen and didn't come out.

"Hey, Dad, welcome home."

"Thanks."

Lizzie backed away a bit while he hung up his gun belt and stepped out of his boots as Bella bustled about the kitchen. Charlie never once had to shoot the gun on the job, but he kept it ready at all times. When Lizzie moved back as a child, he would always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the door. Lizzie was proud that he had trusted her enough from the young age of ten to not shoot herself accidently. He wrapped an arm around Lizzie’s shoulders and the pair of them walked into the kitchen. Bella’s eyes lingered on them for a second before she turned back to the stove.

"What's for dinner?" he asked somewhat curiously. Neither of them had Bella's cooking before, and Renee's cookng experiments weren't always edible. Lizzie wouldn’t be surprised if Bella started to be the same way.

"Steak and potatoes," She answered, and he looked relieved. Lizzie slipped out from under his arm and began to set the table. Charlie seemed to feel a touch awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; there never was a chance for him not to be useful before. After a long moment, he wandered into the living room to watch TV while Bella and Lizzie worked.

She made a salad while the steaks cooked, and Lizzie rolled the potatoes. She called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the room.

"Smells good, Bell."

"Thanks."

They ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable as none of them were bothered by the quiet. In some ways, they were all well suited for living together.

"So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" he asked Bella as he was taking seconds.

"Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice."

"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid — nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here."

"Do you know the Cullen family?" She asked hesitantly. Lizzie choked a bit on her steak. She shouldn’t be surprised, of course, but it still caught her off guard.

"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."

"They… the kids… are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school."

Charlie surprised her by looking angry. Lizzie snorted and shook her head.

"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him — lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite.” When he paused, struggling for words, Lizzie took over.

“Dad had his doubts when they first moved in with all those adopted teenagers. But he hasn’t had one speck of trouble from any of them. It’s been great.”

“Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk," Charlie grumbled, agreeing with her.

Bella backpedaled. "They seemed nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive," She added as if she was trying to be more complimentary.

"You should see the doctor," Charlie said laughingly. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."

The table lapsed back into silence as they finished eating. He cleared the table while Bella started on the dishes. Lizzie had begun to load the dishwasher, but Bella soon took over. When Charlie was done he wandered back into the living room. Lizzie debated between going and watching the news with him or going upstairs to start on her homework. Finally, her desire to succeed was stronger and she went upstairs unwillingly to begin on her government homework.

The rest of the week was uneventful. Bella got used to the routine of her classes. Lizzie faithfully stayed by her sister's side during lunch, even though they hardly spoke. Jessica, Mike, and Eric held most of her attention, and Lizzie became better friends with Angela. It was Angela who invited Lizzie to the La Push trip with Lauren seconding the invite.

And of course, Edward Cullen didn't come back to school. Every day, Bella watched anxiously until the rest of the Cullens entered the cafeteria without him. Lizzie could count on one hand the number of times she had seen someone be that attentive to the Cullens, and even then it was only when Jessica had a crush on Edward her freshman year.

By Friday Lizzie was comfortable leaving her sister for her own friends. Amara Wlash and Ginny Davis were her two closest friends, and Lizzie easily slipped back into the comfortable friendship they had. Amara, a tall dark-skinned Latina girl with intimidating dark eyes and a pixie cut, was in the cello section of the band with Lizzie, and Ginny, a redhead freckled rough and tumble Caucasian girl who was about the same height as Lizzie, shared her art class.

Bella’s first weekend in Forks passed without incident as March faded into April. Charlie, unused to spending time in the usually empty house as Lizzie was often out with her friends, worked most of the weekend. Lizzie often returned home to find the house cleaned, which was a little strange for the brunette.

It was Monday morning that things began to get strange. Lizzie was just walking from English to the gym when she was detained by none other than Edward Cullen. He towered over the smaller girl, his eyes a bright gold today. His windblown red hair was tousled, and he stared at her with a strange intensity.

“Good morning,” Lizzie greeted cautiously. She had a few conversations with Edward’s siblings, mostly Emmett and Alice, but Edward himself had never spoken to her. Up close, she realized that he looked strangely as perfect as Alice did. No blemishes, spots, scars, anything.

He wasn’t even blinking.

“Good morning,” he greeted, snapping out of whatever he was doing, blinking for the first time. It was slow, almost intentional. He smiled at her, a closed lipped polite one. “I was sent by Rosalie to ask you for notes from last week Thursday’s class. She was supposed to ask before class started and since I was closer she asked me to ask you,” He rolled his eyes, his mannerisms almost too perfectly casual.

Lizzie evaluated him for a small second before nodding. “Yeah, they’re at home. Does she have an email I can send them to? It’ll be easier that way.”

Edward nodded and pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket, handing it to her carefully. Lizzie glanced down at it for a split second. [email protected] was all it read. Simple enough. Lizzie nodded as she tucked it safely into her bag.

"I'll send those to her when I get home," Lizzie informed him as she pulled her bag strap up her shoulder. Edward nodded, distracted as he glanced over her shoulder. Lizzie turned around to see who he was looking at.

Alice was standing a few paces away from them, Jasper standing at her shoulder. He was looking at Edward, but Alice was waving to Lizzie. Lizzie lifted her hand in response and sidestepped Edward. He was distracted enough that she could slip away undetected. She shook her head as she walked quickly away, pulling up her hood against the snow that was beginning to fall. Edward was such a strange bird. His whole family was.

During Gym they began badminton. Emmett volunteered right away to be Lizzie’s partner and grinned widely at her as she took her place next to him. “Morning Swan,”

“Morning Cullen,” Lizzie tucked her arm behind her head, stretching out the muscles there. She rotated arms. “I ran into your brother just now. Would you let Rosalie know that I’ll be emailing her my notes? I don’t have them on me.”

Emmett squinted down at her. “Why would Rose ask for your notes? That girl is almost as careful as Jaz is at taking notes.”

Lizzie paused, still holding one leg tight against her back. “Wait, Rosalie has notes from Thursday’s class? Edward told me she didn’t.”

Recognition dawned in Emmett’s eyes and he backtracked. “Well, Edward would know if she did,” he chuckled at what was probably an inside joke as Lizzie didn’t understand. Emmett was her boyfriend but Edward would know if she needed notes? And why would Rosalie just not bother to take notes on Thursday if she was so careful about it?

Emmett threw himself into the game with vigor and Lizzie didn't have the chance to question him any further. After gym, he sped off and was gone before Lizzie could follow him. Scowling as she changed, Lizzie was completely lost within her thoughts as she trekked across the small campus to the art room.

None of this made any sense.

Flopping into the bench next to Ginny, the redhead threw her a sympathetic look and a few seconds later Lizzie realized why. They were working with clay today. Lizzie groaned. She was good with a paintbrush, but clay? That was far beyond her personal capabilities. And with the added distraction of Edward’s strange behavior, it was not a good day for Lizzie.

At the end, she scowled down at her lumpy and misshapen pot, sitting dejectedly next to Ginny's near perfect pot. Ginny whistled low as she glanced over. "Damn, Swan, you need to step up your game."

Lizzie crinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at her friend, but there wasn't any fire behind her actions. The pair of them were comfortable enough with each other to where light-hearted teasing was in everything they did.

Lizzie was maybe ten feet away from the art room door when a giant ball of mushy slow smacked into the back of her head with enough force to send her stumbling forward. The small girl whirled around, bits of snow and ice flying from her curls, to find the culprit as Ginny roared with laughter.

Amara was standing a few feet away, bent almost completely over as she laughed. Lizzie's eyes light up with a competitive sort of fire and she flung her bag into Ginny's arms, leaning over to scrape together a handful of mush herself. Amara looked up just in time to get smacked in the face. Lizzie and Ginny fell over themselves at Amara's stunned expression as the taller girl wiped mush from her face.

Their snow fight was short but intense. By the time the three girls reached the cafeteria they were soaked through and Lizzie shook her head wildly as soon as they were safely inside. Dirt, snow, and ice flung from her damp hair and hit a few people around them, but everyone was either too wet to care or too distracted to notice.

Bella was thoroughly distracted during lunch, to the point where even Lizzie noticed from where she sat a few tables into the room. Glancing up and towards where her sister was focusing, Lizzie sighed. Of course it was the Cullens. Who else would it be?

They were all laughing; Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair entirely soaked with melting snow. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. Lizzie grumbled and turned back to the conversation her friends were holding about the most recent Teen Wolf episode. Bella’s obsession with the Cullen family was becoming concerning and Lizzie quietly vowed to have a sister intervention if it got much worse.

After lunch, as everyone filed out of the warm building, there was a single drawn out groan in unison by everyone in the room. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. Lizzie pulled her hood up, bid her friends farewell and trudged to her car in disappointment. It was always a fun day when it snowed.

Lizzie was done with homework by the time Bella arrived back home. Charlie was working late, so it was just the two of them during dinner. Afterward, Lizzie followed her sister up to her room. Bella picked up her old copy of Withering Heights and tried to ignore Lizzie as she clambered onto the end of her bed to stare at her.

"What?" Bella finally asked, not looking up from her dog-eared pages

"Come on. Girl talk," She turned pink and Lizzie leaned forward, puzzled and intrigued at her sister’s reaction. "Edward was back," She added, both interested and horrified at the deep shade of red her sister turned.

"Nothing happened." Bella insisted, her nose drawing closer to her book as she tried to avoid Lizzie’s eyes.

"So he's not angry anymore?" Lizzie clarified.

"No. But he was nice today."

"Did he apologize?" Lizzie asked.

"No. We just talked. He was nice." She sounded a little defensive and a little confused herself.

"Is he on some kind of medication?"

She laughed once. "Maybe," she set the book down and drew her legs up to hug them against her chest. "His eyes changed color," She said thoughtfully.

"Anything else?" Lizzie asked, telling herself to Google that later. Maybe he was half blind or something; it would explain the glaring. Although not the attempt to change classes. "Isabella?"

"Bella." She said, but she wasn't scolding. "He knew I was Bella."

"Everyone knows that by now." Lizzie pointed out.

"Yeah, but he was gone all week." She began picking at the threads on her quilt.

"Huh," Lizzie said, shrugging as she watched her sister pull apart her quilt.

Pick. Pick.

"Told you they were sketchy,"

"He's very intuitive," Bella said defensively. "and kind. He saw that I—" She broke off and refused to look at Lizzie. Lizzie’s heart sank. "We just talked about Forks." Her voice was high and uncomfortable. "And how I miss Phoenix."

So he wasn’t that intuitive; anyone could see that. "You hate it here," Lizzie said, her voice flat. It wasn’t a question, rather a statement. Bella flushed and refused to lift her head.

"I…"

Lizzie slid off the bed. “I can handle it Isabella, but Dad can’t. You better work on your lying skills if just for his sake. I don’t think he can handle you leaving again.” Bella flinched and Lizzie gave her sister one last scowl and left the room.

After slamming her door, Lizzie went downstairs and ate half a carton of cookie dough ice cream.

It didn't help.

Chapter Text

Early Thursday morning, Lizzie was found sitting on her bed, still clad in her pyjamas, staring out the window with a happy smile on her face. It was the light. It was still the grey-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. There was no fog veiling her window. A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of her car, and whitened the road. All the rain from yesterday had frozen solid — coating the needles on the trees in fantastic, gorgeous patterns, and making the driveway a smooth ice slick.

It was wonderful.

It took a while, long enough for the sun to completely clear the mountains, but finally, Lizzie resigned herself to rise and get ready for another day of school. Charlie was gone by the time she went downstairs, still braiding her damp hair back. Bella was in the kitchen and mumbled a hurried “good morning” as she bustled around the small area. Lizzie watched her with mild amusement, sitting quietly in her seat as her sister darted around. She watched as Bella rinsed and loaded her bowl, missing the prongs that kept it secure three times, and then drank some of the orange juice right from the carton. Lizzie’s nose wrinkled but she didn’t say anything; Charlie did the exact same thing.

Lizzie was just finishing her own breakfast when Bella darted out the door. She heard not three seconds later a muffled “oof!” as Bella slipped on the ice. Shaking her head at the excited movements of her sister, Lizzie shoved her feet into her boots and pulled on her jacket, walking out the door as Bella’s truck roared to life.

As Lizzie walked carefully across the street, she caught sight of the thin chains that crisscrossed her tires in small diamond shapes. Charlie had gotten up who knows how early to put snow chains on her car, and probably Bella’s too. Lizzie felt a sudden rush of thankfulness for her father and his unspoken concern, and she made a mental note to thank him for them later.

Driving to school, Lizzie pondered on how she would convince Bella to forget about Edward. She knew that Mike and Eric were competing for her affections, and while Lizzie would do everything in her power to get Mike’s head out of his butt and help him see that Jessica was harbouring feelings for him, she also knew that Eric was completely available. Maybe she’d have to throw in a few words to both Bella and Eric to try and encourage them to at least consider it.

She’d have to try harder with Bella, however. Eric would not be hard to convince.

Lizzie nodded to herself as she pulled into a parking spot not far from where Bella was examining her tires. She was just stepping out of her car when she heard an odd sound, one she should not be hearing.

It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. Lizzie looked up, startled, and saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make her brain work much faster, and she was able to absorb, in clear detail, several things at once.

A dark blue van was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of Bella’s truck, and she was standing between them. Lizzie saw her sister’s eyes widen and Lizzie screamed aloud.

She rushed forward, even as the van collided with Bella’s truck and hid her from view. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she felt strangely warm under her sweater. She was slipping across the icy pavement, barely managing to stay upright in her haste to get across the several yards that separated her from Bella. Someone was suddenly at her side, steadying her as she almost lost her balance completely. She swivelled her head around to catch sight of Jasper Hale holding her elbow, his strange golden eyes staring down at her. She whispered a quiet thank you as he let her go and she continued to hurry to her sister.

The van was stopped by the time Lizzie reached it, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Edward Cullen jump over the back of Bella’s truck. Lizzie yanked off her jacket, intending to use to stop any bleeding as she mentally cursed out the driver.

Oh hey, Tyler.

Stupid Tyler.

Lizzie collapsed in front of her sister, who was lying on the ground shell-shocked and staring white-faced at the van that was mere inches from her face. After a quick scan to ensure that she wasn’t bleeding, Lizzie pulled her sister tightly against her. “Oh Bella, I was so scared,” She mumbled into her sister’s shoulders. Lizzie was shaking as the silence descended on them. She felt Bella tense for a moment, before gradually relaxing. Her arms came up around Lizzie and for one small moment it was just the two of them; Bella shivering from the cold and Lizzie shaking from the adrenaline still rushing through her veins.

And then they found them, a crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces, shouting at each other, shouting at Bella.

"Don't move," someone instructed.

"Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.

Lizzie looked up sharply, not letting Bella out of her arms. “Don’t you dare!” She called. “Tyler stays where he is until the paramedics get here!”

Thankfully people had enough common sense to listen to her, and instead, they worked on making sure he stayed awake. In the freezing weather and with the blood he was losing, if Tyler went to sleep now he might never wake up again. Sirens wailed in the distance, coming closer and closer with every passing second. Lizzie only let the EMT pull Bella from her arms when the older man, Brett Warner, reassured her that Bella wasn’t injured. Bella flushed a bright red as a neck brace was put on her neck, but thankfully she didn’t try to pull it off.

Charlie showed up as they put Bella in the ambulance, worried almost out of his mind. His cruiser was lit up like a beacon, the red and blue lights flashing even when he cut the sirens.

"Bella!" he yelled in panic when he recognized her on the stretcher. Lizzie was sitting in the ambulance, slightly out of sight, so it took him a second longer to find her.
"I'm completely fine, Char — Dad," Bella sighed. "There's nothing wrong with me."

Her reassurance hardly soothed his dread and he insisted on talking to the EMTs for a second opinion. Lizzie, however, caught her almost slip-up. So she still considered him as Charlie and not Dad. Lizzie’s jaw jumped but she decided not to dwell on it. She had more pressing matters to deal with.

Charlie refused to let Lizzie go to school until she was checked for any lingering or delayed shock. As he was arguing this point, the ambulance drove away and he decided that she needed to come with him to the hospital, which was about as pleasant an outcome as Lizzie could have hoped for.

"Dad, please don't send me to Dr Cullen," Lizzie begged as they pulled into the hospital parking lot. She was trying her damnest to avoid Edward, and that was a lot harder if she was going to go see his brother in law.

"You know my opinion on avoiding the Cullens," Charlie said sternly, assisting her out of the car. She grumbled a bit, disgruntled, but allowed him to check her in.

She soon found herself shoved off in some corner room, wrapped in a blanket and waiting for the model doctor. The hospital staff put Lizzie in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. Bella was there too, and Lizzie encouraged everyone to worry about her. After all, Lizzie wasn’t even involved in the crash; she was just there for the shock.

When the nurse walked away, Bella quickly unfastened the Velcro and threw it under the bed. Lizzie gave a small cry of disapproval, as no one knew yet if she was injured, but Bella ignored her.

There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought to the bed next to them. Lizzie had been right; it was Tyler Crowley beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. Tyler looked a hundred times worse than either of them felt. But he was staring anxiously at Bella through the one eye peeking out from the bandages.

"Bella, I'm so sorry!"

"I'm fine, Tyler — you look awful, are you all right?" As she spoke, nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallow slices all over his forehead and left cheek. He ignored her question, babbling on.

"I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast, and I hit the ice wrong…" He winced as one nurse started dabbing something on his face. Lizzie winced with him; maybe he was the one who needed to get checked for shock.

"Don't worry about it; you missed me."

"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone…"

"Umm… Edward pulled me out of the way."

Lizzie looked sharply at her sister, who was avoiding all eyes. Edward Cullen? How the hell did Edward get to her so quickly?

He looked confused. "Who?"

"Edward Cullen — he was standing next to me." Bella has always been a terrible liar; even Tyler could tell that she didn't sound convincing at all. But he went along with it, strangely okay with ignoring that Bella was lying about something like that. Lizzie narrowed her eyes at her sister. What was she hiding?

"Cullen? I didn't see him… wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?"

"I think so. He's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher." The nurse wheeled her away then, to X-ray her head. Lizzie curled up on her own bed, tucking a hand under her head and closing her eyes as Tyler kept up a mumble of apologies when Bella returned. It took a long moment, but finally, something jolted her out of her resting position.

"Is she sleeping?" a musical voice asked. Lizzie’s eyes flew open.

Edward was standing at the foot of Bella’s bed, smirking at her. She too had been lying down, and she propped herself back up, glaring at him. Lizzie increased the effect by adding her own glare, even though Edward hadn’t even glanced at her. His eyes remained firmly on Bella.

"Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry —" Tyler began.

Edward lifted a hand to stop him. "No blood, no foul," he said, flashing his brilliant teeth. He moved to sit on the edge of Tyler's bed, facing Bella. He smirked again. "So, what's the diagnostic?" he questioned.

"There's nothing wrong with me at all, but they won't let me go," She complained. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"

Lizzie’s nose wrinkled. As much as she despised Edward; he still had saved her sister somehow. Bella’s shortness with him confused her. With the roles had been reversed, Lizzie would have been just like Tyler, only thanking him over and over instead of apologizing.

"It's all about who you know," he answered. "But don't worry, I came to spring you." Then Dr Cullen walked around the corner, and Bella’s mouth fell open. Lizzie would have laughed at her expression if she hadn’t witnessed several people do it before her. Dr Cullen was young, blond and more handsome than most movie stars. He was pale, however, and had the same strange flawlessness as the rest of his family.

"So, Miss Swan," Dr Cullen said coming to a stop at the end of Bella’s bed, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Bella sighed, rolling her eyes slightly.

Dr Cullen walked to the lightboard on the wall over her head and turned it on. "Your X-rays look good," he said. "Does your head hurt? The EMT said you must have hit it pretty hard."

"Its fine," Bella repeated with a deeper sigh. The doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along her skull and Bella winced.

"Does that hurt?" he asked.

Bella’s chin jerked up a bit. "Not really."

Lizzie heard a chuckle and looked over to see Edward's patronizing smile. Her eyes narrowed at him and she scowled.

"Well, your father is in the waiting room — you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all."

"Can't I go back to school?"

"Maybe you should take it easy today."

She glanced at Lizzie, trying to ignore Edward. "Does she get to go to school?"

Lizzie shrugged. “I hope not.”

"Actually," Dr Cullen corrected, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room."

"Oh no," Bella moaned, covering her face with her hands. Dr Cullen raised his eyebrows.

"Do you want to stay?"

"No, no!" She suddenly insisted, throwing her legs over the side of the bed and hopping down quickly. Too quickly it seemed — she staggered, and Dr Cullen caught her.

"I'm fine," Bella assured him again. “My balance problems have nothing to do with hitting my head.”

"Take some Tylenol for the pain," he suggested as he steadied her.

"It doesn't hurt that bad," Bella insisted, carefully removing herself from Dr Cullens’ careful grasp.

"It sounds like you were extremely lucky," Dr Cullen said, smiling as he signed her chart with a flourish.

"Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me," She amended with a hard glance at the subject of her statement.

"Oh, well, yes," Dr Cullen agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him. Then he looked away, at Lizzie, and walked over to her. “Miss Swan." He greeted again.

"Hey, Dr Cullen." Lizzie sighed. "I promise I wasn’t apart of the accident.”

As soon as the doctor's back was turned, Bella moved to Edward's side.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" She hissed under her breath. He took a step back from her, his jaw suddenly clenched. Lizzie watched them carefully over Dr Cullen’s shoulder.

"Your father is waiting for you," he said through his teeth.

Bella glanced back at Lizzie and Dr Cullen. "I'd like to speak with you alone if you don't mind,"

Dr Cullen laughed; bringing her attention back to him as Bella followed Edward out of the hospital room. Lizzie’s stomach clenched and it took all her willpower not to jump off the bed and follow them. "Yes. And, before you ask, everyone seems to be on the path to recovery, although I haven't heard how you were involved."

“I wasn’t,” Lizzie promised. “I was by my car, just getting out when I saw Tyler’s van skidding towards Bella. I didn’t even have time to make it across the few yards before it was all over.”

“Well then, Miss Swan, it seems like you were very lucky.”

Lizzie nodded in agreement. Dr Cullen signed her papers and was about to leave when Lizzie interrupted. “Actually, Dr Cullen, would you mind telling Jasper "thank you" for me? He caught me when I slipped and I don’t think I expressed my gratitude.”

Dr Cullen smiled warmly at her. “Of course.”

“Thank you.”

As Dr Cullen turned his attention to Tyler, Lizzie slipped her shoes on and quietly padded out the door. Dr Cullen was right; it seemed like every student from Forks High was in the waiting room, most giggling over the fact that they could get out of school for the day.

Amara and Ginny rushed up to Lizzie, their faces bloodless and drawn, and Lizzie welcomed their hugs. The physical contact grounded her and left her feeling much better. She buried her face into Amara’s shoulder and exhaled shakily. She was exhausted suddenly, a dead weight on her bones that made it hard to move.

"Let's go," Lizzie heard Bella urged.

Amara and Ginny were reluctant to let go and only did so after Lizzie promised to text them before she fell asleep and when she woke up in the morning. Amara made her swear that she’d let them pick her up in the morning, and Lizzie willingly agreed.

They drove home in silence.

When they got to the house, Charlie finally spoke. "Um… you'll need to call Renée." He hung his head, guilty. Lizzie was halfway through a yawn when Bella responded.

"You told Mom!" She sounded appalled, which confused Lizzie. Was it wrong for Charlie to call Renee? It seemed like a smart thing to do; after all, Renee was still Bella’s primary guardian and parent.

"Sorry." Charlie apologized quietly as Bella slammed the cruiser's door a little harder than necessary on her way out. Lizzie shook her head in surprise. Was it normal to act this way whenever someone showed concern? Lizzie was grateful that Charlie cared enough to send her to the hospital, even if she did have to interact with Edward, and she wasn’t even the one that was in the accident.

Keeping true to her word, Lizzie messaged both her friends on her way up the stairs. She was so tired, her eyes were burning and every time she blinked she had to struggle to open them again. Charlie sent her upstairs without too much fuss and Lizzie only bothered to yank her shoes off and wriggle out of her pants before flopping into her bed.

Yanking the covers up to her ears, Lizzie rolled over and was asleep in minutes.

The next morning, Lizzie barely had time to get dressed before Amara and Ginny arrived. The tall girl barged into her room, ignoring Lizzie’s yelp as she hurried to yank her shirt over her head. “Amara!”

“Lizzie! I’m glad you’re awake, I was worried that you’d still be sleeping.”

Ginny walked in at a much slower pace, a sheepish smile on her face. “Sorry,” she mouthed. “I tried.”

Amara bundled Lizzie up so thoroughly that Lizzie had to gently remind her friend that she would still need to walk and sit down during school; although there was no malice in her voice. Instead, Lizzie felt an overwhelming love for her friends.

They tried to follow Lizzie to classes, but when she promised to find them in between her every class they did depart to their respective classes. Ginny held Lizzie’s hand up until she was walking away, and even then the two girls were watching her until they rounded the corner.

Lizzie shook her head, smiling softly, as she turned to walk towards her own class. She arrived early, before anyone else. The room was almost eerily silent.

It made the hair stand up on the back of her neck.

“Mr Jefferson?” Lizzie called, looking around. “Hello?”

There was no response.

He definitely should have heard her. Maybe he was in the back in the supply closet?

Lizzie moved slowly to the closed door, pushing it open gently.

“Mr Jefferson?”

She looked around and then froze, staring at the thing on the floor. For a moment, Lizzie didn’t believe what she was looking at. Her mind was refusing to process it. She just stood there, staring dumbly at the man who lay on the ground, facing away from her, his form still, and his skin was an unnatural pale with deep, ugly gashes over his body.

David Jefferson lay dead before her.

Lizzie screamed.

Chapter Text

 For the second time in two days, sirens wailed in the parking lot of Forks High. Only this time, it was for something much more gruesome than a simple car accident.

Lizzie sat, wrapped in a garishly bright orange blanket, on the edge of the ambulance. She stared blankly into the distance as a medic carefully checked her vitals. Everything seemed muted and distant, like she was looking through a window at the scene. Students milled around on the other side of the yellow tape, staring in horror as a gurney was rolled out with Mr. Jefferson’s body covered in a heavy sheet to prevent blood from soaking through.

Lizzie’s eyes followed the path the gurney took, her hands tightening on the edges of the blanket. Charlie had been one of the first people on the scene, and after ensuring his daughter was physically safe and turning her over to the paramedics, he was now combing through the crime scene. Forks wasn’t quite big enough town to officially have a corner, but Dr. Cullen was more than willing to assist.

In the distance, at the very front, Lizzie could see Amara and Ginny watching her desperately, unable to be with their friend until Charlie gave the okay. Lizzie could just barely see Bella at the edges of the crowd, but she didn’t try and get closer.

“Miss Swan?”

Lizzie only faintly heard her name being called and she slowly came back to herself, blinking.

“Miss Elisabeth?”

It was Dr. Cullen, his golden eyes concerned as he gently placed a hand on her arm. Lizzie flinched imperceptibly, tensing inwards as she rejected the sensation. Dr. Cullen saw her reaction and removed his hand, quietly apologizing. “How are you feeling, Elisabeth?”

Lizzie blinked. How was she feeling? She wasn’t sure; everything was so dull and she felt so separated from the situation. “I don’t know Doc,” she finally admitted. “I should be freaking out right now, but everything feels so disconnected. If I wasn’t sitting in an ambulance surrounded by police cars and seeing the gurney, I wouldn’t even believe what I had seen.”

Dr. Cullen nodded. “You’re experiencing what is called acute stress reaction. It’s very common in people who have witnessed traumatic experiences. Some of the common symptoms are exactly what you’re describing; numbness, derealisation. For the next few days you might experience continued re-experiencing of the event via thoughts, dreams, or flashbacks. It shouldn’t last any longer than a week; if it does I’d like for you to come and see me.”

Lizzie nodded her agreement. She could do that. Dr. Cullen’s low, calm voice helped relax her from her tight, hunched over position and she managed a small smile. “Thank you.”

Dr. Cullen patted her shoulder and headed back to Charlie. Amara and Ginny rushed towards her; they apparently had been waiting until Dr. Cullen moved to do so. Charlie waved them on, so it took seconds before Lizzie was enveloped in twin hugs. Amara was sobbing openly, and Ginny patted her back as she hugged Lizzie.

“I’m never letting you out of my sight again,” Amara gasped, pulling back enough to examine her friend’s face. “I’m gonna come live at your house and everything.”

A small giggle burst from Lizzie’s lips as Amara pulled her back into the hug. “I don’t think Charlie would argue too much with you,” she said, her voice still flat and blank.

Ginny nodded solemnly, her already pale face white as a sheet and portraying her worry. Lizzie wrapped an arm around her waist and mumbled reassurances to her reserved friend.  They sat there for what could have been hours, connected by fear and relief and a desire to protect each other.

In the weeks that followed, Lizzie started running again. Normally she only ran during the summer and dryer months, but after three days of being cooped up in the house Lizzie was anxious to start moving. She had a week of excused absence from her responsibilities, but Dr. Cullen had been right. The first three nights were horrible, and Lizzie woke up Amara and Ginny each time. The two girls had remained faithfully by her side, even if the school didn’t allow them to change class times.

So early Monday morning Lizzie woke up, slipped downstairs, and left a note for her housemates. She took off into the woods that bordered the front lawn.

Her lungs were on fire and her heart was about to beat out of her chest. It was a strange sensation, she had discovered, being so pained but unable to stop moving. Her bones were made of lead, but some unknown energy forced them to continue to work with her strained muscles and have her continue through the heavy woods along the rivers edge. She ignored her thoughts, the memories trying to force their way out. She wouldn’t give in.

She couldn’t. Not if she wanted this to work.

She pushed herself harder, faster, and the trees in her sight began passing with startling frequency as she raced past them. She was just about to round a bend when, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something she wasn’t quite expecting.

Lizzie’s feet skidded against the dirt path she was on, and in her haste to stop moving she landed hard, rocks embedding themselves into the soft part of her palms. Her heartbeat increased dramatically and began pounding in her ears. She was face to face with the biggest wolf she had never seen; as tall as a horse and as dark as midnight. The wolf seemed just as surprised to see her as she was too see it, and it sat back on its hind haunches. The ground shook.

The wolf's eyes were dark, very nearly black. It gazed at her, the deep eyes seeming too intelligent for a wild animal. Slowly, Lizzie’s breathing slowed and smoothed out. The wolf didn’t seem interested in attacking her, so she carefully examined it. Her original assumption was correct; it was enormous — as tall as a horse but thicker, much more muscular. The long muzzle opened, revealing a line of dagger-like incisors, only for the effect to be ruined by the long tongue that rolled out.

It looked like it was smiling now.

Lizzie felt her own mouth lift into a small smile, and she carefully rose. The wolf followed her movements, and as soon as it saw that she was standing and okay, it turned around and vanished into the trees. Its footfalls were completely silent against the forest ground, and it was gone in seconds.

Lizzie watched its departure with sad eyes. For some reason it was comfortable to be around the wolf and it was the only living thing that hadn’t been stepping on eggshells around her.

Amara and Ginny were awake by the time she got back, and Charlie was gone. Breakfast was a quiet affair, and Lizzie wished her friends and sister a good day at school. Amara held onto her hand for as long as possible before Ginny coaxed her back outside.

Lizzie watched them leave from the porch, lifting her hand in farewell until the car had rounded the bend and was out of sight. Lizzie milled around outside for a moment longer before she sighed and trudged back into the house. Only a few more days and she could go back.

The only good thing about the first accident was that it got Edward and Bella to separate for a bit. However, this also meant that every other boy in Forks High swarmed in to fill the gap. Which, strangely enough, made all the girls upset.

All of them.

Including Bella.

It went like something like this, or so Lizzie learned her first day back:

Mike passive aggressively rejected Jess when she asked him to the spring dance. Tyler was starting to ignore Lauren, and also asked Bella to ask him to the dance. And poor Eric was shot down so thoroughly that he wasn’t even looking at Bella anymore

There were a couple other boys, of course, but none of them actually had the courage to act on it; they just hung around staring like brain dead hyenas until Lizzie reappeared to chase them away. This was quickly becoming her only interaction with Bella: at home, she liked to be alone with her thoughts and Lizzie had grown bored with chasing her around to ask her questions. At school, Lizzie felt obligated to shoo away the people trying to do exactly what she had been trying to do at home and then Bella would smile at her and then they'd move on.

At home, it felt like she'd never really left Phoenix. The worst part for Lizzie was knowing that Bella had no idea what she was doing. Bella was a loner, shy type: she had no idea how either Charlie or Lizzie felt, walking around their own home with someone who never really talked to them.

Bella was busy in the kitchen when Lizzie returned home, and so she left her sister alone and headed up the stairs to start on her homework. Ginny had brought over all missed assignments during the week she missed, so thankfully there wasn’t much she had to catch up on.

Charlie seemed suspicious when he came home and smelled the green peppers. Lizzie couldn't blame him — the closest edible Mexican food was probably in southern California. Dinner was quiet until the end, when Bella interrupted it.

“Dad?” She asked when he was almost done.

“Yeah, Bella?”

“Um, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to Seattle for the day a week from Saturday… if that's okay?”

“Why?” He sounded surprised. Lizzie was too, if she was being honest. That was the day of the spring formal. With all the time Bella had spent obsessing over Edward, Lizzie was half expecting her to ask him.

 “Well, I wanted to get few books — the library here is pretty limited — and maybe look at some clothes.”

“That truck probably doesn't get very good gas mileage," he said.

“Bella can take my car,” Lizzie volunteered. “Amara, Ginny, and I weren’t planning on going so I won’t need it.”

“Still, Seattle is a big city — you could get lost," he fretted.

Both Lizzie and Bella squinted at him.

"Dad, Phoenix is five times the size of Seattle — and I can read a map, don't worry about it."

That was news. Bella could read a map?

"Do you want me to come with you?" Dad asked.

Lizzie snorted and choked on the chicken she'd been swallowing, wheezing as she tried to recover. Poor Charlie. Bella wasn’t giving him very many options, but he was still trying.

"That's… You okay, Lizzie?" Bella wondered. She nodded, her eyes watering.

"Okay… That's alright, Dad. I'll probably just be in dressing rooms all day." Nice save, sis. Lizzie tried to give her a thumbs up but was hit by more coughing.

"You sure you don't want to go to the dance?" Charlie said.

"I don't dance," Bella said with a wince.

Charlie nodded. Bella’s balance problems weren’t news to him either.

The next morning continued the differences from what Lizzie was calling the "Before-Bella era" and "After-Bella era". She flopped into her seat at lunch, still staring at the sight of Edward Cullen sitting alone. “What the hell is he doing?”

Amara shrugged, watching him with just as much interest. In the four years that the Cullens had been attending high school, they never sat alone. Or separated, for that matter. They always sat at the same table all other. Edward suddenly being by himself was jarring. Lizzie scanned the rest of the room and noted that he was the first one of his family to arrive.

When the rest of his family arrived, none of them looked surprised. Rosalie stalked past him without a glance, her face set in a deep scowl. Jasper gave him half a smile as he walked by and Emmett rolled his eyes and shook his head. Alice was beaming of course, her teeth shining too brightly. But they all walked past him to sit at their regular table.

Lizzie didn’t bother to keep watching him; Amara would inform her if anything else unusual happened. It didn’t take long. Amara’s foot connected with her shin and Lizzie looked up sharply. Amara nodded meaningfully at the place where Edward sat.

"Oh, what now?" Lizzie groaned, swinging around to give the cafeteria a once over. She froze in her place.

No.

"What's that, Lizzie darling?" Ginny asked; Lizzie was mouthing words helplessly as everyone snickered at the look on her face. Lizzie was struggling for words, the sight of Bella slowly sitting down across from Edward the biggest shock yet.

"What the hell!?" She exclaimed, her voice so loud that several people at other tables turned to stare at her in horror. She hadn’t meant to be so loud, but her shock was slowly turning into anger.

Amara and Ginny burst into laughter and across the cafeteria; a certain young man looked over her sister's shoulder and met Lizzie’s eyes with an amused look. She saw him look back to Bella and mutter something, saw her shake her head, and finally realized her mouth was hanging open and everyone in the area was now staring at either her or them.

Attempting to gain control of herself and still fighting back the surprising amount of rage she felt, Lizzie turned back to the table and stared bloody murder down at her pizza. It was taking every once of her willpower to remain in her seat and the hand that was holding her soda tightened. The metal crumpled under her unrelenting fingers.

"You still with us, Swan?" Amara asked, a bit kinder now.

Lizzie’s jaw twitched and she shook her head. After everything Edward had done to Bella, after every time he made her doubt herself, or question those around her, or fall asleep crying, and she still went to him willingly. She stood up abruptly, her chair squealing against the waxed floor. “I’ll see you two later,” she bit out.

She stomped to the door, glaring daggers at Edward as she passed him. Both he and Bella were watching her; almost everyone was, but she continued to glare at him. He seemed almost surprised at the amount of anger in her eyes, and Lizzie silently willed him to realize that he wasn’t getting to her sister without a fight.

As she continued her trek to her car, she felt her anger ebb into calmness. She was still pissed, she knew that, but for some reason she didn’t feel angry anymore. She paused outside her car and closed her eyes, rubbing at her forehead. She was tired. She was tired and angry and bitter. Even after all her efforts, she still felt bitterness towards her sister.

Lizzie felt like crying as she finally got into her car. Rubbing her eyes angrily, she quickly left the school grounds behind.

By Friday, Edward and Bella’s lunch together was all anything anyone could talk about. Lizzie very nearly got into her first ever actual physical fight with a sophomore boy, had it not been for Jasper Hale’s quick involvement. With a few muttered words he sent the other boy running and turned back to Lizzie.

She was staring after the boy, her face warm and her eyes burning with unshed tears. With gritted teeth she swore quietly and flopped down right there in the middle of the lawn in front of her art class. Crossing her legs under her, Lizzie leaned forward until she could feel the grass tickling her forehead. Slowly she felt her frustration and anger ebb away.

When she finally did sit back up, Jasper was still sitting next to her. Or rather, he was sitting within range, but he was a little further than most people would be.

“How do you do it?” Lizzie blurted out. “How do you ignore all the rumors and crap?”

His brilliant, strangely golden eyes evaluated her for a long second. Lizzie realized that maybe that wasn’t a question she could just ask anyone and she opened her mouth to apologize when he answered her.

“I figured out that nothing they say will have any lasting consequence.” He spoke with a faint Southern accent; one Lizzie had never noticed before. He watched her as she nodded slowly, turning his words over in her mind. She supposed that he did have more experience than she did, since he and the rest of his siblings had probably faced the exact same thing in Alaska.

They sat in companionable silence until the bell rang. Lizzie had collected a small pile of grass during that time and with a sigh she scattered it around. Jasper was already on his feet, and he held out a hand to help her up. She was prepared this time, so when she came in contact with the strange cold hardness of his hand she didn’t even flinch.

“Thank you,” She murmured, brushing off the last few bits of grass that clung to her. “And thank you for the advice.”

Jasper simply nodded and passed her bag back towards her. They parted in friendly silence and Lizzie trudged to her car. She didn’t feel like eating at school today. Sending a small text to her friends so they wouldn’t worry, Lizzie relished in the emptiness of the house.

That night at dinner, Charlie seemed enthusiastic about the trip to La Push in the morning. Lizzie was talking about how excited she was to finally make it to the beach for her project when Bella interrupted.

"Dad, do you know a place called Goat Rocks or something like that? I think it's south of Mount Rainier," Bella asked causally, although Lizzie’s eyes narrowed slightly. Edward must have mentioned something.

"Yeah — why?"

She shrugged. "Some kids were talking about camping there."

"It's not a very good place for camping." He sounded surprised. "Too many bears. Most people go there during the hunting season."

"Oh," she murmured. "Maybe I got the name wrong."

On Saturday, Lizzie opened her eyes to see a clear yellow light streaming through my window. Clouds ringed the horizon, but a large patch of blue was visible in the middle with the sun shining brightly.

In the Newtons' Olympic Outfitters parking lot Lizzie recognized Mike's Suburban and Tyler's Sentra. As she followed Bella’s trunk into the parking lot and pulled up next to their vehicles, she could see the group standing around in front of the Suburban. Eric was there, along with two other boys Lizzie faintly recognized, Ben and Conner. Jessica was there, flanked by Angela and Lauren. Anna, Lucy, and Ginny stood with them. Anna gave Bella a dirty look and Lizzie recalled that Bella had fallen over her during Gym. Lizzie snorted as she went to stand with Ginny.

"You came!" Lizzie heard Mike call out, delighted. "And I said it would be sunny today, didn't I?"

"I told you I was coming," Bella reminded him.

"We're just waiting for Lee and Samantha… unless you invited someone," Mike added.

"Nope,"

"Will you ride in my car? It's that or Lee's mom's minivan."

"Sure."

He smiled blissfully. “You can have shotgun.”

Jessica was glowering at Mike now. Lizzie felt a sudden rush of sympathy for her new friend, and quietly offered her a seat in her own car. Jessica accepted without hesitation, turning her back on Bella and Mike. Lauren, Anna, and Ginny quickly claimed the other seats.

It was only fifteen miles to La Push from Forks, with gorgeous, dense green forests edging the road most of the way and the wide Quillayute River snaking beneath it twice. They rolled the windows down and Lizzie grinned the whole way. It had been a while since she could feel the rush of wind without it being biting cold or raining.

Lizzie had been to the beaches around La Push many times during her years living in Forks, so the mile-long crescent of First Beach was familiar. Yet it always took her breath away. The water was dark gray, even in the sunlight, white-capped and heaving to the gray, rocky shore. Islands rose out of the steel harbor waters with sheer cliff sides, reaching to uneven summits, and crowned with austere, soaring firs. The beach had only a thin border of actual sand at the water's edge, after which it grew into millions of large, smooth stones that looked uniformly gray from a distance, but close up were every shade a stone could be: terra-cotta, sea green, lavender, blue gray, dull gold. The tide line was strewn with huge driftwood trees, bleached bone white in the salt waves, some piled together against the edge of the forest fringe, some lying solitary, just out of reach of the waves. There was a brisk wind coming off the waves, cool and briny. Pelicans floated on the swells while seagulls and a lone eagle wheeled above them.

The group picked their way down to the beach, Mike leading the way to a ring of driftwood logs that had obviously been used for parties before. There was a fire circle already in place, filled with black ashes.

Lizzie and her small group of girls quickly ditched their bags. They all had come prepared, and so it didn’t take them long to shuck shirts and shorts and sprint the short distance to the water. There were shrieks all around as the four plunged into the freezing cold water, and Lizzie couldn’t help her gasp of surprise. Some of the boys joined them, a handful being kids from the reservation. She thought she recognized Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote among the group that joined them, but they were much taller and considerably buffer than she remembered.

By the time the ocean group left the water, the food was already being passed around, and the boys hurried to claim a share while Eric introduced them as they each entered the driftwood circle.

Ginny and Lizzie were the last to arrive, and, as Eric said their names, Lizzie noticed for the first time that Jacob Black was there. She waved at her somewhat friend; Charlie and Billy Black were friends and so Lizzie had spent a lot of time with Jacob growing up. He had always been closer with Bella however, as Lizzie preferred to join his older sisters in running around La Push. Lizzie sat next to Jessica with Ginny on her other side. Jessica enthusiastically invited both of them to go dress shopping with her and Angela in the next, and while Lizzie willingly agreed, Ginny had to decline as her grandparents were visiting over the week.

During lunch the clouds started to advance, slinking across the blue sky, darting in front of the sun momentarily, casting long shadows across the beach, and blackening the waves. As they finished eating, people started to drift away in twos and threes. Some walked down to the edge of the waves, trying to skip rocks across the choppy surface. Others were gathering a second expedition to the tide pools. Mike and Jessica headed up to the one shop in the village. Some of the local kids went with them; others went along on the hike. Lizzie decided to join them for a bit. Snagging her phone from her bag and wriggling back into her shorts, Lizzie followed the group along the short hike to the tide-pools.

Lizzie soon fell behind, more preoccupied with taking pictures for colour references than actually making it to the tide-pools. However, they all were still there when she broke through the emerald confines of the forest and found the rocky shore again. It was low tide, and a tidal river flowed past them on its way to the sea. Along its pebbled banks, shallow pools that never completely drained were teeming with life. Lizzie took a few more pictures of the large view that she could see before leaping around on a few of the flatter rocks to reach the largest tide-pool.

The bouquets of brilliant anemones waved ceaselessly in the invisible current, twisted shells scurried about the edges, obscuring the crabs within them, starfish stuck motionless to the rocks and each other, while one small black eel with white racing stripes wove through the bright green weeds, waiting for the sea to return. Lizzie was careful, and completely silent, as she leaned over the water to snap a few more pictures. Scanning over her collection, Lizzie nodded.

She had enough for now.