Chapter Text
I had been stuck in my seat on the plane for hours on end, barely able to get up, even to stretch, and it was killing me. I was too eager to arrive at my destination. It had been weeks since I left my family in pursuit of solace, and the trip was taking its toll. Thank god I was nearly there.
I arrived at the Port Angeles airport, waiting for Mr. Swan to pick me up in his police cruiser. It was about twenty minutes before a rusty red pickup truck clamored towards me. Mr. Swan wasn’t inside, instead, I was greeted by his daughter Bella. Bella and I had become amazing friends in our younger years, we had been in school together until she moved to Forks. I had even managed to make those trips with her to Forks for her to visit her dad growing up, we went together and stayed together like always. It was very difficult to separate us. Ever since she left Arizona, we emailed and sent letters to each other as much as we were able to to try and remain in contact.
“Vincent, hop in! I’m so sorry that Charlie couldn’t pick you up, there was an accident down at the station and they needed him. He should be home though by the time we get back.” she said tenderly, I threw my bags in the bed of the truck and hopped in,” You know, you’re really lucky that it wasn’t pouring down rain today, we wouldn’t want you to get sick on your first day here Vin.”
“It’s no problem Bella, I’m just glad that I’m able to stay with y’all for a while. I haven’t seen you in ages! I have not stopped thinking of you since I decided to come up here!”
“I’m glad you feel that way too, I think I broke Charlie with how much I talked about you. He hasn’t heard me talk that much since… I don’t know when!” she chuckled.
It was refreshing to see Bella smile and to see her act genuinely joyful for a change. Moving to Washington was a difficult time for her and I know she was having issues adjusting to the seemingly dreary life she chose for herself. I absolutely cannot stand to see her feel melancholy, and I know she feels the same about me, that’s why we’re best friends.
I snapped out of my thoughts as we eventually pulled into the Swan’s driveway, Bella had parked next to a car that I didn’t recognize. A shiny volvo. It almost seemed to taunt me as I stepped out of the truck onto the damp pavement. I walked around to the back of the truck to grab my belongings and paused to take one last look at the Volvo.
“It’s disgustingly shiny isn’t it?” said Bella from the front porch, “It’s not mine if that’s what you’re thinking, it belongs to some people I want you to meet.” She donned a look of fondness when she said the latter. I dragged my stuff up to the porch where she stood waiting and walked through the door. Immediately I was met by Mr. Swan, or Charlie as Bella liked to call him, who was waiting for me with outstretched arms. I dropped my things and ran into the hug.
“Mr. Swan! I missed you so much!” I mumbled into his shoulder before we pulled away.
“Vincent! You’ve grown up so much, I can’t believe how deep your voice has gotten! You’ve grown facial hair? Wow you’re getting old.” he let out a ‘dad sigh’ as he studied my face.
“Well, I mean, yeah… testosterone will do that to a person.” I said jokingly as I turned my head towards Bella, who was closing the front door. She told me that I should put away my things in my room before I meet the guests and led me upstairs to my room. I remember this room, I had stayed here many years ago on my voyages to Forks. The walls were a light grey, but were covered with rainbow colored decals and posters Bella and I had insisted on putting up. The bed had changed, it used to be a twin bed but they must have gotten a bigger one since I stopped coming over, as they might have adult guests. The bedding changed too, it was no longer bedding riddled with cartoon characters, it was a soft pink set that Bella must have picked out with me in mind. My train of thought was interrupted when I heard another vehicle pull up outside. I peered out the window to see a Jeep that had a man jumping out of the top of it and onto the pavement. I sat down my bags next to the window and went back down the stairs to meet everyone.
I could hear the excited chatter as I turned the corner and stepped into the living room. I was ushered into a room full of people. They were all very attractive, and they all had an especially alluring charm to them that varied from person to person. The first of the clan I noticed was a very statuesque lady with gorgeous blonde hair. She seemed to be on edge, but as soon as Bella was within sight she became at ease. Bella introduced her as her girlfriend, Rosalie. I told her it was a pleasure to meet her and she gave me the warmest smile I had seen in a long time. She told me that Bella had told her everything about me and she was delighted to meet me, especially since I made Bella so content.
The next member was a woman who looked like an angel whose arms were locked with a handsome man who wore a scarf. The woman told me her name was Esme and her husband was Carlisle, but her voice was so warm and melodic, it was almost as if she had sung her words. The rest of the family went on to give me introductions. I soon learned their names were Alice, Jasper, and Edward. Only, there was one of them left who hadn’t said anything yet. He didn’t look like the type to be introverted, he looked like a rambunctious jock. His build was, well, muscular, and he was tall; I would probably only come up to his shoulders. His facial structure was just as sculpted as the rest of him, and his features made him difficult to read. His younger brother, Edward, waltzed over to him and whispered something in his ear that he very much did not appreciate. The jock made his way over to finally introduce himself and that made Edward laugh.
“Hey… I’m Emmett. I’m Alice’s twin.” I couldn’t help but to blush a little when he spoke. His words came out so smooth, but they had had this playful tone to them that captured my attention. It was stupid to blush, he had literally just said ‘hey’ but it didn’t matter.
There was a long pause.
“It’s nice to meet you Emmett. It was so thoughtful of your family to come meet me, I’ve never had a welcoming party before.” I said with a goofy grin, attempting to keep this conversation from becoming awkward. He was about to respond when his brother, Jasper, speed walked right past us and out the front door.
“Is he okay?” I asked to no one in particular.
“I believe he just got nauseous. He ate a heavy meal before we made the trip over. I’m sorry dear but we’ve got to go. It was such a pleasure to meet you and I hope we can visit again sometime in the near future.” Esme chimed. She had a very maternal quality to her, and it definitely seeped through when she talked about her children. She flashed a brief smile in my direction and instantly her family was out the door.