Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She’d been walking down the street when it happened - where from, she could no longer recall, and it wasn’t important anymore, in any case. Looking back, she was only just able to remember looking up, precious violin case strapped to her back, into a pair of bright yellow headlights. A fleeting second of horror, followed by a loud “bang!” was the only warning she got.The screams of onlookers as her throbbing body lay on the ground were fuzzy at best, and growing fuzzier still as the blackness around the edges of her vision grew to encompass everything.

Then, for a very, very long time, there was nothing.   

The next thing she became aware of, at the very edge of her consciousness, was a feeling of contentment welling in, like a warm blanket being thrown over you while you’re asleep, and the distant sound of someone speaking. Honestly, she almost resented the feeling. The darkness may have been cold, but it had been a comfortable cold, the way metal becomes almost pleasant after a time of wear, and she was reluctant to give it up. 

Nevertheless, she didn’t seem to have been given any choice in the matter, as after some unknown period of time had passed, there had been a light shining obnoxiously through the dark, like a spotlight aimed right at her face. After an eternity of darkness, it was both startling and unpleasant, and if she had had her way, she would probably have turned her metaphorical back on it and gone right back to sleep - or whatever you would call it  - but once again, no such choice was awarded her. 

Instead, she was shoved into the world head first, greeted by noise and colours and smells, somuchtoomuchstopitstopitpleasestop! Sheer terror, that’s the only way she knew how to describe it. Terror and horror and hurt, dear sweet God, everything hurts!

She screamed, fought, cried and cursed whatever being had seen fit to bring her there against her will. Why?! She thought, What have I ever done you? What have I ever done anyone?! But when she tried to speak, to yell, nothing but wails came out, and so she cried like there was no tomorrow, because there was little else she could do, and the concept of tomorrow was long lost on her now. 

Later, her mother would always tell the story with a laugh, because, “It almost seemed like we had stolen you away from your real family or something, you were completely inconsolable! That is, until your father (these storytimes were the only times during which Rene called Charlie that) finally deigned to help. He leaned down, and whispered in your little ear-”

“Isabella. Bells. Don’t worry, daddy’s here.”

“- and if that isn’t the sweetest thing I ever heard your father say, I don’t know what is.”

Renee always liked to attribute her baby’s sudden silence to her father’s loving presence, but the reality was far less innocent. 

As she stared up at the unfamiliar face of the stubbled young man that was holding her so tenderly, Isabella - but that wasn’t her name, that wasn’t it at all - could only think: This must be a dream. Please, let it be a dream.

But it was not. 

- End of Ch. 1 - 

Chapter Text

At 7 months, Isabella spoke her first word. Renee, who had been in the middle of painting the kitchen ceiling, promptly fell off her stool in shock. 

At one years old, Isabella Swan wrote the word “hungry” on a paper towel. It has since been framed and proudly hung above the living room mantle, and several stories have been written on the “young prodigy”. 

By three years old, Isabella played the Violin like a ten-year old at least; by ten, her genius was undisputed. For some reason though, she refused to play on stage. 

At eleven, she started investing in stocks, and to everyone’s surprise, her predictions almost always came true. 

At thirteen, she had her first mental breakdown. It came out of nowhere, and Renee didn’t know what to do. Finally, she had no choice but to take Isabella to a therapist. As a result, the child became more withdrawn for a time, but at least one good thing came out of it: Isabella, who had previously refused to answer to anything else, asked her parents to call her “Bella”. 

Fifteen year old Bella Swan stood with her eyes closed, trying her best not to hyperventilate. This was a big step, and if tonight didn’t go as planned, she honestly didn’t know how she’d cope. Renee was around somewhere, probably just as nervous, but Bella couldn’t think about her right now - couldn’t think about anything except what she was going to do out there. 

“It’s ok,” she whispered to herself, “If this doesn’t work out, I’ll just have to try again, as many times as it takes.” Or find a new hobby, she mentally added in her therapist’s slightly dry tone of voice. 

But no, she was going to do great, she knew these notes like the back of her hand. Somewhat calmer, she took a deep breath and looked around at the general chaos that was the backstage, letting the familiarity of it all soothe her fraying nerves until she felt almost normal again. 

“One minute to!” Someone shouted, and somehow the collective stress level rose another notch, until people were literally tripping over themselves in their hurry to get everything finished on time. 

She was told to prepare and suddenly Charlie, who had remained as solid as a cliff during the whole ordeal, but had been staying away for her sake, was there with a steadying hand on one shoulder and a gruff, “You’ve got this, Bells.” Renee, in turn, gave her a tearful kiss on the cheek and any number of sweet reassurances that honestly fell on deaf ears. Then, finally, she was ordered onstage by an incredibly harried-looking woman with a clipboard; the curtains parted, the room silent as the grave as she walked to stand in the spotlight. 

For a moment, she froze, the stares of hundreds of eyes making her breath quicken and hands tremble, but then it was like something inside of her just remembered knew what to do. Her hands rose to position, chinrest and fingers in place, and she played. 

Sound flowed from her hands like a river, tones dancing in the air in spiraling ribbons of continuous wonder; gentle, almost questioning at first, but growing in confidence and resonance as the performance came to its peak. 

The audience sat, transfixed, even as she played her last note, so high it seemed almost a surprise it didn’t sprout wings and fly. For several breaths, not a sound could be heard, then the first person clapped, and the second, and the third, until it felt like the smattering of hands coming together should be able to be heard for miles.  

Bella, formerly known as Lillian De Clarke, closed her eyes and felt, for the first time since the day she opened her eyes in that hospital room so many years ago, whole. 

Then and there, she decided that whatever happened in the future, whatever creatures or evils she would have to encounter in this new life, it didn’t matter. She would treat it all like an adventure, and when or if she happened to die again? It would have been worth it, heartache though this new life had brought her. 

After all, it had given her this. 

-  End of Ch. 2    -

Chapter Text

“Are you sure you want to go?” Renee asked worriedly, for what was probably the tenth time that morning. 

Bella sighed. They were at the airport, her flight was due for boarding in 20 minutes, and still Renee refused to give up. Bella didn’t recall it having been this difficult for the original Bella to leave in the books, but then again, the readers were never given that much detail about this part of Bella’s life, probably to make the whole leaving-her-mom-to-think-she-was-dead part seem less douchey than it actually was. Or maybe Renee was more worried about her than she would have been for the original Bella, given that she did have a history of psychological breakdowns. Well, either way, her mom would have to learn to let go. 

“Yes, I’m sure, mom,” she stated patiently, as she had every other time the question had come up, since the very day she told Renee she was leaving. 

Renee didn’t seem anymore appeased to hear it now than she had any of the previous times. She bit her lip and looked down, looking more like a guilty child than the adult she was supposed to be. 

Bella really didn’t want to hurt her, but she had to go. Not, she told herself, because she was curious about the supernatural beings she was going to meet, but because it was the path that fate had chosen for her. And given that fate had given her a second chance at life, she thought she owed it this, at the very least. 

She didn’t have to fall in love - wouldn’t, at that, given that she’d always thought Edward awfully moody and bland - but she had to be there , she could feel it. Besides, it’d be an adventure, a chance to let go and be a normal high schooler for once. With a sprinkle of the supernatural thrown in, of course, but who wouldn’t want the chance to meet a vampire, or even a werewolf, at that? She didn’t have to get involved, but witnessing something so magical was bound to be interesting, at least. 

The announcer’s voice sounded overhead, calling for boarding, and Renee sighed, finally seeming to give up. Her eyes were shiny when she looked up, her hands gripping Bella’s almost painfully. 

“You’re sure you won’t regret this, darling? Juilliard… It’s a big opportunity you’re giving up.”

“Mom, I told you, I want this. I have to go.”

“Okay baby, as long as you’re happy,” Renee smiled tearfully, “Don’t forget to write, and just tell me if you want to do a show - I’ll make it happen. The school promised to give you creative freedom, remember.”

“I will. Bye mom, I love you.”

“Love you more, darling.”

They hugged, and after one last shared smile, she went on to board the plane. Looking out the tiny airplane window, violin case clutched to her chest, another on the floor in between her legs, Bella couldn’t keep herself from smiling, even through the dread. 

She was finally on her way. 

The plane landed in Port Angeles in the early afternoon. It was raining, and Charlie was waiting for her in his police cruiser, looking uncharacteristically nervous but happy to see her. 

“What?” She said, after they’d put her baggage in the trunk and were well on their way out of town. They’d exchanged hellos and hugged already, but she could tell that he had something on his mind that he wasn’t saying. 

Charlie glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, as though trying to figure her out, but then simply grunted, “Nothing.”

She raised an eyebrow in response, turning to stare at him until, finally, he sighed, giving in. 

“Fine. God, Bells, you always have to drag these things out of me.” He huffed, but it was clearly good-natured, “I’m happy you’re here, you know that, but I do worry that this wasn’t the best choice for you. Julliard -”

“Can wait,” she interrupted firmly. “My dear old pops can’t. What if you go and die on one of those dangerous stakeouts of yours? I would feel terrible if we never got the chance to live together before then.”

“Mhm.” 

“Really dad, I’m just sooo worried about you. I can’t sleep at night thinking about what might happen.” She affected a sniffle, but thought it might have been a bit over the top when she saw Charlie’s mustache twitch. Especially considering they both knew that the most dangerous situation his job as Chief of Police for the town of Forks had ever put him in involved an old lady, a bottle of mustard and a wayward cat.

He would have left it at that - Charlie was great that way - but Bella knew it would have bugged him, and there really wasn’t any reason why she couldn’t be at least partially honest with him. So she turned fully towards him the next time they came to a stop in front of a red light, and said, more seriously, “Look, I just want a year or two of normal, that’s all. You know what it’s been like - can’t you just be happy for me?” She trained him with her best puppy-dog look. 

Charlie was quiet for a good minute. In fact, the light had time to turn green again before he nodded once, resolutely, and that was that. The tension that had been present in the space between them disappeared, and they spent the rest of the journey in companionable silence, only broken occasionally by her tapping the rhythm of some pop song that was on the radio onto the glove compartment, or a quick exchange of smiles.  

When they arrived home a little over an hour later, Bella surprised herself with how nervous she was. The house that she had spent almost every summer of this life in felt almost foreign to her now. Probably because this time, her stay here would be permanent. 

“Everything alright there, Bells?” 

Bella blinked. She must have zoned out for a minute or two, because somehow Charlie had teleported onto the front steps with her bags and suitcases neatly stacked in two piles, waiting to be brought inside. 

“Everything is great,” she said honestly as she moved forward to help, “This is gonna be great, I can just feel it.”

Charlie blushed, “Uh well, I’m glad to hear that.”

Together, they brought her total of two suitcases, one carry-on suitcase, one hand-bag and two violin cases to her room upstairs. 

“Come down in an hour or so and we’ll have a late lunch, sound good?” Charlie said, before leaving her to her own devices. 

“Yup, perfect!” 

As soon as she was alone, she threw herself onto the bed, sighing heavily and trying to let the tension drain out of her muscles. So, she was finally here. The moment that she had been trying not to think too much about since the moment she realised just whose life she’d come to inhabit was here, and she didn’t quite know how to feel about it. 

She rubbed her eyes, and stared blankly around the room that some part of her had refused to believe was the same one that had existed in that story she’d read so long ago. It looked completely different to how it had been described in the original story: the walls were white, not purple; the fluttery translucent curtains gave the room an airy, unconcerned feel, and the furniture - a matching wooden dresser, desk, bedframe, bookshelf and chair, also in white but with accents of light wood - only compounded that impression. It might have felt impersonal, if not for the touches of herself that she could see strewn about the place - music sheets, books in piles in every corner because she’d run out of space on the bookshelves three summers ago, crystals and rocks she’d found on the La Push beach or bought with her own money, when she’d decided that she wanted to try to communicate with the universe through any means possible. She smiled fondly at that particular memory. 

A knock on the door interrupted her quiet musings, and she turned her head to see Charlie’s embarrassed face sticking in through the slight opening. 

“I- Uh, forgot to mention that I cleared some space for you in the bathroom.” He said sheepishly. 

She smiled fondly at him. Charlie truly was a great father. 

“Thanks, dad. I’ll be right down.”

Alone once more, Bella stretched, unpacked a few essentials and changed to something more comfortable - aka something without a bra - and went downstairs to make a quick but healthy lunch for them both. She spent the whole prep time bickering with Charlie about blood sugar and cholesterol, and all of lunch updating him about her current training schedule and musical goals. 

The afternoon was spent unpacking, and they went to the diner for dinner since it was her first night back, and the trip had taken a lot out of her. Still, she made sure to practice about an hour or so before bed, using the electric violin with a headphone jack that she’d brought for just that purpose. 

Lying in bed that night, Bella was both excited about and dreading the day to come. Hopefully, she’d be able to observe the Cullens from a distance without getting involved. 

Fate, whatever you’ve got planned for me, I’m ready - but if you would be so kind as to let me have a good first day tomorrow, I’d appreciate it. 

Thus, her first day as a resident of the town of Forks came to an end. 

-- End of Ch. 3 --

Chapter Text

She woke up early enough that the sun had just started to rise above the horizon, about an hour earlier than she usually would, likely due to the slight time difference between Phoenix and Forks. The first rays of sunlight were colouring the sky a light baby pink, in stark contrast with the grey clouds that were looming on the horizon, as though waiting to gobble up what little light had managed to sneak its way through their normally impenetrable barrier. 

Bella yawned. She almost wished she could stay beneath the covers a little while longer, but force of habit made her get out of bed. Still half-asleep, she made her way to the window, and stood there admiring the sunrise even as the rainclouds drew steadily closer. She never did understand just why the original Bella hated this town so much. Sure, she thought, Phoenix was one kind of paradise, with its sun, desert sand and proximity to the sea, but all places had their charms, and Forks certainly wasn’t ugly. It was different, and maybe a bit much to bear the whole year round, but there was something captivating about the gloomy greenery nonetheless. 

Movement in her peripheral vision made her cock her head slightly to the side and focus on the tree on the other side of the glass. For a split second some small part of her almost expected to see a certain brown-haired vampire clinging to one of the branches, but of course that wasn’t the case. What reason would he even have to spy on her? They hadn’t even met yet. No, it was just a small, ordinary bird, sitting with its head tilted and looking at her as though questioning what she was doing up at such an ungodly hour. 

Slowly, Bella tilted her head in mimicry, mouthing, ”You’re not the only one who likes to watch the sunrise, you know.”

The bird, looking affronted, thrilled once before launching itself into the air and disappearing out of sight. 

Bella shook her head, laughing. Adorable. 

After changing into a pair of yoga pants and a sports bra, she did some light stretching and sun salutations, since she wasn’t in the mood for a harder workout that morning. When she was done with those, she simply sat trying to center herself for a few minutes. She focused on trying to draw a sense of peace into herself, figuring that she’d probably need all the help she could get that day. When her head and heart felt about as clear as she thought they were gonna get, she headed for the shower. 

As she rubbed herself clean beneath the hot rush of water she hummed, delighting in the feel of cleanliness and newness that the ritual brought. She imagined the water washing away all of the stress that she might have felt in connection to this day, leaving only good emotions behind. She wasn’t entirely successful - she could still feel a stirring of something like stress in the deepest pit of her stomach - but on the whole she felt a little calmer than she thought she would have, at least. 

Don’t make a big deal of it, she told herself, it’s just High School, and this is not your first rodeo. 

Feeling fairly optimistic, she dressed in a lacey white bralette, some worn-in light-wash jeans and a light pink cardigan that closed with a bow in the front. Then, she put on her usual assortment of small golden-hoop and crystal-stud earrings, a golden star necklace and a few stone-shard bracelets for good measure. She hadn’t wanted to travel with all of her usual jewelry because of airport security, and hadn’t realised how empty she’d felt without it until she put it back on just then. Finally, she put her shoulder-length hair up in a small ponytail, and went downstairs. 

She got started on breakfast, and since she had more time than usual, also made lunch for Charlie and herself - a simple buffalo-style chickpea wrap. She was just putting the finishing touches on the dish when a bleary-eyed Charlie shuffled into the room. 

Bella grinned at him. “Hey sleepyhead, you ready for a productive day down at the station?”

Charlie blinked, looking completely stumped. His eyes jumped from her, to the perfectly laid out breakfast buffé on the small kitchen table, to the rest of the food that was laying all over the counters, clearly meant for later.

“Uhh, yeah.”

Bella held back a snicker at the way he was so clearly confused.“Great, you want to shower first or do you usually start with breakfast?”

Seeming a little more awake now, he scratched his head, a small smile starting to form on his lips, “Breakfast looks great.”

“Cool.”

They sat down, both helping themselves to a little bit of everything. She’d had to make do with what little ingredients Charlie usually kept in the house, and it definitely could have been healthier, but despite the white bread, the ham, and the worryingly out-of-date cereal, she’d still managed to whip up some healthy options. The sauteed greens and roasted nuts were her personal favourite, despite the way Charlie wrinkled his nose at them. No matter, she thought, she’d get to him eventually. 

“So, Bells, when d’you get up?” He asked, as he spread some butter onto a piece of toast. 

“Not too long ago, pops, don’t worry.” She grinned knowingly at him. 

Charlie smiled back sheepishly. 

For the better part of breakfast they sat in silence, both enjoying each other’s presence without the need for words. By the time one of them spoke again, they had both finished their first round of food and were on to their second, which consisted mostly of a few nibbled bites here and there and a great helping of extra strong black coffee - if you were Charlie - and a depressingly black shot of espresso because you were out of options (and plant milk) - if your name happened to be Isabella Swan. 

“Excited for your first day of school?” he asked. She could tell that he was trying to sound nonchalant, and she appreciated the minimal fuss, so different from how her mother would have acted if she were there. 

Bella hummed thoughtfully, taking a sip of coffee before answering honestly, “I’m a little nervous, but optimistic, I think.” 

“You’ll do great. Your classmates are good kids (she kindly pretended not to hear the whispered “mostly” he coughed under his breath). They’ll love you.”

Heart warming, she looked at him and smiled, “Thanks, dad.”

He cleared his throat and looked away, spots of red starting to form once again on his cheeks. “I- uh- forgot to tell you. I bought you Billy’s old Pickup. Had them bring it over late last night.” He glanced at her. “Hope you don’t mind. I know you could have bought yourself something better, but we don’t know how long you’ll be staying yet, and I thought- it’s a great first car, a bit old maybe-” 

She got up, went around the table and threw her arms around him, hugging him as hard as her tiny arms could manage, “You’re the best.” 

He patted her back awkwardly, but sounded happy when he said, “‘Welcome, Bells.”

She let go of him, grinning. “Can I see it?”

“Sure, let me just-”

But she didn’t wait for him to finish. Instead she raced to the front door, pausing just long enough to stuff her feet into a pair of sneakers, and bounced outside. The old beat up thing - she still couldn’t get over the fact that he’d managed to smuggle it over last night without her noticing - stood out like a sore thumb against the grayish-green landscape, yet somehow seemed to fit in perfectly. It’s not what she would have picked - her tastes had always leaned towards more modern silhouettes - but she loved it nonetheless, for the simple reason that Charlie had gotten it for her. 

But it also reminded her of the original story, and a thought entered her head unbidden, accompanied by a sharp flash of pain in her chest: This wasn’t supposed to be mine. 

Charlie’s approaching footsteps made her shake the thought off. She wouldn’t be here if she weren’t meant to be, after all. The universe didn’t make mistakes. She turned around, grinning (and if it was a little less radiant than her first, Charlie didn’t seem to notice), “I love it.”

Charlie patted her head in reply, looking distinctly self-satisfied. It was a good look on him. 

After they’d finished admiring the car Charlie went to shower, and Bella, after cleaning up in the kitchen and packing their respective lunches, went upstairs to collect her bags - one containing school supplies, the other her electric violin. Charlie still wasn’t out by the time she had finished getting ready and she wanted to get to the school early, so she shouted a quick goodbye through the bathroom door and, upon receiving a ”Bye!” in return, bounded down the stairs and out the front door. 

The Chevy started with a rumble, the motor obnoxiously loud but still endearing somehow (or maybe that was her affection for Charlie speaking). The sky, now entirely covered by a thick layer of cloud, had decided to release a steady sprinkling of light mist onto the residents of Forks, but Bella wasn’t bothered. In fact, it was kind of refreshing after so many years of sunny weather, though she imagined that the novelty would wear off eventually. The car’s interior smelled distinctly of cigarettes, so she cranked the window open a bit, relishing in the feel of water on her face as she drove. 

It’d been a long time since she’d experienced rain like this. It reminded her of another life, where rain had been an every-day occurrence, not something to be treasured or sought after. For the duration of the short trip, she let herself reminiscence about those days - then she tucked the memories away behind a wall of smooth, impenetrable steel.  

Finding the school wasn’t difficult, even considering her less-than-stellar sense of direction. It was situated just off the highway, a sign reading “Forks High School: Home of the Spartans”, a pretty good clue to its location. A collection of matching maroon-brick buildings surrounded by trees and shrubs, it wasn’t much to look at - certainly not compared to her last school - but she could already tell that it was a close-knit community that she was about to become a part of, and a part of her was thrilled for the experience. 

She parked outside of a small building, the sign on the door proclaiming “Secretary’s office”. Immediately, she was hit by a sense of déjà vu, and suddenly she had to close her eyes and take a deep breath, then two, then three. Her hand went to her chest, fumbling around for the crystal that should have been hanging there, but that she hadn’t dared put on in addition to her other jewelry, for fear of too many questions. She didn’t know how long she sat there, hand cramping, heart racing, lost in a whirlpool of emotions that threatened to consume her, before her breathing finally slowed. 

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Ok . It’s ok, she told herself, You just have to let it hit and get over it. This is your life now. 

After a few more minutes of sitting in the car, rain pelting the tin-can roof, she felt back to normal again. More centered, more herself. Let’s do this. 

She got out of the car, locked it, and pushed the office door open. It was a small room, with an even smaller waiting area that consisted of a few folding chairs and two tiny tables. She bypassed those completely in favour of the desk at the front of the room, besides which there hung a bulletin board with a small selection of weathered-looking posters and flyers. Behind the desk sat a sweet-looking elderly woman with short, graying hair.

The woman looked up as Bella came to a stop before her, smiling curiously, ”Can I help you, dear?”

”Hi, I’m Isabella Swan. I came here to pick up my schedule? It’s my first day.”

”Oh yes of course, we’ve been expecting you.” Ms. Cope - according to her name tag - assured kindly, “Don’t you worry, Principal Greene will be by shortly to show you around the premises.”

“What?!” Bella screeched, suddenly horrified. This can’t be happening. “No, that really isn’t necessary-”

The front door opened, interrupting her very reasonably worded demand that she be left the fuck alone. A man with a thin frame and small squinty eyes stepped through the door, and Bella got the distinct feeling that she’d been had. 

Fuck. 

“Miss Swan, I presume?” The man eyed har calculatingly, something greedy hiding behind his perfect manners that Bella didn’t like one bit. She fought to suppress a shudder. 

“...Yes, that’s… Correct.” 

“Good. I presume Ms. Cope has filled you in?” He didn’t stop to wait for a reply. “I’ll be giving you a tour of the premises, along with a showing of the private practice room that you were promised.”

He turned his attention to the front desk, “Ms Cope, if you would hand the girl her schedule?”

As the poor secretary frantically searched through a pile of identical-looking papers, Bella saw her chance. She turned to the principal and said, as firmly as she could manage, “Principal Greene, while I do appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to show me around, I assure you that it won’t be necessary. I’m sure I’ll be able to find my way around, just like every other student in this school on their first day of class.” 

Mr. Greene turned to stare at her incredulously, “But you are not like any other student here Miss Swan, your achievements-”

“I suspect you’ll find that I’ll speak much more favourably of this school if its staff grants me the highest possible degree of normalcy, Mr. Greene,” she caught and held his gaze unflinchingly, “that was the agreement, after all.” 

“Hmp- Well I’ve never-” he sputtered. 

“Thank you Principal, truly.” 

He sputtered, mumbling about favours and ungrateful youths, but after what she’d said he really had no choice but to turn and leave. Bella tried not to revel too much in the satisfaction, but allowed a small pleased smile to escape, because really, she thought she’d earned it.  

As soon as the door hit his behind on the way out Ms. Cope started laughing.

 ”Oh my Lord, what I wouldn’t give to have that on tape. Margaret will be sad she missed it,” the woman chortled. “We’ve been waiting for someone to put that man in his place since the day he started.”

“Eh, you’re welcome,” she replied sheepishly, hoping against hope that rumour of the small confrontation wouldn’t spread past the office walls. 

“Now then,” the woman continued, still smiling brightly, while holding out a piece of paper, “Here’s your schedule, dearie. Is there anything else you need help with?”

“Actually,” Bella replied awkwardly as she took the proffered paper, “I was hoping you’d have a map of the school or something. You see, I’m actually not very good with directions…”

Ms. Cope smiled knowingly,“And you still turned him down, didn’t you? You really are something.”

Bella could actually feel herself starting to blush. She cleared her throat, “No comment.”

“Well, here you go sweetie,” the woman handed her a folded piece of paper from another pile, each fold seeming to house a map of one of the buildings (there were a lot of them), “Don’t be a stranger.”

”I won’t be, thank you Ms. Cope.”

She finally left the office, map and schedule clutched in one hand like a lifeline. Well, thank god that’s over with. She looked towards the main buildings. On to the next challenge, then. 

She drove the car around to park with the rest of the students on the student lot. Her car attracted some unwanted attention because of how loud it was, but Bella did her best to ignore the stares (that did not stop once she got away from the car anyway, so the chunky piece of metal probably wasn’t even to blame). 

She was early, so the parking was far from full, and the same went for the building corridors. Her first lesson, she learned after consulting the schedule, was Advanced Trigonometry with Mr. Miller in building 5. The building itself was easy to spot, but the room number took her a while to locate, and by the time she did about half the class had already arrived. 

She was shocked to find two impossibly beautiful faces among the crowd of seated students: a blonde woman who looked to just have stepped off of the cover of a magazine, and a big-muscled man with the body of a weight lifter and the face of a curly-haired cherub, also handsome beyond belief. The man looked up when she stepped inside, and grinned amusedly, sweeping his eyes around the room before turning back to stare at the woman as though she’d hung the sun and moon. The woman stared into empty space, only occasionally turning to meet her lover’s gaze, her face softening almost imperceptibly, before turning back to stone again as soon as she looked away. 

Emmet and Rosalie. What are they doing here? She didn’t recall them being older, but then again, it had been close to two decades since she last saw the movies, let alone read the books. She should probably come to terms with the fact that she didn’t remember everything now, before more surprises had a chance to sneak up on her.

Bella decided to ignore them for now, turning to the man seated behind the desk at the front of the classroom. “Mr. Miller?” 

The man looked up. “Yes?” 

“I’m Isabella Swan, I’m new.” She mentally resigned herself to repeating that line at least half a dozen times more before the day was over.“Is there a seating plan or…?”

A spark of understanding lit in his eyes, “Ah, Miss Swan, of course.” He rifled through a pile of books that laid on one corner of his desk, pulling one out and handing it to her. He then gestured to a chair in the middle-left side of the room, “Have a seat.”

She did, trying her best not to pay attention to the curious eyes she could feel trained on her from all sides. She kept busy, rifling through the book she’d just been given, not looking up until the chair next to her was pulled out, a body flung carelessly into it just before the last ringing of the bell. 

She glanced to her right, cringing and looking away when a pair of curious brown eyes met hers. She went back to her book, feigning ignorance and hoping the unfamiliar guy would do the same, or better yet, that the teacher would start speaking soon, thus impeding any attempts at communication.

No such luck. 

“Hey,” a voice to her right whispered. Bella closed her, resigned. 

“Yes?” She whispered back, without looking up, the “What do you want?” clearly implied. He didn’t respond, instead a finger started to poke her arm insistently. 

Patience, patience is a virtue , she reminded herself. She turned to face the guy for the second time, “Yes? What is it?”

He blinked at her, looking startled by her somewhat annoyed tone. “Hey,” he raised his hands in a motion of surrender,“I didn’t mean any harm. I was just wondering what you’re doing here, since I heard the transfer was a Junior. This is a Senior class.”

“I know,” Bella responded shortly, a bit mystified. What did he care? 

“...Cool, cool. Uh, so, is there a reason for that or…?”

She raised an eyebrow, trying to keep a stern face on, but inside she was growing more and more amused. Was he seriously feeling wary of her ? Not that she wasn’t flattered, but she was wearing a pink cardigan with a bow for God’s sake. 

“I’d already finished normal Trig at my last school,” she said shortly, leaving it at that. Three years ago, she didn’t add. 

“That’s awesome, think you can help a guy out then?” 

She turned to look at him, really look at him this time. He looked… Edgy? For lack of a better word. His hair was spiky and brown, his clothes were baggy and ripped and his face was handsome, by human standards. He had high cheekbones, a skin tone that hinted at a mixed, maybe hispanic background, and looked toned beneath the layers of clothing. More importantly though, his eyes were kind. He looked at her uncertainly when she didn’t answer, hands starting to tap out a nervous rhythm on the desk in front of him. 

She liked him, was the conclusion she came to - the way his appearance didn’t seem to match his personality at all felt familiar. Safe . But she still wasn’t about to make such a promise to a complete stranger. 

“Maybe,” she said. “We’ll see.”

At least the tapping stopped after that. 

At the front of the classroom, Mr. Miller finally clapped his hands, signalling for attention, the murmur of voices quieting down in response. When he looked her way, though, Bella knew she was screwed.

“Attention, class,” Mr. Miller called, “Today we have a new student joining us. As you may already know, she is a junior, but she’ll be taking a few classes with you upper years for private reasons.” He turned to her, saying exactly what she’d feared he was gonna say, “Miss Swan, why don’t you introduce yourself to the class?”

While damning him in her mind in every language she knew, Bella rose, a smile plastered on her face. She looked around the class as she spoke, very deliberately avoiding meeting anyone’s eyes. “Hi, I’m Isabella Swan, but you can call me Bella. I just moved here from Phoenix to live with my dad, and I’m taking this class because I already finished taking Trig 1 at my last school. I hope we’ll get along.” Then she sat down, very deliberately not giving anyone the time to ask any further questions. 

There were a few seconds of silence as everyone blinked, before Mr. Miller cleared his throat, thankfully moving on with the lesson. She took notes, following along with the explanations without difficulty. She couldn’t help but notice the guy to her right (she still didn’t know his name) though: the poor guy looked completely lost. At first, he scrambled to take notes, clearly trying and failing to understand the concepts behind them, but around the half mark of the lesson he gave up completely and started drawing doodles in the margins of his book instead. 

Bella sympathised with him. In her first life, she’d hated mathematics. She still didn’t love the subject, but thanks to her mother’s insistence she’d had a pretty advanced education back then, which meant that when she’d had to re-learn everything in this life, she already had a solid background to fall back on, and as her understanding of the subject grew, so did her enjoyment of it. 

When the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson, she’d made up her mind. She gathered her things, including her violin bag (which thankfully no one had seen fit to comment on so far), pausing just before leaving to say, “I’ll do it.” 

The guy looked up, “Huh?”

“I said I’ll do it, I’ll help you.” She looked down at his notes and took a chance. Smirking, she said, “You clearly need it.” She hoped he’d pick up on the playfulness in her tone. 

The guy blinked, then broke out in the happiest puppy-dog smile she’d seen maybe ever, and she suddenly didn’t know how she’d ever been able to see him as anything but the sweetest cinnamon bun ever. Now it was her turn to blink, as he hurriedly stowed his things in his bag and stood, practically bouncing on his feet, but trying not to show it. 

“When? Where? Can I say thank you before we’ve even started?” 

Bella laughed. “Dude, slow down. Can I at least get your name before we decide on the details?”

“Oh, yeah,‘course.” He held out his hand with a mischievous wink, “I’m Dante, Dante Wilds, but my saviour can call me whatever she wants.” 

She raised an eyebrow at the hand, but nodded at the name, before sweeping out of the classroom. It wouldn’t do to give the guy too much leeway. As she predicted, he followed. 

“So, where are you off to now?” He asked as they moved through the crowded corridor. 

“Building 7,” she answered, “and before you get too excited, I won’t be able to tutor you every day. Once or twice a week is all I have time for. Take it or leave it.” 

He moved faster until suddenly they were walking side by side. “That’s cool,” he grinned, “I think that’s all the extra maths I could stomach in a week anyway.” 

Bella tried really hard not to smile at that. She suspected she failed. Spectacularly.

“Listen, I have to run,” he said suddenly, “Ms. Jones is such a hardass. But you can join me for lunch if you want, and we can talk about it more then?” 

She thought about refusing just to see how he’d react, but she just couldn’t do it. 

“Ok.”

He beamed, then looked around, realised what he was doing, and toned it down a couple of notches. He coughed. “Great, see you then!” And then he really ran off. They were almost outside by then, so Bella had the distinct pleasure of seeing him run like a madman across the lot, students parting like the red sea before his flailing limbs. 

She chuckled, shaking her head, and headed for building 7, which was just two buildings over in a merciful stroke of logical planning. Was it sad that she’d almost gotten used to the staring by then?

It took her even longer to locate the room this time, since it once seemed to have been an out-of-the-way office of some sort. In any case, it was now her private practice room for the duration of her enrollment at the school, as per the agreement it had struck with her parents: the code to the keypad outside printed in small, almost indiscernible numbers on the top of her schedule. 

She put it in, waited for the light to turn green, and stepped inside, letting the door fall shut behind her. It was a good-sized room, a bit smaller than the average classroom, and it had clearly been prepped for her arrival. A large mat had been placed on the floor (for sound absorption); soundboards (for sound isolation) had been screwed into the walls, along with some acoustic panels here and there, and the only remaining furniture were three black plastic chairs and what looked like a lightweight Yamaha Folding Music stand. Perfectly usable, she just wouldn’t bring any larger books since the stand wasn’t equipped to hold them. All in all, the room was perfectly suited to her needs. Better than she’d expected, in fact. 

Motivated by that thought, she set her school bag down on one of the chairs, then moved it to stand against the wall. On the other chair she placed her violin case, opening it, as always, with great care, a part of her just as reverent as she was the first time she ever laid eyes on the instrument in her first life. She stroked it gently, before shaking herself and lifting it out. 

She got into position. 

This one time she played from memory, letting herself sink into the music in a way that you can only do when you’ve completely mastered a piece. She lost herself in the strokes; the ups and downs of the elbow; the back and forth of the hand; the organic pressing of finger against hard string, until eventually even that faded away, her body moving on autopilot, but never suffering for it. In fact, she and the music became one, so much so that when the bell signalling the end of second period rang, she jumped as though startled awake from a dream. A perfect, beautiful dream, to be exact, reality seeming bleak in comparison. 

As quickly and carefully as she could manage, she placed the violin back in its case, grabbed her other bag, and left, resolving to set a timer next time. 

According to her schedule she had two more classes before lunch, the first one being English with Mr. Mason in building 3. She had to jog to make it on time, since she was still incredibly confused by the way the room numbers seemed to be ordered completely at random, room 231 showing up after room 214 for seemingly no reason whatsoever. 

As soon as she stepped inside, a head at the back of the room snapped up. Bella tried her best to ignore it, she really did, but she was curious, so her best effort didn’t really last more than a couple of seconds. 

Their eyes met, and… Absolutely nothing changed. The world didn’t tilt on its axis; the oceans didn’t start to rise; the sun did not stop spinning. Well, she thought, that was anticlimactic. Edward did seem to be struggling though, she noted. The girl seated next to him, a petite woman with pixie hair - Alice, her mind supplied - seemed to be whispering to him, probably trying to figure out what was going on… And keeping him occupied. After all, it wouldn’t do for the guy to suck a fellow student dry in front of a whole class of witnesses. Bella wasn’t worried, though. The one thing Edward had going for him in the movies had been his self-control. In some aspects of his “life”, that did not involve sneaking in through girls’ windows, that was. 

Bella hadn’t expected to see him in this class, but then, she’d have to have met him sometime, and now was as good a time as any. Tearing her eyes away from his as nonchalantly as possible, she went to the teacher’s desk, repeating the same thing she’d said to the teacher of her last class. This one, too, handed her a textbook to use, but thankfully didn’t make her introduce herself to the class. One point goes to: Mr. Mason. 

Now, there was just one little hiccup to be resolved… Where to sit. She could practically feel the eyes of her future classmates measuring her up like vultures, as though waiting for a piece of juicy gossip to drop into their laps. She quickly concluded the vamps to be the safer option, marching to a seat just two chairs over from theirs (multiple chairs on either side of them standing curiously empty), and plopping down as self-assuredly as possible. When the eyes following her widened in response she simply smiled her sweetest smile at them, which morphed into a self-satisfied one once they turned around, mortified at having been caught. 

She pretended not to notice that the only two pairs of eyes that didn’t seem to be letting up, were the ones belonging to the people (and she used that term lightly) seated on the same row as her. Damn it, I probably should have gone human after all. Oh well, there was no helping it now. 

For the remainder of the lesson Bella focused on Mr. Mason’s lecture on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. They were to read the play in a month’s time, then write a paper relating it to the history of the time it was written. Bella tried not to be too excited, but only having read the play twice yet in this life, she was already looking forward to getting reacquainted with it. The theme of the paper was also eerily close to one she’d written in university, so maybe she could reuse some of its contents, since the paper hadn’t been written (yet?). 

When the bell rang, her intentions were to leave as soon as possible, but she was stopped by two factors: one, Edward had shot up as soon as the bell had rung, and had then proceeded to run away as fast as humanly acceptable (Bella tried her best to feel sympathetic, and she did , but that part of her was somewhat overshadowed by how funny it was to have a hundred year old vampire running away from her ), and two, an adorable (but deadly, she reminded herself) pixie-haired Alice had just moved to block her way, a curious tilt to her head and a smile on her lips that was clearly meant to be dazzling. 

“You must be Bella,” she said. 

“Jupp, that’s me,” Bella replied, as nonchalantly as possible. She can’t have seen something already, right!?

That didn’t seem to be the case, but Bella resolved then and there to be extra careful all the same. 

When Alice didn’t say anything else Bella cleared her throat pointedly, “Uh, is there something I can help you with?”

Alice blinked, “Shouldn’t you be asking me something else first? Or do you not care who I am?”

Damn it. Oh well, she could play it off easily enough. “I’m sorry, but I don’t really care who you are, and I’ve got places to be, so if there’s nothing else?” She gestured to where the girl was still blocking 

her way out. 

“Oh.” Bella tried not to feel guilty at how sad Alice sounded as she stepped aside, but it wasn’t easy. Her resolve lasted almost all the way to the door, but in the end, she caved. 

“Look,” she said, turning around a few paces short of the door, “don’t- I didn’t mean to be rude, I just have somewhere to be.” The way the vampire’s eyes lit up at that statement wasn’t creepy at all, she told herself. “See you later, weird girl. Maybe next time start by introducing yourself?”

She left without waiting for a reply. 

She was late for Spanish with Ms. Ferrera, and the only two seats left available were one in the back of the room, and another on the second row next to a blond girl with an excited smile on her face. Bella’s first instinct was to head for the seat in the back but she resisted, figuring that she should probably try to make some friends. Cautiously, she took the seat next to the girl, who beamed at her and immediately started shooting smug looks around the room. Oh, god, what have I gotten myself into?

“Hi, I’m Jessica Stanley,” the girl said excitedly, “You’re Isabella Swan, right? We’ve heard so much about you! Is it true that you’re here on a secret scholarship because you’re, like, a genius or something? And that you’re taking classes with the Seniors?” Her tone turned dreamy at the last part. 

“Uh, yeah, I’m Isabella, but you can call me Bella, everyone does.” Jessica kept staring at her excitedly, until finally she sighed, giving in, “I’m not here on some secret scholarship, but I am taking some classes with the upper years, since I already finished some of the classes offered here at my last school.” 

“So, you’re not a genius then?” Jessica sounded extremely disappointed by that discovery. 

“Some would say so I guess, but really I’m just a little quicker on the uptake than most,” Bella lied through her teeth. Well, technically she really wasn’t a genius, though to the people of this world it would certainly seem so. The only area of life where she may genuinely be considered a genius was her playing, and even in that department she never really considered herself a genius, as such. It’d taken her a lifetime (now two lifetimes) of hard work to get to where she was, after all. 

“Oh, well, that’s cool too I guess,” Jessica said slowly. 

Thankfully, Ms. Ferrera shot them a menacing glare for daring to talk during her lecture, and the girl shut up after that. 

Bella had had a lot of free time as a child and youth in this life (a stark contrast to her first, she considered bitterly) and had taken to starting and dropping a number of unusual hobbies at the rate of which they ceased to interest her. Spanish she’d been fairly interested in around the age of 10 or so, and some of the knowledge had stuck with her, though she was far from fluent. French was another matter, since she’d been fluent in that since child’s legs in her first life, but she hadn’t just wanted to coast through the subject at Forks, instead preferring to actually learn something new. Now though, she was wondering if she should have chosen the other subject after all, with how basic the teachings appeared to be. They were copying down verb tenses, for god’s sake. I’d probably get father studying the subject on my own with a textbook and a few movies, she thought. She resolved to order some more advanced books when she got home. 

Jessica kept sneaking her glances until they were divided into pairs (based on the seating arrangements, Bella noted resignedly). As soon as they were left alone to “discuss the tasks on page 21-27”, Jessica pounced. 

“So, Bella, how do you like Forks so far?”

“I like it fine,” she replied easily, going for nonchalance, “I did spend almost every summer and some winter breaks here, so I already kinda knew what to expect. School has been good so far, too.”

“Really?” Jessica’s eyes were round with surprise, “So you don’t, you know, miss the sun at all?”

Bella felt a sudden wave of affection for the blonde girl. She was so young, probably dreaming of traveling, seeing the world, falling in love. Maybe she’d judged her too harshly because of the original story. After all, Bella knew better than anyone what it felt like to be young, and unsure, and afraid of your own dreams; she also knew better than anyone that appearances could be deceiving. The idea that blonde girls who cared about their appearance were automatic bitches was such a freaking cliché - she would know, after all, she had been blonde once. 

She did her best to radiate as much sincerity as possible when she replied this time. “I do, Phoenix is beautiful, and I love it there, but I can always go back, and Forks has its charms, too. I truly don’t mind being here.”

Jessica looked startled by her reply, but as though sensing that this answer was much more sincere than the last few, her face turned thoughtful. She looked down, biting her lip in what looked like a nervous habit, before replying, “I guess I can see that,” she mumbled, “Though…I still wish I could have grown up somewhere more interesting than Forks .”

Whatever answer Bella had been about to give to that was interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing in the isle next to their seats. They both turned, a sense of doom falling over their table. Ms. Ferrera lifted a dark, perfectly plucked eyebrow, shooting their textbooks a very pointed look. 

“Chicas, would you like to explain why you are not doing the tasks?”

“Ms- Bella’s new, I was just trying to make her feel w-”

“Jessica solo quizó hacerme sentir agusta, lo siento profesora.”

More than one head turned around at that, mouths gaping. Guess it had been too much to hope that they had all gone back to minding their own business, Bella thought with a mental sigh. 

Ms. Ferrera looked startled for a second, but her expression soon morphed into one of intense interest. 

“You… Speak French?”

Bella winced, “...Ouí, madame.”

“I was not informed of this, if I had known… No matter, we will fix this tomorrow.” And with those cryptic - and worrysome - words, she sashayed away, probably off to torment the next pair stupid enough not to at least pretend to focus on the exercises. 

Bella could tell that Jessica wanted to ask a million questions, but she managed to convince her that they should concentrate on their tasks for the rest of the lesson. The girl wasn’t of much help, but Bella thought that was probably because she’d either already decided that she wasn’t good at the subject and therefore wasn’t even trying to get better, or because she genuinely didn’t care about it. Guess she’d have to wait and see. 

When the third bell finally rang, Bella made a break for it, having just declined Jessica’s offer to sit with her and her friends, “I already have someone to sit with today, but thanks.”

She went to drop her things off at her locker since she finally had time to go look for it, and decided that she’d leave her violin in there until the end of the day since she wouldn’t need it again before then. She’d been allocated one in building 3, which wasn’t too far from the cafeteria according to the map, and since her first lesson after lunch appeared to be in the same building, Bella decided to leave her book bag in there too, and just collect it right before class. That way, the only things she’d have to bring were her lunch bag and phone. That decided, she soon joined the hoard of students that were all headed in the same direction - and she wasn’t disappointed. 

The cafeteria looked pretty packed, but nowhere near as full as it would have been if every student had been present at the same time, so she figured that the younger years must have a different lunch period. Since she already had her lunch, she could bypass the line to the food court, instead heading directly for the collection of round tables that took up most of the room. She was busy scanning for a specific head of spiky hair, idly wondering if Dante had even had time to arrive yet, when a hand grabbed a hold of her arm and tried to spin her around. Startled, she struck out, feeling her hand connect with something solid. Confused, but already starting to form a suspicion of what had happened, Bella looked down and saw - speak of the Devil - Dante himself, crouched on the ground, cursing with a hand rubbing circles on his chest. 

“No sneaking up on the new girl,” he coughed, “noted.”

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, “you startled me. You ok?”

“No worries,” he got up, dusting himself off and shooting her an easy, though somewhat grimacy grin, “I’m tougher than I look.”

He gestured to a table in the middle of the cafeteria, where three people were already seated; a girl, and two guys, all of whom looked…Completely average. Don’t be judgy , she told herself, average can be good, familiar, cozy, even - The girl shot her a look of disdain - or it can be a source of resentment. Great, just what I needed. 

“Hey guys, this is Bella, the girl I told you about?” Danted gestured her way and Bella smiled, waving at the guys and staunchly ignoring the girl for as long as possible, “She’s saving my ass, so be nice to her, alright?”

One of the guys, the one with the darker hair of the two and a lanky acne-ridden face, shot her a genuine-enough looking smile, but looked otherwise uninterested, going right back to his phone after the exchange. The second guy, by far the least-average looking of the bunch, with blue eyes that contrasted nicely with his tanned skin and brown hair, was more intense in his scrutiny. She thought she saw a football jacket hanging off the back of his chair, and wasn’t surprised. After a moment’s study he gave her a short nod, which she returned. Finally, the girl who’d shot her such a scathing look was thin and petite, with short black hair that fell around her shoulders in a straight, unforgiving curve. She might have been pretty, if not for her sallow skin, a nose that was slightly too big for her face (but even that could have been charming), if not for the permanent scowl she seemed to be fixed on her features. 

They took a seat, Dante gesturing at each person in turn. “This,” he said, as he pointed at the jock, “is David.” He gestured at the girl,“This is Ivelle, Vell for short. And this here,” he pointed at the first guy, “is Touma.” 

“Nice to meet you all,” she said, trying not to think about how much more comfortable she’d be alone in her practice room. 

“So,” David started, still looking at her as though searching for faults, “I hear you’re a junior?”

A beat passed before Bella realised that he actually wanted an answer. “Yes.”

“How come you’re in his class then?”

Here we go again. “ As I’ve told probably the whole school at this point, my old school was fairly advanced, so I’ve already taken a bunch of you guys’ junior classes. The school was kind enough to let me pick some senior subjects to fill out my schedule.”

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow, “Because the story I heard was pretty different.”

She was really starting to run out of patience now. 

“Well that’s what happens when you listen to rumors - you get to be mistaken.” 

David narrowed his eyes at her and she narrowed hers right back. Lord knows how long they would have sat there staring each other down if not for Dante reaching over and flicking the guy on his head.

“Ow! What the fuck, dude?!”

“I told you not to mess with her, I need her.” He turned to her. “I’m sorry, my friends can be such douches but I promise they’re not bad once you get to know them.”

“It’s fine,” she said, resigned but a little bit amused at the desperation in his voice. “Do you want to decide the tutoring schedule now?”

He lit up, “Yes, please!”

Bella laughed. “Alright.”

She took out her schedule, studying it for a moment before saying, “I end at 14:55 every day. You?”

“15:10. Guess we don’t have any more classes together then,” he said jokingly. 

“Guess not,” she replied teasingly, though she was secretly a bit saddened by the realisation. 

He hummed quietly to himself before putting his own schedule down and shrugging, “It doesn’t matter much to me which day we do this. I do some work around my parent’s store a few days a week, but they’ll be ecstatic knowing that there’s even a chance of me not failing Trig, so they’ll let me move my hours around where I need to.”

She nodded. “How does Tuesdays sound then - to start, at least? We can hole up in the library for a few hours, and see how much we get done. If we need more time we’ll solve it then.”

Danted nodded enthusiastically. “Works for me.”

“Great,” she said. “Then, if you’ll excuse me?” She started to get up, but was stopped by Dante’s hand on her arm once again. 

“Where are you going?” 

“I have some things that I have to get done.” She didn’t, in fact, but eating at a table with two people who were constantly glaring daggers at her wasn’t exactly Bella’s idea of fun, so she’d decided to extract herself from the situation. 

“Aw,” Dante pouted, but relented. 

He let her go and she smiled reassuringly at him, “See you tomorrow, Dani.”

“Dani?!” He spluttered, but she was already leaving, “I never said you could call me that???!”

Bella snickered, waving his protests away over one shoulder. 

She spent the remainder of lunch seated against the wall of one of the outer buildings. It faced the forest, and even though it still drizzled slightly she found the whole scene to be captivating. The roof kept her mostly dry but when she rose after almost an hour of sitting still, she could feel that her clothes were slightly damp. Tomorrow she’d make sure not to leave her jacket in the car. 

She swung by her locker, grabbing everything she thought she might need at home, including her violin, since this would be her last class of the day. Then, she made her way to creative writing with Mr. Whitmore. 

By some stroke of luck (or, she thought guiltily, by some careful planning courtesy of Principal Greene) the classroom really was close to her locker, and for once she was one of the first to get there. She chose a seat on the second row at random, hoping that she wasn’t stealing it from someone. 

As the classroom slowly started to fill up, she checked her phone for the first time that day. She hadn’t wanted to feel tempted to call or text someone for support so she’d had it on silent in a hidden compartment in her bag ‘til then, but now that the day was almost over without any great disasters having ensued, she felt safe enough to take it out. There were a few supportive texts from René, and one missed call and text from a person dubbed “can’t take a hint”. She sent a quick thank you to her mom, but deleted the second call and text without looking at them. She was tempted to delete or block the contact altogether, but knew from experience that it wouldn’t be of any use.  

Done, she slipped the phone back into its compartment, and straightened in her chair. She looked up just in time to see another pair of impossibly beautiful students step through the door. 

Ok, what the f is happening here?? Why do I have every single one of them in one of my classes? I thought skipping around in different years was gonna stop me from seeing them everywhere I go? And also, WHY DO THEY ONLY MOVE IN PAIRS??? 

S ure, she’d wanted to meet them eventually, but this was getting just a little bit ridiculous. 

Why is Jasper here? Did he like this sort of thing? Bella couldn’t recall. And what in the ever-loving fuck is Emmet doing in a creative writing class? Their eyes zeroed in on her, and Emmet froze in place, none of the humour of that morning left in his expression. What went up his ass and died?

She raises an eyebrow at him, not breaking his stare even though the vampire looked more murderous than she’d even thought him capable of. Jasper, who she would have assumed to be the more vicious of the two, gave her a cold and indifferent stare before ushering his brother forward, into a seat at the very back. 

Bella tried not to let it bother her, but the rest of the lesson, interesting though it was, she could feel Emmets stare like hot lasers on the back of her head. By the time the bell rang she was almost as pissed off as he’d appeared, with much more reason. 

She collected her things with more violence than was strictly necessary, earlier optimism hanging by a thread that was very close to snapping. The only saving grace, she thought as she stomped her way to the front of the classroom, was that she was finally free to go home. No more Cullens for a day, what a fucking treat. Emmet's gaze followed her to the door, a literal weight seeming to lift from her shoulders as she stepped out into the corridor. She sent one last returning glare over her shoulder. What’s his deal anyway?

She shook herself, breathing out and trying her very best to let go of the negative energy and stress that had accumulated during her last class. She’d had a tendency towards impatience and anger ever since she woke up in this life, probably due to two factors; first, that she hadn’t been allowed an outlet for them her first life, and second, because of the trauma and resentment that literally dying had brought into her existence. 

She slammed her locker shut, heading for the lot at the end of what felt like a very long day, trying her best not to think about the fact that she’d have to do it all over again tomorrow. Americans and their repetitive-ass schedules. 

Thankfully, she didn’t see smoke of either the Cullen clan or their cars (not that she looked) when maneuvering herself out of the lot. She wasn’t sure that she could have resisted the temptation to scratch their shiny polished hides, even though she’d have felt bad about it later.  Patience, she reminded herself for the second time that day, patience is a bleeping virtue.

- Fin - 

Chapter Text

On her way to school the following morning, Bella felt a little ashamed of how she’d acted the day before. Yes, Emmett’s and Jasper’s reactions to what she’d said to Alice - because that’s what she assumed the glaring had been about - weren’t very reasonable, but then, neither was her own response to the situation. And though she hadn’t meant to be rude, and didn’t really think that what she’d said was wrong, per say, she could see how what she’d said to Alice could be taken as such, which meant that she should probably apologise. To Alice, that was - her brother and boyfriend could go and screw themselves for all she cared. 

No, she thought a moment later, deflating. I really don’t mean that, do I?

Sometimes, there was this anger within her that wasn’t reasonable or just - just resentful towards the world in general, and the smallest incitement could cause it to fan into flames. Knowing that, she really should be better at handling her emotions by now, but then, Bella thought quite reasonably, she hadn’t had much chance to interact with people normally in years, so maybe it wasn’t too strange that this trait of hers was acting up all of a sudden. And also, another, darker part of her remarked, the two Cullen brothers weren’t exactly blameless either. 

Honestly, she felt a bit disappointed by the characters that she’d once known (and, though she’d rarely admit it, even loved, at one point in time) but that hurt probably served her well. It would remind her that the people here, though reminiscent of the people she’d once read about, weren’t exactly the same. Things could change, nothing was truly set in stone, and neither were their relationships with her own body, much less her soul. Just because Bella from the books became friends with and ultimately a part of their family, didn’t mean that she would, too.  

Good thing too, she reminded herself in an effort to cheer up. She wouldn’t want a life where everything was predestined, including who she liked. No worries on that front, at least, she thought. Thank the lord. On some level Bella had been afraid that, whatever she wanted, fate would take matters into its own hands as soon as she stepped foot into Forks, throwing some bullshit like “love at first glance” around to satisfy its own selfish wants and needs. That that hadn’t happened filled her with a surprising amount of relief. She hadn’t even consciously realised that she’d been so worried about what would happen now that she’d reached the starting point of the original story. Having reflected a lot on the happenings of the previous day the night before, she’d reached the conclusion that the way she’d acted yesterday had been her essentially falling back into old habits. 

She’d gotten so used to keeping people at arm’s length, at first because she hadn’t wanted to make any connections in this new world, then because she’d doubted that what she was experiencing was even real, and later because of how people changed their attitudes towards her after the Incident, as she’d dubbed it. This, though, was her chance to change all that, a fresh new start in a place where people didn’t know anything more about her than that she was good at playing the violin - but if she wanted to have an at least semi-normal high school experience she’d have to start with lowering her guard a bit, and stop trying to push everyone away. That didn’t mean that she was gonna start being a pushover though, or that she planned to change who she was. She’d simply try not to assume the worst of people. Probably easier said than done, but in choosing to give up Julliard, Bella had promised herself that she would try, so she would do her best, starting today. 

Speaking of honouring one's promises to oneself - as she pulled into the parking lot Bella could see a gray Jeep parking next to a red BMW convertible, and knew that the perfect opportunity to apologise had just presented itself. Better to get it over with, than to sit and worry about how she’d go about it the whole of first period. Also, this way the other members of the Cullen clan would hopefully stop seeing her as a threat, too. 

Parking in an empty spot in the row across from theirs, she stepped out, nudging the car door shut and locking it before proceeding to walk towards the Jeep with confident steps, backpack thrown casually over one shoulder and violin case in the opposite hand. She could feel the eyes of every person in the parking lot following her progress, probably both dreading and looking forward to the show that they assumed was about to go down. 

She stopped about a meter and a half away from them, and asked, in a neutral tone of voice, “Hey, Alice, can I talk to you for a second?” 

They’d all been watching her walk towards them with expressions ranging from stone-cold, to about to implode - all, with the exception of Alice, who just looked ever so slightly confused. Upon hearing her request both Jasper and Emmett moved as though to step in front of her, before seeming to realise how ridiculous a notion it would be - or perhaps, judging by the look she sent them, how not-cool Alice would be about them trying to ‘defend her’. 

“Sure, Bella. What’s up?” she asked cheerfully, stepping forward despite the low growls, barely discernible to human ears, that started up behind her. 

Trying her best not to look at the killers staring her down from behind the petite girl, Bella replied, “Look, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry about what I said to you yesterday. I’m not very used to talking with people my age - or people at all, for that matter - and I didn’t mean any offence, in case that wasn’t clear. ‘Weird’ is kind of a compliment in my book, but I get that that probably isn’t the case for most people, so I’m apologizing. I hope we’re cool. That’s all I wanted to say.” 

She looked towards where the rest of the school-aged Cullens were standing - Edward not-so-surprisingly absent - and was gratified to see that most of them were starting to look more bewildered than angry. 

Alice, who’d been looking more stunned the longer her one-sided monologue went on, blinked. “I-”

But Bella was already leaving, having said what she wanted to say, and missed the look of startled confusion on the pixie haired girl’s face, and the calculating gaze of a certain blonde as she walked away. 

One of the first to arrive to Trig, Bella took the same seat as the day before, and just as the day before her seat partner was the very last person to arrive. She raised an eyebrow at where he laid splayed out over his chair, panting like a dying seal. 

“Don’t- you judge- me,” he wheezed, “You don’t- know- what- it’s like- to have to- hitch a ride- to school.”

“Mhm.”

He mumbled under his breath, something that sounded suspiciously close to, “Bitch.”  

She glanced at him, the look of horror when he realised what he’d said almost comical. He scrambled to get up, turning all the way towards her with wide eyes, and started to ramble. “Oh God, you know that I didn’t mean that, right?!”

Don’t be mean, her inner angel whispered, we both know he didn’t mean it. Her inner self nodded along, true, very true, but- screw that, her inner demon laughed diabolically, this is a golden opportunity. Take. It. She did, because why wouldn’t she? It was all in good fun. 

“I don’t know,” she said, studying her nails and trying her best not to show the amused smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth, “Do I?”

He groaned, “ Madre mia , you know I didn’t mean it like that. You act like a little bit of a cabrona sometimes, but you’re actually so nice it should be illegal. I know that, and I’ve only known you for a day. So please stop pretending to be fake-mad already, it’s giving me goosebumps.”

“Who, me? I’m that nice?” She said, blinking innocently up at him. “Reeeeeally?”

He groaned, muttering something  under his breath that sounded a lot like ‘of course that’s what you choose to pick up on’ before clearing his throat and saying in a resigned voice. “Yes you are, my selfless, loving, savior-ing new friend.” 

She grinned, patting him on the head and giving up the game, “Good boy.” 

He grumbled, but looked relieved to have been “forgiven”. Bella thought that she’d really have to do her best not to hurt him. He was just too sweet for his own good. The thought crossed her mind unbidden, that even if she didn’t make any more friends in Forks, his potential friendship would be more than she probably deserved. 

“By the way,” he asked a few minutes later, both of them having to whisper so as not to be heard by the now lecturing Mr. Miller, “Why does Emmett Cullen keep staring at you?”

Oh, for the love of-

She turned toward where she knew he’d be sitting, and just as Dante had said, he was watching her, and kept doing it even after having been caught. She levelled him with a hard stare, eyebrows raised in the gesture internationally understood as ‘what-do-you-want?’

When he didn’t react she mouthed, “ What? ” 

He kept staring at her a while longer, looking deep in thought, before eventually turning away without explanation. Rosalie, of course, didn’t even deign to glance her way, not that Bella minded in the slightest. 

The whole time, a finger kept poking her arm until she turned towards its owner with an exasperated eye-roll. 

“Soo?” Dante asked, curiosity lighting his dark eyes. 

“So nothing. Just a small misunderstanding,” she answered, acutely aware of the two vampires that would most definitely be listening in on their conversation. 

Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow in disbelief.

She went back to taking notes, gesturing for him to do the same, “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.”

“But-”

“Nope.”

She refused to say anything else no matter how much he persisted. He pouted but finally acquiesced. 

She felt a little bad about essentially gaslighting him, but she really didn’t want people to start gossiping about some imaginary “bad blood” between her and the Cullens already. As far as she was concerned, the issue was over and dealt with, and she only hoped that they felt the same way. 

A little while later she glanced towards where Dante was writing down the numbers on the board with a sad pout, looking too much like a kicked puppy for her liking. Debating for a moment, she bit her lip, before tearing a piece of paper from her notebook and scribbling a quick, “Don’t bother, I’ll give you my notes to copy later, just listen to what he’s saying and try to grasp the concept.” After nudging him gently with one shoulder to gain his attention, she pushed it towards him. 

He looked confused, but did read the note and a moment later she was rewarded with a thousand-watt smile. His happy-go-lucky nature really took some getting used to, she mused as they exchanged notes and random facts about themselves for the rest of the lesson, but she couldn’t claim that she minded. Not one bit.

When the bell rang they parted ways, vowing to meet up in the library that afternoon for their first official ‘tutoring session’. She declined his offer to join him for lunch, claiming that she already had plans. She didn’t, but she’d rather not deal with his friends, and besides, she was used to a home-schooling environment, and though she wanted to make some friends if at all possible, she would need some time to adjust to being around so many people. 

She spent her private practice time working on a new piece. This time, she remembered to set a timer, and was out of the classroom before the sound of the bell, with plenty of time to get to her next class.

That day she had time to swing by her locker to switch textbooks and stash the violin, which left her feeling much lighter than the day before, so it was with pep in her steps that she approached her next lesson.

When she arrived to English her eyes immediately fell on the two chairs at the very back of the classroom. One was empty; it seemed Edward really was absent, just like he had been in canon. Alice, however, was not, and upon seeing Bella arrive shot up and waved her over with a smile that threatened to outgrow her face. 

Bella approached cautiously, aware of the stares following this unusual Cullen behaviour. She came to a stop in front of the beaming girl, not totally sure of what she might want. At the very least, she seemed to be forgiven.

“I was wondering if you’d like to sit next to me today, since my brother is absent,” Alice said hopefully, seeming to almost vibrate with excitement.

“Eh, sure,” Bella answered, figuring, why not? It probably wouldn’t hurt, and a part of her was admittedly curious about the Cullens and how they’d compare to her versions of them, though she still wasn’t sure if getting to know them was worth the risk to her life. Nevertheless, she sat down in the chair that seemed to be Edward’s usual seat, placing her bags on an empty chair to her right. 

Mr. Mason appeared to be late, and the longer the class was left unattended the more the noise level rose, from a murmur to a steady buzz. Bella busied herself with retrieving a pen and notebook from her bag, and was just about to scribble down some notes for a new composition she was working on, when Alice spoke. 

“I really like your outfit,” the pixie-haired girl proclaimed, her bell-like voice somehow both determined and genuine. Bella looked up at her, surprised. 

“Thank you.”

She looked down at her high-waisted jeans and light blue grandma’s front-closing cardigan that she’d paired with a lacy bralette of the exact same shade, which she deliberately let peek through the not-fully-closed button front. It was a pretty standard outfit for her, but risqué to what most normal people wore, especially in the early 2000s. 

Alice beamed, and continued excitedly, “Where do you usually shop? Because those jeans are divine .”

“I usually go thrifting, actually,” Bella replied, well aware of how the proclamation would sound to someone dressed head to toe in designer clothing, but not really caring if she came off as poor. Alice likely wouldn’t care anyway, if Bella knew her character well enough, but she probably wouldn’t understand if she said that she chose to shop in such places, so Bella didn’t mention it. 

Alice blinked, looking just as surprised as Bella had expected. “Really? I never would have guessed.” 

The vampire looked her up and down then, much more concentratedly this time, her eyes lingering on the small stitches from where she’d altered some of the pieces to fit her better.

“That is genius ,” she finally said, eyes lighting up, “I am so going to try this.”

“Really? You are?” Bella answered, surprised. But Alice didn’t seem to have heard. She was in her own world, staring into space with a dreamy look in her eyes. Bella started and stared, fascinated by what she was pretty sure that she was witnessing. 

A few seconds later Alice snapped out of it. 

“Rosalie won’t want to go with me,” she pouted, her big brown eyes looking so sad that Bella blurted something incredibly stupid without thinking. 

“I could take you.”

A second later she winced, wanting nothing more than to take it back - you weren’t supposed to get this involved - but it was too late. Alice was already looking like a child on Christmas morning, and it was such an improvement that she mentally resigned herself to the inevitability of going.  

Alice, however, surprised her. The petite girl stopped smiling, bit her lip and asked, “Are you sure? You don’t have to.”

Bella felt what little resistance she’d had melting. 

“I’m sure.” she said, really meaning it this time. 

Alice squealed, and spent the next five minutes until the professor’s arrival - turned out he was almost fifteen minutes late due to a faulty drinking fountain in building 2 - planning the trip, down to what she would be wearing. They decided to go the weekend after next, since they were both busy that weekend.

Her and Alice kept exchanging small smiles throughout the lesson, but Bella noticed that the vampire seemed less than interested in what they were supposed to be learning. The whole class she kept bouncing up and down in her chair as if she couldn’t wait for it to be over, looking anywhere but at Mr. Mason. The few times she became still were when she’d suddenly stare into space with that dreamy look in her eyes again, which Bella suspected meant that she was so bored that she’d resorted to stepping into another time-dimension. Personally, she couldn’t fathom why - the dramatic history of 17th century London was fascinating - but she mentally shrugged. To each their own. 

They parted ways after the lesson, Bella making her way to Spanish in building 7, where she once again sat and worked with Jessica Stanley. The blonde was nice enough, Bella supposed, but she quickly realised that the girl’s non-stop talking, which also led to Ms. Ferrera glaring at them for the majority of the lesson, was frankly exhausting. Bella didn’t really care to analyse why Alice’s similarly bright personality didn’t make her feel the same way. 

She dodged several offers to join people for lunch, once again escaping at the first ring of the bell. 

Like the day before, Bella opted to spend her lunch period outdoors, but this time she remembered to bring a jacket, so the experience was an even more pleasurable one. She knew that she should stop isolating herself like this, but the thought of spending her lunch hour in a crowded cafeteria with people staring at her and asking questions she didn’t want to answer wasn’t at all appealing. 

Instead, she relaxed, listening to music on her ipod - yes, those were finally a thing - mentally going through her library and deciding on potential books to bring tomorrow, since eating alone was likely to become a pattern, at least for now. 

She caught herself tensing up on her way to Creative Writing an hour later, and stopped for a moment to collect herself. She hesitated, but decided that fuck it, people probably weren’t gonna care anyway, and slipped her hand beneath the collar of her shirt to pull on the necklace that she’d kept hidden beneath her jumper until now. It was a delicate silver chain, on which hung an oval-shaped stone; chalcedony, for emotional balance, and to promote generosity and kindness. As she held it with her hand against her heart Bella grew steadily calmer, until even her breathing evened out. 

When she opened her eyes maybe a minute later she felt stronger, but that did not mean that she didn’t almost have a heart attack when the first thing she saw was Emmett and Jasper standing on the other side of the doorway, looking at her with inscrutable eyes. 

“Fuck me, oh my fucking God , you-” she blurted, not even realising that she’d opened her mouth, “you can’t just stand there looking at people, for shite’s sake, Cullens. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Jasper narrowed his eyes - fuck, he really is good looking, Alice is one lucky gal - and the same look from that morning was back on Emmetts face. 

“Why are you-” the cherub-faced vampire sounded frustrated, “whatever. Move.”

She backed away, allowing the both of them to pass and feeling only a mild twinge of annoyance. They made their way to the back of the room, people shying away from them as they passed and yet seeming unable to tear their eyes away from them at the same time. Bella totally got it, they were very… magnetic, for lack of a better word. But maybe due to knowing the source of that magnetism - them being predators and humans their natural prey - she just didn’t feel that same draw. At least, she liked to think she didn’t, but she did recognise that their features were extremely beautiful, and that there was something else that made them perhaps more dangerous for her than for anyone else; she knew these creatures, and one slip up on her part would make sure that she got tangled up in their web of supernatural danger, whether she wanted to or not. 

Both Cullens - though Jasper was technically a Hale, it just didn’t feel right to call him that, it being Rosalie’s last name - took the same seats as the day before and she did the same, but unlike then Bella didn’t feel their eyes on her like glowing hot pokers. Mr. Whitaker continued the previous day’s lecture on different writing styles, getting into poetry by the end of the lesson. Bella was intrigued, having not read much poetry beyond the classics, and was thrilled to find out that they would be writing their own a little later on in the term. Actually being able to focus made her appreciate how good of a lecturer Mr. Whitaker was; better than some university professor’s she’d had, for sure, though the subject was less in-depth. By the end of the lesson, creative writing was quickly starting to become one of her favourite subjects, alongside english. 

After class, Bella collected what she thought she might need from her locker, including the map that she’d used the day before. On it she finally located a small dot labeled “Forks Library”, somewhere in the recesses of building 7. She made her way over there, only getting briefly drizzled on as she passed through the parking lot. It turned out to be a room at the very end of the long main hallway, and it opened up into a space as big as about two classrooms. All of the walls except the one she came through were made of the same red-orange brick that covered the outside of the buildings, and windows that stretched from ceiling to about midway down the walls had been installed on all three sides. It was also cold, she noticed immediately, almost as cold as being outside, and the bookshelves and books looked tired and ill cared for. Still though, there was something beautiful about the place. It looked almost gothic-romantic, and the view of the forest looked stunning through the condensation on the old glass. 

There were some old round wooden tables to the right of the door, and Bella took a seat at one of them, deciding to listen to some music while she waited. 

Barely 10 minutes later Dante rushed through the door, panting. He looked around frantically for a moment, until his eyes landed on her and he heaved a visible sigh of relief. 

Bella smiled, but shook her head at the same time, and said, exasperated, “You didn’t have to run here, you know. I would have been fine waiting five more minutes.”

“I know,” he panted, looking sheepish as he threaded his shoulder bag over his head and sat down in the seat next to hers, “I’m so used to running everywhere that it’s become a habit, I didn’t even think about it.”

Bella snorted, but felt a welling of affection for the guy she’d only known for about two days. Slow down , she told herself, but some part of her didn’t want to. For some reason their budding friendship just felt right , like it was meant to be. She decided to not examine the feeling further. 

They spent the better part of two hours freezing their butts off in hard wooden chairs, but by the end of it Bella was starting to get a feel of what kind of teaching methods she needed to employ for Dante to grasp things more efficiently. 

“I can’t take it anymore,” he finally groaned, burying his head beneath his crossed arms on the sturdy oak table, “I’m gonna die if I try to solve another problem.”

Bella looked on, amused, but relented. “You did well today,” she told him, patting his arm with one hand as she started to gather her things with the other. Dante remained in the same position until she had everything cleared away, at which point he finally raised his head, eyes squinty and looking as though he’d been moments away from falling asleep. 

Bella was just about to comment on his spent appearance, perhaps to suggest that they start with 1 ½ or even 1 hour sessions until he felt up to the full 2 hours, when her phone began giving off unrelenting buzzing noises. She paused and retrieved it under Dante’s watchful gaze, and was surprised to see that it hadn’t been a phone call that made it go off, but text messages that were coming in faster and faster with every second that passed. 

Bella felt a headache coming on. She knew exactly who the messages were from, and she did not want to deal with this right now, but she knew she’d have to when she got home, or the situation would just get worse. 

For now, she turned the phone off and slipped it back into her bag. Dante didn’t ask, but she could see him eyeing the pocket where she’d put it as they walked back to the parking lot together. 

“Do you need a ride?” she asked, but he shook his head, taking a few steps back towards the opposite side of the lot before she’d even finished her question.  

“Nah, you’re on the other side of town.”

For a moment her mind blanked, before it dawned on her, “Right, small town.”

“Small town,” he agreed solemnly, his eyes twinkling with suppressed amusement.

They parted ways after that, but Bella stayed seated in the car long after he’d gone. Finally she sighed, digging out her phone and turning it back on. For a few minutes after it vibrated like crazy in her hand, until it stilled completely, which almost seemed more ominous. Resignedly, she pressed on the little buttons, choosing the message icon, then the contact labeled “can’t take a hint” at the top. As she scrolled through the messages, each one getting more and more deranged, until somewhere near the end when they started to sound pleasing and sickly sweet once again, Bella sighed again. What a nuisance. 

The last few messages read: 

Please babe, just talk to me. Tell me where you are. 

I love you. 

I know you love me too. 

Call me!!! xoxoxoxox

Bella shook her head. She threw the phone and bags - ok bag, so she carefully placed her violin nestled between her jacket and bag like a precious baby, so what - onto the passenger seat and drove home. When she’d parked, she threw the door open, retrieved her stuff and was marching to the front door before the car door had even had time to close. She threw the front door open - small town - and shouted, “Dad!” 

Charlie came running from the living room, telly noises still on in the background. 

“What?” he panted, looking from her determined face, to the wide open door behind her, “What’s happening?”

Bella held her phone up, text messages still on the screen, and though he way way too far away to be able to read them, understanding dawned on his face when she opened her mouth and said:

“Houston, we’ve got a problem. Again. ”

That look transformed into fierce determination and he nodded once, before going into the kitchen to dial a number that they’d hoped never to have to call again. 

He spoke on the phone for about half an hour, and Bella left him to it, trusting that he knew what to do. She left the phone in his care and could hear him making references to some of the texts from her room, to where she’d retreated and was focusing on productive things she could do in the meantime, like checking on her stocks, and how some of the companies that she’d invested in were fairing. She made some changes, wrote down some people she would have to contact for updates, and was generally efficient until Charlie came knocking on her door. He gave her her phone back, still looking grimly determined. 

“So, they’re going to check with the family, but from what they could tell nothing has changed. We’ll know more as soon as they check for real though - they’re definitely interested in how El gained access to a phone.”

Bella smiled reassuringly up at him, trying to convey how really not-scared she was. “Thanks, dad.”

Charlie nodded, still looking serious. “I won’t tell your mother - for now - but if this happens again she has a right to know.”

“I know, dad. If it happens again I’ll call her.”

“Good.”

He left her alone after that, but Bella didn’t move until she could hear the sound of the telly - he’d turned it off or down sometime during the call - come back on. Then she reached for her phone again, and dialed a number from memory. The signal rang once, twice, before someone answered. They didn’t say anything though; that was her job. 

“This is Isabella Swan. Tell Cil that I need a detail to move in on the house when no one’s home. If possible, I want cameras to be installed. Don’t contact me unless something out of the ordinary happens, and never call before texting first - he knows the drill.”

A moment of silence, then the line went dead. 

It didn’t matter though, Bella knew that her message had been received. Money might not be able to buy you happiness, she mused, but it sure could buy you peace of mind. 

After that she went for a run, whistling quietly to herself in sync with the beat coming through her headphones. When she came back, she took a long, deliciously hot shower, then spent three hours practicing, before devoting time to some other hobbies that she hadn’t had the energy to start on since her move to Forks. She erased the last call from her calling history, and transferred the appropriate amount into the account number that she also had memorized. She also called her mother, to whom she decidedly didn’t mention anything about strange messages or supernatural creatures. She did mention her possibly-new-friend though, and Renee seemed so happy that she didn’t even ask more than one slightly suggestive question. 

All in all, Bella thought as she laid drifting to sleep in bed that night, it’d been a pretty good day. 

24 hours earlier. Forest surrounding Forks. 

Alice stopped dead in her tracks. In her peripheral vision she could see Jasper doing the same, letting the deer that they had been hunting get away without a moment’s hesitation. In a flash he was back by her side, and the pixie-haired girl felt her heart fill with endless affection for her lover. She didn’t have time to linger on those feelings for long, though: reality swam out of focus as a new scene started to manifest itself before her eyes. 

They were in her bedroom back home, and for a moment now-Alice, the Alice that was having the vision, felt incredibly confused. What important event could possibly happen here? 

A moment later her question answered itself as the scene grew clearer. 

Bella, the girl that Edward had had such a strong reaction to just hours before - that had caused him to flee the freaking country - sat on the floor, in a pile of luxurious, differently-coloured pillows that covered every available inch of floor space. Vision-Alice was seated right next to her, but most shockingly of all, was that Rosalie, miss serious, can’t-get-a-hair-out-of-place Rose, was there too. The place was decked out in true slumber party fashion, with quilts, cushions, fuzzy blankets, and tazzels - even on the walls - galore, round fairy lights in varying sizes lending the place a coxy, almost magical feel. 

Now-Alice wanted to stare around in wonder, but vision-Alice was focused on a piece of cloth that she had in her lap, that she seemed to be altering in some way. Her and Bella were having a conversation, and now-Alice forced herself to pay attention. 

“-don’t understand why you two have to be so stubborn. You are clearly attracted to each other, and I know that you’d be perfect together, so-”

“Alice,” Rose interrupted suddenly, voice hard, “drop it.”

Vision-Alice blew the hair out of her eyes irritatedly. “Fine, I’ll shut up. Geeze.”

Bella threw her a glance, and it was so full of affection that both Alices felt a giddy sort of joy that hadn’t made itself known in years, not since she finally met the family that she’d been waiting for since she first woke up, alone and afraid in middle-of-nowhere Mississippi. 

“You know I love you,” Bella said now, voice gently admonishing, “You don’t need Edward for that.”

“I know,” vision-Alice answered, and the smile could be heard through her voice. 

Bella returned the smile, then turned towards Rosalie, who sat stiffly a bit away from the both of them. 

“Hey Rose,” she said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, “I made this for you.”

And then she held out a necklace, a lilac-coloured teardrop crystal on a silver chain. When Rosalie made no sign of reaching for it, the brown-haired girl rolled her eyes impatiently, huffed and held it even closer to the blonde. 

“Just take it.”

Rosalie, who’d frozen like a cornered animal at the sight of the apparently hand-made gift, slowly, so slowly it felt like the sun might burn out before she reached her goal, started to reach out her hand, face looking almost… frightened. Or maybe suspicious. Now-Alice stared, fascinated. Both Alices and Bella seemed to be holding their breaths as the delicate chain passed from one hand to the other.. 

Rosalie held it up to the light, inspecting it, and the longer she looked the more confused she started to look - and the fact that the normally ice-cold vampire was showing any emotion at all said a lot, now-Alice thought. There was something else there too though, a small glint of something that now-Alice didn’t quite know how to put into words. Gratefulness? Awe?

After what seemed like an eternally long time, Rosalie spoke, voice hesitant, “This is beautiful… Thank you.”

Bella just smiled, head tilted to the side, looking a little like an angel in the gentle light, “You’re welcome.”

Abruptly, Alice - the real Alice - found herself back in the forest, and if she hadn’t already been dead, her heart would have been racing in her chest. 

“What?” Her lover asked, eyes roving worriedly over her face, “What did you see?”

Alice smiled slowly, her excitement growing the longer she thought about and analysed the scene that she’d just seen. She knew that Jasper would be reading her, and thus be hopelessly curious about what made her feel this way, but sometimes going into details about her visions could do more harm than good. 

She did tell him the most important part, though. 

“You know that girl Edward ran away from today?” 

“Yes,” he drawled, in that perfect accent she so adored, though she did detect a hint of anger behind the nonchalant facade,“the girl who insulted you? What about her?”

Alice grinned, “Well, we might be getting a new sister.”

------- End of Ch. 5 --------

Chapter Text

That first week, Bella fell into a routine. In the mornings she’d do yoga or meditate a while before school, cook breakfast for her and Charlie (she’d taken to meal-prepping in the evenings instead), and they’d have a pleasant breakfast together before they parted ways for the day. She’d have Trig with Dante - who was steadily becoming her best friend maybe ever, and yes it did scare her a bit how quickly that had happened - English with Alice, who’d become something of a close acquaintance, and Spanish with Jessica Stanley, who was nice enough, but with whom Bella felt no real connection outside of the classroom. Ms. Ferrera kept eyeing the both of them disapprovingly, but Bella had a feeling that she was really irritated over something else, since she’d sometimes catch the teacher glaring at an empty seat near the front that, from what Bella had seen, had never been occupied. 

After that, she’d eat lunch outside or in her music room more often than not, though Dante had managed to rope her into sitting at his table one more time that week, and it had gone marginally better than the first time, so maybe it wouldn’t be horrible to do that once in a while, she’d concluded. 

So far, the most tension had arisen when David the jock had seen fit to comment on her packed lunch. 

“Why do you always bring your own food?” he’d said, eyeing the brown paper bag mistrustfully, “You got an allergy or something?”

“Nope,” she’d replied nonchalantly, popping the “p” with extra gusto, and had deliberately left it at that, a part of her hoping to get a rise out of him. He had, predictably enough, risen to the bait. 

He’d scowled. “Then what? Too good for cafeteria food, miss prodigy?”

“Dave,” Dante glanced between his two friends worriedly, “Stop it. I don’t understand why you’re acting like this.”

“It’s fine,” Bella had waved him away, more than used to the question by now, “If you must know, I’m vegan, which essentially means I don’t eat animals or anything that derives from them.”

The whole table had blinked at that. 

“Uh, what? What do you eat, then?”

“Vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits, bread, grains, tofu… The list goes on.” She’d  shrugged, still mostly focused on her food. 

If anything, the group seemed even more confused after that. 

“Okayyy, but why ?” David asked, and for the first time he didn’t sound antagonistic, just genuinely baffled. Bella had blinked, surprised by the question, before remembering that oh, yeah. Everyone didn’t eat like her. And it was also 2005 . Of course people didn’t know about veganism like they did fifteen or so years into the future. She figured she should answer seriously, since if they decided she was too weird for them, it would be better to know sooner, rather than later. And really, she didn’t care very much what they thought of her, anyways. 

She knew what she believed in, and that wouldn’t change even should the whole world disagree. 

“Look, I just personally don’t want animals to suffer and die for me, when I’m completely capable of living and thriving without resorting to basically enslaving whole species for my own convenience.”

She’d shrugged and gone back to her food, not quite realising how shocking and, more importantly, controversial, the topic would have been at that point in time (in fact, she’d personally thought she’d done a pretty good job of holding back. She’d held veritable speeches about the subject in the past). The strained silence that fell over not only her table, but the surrounding area as well, soon clued her in to the fact that apparently she hadn’t been very subtle. Oh, well. 

She’d looked up to gazes that ranged from baffled, to confused, to - rarely - thoughtful and even afraid, the way you’re afraid of that religious person who stops you on the way to the train to try to convince you that Jesus was born in America, when really all you want to do is have your coffee, get on the goddamned tram and forget about your ruddy awful day. You’re not even freaking religious! 

Managing to pull herself out of that mental anecdote with some effort, Bella had sighed and rolled her eyes, “ Look , I’m not crazy, alright? I’m not gonna force you to eat like me, I won’t broach the subject unless you ask me about it, if that makes you more comfortable, and I promise that I’m not brain-washed or part of some crazy cult. Monks have been eating a plant based diet for thousands of years, and most of the world’s population actually lived off of mostly plants until very recently, so I don’t know why this is such a controversial topic, to be honest. But whatever. If you wanna know something you can ask me, just as long as you’re polite about it.”

Surprisingly, David had been the one to break the still slightly awkward silence that ensued after that little monologue. 

“Cool,” he’d said after a slightly awkward pause, before going back to his meal. The rest of the table followed at varying speeds, but they did follow, and Bella figured that’s what counted, in the end. 

They’d left it at that, though after that day Dante would occasionally ask what she’d brought for lunch during class, and on Friday she’d given him a bag of home-baked cookies that he apparently couldn’t stop raving about at lunch, letting phrases such as: “There’s no butter ! How is there no butter in here?!”, and “You guys are reallllyyy missing something,” (through a cookie-stuffed mouth) slip, until finally she’d been accosted by two very put-out, cookie-less guys later that day, who made her promise to bring more the following week. 

“I’ll be dreaming of cookies this weekend,” David had grumbled as they’d left with forlorn expressions. 

All in all, it’d been a pretty enjoyable, but honestly kind of boring week. She didn’t think she’d ever get fully used to how few subjects American high school students were expected to take, or how repetitive their schedules were - taking the exact same classes in the same order every single fricking day of the week just wasn’t it . But it at least left her with a lot of free time, which she was already starting to put to good use. 

And no, that statement wasn’t at all as ominous as it sounded. 

That Saturday she took the car out early and drove to Port Angeles. Charlie offered to come with, since she was going to be shopping for food, amongst other things, but when she explained that she had other stores she wanted to go to too, and that she didn’t want him to be bored, he reluctantly agreed to let her do the shopping alone.

She subsequently arrived early enough that the streets were mostly empty, which meant that she found a great parking spot in front of Bed, Bath and Beyond, where she spent a few hours picking out new kitchen supplies, including a brand new smoothie machine, new kitchen towels and (a lot of) baking supplies. After that, she’d gone to the nearest used bookstore - after asking the clerk in BB&B for directions - and picked up both the course literature for English Lit and some other volumes that had tickled her fancy as she walked between the dusty shelves. 

An hour later found Bella sitting in her car with a Starbucks iced coffee in one hand (sadly black, and she was now seriously considering buying a few shares of the company and pushing the plant-milk thing early, purely so that she could get her iced frappuccino in the way that she used to), and a blueberry-and-oat muffin in the other (home-made, since the coffee chain wouldn’t start introducing plant-based products until sometime after the 2010’s).

As she slurped on her coffee - the muffin had disappeared in two seconds flat - she checked her messages, quickly noting that she had some new numbers to go over with one of her primary and soon-to-be most lucrative investments, a little-known company by the name of Facebook. Or, well, TheFacebook, currently, though the definite article would soon be dropped. She sent a quick text back, confirming a meeting in about three weeks’ time. She mentally added ‘book flight to California’ to her mental calendar, thankful that she wouldn’t have to fly to the other side of the country, since Zuckerberg had dropped out of Harvard by then. 

When her coffee was mostly finished, she consulted the map that Charlie had lent her the day before - that’s right, an honest-to-God paper map - and finally managed to spot a small dot labeled “Guitar Store” that sounded promising. She revved the engine (a flock of doves called out indignantly before taking to the air) and managed to find the place in less than five minutes, which she definitely counted as a win. 

She parked in front of the small, out-of-the-way shop, and hopped out, making sure to lock the car door before going inside, because the little pile of shit may be practically useless, but it was her practically useless pile of shit. 

As she stepped over the threshold, tote bag thrown over one shoulder, a bell attached to the door frame tinkled prettily, and the middle aged man standing behind the wooden desk in the centre of the room looked up, nodded, and went back to whatever it was that he’d been doing before she’d decided to impose on his little sanctuary, not seeming to care at all whether she was there or not. Looking around, Bella was actually pretty impressed. The space looked much bigger than it had seemed from the outside, and the warm timber cladding that stretched from floor to ceiling gave the place a cozy, cabin-like feel.

For a second, Bella was reminded of holidays spent vacationing in the French Alps, coming back to a lit fire after a day of skiing, grilling marshmallows over a hot flame... She quickly shook the memory off, locking it firmly on the other side of her mental wall, and instead continued looking around as she moved further into the store. 

There were instruments hanging off of every available inch of wall space, many more than she’d have guessed that a shop of the size should have been able to afford - and they were good quality too, she saw upon closer inspection. The front desk stood like a lone island in the middle of the space, with plenty of room to move around it, and Bella found herself getting lost in her own little world as she moved from one side of the shop to the other, admiring the drum section, the shelves upon shelves of flutes, the English horns and clarinettes, the brasses, trombones, and so on and so forth. She spent half an eternity in the string section, and it took every ounce of self-restraint that she had to not leave the shop with at least one of them - there was even a freaking harp chilling in one corner, who had a harp just standing around like that?! 

Reluctantly, she picked the things that she actually needed off of the shelves - a few new strings, a couple of cleaning rags and a new rosin block - all while sending the pretty instruments suitably longing looks. I’ll be back for you , her eyes promised as she tore herself away. 

She’d just moved on to the guitar section, and was admiring the range of quality axes - they carried everything from Yamahas and Taylors to Martins and Gibsons! - when the doorbell jingled. Bella wouldn’t have noticed, except the strange pause where no footsteps could be heard was practically tangible in the air. 

She looked up distractedly, and almost dropped everything in surprise because there, in the doorway, stood one Edward Cullen, with a frozen, half-horrified, half-disgusted look on his face. And he was looking at her. 

What the fuck is he doing here? she thought, mind racing. He definitely wasn’t supposed to be back yet, but apparently things were already starting to deviate from the original timeline. 

At first she was determined to turn around and go back to minding her own business, dearly hoping he’d do the same. Then she noticed the way he didn’t seem to be able to keep his eyes off of her - and not in a flattering way, either. 

Oh, bugger. 

Bella instinctively glanced towards the man behind the desk, whom she assumed was the owner, and saw that he was starting to look at Edward with a mixture of confusion and suspicion the longer he lingered in the doorway. She looked back at the vamp, and immediately noticed the way his eyes kept tracking her smallest movements. He hadn’t moved a millimetre since the moment he laid eyes on her, and Bella got the distinct impression of a predator waiting to strike. 

She froze, even as her mind raced, trying to find a way out of this predicament they’d gotten themselves into. Why today? The day was going so well, she thought mournfully. There was nothing for it, though. He really looked moments away from snapping.

Mentally resigning herself to her fate, she called out, “Hey, you!”

His head snapped up to meet hers from where he’d been eyeing her throat so fast her eyes were barely able to track it. She mentally grimaced, glancing the owner’s way, but luckily enough he seemed to have turned his attention her way upon her showing signs of recognizing the strange “teenager” in the doorway. She threw the man a tentative smile, and saw the corners of his mouth rise up in response. 

Relieved, she focused back on the biggest threat in the room, who seemed to have followed the small exchange with rapt attention.

Without letting herself second-guess her decision, she marched forward and grabbed a hold of his arm, then proceeded to drag him into the store. To her honest surprise, he let her, though his eyes became even more intense, if that was even possible. She hadn’t seen him blink once since he’d stepped foot inside the store, but figured it must be because his mind was rather occupied with other things than pretending to be human. Like with not letting himself eat her. 

Ok, she thought as she moved them to the farthest corner of the store without trying to let on that it was at all intentional, outside suspicion somewhat averted. Now onto saving my own skin. She thought back to how he used to ask book-Bella to keep him distracted. Hopefully the same trick would work for her. 

“You’re in my class right? Alice’s brother?” she asked cheerfully, as though the situation they were in were completely normal. As though they weren’t both painfully aware of the other’s identity. Or well, as though they didn’t both think they knew who the other was, reincarnations and secret identities notwithstanding. “She’s mentioned you, though I don’t think she mentioned you’d be back quite yet. What happened, you get homesick?”

As discreetly as possible, she glanced at the man behind the bar, and was relieved to see that he’d gone back to work, and didn’t seem to be paying them very close attention anymore. Edward was still eyeing her hungrily, and she could see his jaw clenching, so she clearly wasn’t scott-free yet. He also wasn’t answering any of her questions, so she wasn’t sure that this method of distraction was working, like, at all. On the other hand, she didn’t really have any other vampire-distracting ideas up her sleeve, so she figured she’d just have to keep trying. 

“Sooo, you’re the silent type, huh,” she continued, trying not to let on how nervous his silence made her, “No worries, I get it, I used to be shy too.” She sent him a shit-eating grin, and was relieved to see that his eyes were slowly starting to lose some of their predatory quality. “I’ll leave you alone if you want, but if you’re looking for something specific I could probably help. I’ve been here for a ridiculous amount of time already, so I probably know this place almost as well as the owner,” she added jokingly.

Seeing that a small frown was starting to form between Edward’s brows, but that he still didn’t seem to be fully registering what she was saying, she finally threw caution to the wind. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t eat her by then, anyway. 

Fuck it . 

She snapped her fingers in front of his face, and was rewarded the distinct satisfaction of seeing him flinch back ever so slightly. His eyes finally refocused, and he blinked. 

“You in there?” she asked, tone carelessly amused, as though she had no idea about how close she’d just come to dying again. Inside, though, she was secretly relieved that that little stunt hadn’t cost her a hand, at the very least. That was a real stupid move, she mentally reprimanded herself. But, well, at least it’d worked. 

“What?” He finally spoke and wow, his voice. She had to exert actual mental energy not to let her jaw drop, because yum. Sounding that good should actually be illegal. His voice was smooth, soft and velvety in a way that told her he’d be a great singer. A small part of her brain couldn’t help but wonder what that voice would sound like in the bedroom, but her rational mind put a stop to that train of thought real fast. Down girl, she thought, that’s just the vampy hormones playing tricks on you. 

“I asked if you needed help finding something,” she repeated distractedly, exasperation starting to creep into her voice now because, come on now vampie, wake the fuck up. I’ve got places to be. Her irritation had nothing at all to do with the fact that she didn’t want to find any part of him attractive, nope, that just wasn’t it at all. 

He frowned, finally seeming to register where they were, as well as the fact that she was still holding on to his arm, because a look of disgust passed over his face before he extricated himself. He immediately backed away, a scowl settling on his features. 

”That’s none of your concern,” he bit out. 

Her eyebrows rose briefly, before her mind fully registered what he’d said and she scowled back, immediately just as pissed. “Hey, I was just trying to help. But, whatever, fucking suit yourself.”

That ungrateful little shit , she fumed as she turned to stomp away. After how she’d helped him, putting her own life on the line, even. And this was the thanks she got? Unbelievable. 

“Wait,” he ground out, before she’d taken more than two steps away from him, his voice such a strange mix of irritated and unsure that Bella stopped on instinct before even deciding to hear him out. 

Put out, she turned around, “ What?”

“You… Why did you-” He blew out a breath, seemingly irritated with his own incapability to articulate what he wanted to say. “You remember me?”

Bella almost choked on her laughter. “Uhh, yeah, I remember you. Vaguely ,” she added, because it wouldn’t do to let his ego grow too big. Not being arrogant was, from what she remembered of the books, one of his very few redeeming qualities,“That all?”

He frowned, looking displeased, but didn’t say anything else. Bella rolled her eyes and turned to leave. Again.

“I heard about this place,” he said suddenly, forcing her to turn back to face him for a second time, which she did with an irritated huff, “I wasn’t planning on buying anything in particular, but was simply looking to… Browse.”

The way he said “browse”, half-questioning, half-confused, like he himself didn’t even know why he was saying it, made Bella snort out loud. His eyes snapped up to meet hers so quickly that she instinctively took a step back. 

They both froze, staring at each other in a weird kind of uncomfortable impasse, both parties equally unsure of how to proceed. She cleared her throat, looking briefly away from his too-beautiful face and breathing out before looking back.

“Well, good luck with that.” 

This time she didn’t turn around when he called a disbelieving, ”Hey!” after her. She went up to the counter and placed her goods on the glass countertop to be rung up. In three seconds flat the man, who looked older than she would have pegged him at first glance, with blonde shoulder length hair that looked sun-dried and tan skin, had her wares registered and ready to be purchased. She dropped a fifty dollar note on the glass case.

“Keep the change,” she muttered before hightailing it out of there, the sound of the bell cutting off behind her as she made her escape like sweet music to her ears. 

Her respite didn’t last long, however, as she’d barely made it to her car before the bell rang again. Damn it. She turned around, not about to leave her back open to a predator that happened to crave her blood above anybody else’s. To her complete non-surprise, the vampire seemed to be headed straight for her. 

“Seriously?” she rolled her eyes at his approaching form, “Do I need to file a restraining order?”

The corner of his mouth curved up at her less-than-welcoming greeting. “No,” he smirked, voice full of mirth as he came to a stop just a few feet in front of her, “I mean, you could try, but I don’t believe you’d have much luck.”

For a moment she was taken aback by the sudden mood change, but then, she suddenly realised, she’d never actually had a real conversation with him where he wasn’t totally drugged out on the smell of her blood. She briefly wondered why he seemed to be dealing much better all of a sudden, but then her eyes fell on his hands, which despite his casual tone were clenching the sleeves of his shirt so tightly his knuckles looked about to pop out. When he saw her looking, he unclenched them, tucking them behind his back like a guilty child. The smug smile he’d been aiming at her disappeared instantly, to be replaced by that frown that she was starting to get so well-acquaintanced with.

Bella lifted an eyebrow, the smirk transferring to her own lips, but refrained from saying anything more damning than, “You’d think so, wouldn’t you.”

Edward frowned even deeper for a moment, but seemed to shake her words off in lieu of a more important question. 

“Where are you headed?” he asked, with what he himself probably thought of as a charming smile, but the fact that he didn’t seem to see anything wrong with the question told Bella just how delusional he really was. 

”What in the world gives you the impression that I’d tell you that?” she asked incredulously. She had a feeling that her eyebrows were  about to disappear into her hairline. 

”It’s just a question,” he answered, forcing a painful-looking smile. Bella could detect a note of frustration underneath the falsely polite tone, likely stemming from her lack of cooperation with his usually effective information-gathering tactics (otherwise known as his terrible, terrible flirting skills).

Well, too damn bad for him, she thought, being bench-mates with Alice was one thing, and she’d helped him just now because she didn’t fancy becoming lunch, but she was not about to get any closer to the Cullens than she already was. Not without good reason. She wasn’t afraid of dying, per say, but that didn’t mean that she wanted to die, either. And getting more than superficially involved with their family would most certainly lead to more near-death scenarios than she’d be comfortable facing. So her plan for a best-case scenario involved as little close contact as possible, while trying to steer them away from the pitfalls of the books if given the opportunity. Close enough to sate her curiosity and assuage her guilt, but far enough away not to be dragged into their spiral of death. Easy enough, right?  

“Well, my answer to that question is, piss off,” she smiled brightly as she keyed the car open with one hand, and shooed him away with the other.

“Hold on,” he grabbed the drivers’ side door before she had a chance to get in, “I need a ride.”

“What?” Bella stared incredulously at him, because was he seriously thinking she’d fall for that? “No you don’t.”

“Yes, I do,” he smiled coercively down at her, but she ignored him in favour of trying to kick him away so she could sit down. The smile turned forced again as he ignored her kicks and stomps. He held out, though, which Bella honestly had to give him props for. Even if her well-aimed stomps probably put more of a dent in her own foot than in his. 

Finally, she had to admit to herself that she wasn’t going to get him to move. Fuck you, Cullen! You and your freak vampire strength. *insert virtual angry-face emoji* If you were human you’d so be on the floor crying by now. 

“Oh my God, just stop it. I know you’re not stranded because you had to have come here somehow and you didn’t even ask the store owner to borrow a phone or anything. So could you just stop with the weird excuses before I actually report you? My dad’s the chief of police, you know.”

“...My siblings left me here,” he tried. Bella thought she saw him wince at that poorly-constructed lie, but the fake-sincere look was back in place so quickly that she would have doubted herself, if she didn’t already know the truth. 

Bella raised a disbelieving eyebrow. 

“...And they took my phone. It was a...prank.”

“Uh uh.”

“Why don’t you believe me?” His brows knitted, and Bella realised that she couldn’t with good reason keep refusing him. After all, how could she explain knowing that he couldn’t be stranded because of his vampiric speed? She was stuck. 

She dragged her palm over her face in frustration. “Fine,” she glowered at him, “But I still have to go grocery shopping, so you’ll have to join me for that before I take you home.”

“Of course,” he agreed quickly. Not giving her time to change her mind, he rounded the car in one smooth motion and was seated before she even had time to register that the force holding her door open was gone. 

She glared, but seeing how unaffected he was by her ire quickly gave it up as a bad job and sat down with a loud huff. She strapped herself in, started the car and side-eyed him critically. 

“Belt,” she commented when it became obvious that he wasn’t going to move on his own. He huffed a laugh, but obeyed. She didn’t care. Even if he couldn’t die, she could still get a ticket, and she did not want to hear one of Charlie’s lectures on safe driving ever again.

As they drove to the nearest Walmart she blasted music higher than she normally would, both to avoid conversing with Edward, and also to hopefully hurt his more sensitive hearing. About halfway to their destination she finally saw him grimace out of the corner of her eye, and hid a self-satisfied smile. Human: 1, vampire: 0. 

When they arrived at the nearest Walmart, she preempted any conversation that they might have had by dragging him into the store by his shirt-arm. They got some weird looks for it, but she ignored those in favour of getting a cart and handing it off to her companion with a curt, “Just follow me. And don’t talk.”

For about an hour after that she used him as an errand boy, dodging any question he tried to ask with orders of getting that fruit, or those cans of beans, or oh, wait, I happened to forget to grab that very specific brand of bird seeds from the other side of the store, could you be a dear and get those? In the end, he gave up, and they wandered out of there like master and unwilling servant, her with a pep in her step, him walking a step behind carrying every single bag, looking a little like a drowning man beneath the bulk of them. Hopefully that’d stop him from approaching her next time, Bella thought smugly as they loaded the haul into the back of the car. 

Unfortunately for her the radio refused to turn on on the way out of town - she scowled in Edward’s direction, sure he’d had something to do with it - so that left her stuck in a confined space with a suspicious blood sucker bent on asking questions that she couldn’t possibly answer for an hour and ten minutes. Joy. 

“So…Bella. Why’d you move to Forks?” Edward asked.  

Real original, dude. Reeeeeeal original. “Oh, you know. Lots of reasons. The weather was probably the biggest draw, though.”

“Really?” For some reason he sounded incredibly sceptical.  

“Yeah, I just grew tired of all that sunshine, the beaches, the never-ending days of good weather. I decided that I needed some doom and gloom in my life, because it’d just be too perfect otherwise. People would get jealous.”

He snorted. “Right.” 

That pattern continued for about half an hour, him asking her questions, and her bullshitting together answers that were mostly the exact opposite of her actual feelings, sometimes throwing in some half-truths and outright lies for good measure. 

Finally, she’d had enough. 

“Alright, that does it. Can you please be quiet for a while, before I end up shooting us both with a gun I don’t possess? Jesus, you can talk .” 

He smirked, looking irritatingly self-satisfied. “No.”

Bella sighed. “Figured not, that would just have been too easy. Well Edward, keep talking all you want but I’m done answering. If you were a good person, you’d do us both a favour and play charades in your head or something.”

“Rude,” he said, but she would almost swear that she could detect the hint of a smile in his voice. “Ok, you know what? I’ll stop talking - if you answer this next question truthfully. 

Bella could have groaned, but was there even any point anymore? “What?” she just asked tiredly instead. 

The ensuing pause lasted for so long that Bella started to wonder if he’d forgotten the question. She glanced his way almost unwillingly, but all she saw was him looking deep in thought. She coughed pointedly. 

After one more minute of irritatingly drawn-out silence, he asked, “When did you start playing?”

Whatever Bella had expected the question to be, that hadn’t been it. “Uh, next,” she answered reflexively.

“What? Why?” she saw him turning his head towards her out of the corner of her eye, characteristic frown once again marring his perfect forehead. 

“Just give me a new question, stupid, before the deal’s off.” 

“...I don’t understand you.”

“Neither does the Pope, we’ve met actually - but that’s irrelevant. Ask another question already so that I can finally get some peace and quiet in my own car .”

“...I’ll save it, then.”

“What? No.” she glanced at him, but quickly had to turn her attention back to the road because contrary to the car’s other occupant, her reflexes weren’t supernaturally enhanced. 

“Yes.”

She gritted her teeth, “That wasn’t part of the deal.”

She could practically feel the smugness oozing off of him as he replied smoothly, “Would you prefer that I keep talking?”

“...I so wish a bullet just magically appeared to pierce your brain right about now.”

Edward’s lip turned up at the corner in what appeared to be, for once, a genuine smile, “It’s a deal, Bella.”

They spent the rest of the car ride in blissful silence, only broken once they reached Forks’ town boundary. “Where to?” she asked as neutrally as possible, whereby he proceeded to direct her to the town’s only gas station, which was conveniently located next to a small plot of wood. Trying to escape into the trees, huh? You think I’ll make it that easy for you? 

“You can drop me off here,” he stated once she came to a rolling stop at the edge of the station.

“I’ll wait with you,” she smiled brilliantly, mood immediately brightening at the prospect of getting some well-deserved payback.  

Edward looked taken aback, which, to be fair, wasn’t very surprising, seeing as she’d acted like she’d wanted to be rid of him for hours at this point. But revenge was sweet, and this time logic was on her side, Bella mentally cackled. 

She affected a nonchalant tone as she continued, “I mean, you haven’t even called anyone yet, who knows how long it’ll take for anyone to get here. Do you need to borrow my phone? They took yours, right?”

He blinked, looking completely blindsided. She could see his mind flitting from excuse to excuse, trying to find a way out of the situation, but she’d set the trap well. In the end, he relented, smile tight as he answered, “They did. Thank you.”

Bella tried not to let her smugness shine through, but suspected she failed by the suspicious looks Edward kept sending her as he spoke on the phone with Emmett. Oh well, who cared, she mentally shrugged. It wasn’t like her joy at his expense would actually tell him anything important.  

Finally, he hung up. “They’ll be here in 10.”

“Cool.”

“...”

“...”

“Sooo, how long have you lived in Forks?” she asked spontaneously, much more at ease now that she had the upper hand and their company had an expiration date. 

“...Two years,” he answered, suddenly very tight-lipped now that the questions were turned his way. 

“Really?” she pretended to be surprised, “It’s a surprise we haven’t run into each other earlier then.” He looked confused. “Since I’ve been staying here every summer since my parents got divorced when I was a child.”

Was that shock she detected in his expression? Whatever it was disappears too quickly for her to be able to get a good read on the emotion, but she was instantly suspicious. 

“What?”

“Nothing.” 

And the vampire refused to say anything more, no matter how much she wheedled and cajoled. In the end she gave up, huffed, and turned to look out the window until Emmett’s Jeep pulled into the station’s lot. Surprisingly enough though, Emmett wasn’t the only one that stepped out of the car. Alice, with Jasper following closely behind, was the first to get out, and also the first to reach them. 

“Bella!” the petite vampire squealed excitedly, throwing her arms around her in a gentle hug. Bella, surprised but surprisingly flattered, returned it. 

“Hey, Alice,” she smiled, genuinely happy to see her. She met Jasper’s gaze over the girl’s shoulder. “Jasper,” she acknowledged cautiously. Surprisingly, he gave a small nod back. 

She and Alice released each other. Somehow they’d all congregated into a circle, and everyone except Alice suddenly seemed to suddenly realise how weird the dynamics between the members of their little group was. An awkward pause ensued. 

Bella tried her best to ignore the familiar stare she could feel trained on her person. At the very least it seemed friendlier than before, but being under a vampire’s scrutiny was still somewhat nerve-wracking. 

She cleared her throat, very deliberately also avoiding Edward’s confused gaze that hadn’t stopped flitting between her and Alice since their enthusiastic greeting, and declared, “I should get going.”

“Noo, don’t go! You should come over,” Alice pleaded, and it was incredibly difficult to say no to someone who looked so much like a hopeful baby kitten. Still, she managed to turn her gaze away with some effort. “Uh, no, sorry. Some other time, Al.”

“Al?” she saw Edward mouth out of the corner of her eye. She ignored him. 

“Well, it was nice seeing you,” that was mostly directed towards Alice, but she did a general sweep of the hand to encompass the rest of them for politeness’ sake. It had certainly been more pleasant than most of their other meetings, she told herself optimistically. She’d very carefully avoided a certain cherub-faced vampire’s gaze this whole time, and was happy to think that she’d come out of this without having to confront the probably-still-pissed vampire. 

Of course, like all good things, it turned out she’d celebrated too early.

“Uh, hey. Bella?” Emmett spoke before she had a chance to get away. Putain.* So close. 

“Yeah?” she sighed, really not in the mood for a confrontation, but not seeing how she’d be able to avoid it either. It wasn’t like she could outrun him. 

She truly looked at him for the first time since they’d arrived, and was surprised by the lack of animosity on his face. 

Emmett studied her with a neutral expression for a few moments before seeming to come to a conclusion. Nodding to himself, he said, “Sorry about before, I overreacted.”

Blinking, she answered, “Uh, no worries dude,” then, after a brief moment of hesitation, she added, “You’re forgiven.” 

He grinned brightly at her, and in that moment it was hard to remember that someone who looked so… innocent… could really be a monster. 

“Cool, uh, I’ll see you monday then,” she said, mentally shaking herself. 

Alice smiled and waved, already back to her usually happy-go-lucky self, and Emmett nodded bro-style as they made their way over to the car. Jasper paid her no mind, and Edward… Well, he looked equal parts confused and upset. The bipolar asshat. 

She got in her own car and drove away, very deliberately not looking back. Freedom. Finallyyyyy. 

When she got home an incredulous Charlie helped her unpack the veritable mountain of groceries as well as the various household items she’d gotten. He eyed the bird seeds especially dubiously. 

“Really?” he arched a bushy brown eyebrow.

“Don’t be such a debbie-downer pops, the birds gotta eat, too,” she mock-scolded. 

“Uh uh,” he deadpanned, but had left it at that. 

The good thing about Charlie, Bella reflected, was that he didn’t need to know why she wanted to do something to help her do it. She was once again reminded of that great quality of his the following day, when he not only helped her hang the bird seeds, inside the feeders she’d also bought, around the back of the property that bordered the forest, but also helped her with one more, equally as... odd, task. 

“There,” Bella grinned happily at the bars now covering her bedroom window, “Perfect.”

Charlie shook his head at her from where he was holding the ladder down on the ground. 

“You’re so weird,” he muttered, tone resigned. 

“Love you too, dad.” 

--- End Ch. 6 ---

Chapter Text

He hadn’t planned on coming back so soon - had barely been in Denali seventy-two hours when Alice called - but leaving his sister to make possibly the biggest mistake of their existence so far just wasn’t an option. 

Edward still didn’t know whether she’d slipped when she’d mentioned the vision, or if it had been some calculated move on her part to get him to come back home sooner, but he wasn’t going to take the chance. So he re-packed his one duffle bag, hugged his cousins goodbye and got on the private jet. Three and a half hours later they touched down, and he nodded his thanks to the human flight attendants as he passed them on his way down the metal stairs, ignoring the way their thoughts caressed against his mind as he passed.

It was an uncharacteristically sunny day; meaning, in Washington-terms, that the layer of cloud covering the sky was wispy and white, instead of the usual dark, heavy gray. 

He fished his sunglasses out of his bag, sliding them on with practiced ease. As he did so his phone dinged.

A: Welcome back :)

He shoved his phone into his bag with an irritated scowl and proceeded to throw it into the back seat of the luxury car he’d just commandeered - one of the spare ones they always kept in the hangar in case of emergencies. 

The fact that he was now 98% sure that it had all been a trap made him like being back even less than he already had, and that was saying something. 

What is she thinking? He thought irritably. Alice may have outwardly been the most child-like of his family members, but she’d normally never do something as reckless as trying to befriend a human. He still didn’t believe that she’d ever do something to knowingly put the family in danger, but what other conclusion could one draw in this case?

Another thought made his face darken even further. What did that girl do to make her change so much?

Edward made a split moment decision. Instead of taking the highway out of Port Angeles, he veered off in the direction of the town center. He normally wouldn’t let himself give in to such a childish impulse, but excused himself this time by recalling that he’d seen a music store the last time he’d passed through town that he’d wanted to pay a visit to, and he needed some new sheet music paper. If he were honest with himself, though, he simply needed a break before seeing his family, and Alice in particular, again. He’d never want to risk saying something he didn’t fully mean because he hadn’t had time to process his thoughts. Never again. 

Locating the store was easy - finding parking, less so. In the end, he had to drive around and park in an alley behind the shop. Not that the longer walk bothered him. 

He entered through the front, and a bell rang to signal his arrival. He was just about to nod to the man behind the desk, presumably the owner, when the smell hit him. 

It was a smell like none other, one he’d encountered just once before, but that would likely stay with him forever: a scent of roses, of blood and lilacs, like the ones his mother used to gather in the fields around their home. The girl, who’d looked up; who’s eyes were trained on him like the gazelle’s on the lion - she smelled like sunshine would, if sunshine had a scent. But it was so much more, it was the smell of the boundless ocean, and laughter and blood and it was all too muchtoomuchtoomuchtoosweettoogood KILL, rip, drink, riP, MINE!!!

He froze, the force of his will alone the only thing standing between the girl’s life and his sharp incisors. He became vaguely aware of her coming closer, but he couldn’t allow himself to lose focus, couldn’t- He’d RIP HER APART AND- Gods she smelled like summer in a bottle, like the most exquisite wine and if he could just- NO! Edward gritted his teeth. Somehow, without him becoming aware of it, his gaze had traveled down to her throat, and it only made the thirst worse. It felt like he’d been walking through a desert for a thousand years and she was the only way he’d ever be able to put out his thirst. 

“Hey, you!”

His eyes snapped up. Their eyes met for a second, her's a beautiful, dark shade of brown, before she glanced towards the man behind the desk. She even threw the surfer-looking-dude a wan smile, which made Edward want to growl possessively, because she was his prey, meaning her focus should be on him . Luckily enough for them all, though, he couldn’t spare the mental capacity at the moment to even growl. 

Then she started walking towards him and his brain shut down even further, even though all he wanted to do was scream at her because did she WANT to die?

Apparently she did, because she not only approached, but proceeded to grab his arm as though it were the most natural thing in the world. The part of his mind that was vaguely aware of his surroundings had to let her drag him away, since the greater part of his psyche was still fighting to push down the overwhelming urge to kill. 

He could hear her babbling as though through a thick wall, something about Alice and classes, and forced himself to focus in on the words. 

“Sooo, you’re the silent type, huh,” the girl - Bella, his mind supplied - said. And the question was so ridiculous that it actually distracted the predador inside him enough that concentrating became a little easier. 

The longer she spoke, the calmer he started to feel, and he didn’t know if it was due to her voice, which sounded uncommonly soothing to his sharp hearing, or if it was the weird nature of her questions that had him focusing in on them, making the bloodlust recede (or, rather, giving him the strength to push it down) much quicker than expected. Most of the time, he wanted to scoff at the ridiculousness of what she was saying, and yet, some part of him didn’t want to stop listening. 

Then, all of a sudden, in a move that baffled him as much as few other things had in his long existence, she snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, and that confirmed it. There’s something very wrong with this girl. Any normal human would have sensed that something was wrong and run away by then. 

“What?” he finally got out, but what he really meant was do you have an actual death wish?

It suddenly registered that she was still holding on to him, and the thought made him wretch himself away. He took a step back, and another, even though the monster inside protested and screamed that she was supposed to back away from him, not the other way around. He ignored it. 

“I asked if you needed help finding something,” she repeated, her tone implying that she was starting to fear for his intellect. 

He found the implication infuriating for some reason, even though he hadn’t cared what a human thought of him for longer than this girl had been alive, and before he knew it he’d snapped back through gritted teeth, “That’s none of your concearn.”

He regretted it immediately, especially when her eyes shuttered and she turned to walk away. 

“Hey, I was just trying to help. But, whatever, fucking suit yourself.”

The profane language would probably have shocked him during normal circumstances, but all he could focus on was that she was moving away from him, and before he fully knew what he was doing he’d ground out a desperate, “Wait.” 

She stopped, but she was not happy, that much he could tell. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from trying to keep her there. Edward blamed this sudden panic for the sheer stupidity of what he said next.

“You… Why did you-” He blew out a frustrated breath. What was he even doing? “You remember me?”

It was frustrating, not knowing what was going on behind those warm chocolate-coloured eyes, and Edward found himself studying the way her frustration mounted with rapt attention. 

“-That all?”

He must have missed the first half of her response, and she was already turning to leave again. Not letting himself dwell overly much on why he was doing it, he once again said the first thing that came to mind. 

“I heard about this place.” She stopped, turning back to face him with an irritated huff. Her expressions are so interesting. “I wasn’t planning on buying anything in particular, but was simply looking to… Browse.”

The way he’d said it must have sounded strange - sometimes he couldn’t tell what he said wrong, but he knew from the reactions of the surrounding population that his speech could come out sounding too old fashioned, not quite right - because she snorted. The unexpected sound made his eyes snap up to meet hers from where they’d drifted down to her throat without his conscious control, and maybe she wasn’t so different from other humans after all, because the look in his eyes made her take a step back. 

A part of him was gratified to know that the human actually had some self-preserving instincts. The other, greater part of him, though, felt almost… Disappointed. 

Before he had chance to examine his conflicting feelings further, however, Bella seemed to regain herself. 

”Well, good luck with that,” she said sarcastically. Then she walked determinedly towards the front desk, and this time she didn’t stop even when he called for her to wait. 

Having someone - a girl, nonetheless - ignore him so completely felt… Strange, he reflected. Moments later the bell above the door chimed and he shook himself, and, on impulse, followed. 

The bell must have given him away, cause she turned to wait for him leaned up against one of the ugliest pieces of machinery he’d seen…in a long time, to say the least.   

”Seriously?” she rolled her eyes at him. ”Do I need to file a restraining order?” 

He could feel the corner of his mouth curving up without his conscious control. The bloodlust was still there, the thirst still burning like fire in his veins, but her unpredictable reactions made the pain seem less important somehow. 

”No. I mean, you could try , but I don’t believe you’d have much luck,” he quipped back, enjoying the way her eyes widened with surprise at the sudden civility in his tone. Then her gaze landed on his hands, which he hadn’t even consciously realised were clenched until then, and her brow unfurled, her delicious-looking pink lips curving up into a maddening smirk. 

The role reversal, he found, was one he did not enjoy. What am I even doing, here? He thought suddenly, irritated with himself. I should stop playing with fire. 

But then she answered, back to being so remarkably unafraid, and he found himself pulled into the mystery that was Bella Swan once more, ignoring the voice in his head that told him that this was exactly what he’d blamed Alice for doing not a half hour ago. 

”Where are you headed?” He asked, impulsively. Stupidly. But he couldn’t seem to help himself. 

”What in the world gives you the impression that I’d tell you that?” She answered, tone so incredulous that it would’ve hurt if he didn’t remind himself of the limited success of their previous interactions. 

”It’s just a question,” he forced out, but Bella, it seemed, was not so easily placated. 

”Well, my answer to that question is, piss off,” she said with a bright smile that contradicted her harsh words in a way that almost made him want to laugh out loud. So interesting. 

”Hold on,” he grabbed a hold of her car door before she could close it, having completely given in to impulse at this point, ”I need a ride.” He most certainly did not, but well, she didn’t need to know that. 

Only, she looked at him like she did know. ”What? No you don’t.”

”Yes, I do,” he insisted with a forced smile, because she couldn’t possibly know anything of the sort. If she did she certainly wouldn’t be standing here with him, having a semi-civil conversation - she’d be running away screaming. And rightly so. 

It did take some convincing - more than he’d normally have to do, but then nothing seemed to come easy with this girl - but Edward always got his way, and this time was no exception. That’s how a few minutes later found them both in her sad excuse of a car, driving to get groceries, of all things. And he would have felt more triumphant, had it not been for her blasting the music so high he thought his ears would explode before they got to their destination. 

On top of that, once they arrived he found himself dragged around the store like a glorified packing mule. By the end of that experience he was about ready to run back to Forks, and only the joy of disconnecting her radio in-between one of her many errands gave him the strength to endure her dubious company. 

Well back in the car, though, it was his turn to turn the tables, and he did so with much gusto. The fact that she refused to answer any of his questions honestly should have frustrated him, but instead it just made the game more enjoyable, trying to figure out what she really meant without the advantage of being able to peer into her mind. Come the end of their little trip, he barely paid attention to the bloodlust anymore, so engrossed had he become in trying to figure her out.

Even after his siblings had so magnanimously come to pick him up - and he was still irritated to have found that Bella’s attitude towards Alice differed so greatly to her reaction towards him - his thoughts kept lingering on their conversation in the car, tossing and turning her answers in his mind, trying to figure out what this inflection here, that emphasis there meant in the grand scheme of things. ( Who was Bella Swan really? Why was she different?)

”Still pining?” 

Edward glared at his brother from the opposite side of the living room, but said nothing. Giving Emmett ammunition only made him worse, he’d found after years of experience. 

”I kinda get it,” the giant continued to muse - loudly - to himself. ”At first I didn’t see it, but she’s pretty interesting, for a human. Right, bro?”

Rosalie woke at that, sending her lover a cold glare, just like she did any time any of them commented on the attractiveness of any woman that wasn’t her. The giant winced, but shrugged like saying ’it’s the truth, though’. 

Alice’s sweet bell-like timbre joined them from another part of the house.

”Bella’s very nice. And smart. You’ll like her, Rose.” 

The blonde hmph’d and turned away from them, the arms crossing over her ample chest implying that she wasn’t going to do anything of the sort.

”We’re going shopping next weekend.” 

There was no mistaking the excitement in the pixie-haired girl’s voice, and it made Edward want to scowl. 

”You’re what now?” he growled into thin air, Jasper’s mind joining in on his displeasure from a couple of rooms away. The blonde stayed silent though, and Edward wished that for once he wouldn’t be so keen on letting his little sister do whatever she pleased. 

He could positively feel the girl in question rolling her eyes at him from somewhere upstairs.

”You’re not the only one who gets to hang out with her, Edward.” 

He didn’t know what to say to that, other than that it wasn’t the same. He couldn’t quite explain why, though. Not that it mattered, he thought, since it wasn’t going to happen again.

”Yeah, well I’m not going to anymore,” he forced himself to say instead. ”And neither should you.” 

”You keep telling yourself that,” Alice sang back sweetly. 

Emmett laughed.

His two blonde siblings both scowled from opposite sides of the house, on the same wavelength as usual. At times Edward really could see why they’d decided to call them twins, he thought uncharitably. They were both as insufferable as each other. 

Alice hummed a love song under her breath, in her own world, as usual. 

From somewhere out back, Edward could hear his pseudo-parents’ worry for them like the smattering of rain on a roof; constant, and soothing in it’s familiarity, but at the same time icy cold as the images of their worst fears played out over and over again in a never ending cycle of right vs. wrong. 

Not for the first time, Edward wished he were the one with the power to see into the future. 

Later that night found Edward running through the woods at breakneck speed, having finally been able to sneak away. 

He slowed a good two hundred meters before the house that he could just start to glean through the trees, creeping closer on deadly silent feet until he got to the forest edge. Then, he slowly started to make his way around to the front of the house, darting out of the cover of trees after making sure that no face occupied any of the house’s windows. 

He told himself that he just wanted to fix the radio before she became suspicious enough to take a look herself - who knew, Bella might, like Rosalie, have a hidden interest in cars. The thing might not have been purchased because of bad taste, after all - it might have been a direct result of a lack of funds. 

Upon trying the handle, however, he found the car door to be locked. Edward supposed he should have expected it. People in town might leave their front doors open, but cars - even old pieces of junk like this one - didn’t generally seem to be treated with the same carelessness, for some unfathomable reason. 

He hesitated for a moment, then, with the same air of recklessness that seemed to have consumed him since the moment Bella Swan had sat foot in his classroom, he slid back under the cover of the trees, but instead of going back home, he made his way back around the property, not allowing himself the time to stop and think about what he was doing. 

He came to a stop at the edge of the back garden, his gaze sliding over the house with intense focus, almost imagining that he could hear her heart beat if he listened hard enough. 

Something gleamed in the moonlight, and, naturally, his gaze was drawn to one of the windows on the upper floor. 

He blinked. What in the-

Edward moved closer almost without noticing, sure that he must’ve been mistaken. But no, those were bars on the window, and he was suddenly seized by a rage so fierce that it surprised him in its intensity. 

He stayed there, staring at the silvery metal with a burning fury, until the first rays of light started to creep over the horizon’s edge. 

Then, he backed away slowly, one thought at the forefront of his mind. 

Police Chief Swan, what have you done?

—— End of Ch. 6.5: Edward’s p.o.v. ———