Chapter Text
A fresh start.
River watched raindrops trickle down the car window as they drove. The mountains extended outward to reveal the town, even at this distance. He didn’t see much rain in Phoenix, so it was quite soothing to be moving somewhere where it rained often. The different weather also helped the sense of bringing something new into his life. The idea of cutting ties to everything and being unrecognisable had him feeling relaxed. It was great, and really made him glad in choosing to move to Forks.
He didn’t know if he could say the same about Bella, though.
He glanced over at the brown-haired girl. She was leaning against the other window, her cheek resting against her hand. She had earphones in, occupied with whatever song she was currently listening to.
Well, she did want to move here.
She said this was better for everyone, and he didn’t doubt that, but he wondered if she did, deep down. The idea of moving to Forks all the way out in Washington wasn’t a tiny one. Despite all the years he had spent with her, he still couldn’t always understand what Bella was thinking. For the most part, they knew each other almost as well as they knew themselves. But sometimes she would have an indescribable look on her face. He could spend hours studying her and still not know what she was thinking. It was times like those that made him question any assumptions he had to make about her. Moving to Forks was one of those things he couldn’t assume an answer for.
River had never lived in Forks, or even visited, despite his mother, Julie, living there since both her and his father, Joseph, divorced when he was young. She would come down to visit him on special occasions–mostly just for Christmas, sometimes birthdays–but he would never go to her, and now he was going to live with her.
“You can see the town from here,” River said, turning once again to look at the girl next to him. “Bella.”
She looked at him, then took one earbud out and gestured that she didn’t hear what he had said. He repeated himself and she looked past him through the window, humming at the sight. “Anything like you were expecting?”
Going from a place like Arizona, a desert baked under the hot sun, to this place, Forks. A town whose surroundings were filled with lush greenery and dense forests and towering mountains all around, and an abundance of rain with an almost constantly cloudy sky. Well, it was quite a change to be ready for.
“Don’t really know what I was expecting, to be honest,” River responded, his eyes searching back out the window. Accompanying the town was a giant lake–Lake Crescent, Bella had told him. It had a sort of veil of mist from the wet, cloudy atmosphere. It was beautiful. River smiled. “Can’t say I’m disappointed, though. Wish you would have told me it was this nice, and I would have convinced you to move back years ago.”
Unlike him, Bella had previously lived in Forks when she was young, before she had met him. That was mainly why he assumed she didn’t mind moving back, or at least, he thought she didn’t mind moving back. But he was certain at least part of her didn’t really want this change. He knew the main reason she was doing it was because of her mother, Renee, and step-father, Phil. They wanted to “go on the road” as she called it, so she decided to spend some time with her father, Charlie, who was now driving them into town from the airport in Port Angeles.
“I’d like to see anyone convince Bella to do something she didn’t already want to do,” Charlie said to him.
Without missing a beat, Bella said, “What do you know about me, Dad? I haven’t seen you in years.”
River knew Bella didn’t mean it in a snarky way, it just happened to come across like that. And she clearly wasn’t paying much attention to the current situation at hand, more invested in watching the scenery pass by as they drove.
“Well, yeah, sure. But I’d like to get to know you again, like things used to be. I thought you would want that, too, since you decided to come back here,” Charlie said.
“That’s mainly so Mum and Phil don’t have to put aside their happiness to look after me,” Bella responded.
River could tell Charlie really wanted to bridge the gap between them. “How is your mother?”
“She’s good,” Bella said.
An unintended awkwardness had filled the car alongside the silence, which River tried to negate.
“Speaking of…” he started. “I thought my mum was going to be here.”
“Oh, uh, sorry Son. She was, but she got caught up at the diner. She is excited to see you when you get there, though.” Charlie said, to which River nodded.
River felt Bella eyeing him after that, specifically after hearing the word son. He knew exactly what she was thinking. Shut up, you.
She had an almost hidden smug look on her face. She was basically saying, You’ll have to get used to a lot more of that.
As if reading their minds, Charlie spoke up again. “Sorry, River. I–I didn’t mean it like that, I wasn’t really thinking. I know this my first time seeing you so if it makes you uncomfortable just tell me–”
“Charlie, it’s fine…I just wasn’t expecting it, that's all.”
Charlie visibly relaxed and nodded. Silence filled the car again, but it wasn’t as awkward as before. Good enough for River.
They entered the town not long after. It wasn’t anything big, it only had a population of just over 3,000. A lot of wood storefront carvings. The Museum’s sign was two loggers sawing a stump.
Guess they like their wood here.
River wondered what his father was up to right now. Hopefully not worrying, because River certainly wasn’t. He felt slightly guilty about suddenly telling his father he wanted to move to Forks with Bella. His father seemed to see the reasoning behind it, though.
River never really felt much of anything growing up in Phoenix. He was pretty lonely for a while until he met Bella, and they hit it off pretty quickly, and have been practically inseparable ever since. He didn’t really ever figure out why he liked Bella to such a large extent, maybe it was because she felt the same way he did. Always waiting for something bigger to happen, something new.
Something amazing.
It didn’t really matter to him, though. They would always be two peas in a pod. He didn’t need to think twice when Bella told him she was moving, and neither did she. Without saying it at all, he knew she wanted him to come as well, and he was more than happy to leave his hometown to do so.
“And here we are.”
Charlie’s voice brought River back to the present. They were pulling up to an old two-story house. Bella’s old house, now hers once again, and River’s.
They hopped out of the car and grabbed their bags from the boot, and River immediately felt the difference in the air. It was heavy with moisture and much cooler than Phoenix. He was glad he was wearing his jacket.
Heading inside, it was quite homey. It felt very personalised. A lot of fishing gear. River spotted some pictures of his mother and Charlie. It made him smile knowing he technically had a hand in leading to them getting married.
River and Bella followed Charlie up the stairs as he spoke.
“I cleared out some space in the bathroom for you both. Sorry it’s not much.”
Bella and River didn’t mind. Neither of them needed that much space for hygienic products. The first room they stopped at was Bella’s. It looked pretty good, a lot like a childhood bedroom with slight changes to better suit the now grown teenager. An antique desk sat opposite Bella’s bed with a chair, adorned with books and pencils. Above it sat a brown board with many different child’s drawings and photos pinned onto it. All of them were of Bella as a kid. Looking at them was fun, but also strange in a way to River. He’d known Bella since the 3rd grade, and yet these were of her even younger. Looking at pictures of someone he had known for years, but before he knew them was weird. It was like they weren’t quite done yet, not the person he knew them as. His eyes scanned past the dresser and to the small shelf on the wall next to her bed, plush toys lining it all the way.
“Most of it was stuff I kept from when you were little, just had to go digging through some boxes to find it,” Charlie said. “It’s not much, but I hope you like it.”
“It’s cool, I like it,” Bella said.
“Alright, good.” Charlie stood there for a few seconds before heading to the door. River stepped to the side to let him pass. “Now for your room, River.”
River followed him down the hallway. There were some more pictures containing his mother on the walls.
“I take it she’s much happier now?” River asked.
Charlie stopped to look at the photos momentarily, before continuing. “Yeah, she is. I am, too. For what it’s worth to you.”
River smiled. “I’m glad she’s doing better.” His mother wasn’t in the best of spirits for a while after the divorce, she always seemed really stressed whenever he saw her, but River could tell Charlie made things much better for her.
“Julie didn’t have much stuff for you, so she went shopping.” Charlie opened the door and River stepped inside. It was rather plain all around, but he didn’t mind, he’d decorate it with time. The bed sat by the wall closest to the door, with a desk facing the other wall next to it, situated right next to the window. A dresser was opposite his bed, right next to a built-in wardrobe with a body length mirror on the left panel. He put all his bags down and sat in the swivel chair by the desk, taking everything in.
“It’s nice,” River said. “Will she be back soon?”
As if listening in, the sound of the front door opening and closing echoed through the house and footsteps up the stairs soon followed. Charlie moved out of the way as Julie came into the room. River got up as she walked over to him and pulled him into a tight hug.
“Oh, it feels like forever since I last saw you!” she said.
River hugged her back. “It was only a few months ago Mum.”
“I’m glad you decided to come spend some time with me,” Julie said, before frowning. “Even if that was part of the reason.”
River didn’t know what she was talking about until he realised where she was looking. The bandage on the right side of his temple. He subconsciously rubbed his lips together, feeling the slight bump where his bottom lip was bruised.
That’s right, I nearly forgot, River thought.
“He was just trying to help,” Bella’s voice caused all of them to turn to the door. She was so quiet, no one heard her come over. “It wasn’t his fault.”
River smiled at her and she returned it.
Julie sighed while Charlie watched with curiosity. River now realised he must have had questions but didn’t think it was his place to bring it up.
“Yes, River’s father told me the same thing. I’m happy you two are close enough that he would step in like that to help you, but promise me you won’t start fights at your new school,” Julie said, the last part directed at River.
“I don’t go starting fights at all, that was just Jackson being a douchebag.” River tentatively touched his bruised lip. It didn’t really hurt anymore, it would definitely finish healing over the next few days. “If not me, it would have been someone else.”
The look on Julie’s face told him that wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear. He sighed. “Fine, I promise.”
“Thank you, River.” She ruffled his hair. “Do you like the room? Sorry, I don’t really know what you’re into these days, so I thought I’d let you do the decorating.”
River nodded. “I really like it, thanks Mum.”
She smiled and looked at the other two occupants in the room. “Well, Charlie and I will let you guys settle in. We’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”
The teens gave their own confirmations as their parents left. Bella walked over and sat down on the edge of River’s bed as he started unpacking his stuff.
“Does it still hurt?” she asked.
“No, not really. Not my lip anyway, slight throbbing in the temple still.” River laughed stiffly before reading her expression. She wasn’t as carefree about it as he was. “It’s not your fault, Bella.”
“I could’ve walked away from him,” she responded.
“And he’d keep going. Really, it’s fine. Plus, technically it was a good thing, since it was the main reason my dad was fine with me coming to Forks.”
“Hoping a new town would make things better for you?” she asked.
“Yeah. I feel the same way, too,” River said. “Couldn’t imagine staying in Phoenix without you. You’re stuck with me for a while.”
Bella let out an exaggerated huff. “What a shame, was really hoping for some alone time.”
They smiled, not having had the chance to relax and banter for the past two weeks. The incident at school followed by then moving across states left them with little to no time to hang out normally. Hopefully things would change now that they were settling in.
“So, you’re hoping for change?” Bella asked.
“You’re not?”
“No, I am. We just haven’t talked about it in years.”
River considered that. “It has been a long time, hasn’t it?”
Bella dropped back onto the bed, facing the ceiling. “I will miss Phoenix, our old hangout spots, but hopefully things work out for us here. Or, at least, I hope school will be better than before. Starting halfway through the school year isn’t ideal, though.”
“Yeah, that’s true. But I’m sure it will be better than our old school, it’s not a hard bar to pass,” River said with a short chuckle. “Besides, it’s only like one and a half more years before we graduate, we can figure things out after that.”
“True.”
River moved to stand in front of the mirror, looking himself over. It was a little weird, being dressed in jeans and jackets and long-sleeve shirts after spending his whole life in Phoenix, but he liked the style already–it was sure to grow on him more. He brushed his blonde hair–darker at the roots, but lightening in tone as it grew out–away from his forehead, trying to get a better view of his face in its entirety. His hair wasn’t shaggy, but it was long enough that he had to brush it off to the side, otherwise it sat directly above his eyes. He wondered if his eyes were a stronger blue when he was younger–he could have sworn they were–but they were currently more of a blue-gray. He groaned after examining his fair skin. More specifically, he was focused on the evidence of a fight. The impossible-to-miss bandage smacked onto his forehead. And then his bottom lip, which was slightly more red, with a small–luckily almost invisible–cut.
“No way am I hiding this for school.”
Bella shrugged. “It’s not the end of the world, just say you fell or something.”
A loud honking from outside startled the two, and they went to Bella’s room to look out the window. A faded red truck was sitting in the driveway, and a young boy and a man in a wheelchair were talking to Charlie. They both had long black hair.
“Is that…?” Bella trailed off, looking at the boy.
“Who is he?” River asked, but Bella was already moving towards the stairs. He quickly followed. River had seen the man in the wheelchair in some of the photos, but he didn’t recognise the boy. His mother was in the kitchen as he passed. She smiled at River as he continued out the front door.
“Heard you guys coming all the way down the road,” the man said before spotting Bella and River.
“Bella, you remember Billy Black?” Charlie asked.
“Yeah,” she said as she shook Billy’s hand. “Wow, you’re looking good.”
“Well, I’m still dancing,” Billy joked with a smile.
“Oh, yeah. River, this is Billy Black, he’s one of my long-time friends,” Charlie said.
“Nice to meet you,” River said, his turn to shake Billy’s hand.
“Likewise. From what Charlie’s told me, I’m guessing you’re Julie’s boy?”
“That I am,” River said.
“My beautiful boy!” Julie said as she came out the front door. “Finally gets to spend some time with his mum!”
River sighed as everyone laughed. “Yeah, thanks Mum. Embarrass me more.”
“Oh, you know I’m just teasing,” she said.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. Your parents haven’t shut up about it since finding out you guys were moving here,” Billy said.
“Keep exaggerating and I’ll wheel you down the hill,” Charlie said, walking off.
“Right after I ram you in the ankles,” BIlly said, following Charlie.
Billy took several rolls at Charlie, who dodged him.
“Oh, cut it out, you two!” Julie said disapprovingly.
The boy shook his head at the two of them before approaching Bella and River.
“Hey, I’m Jacob, we used to make mud pies when we were little kids?” The way he said it made it sound like he wasn’t too hopeful Bella would remember what he was talking about.
“Oh yeah. I remember,” Bella said with a reassuring smile, which seemed to fill Jacob with enthusiasm.
Now that he was closer, River could see that Jacob was tanned. His black hair fell below his shoulders, quite long. He looked a little younger than them, by one or two years–a little shorter than River. His eyes landed on River and he tilted his head slightly in curiosity.
“So… you’re her step-brother, right?”
“Never really said it out loud, but yeah.” River slung an arm over Bella’s shoulder, and she unsuccessfully tried to shrug him off. “Now that I think about it, it sounds really weird, even though it’s been that way for around a year now.”
“Well, nice to meet you,” Jacob said happily, extending a hand.
River shook it. “Nice to meet you, too.”
Bella looked over at Billy and Charlie, who were still having a go at each other. “Are they always like this?”
“You have no idea,” Julie said. “You’d think they were children.”
Jacob nodded. “It gets worse with old age.”
Seemingly done with his antics, Charlie moved back over to the teens and dropped a hand on the truck, Billy wheeling in close behind. “So, what do you think?”
“Of what?” Bella asked.
“Yours and River’s present.”
River and Bella looked at each other, then at Julie, then Charlie.
“This?” Bella pointed at the truck in disbelief.
“Seriously?” River asked. “Like, it’s ours?”
Charlie nodded. “Yep.”
“We thought you’d want your own ride to school,” Julie said. “So we pitched in together to buy it off of Billy.”
“I totally rebuilt the engine,” Jacob said, clearly proud of himself.
Bella and River were shocked.
“I’m not dreaming, right?” Bella asked him.
“I was gonna ask you the same thing,” River responded.
“I take it you guys like it?” Charlie asked.
“Are you kidding? It’s perfect!” Bella said.
River grinned. “More than perfect.” His first car. Well, his and Bella’s first car, but still. It was awesome.
“I’m driving it first,” River said.
Bella was already moving to beat him to the door. “As if!”
They laughed as they fought for the door, ramming their shoulders together as they tried to push each other out of the way. Jacob laughed at their antics.
“Behave, you two,” Julie reprimanded, but she was smiling as well.
River backed off and raised his hands in surrender as Bella triumphantly got into the truck. He and Jacob made their way around to the passenger side.
Despite the rough exterior, the truck’s interior was actually quite nice and clean. It didn’t look brand new by any means, but it was a lot better than River was expecting. Although, he wasn’t expecting to get a car at all today, so his expectations weren’t very well developed. He didn’t mind being surprised so far.
There was enough room for all three of them in the car, luckily. Jacob slid into the middle so he could show Bella how to start it, but made sure River–who scooted in after him and shut the door–could see as well.
“Listen, you gotta double-pump the clutch when you shift, but besides that, you should be good,” Jacob said as Bella moved to start the truck.
“That’s this one?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“All right.”
“Awesome,” River said when the truck came to life, albeit a lot louder than he was expecting. The engine was a monster. “I dibs driving next time.”
Bella rolled her eyes at him before looking at Jacob. “Do you want a ride to school tomorrow?”
“Oh… I go to school on the reservation,” Jacob said reluctantly, like he wished he could take Bella up on her offer.
“Right, right,” Bella said, her voice trailing off discouragingly. “It would have been nice to have one friend there.”
River gestured to himself. “Hello?”
“You know what I mean, River. I meant for both of us,” Bella explained.
“We’ll be fine, we talked about this, remember?” River said.
“Yeah, I know.”
Things would be better here, River was sure of it.