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Bella's POV | Forks, Washington, 2005
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I pulled into the school parking lot ten minutes before the first bell, letting the engine hum a little longer before shutting it off. Forks High in my first observation wasn't like the sprawling campus-style schools back in Phoenix, it was cozier, almost quaint, with squat brick buildings nestled among the trees like something out of an old postcard.
The sky was still bruised with rainclouds. A constant drizzle veiled everything in gray.
Around me, students arrived in a slow trickle. Old pickups. Hand-me-down sedans. A handful of rusted-out station wagons. My BMW stood out more than I wanted it to. Just like me.
Exhaling a big breath I calmed myself and stepped out, hoodie drawn up, boots squelching slightly in the gravel.
Almost immediately, I felt eyes. Forks was small place and I was new. Word traveled fast especially when there is little new here.
I made my way to the front office, brushing wet hair back from my face. The secretary was polite enough- older, with sharp glasses and a sharper smile. She handed me my schedule, a printed campus map, and a yellow slip I had to get signed by each teacher.
"Welcome to Forks, Isabella," she said. "You'll do just fine."
I gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Thanks."
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First period was English, and it wasn't bad. The classroom smelled like old paper and cinnamon-scented hand sanitizer, which reminded me weirdly of middle school. The class ended quickly and I went for the next one.
It was Government class. A guy named Eric sat beside me and started talking like we were already best friends. He was sweet, nerdy, and so clearly trying not to be awkward that it made him more awkward. I didn't mind him but his continuos tries to start up a conversation made the class longer.
But he did introduce me with other kids.
By third period Trigonometry I had three new acquaintances and a mild headache. Forks kids weren't mean but god if they only talked less.
"What brings you to Forks?"
"Did you move into that house on the ridge?"
"Is it true your mom's filthy rich or something?"
They asked many question thankfully I managed to dodged them with half-smiles and vague answers.
Then came the fourth period- Biology.
By the time I reached to the classroom, the drizzle had turned to full-on rain.
The room smelled like wet earth and chemicals. Tall lab counters with black tops, stools instead of chairs. The only empty seat was at the back… beside him.
It was a boy with bronze hair and pale skin with sharp and aristocratic features but it was not that caught my attention but his unnatural beaty and eyes that were too similar to my mother.
I handed Mr. Banner my slip. "Isabella Swan."
He gave a polite nod and waved me toward the back. "Next to Edward Cullen."
I hesitated just a fraction of a second but after a moment of thought I walked toward the seat and slid into the chair beside him, I caught his expression just for a second. He looked like he was in pain- no worse.
Like he wanted to be anywhere but here.
'I didn't smell bad, did I?' I couldn't help but ask as I shifted in my seat.
The hair on my arms prickled. He didn't greet me. Didn't look at me. Just kept his golden eyes trained on the front board, every muscle in his body tight, like he was holding something in.
Mr. Banner started the lecture, talking about mitosis. I barely heard a word my attention kept pulling sideways to him.
I risked another glance. His jaw was tight. His mouth pressed into a thin, cold line. He looked furious. Or disgusted.
At me? But what did I do? A bubble of anger rose in me but I controlled myself and focused ahead.
The rest of the period crawled by with painful slowness. The only sound between us was the scratch of my pen and the occasional sigh from the front of the room.
When the bell finally rang, I jumped.
Edward didn't even wait for the teacher to finish his sentence. He stood so fast the stool scraped across the tile and was out the door before I could blink.
I stared after him, heart pounding. What the hell was that?
I stared the door for a few seconds before shaking my head and went to ask someone for the cafeteria.
After asking a guy I found the cafeteria without much trouble. The line moved slowly, the food looked worse than I remembered from middle school, and my stomach was still coiled up from that weird moment in Biology.
But I grabbed a water and an apple anyway, figuring eating alone would attract less attention than eating nothing.
That's when I saw them.
They sat together at a corner table like some private art installation. Five of them, absurdly beautiful, still, pale, and distant. They didn't touch their food. They didn't talk to anyone outside their circle. And everyone else seemed to orbit around them without getting close.
Their beauty wasn't warm. It wasn't human. It was like marble statues had come to life and decided to enroll in high school for fun.
The big guy with curly black hair laughed, his arm resting behind a girl with long, dark chestnut hair. They looked comfortable like they belonged to each other. Two others, both blonde, sat quietly: one with a wild shock of golden hair and distant eyes, the other statuesque and stunning like she walked out of a fashion magazine.
The smallest girl, with short spiky black hair, gestured animatedly with her hands, smiling like she knew secrets no one else did.
And the chair at the end of the table? Empty. I stared longer than I should have.
"Those are the Cullens," a voice said beside me.
I turned. It was Jessica the girl from Trig.
She set her tray beside mine and followed my gaze with a knowing look. "You're not from around here if you haven't already heard of them."
"I've seen them in the halls," I admitted. "But… who are they?"
Jessica leaned in, clearly delighted to fill me in. "Okay, so the big guy with the dimples? That's Emmett. The girl next to him is Edythe his girlfriend. She's also Edward's twin."
"Edward?" I asked, glancing at the empty chair.
"Yeah, he's not here. He skips sometimes, no one knows why, he's kinda mysterious."
Jessica shifted and pointed subtly toward the other three. "The blonde bombshell is Rosalie she's single, but is a cold bitch, have rejected proposals from all boys in Fork High. And the pixie-looking one is Alice. Also single but she's kinda weird. The tall, twitchy guy next to her is Jasper. He's not dating anyone either. He and Alice are super close though like siblings."
I nodded slowly, piecing it all together. "They're… all adopted?"
Jessica gave a small shrug. "Sort of. Dr. Cullen and his wife took them in years ago. But I swear they don't look more than a year apart. It's… kind of creepy, right? I mean, I guess they're nice, but no one really talks to them."
I looked back toward the table.
Edythe whispered something to Emmett, who smirked but kept his eyes down. Rosalie ignored everyone, flipping through a glossy magazine. Jasper looked like he was barely holding it together, hands clenched like he was bracing himself against a wave. Alice met my gaze for just a flicker of a second and smiled.
I blinked.
Then she turned away, like nothing happened.
"Edward's single, too." Jessica's voive brought me back. "But If I were you I wouldn't try. He thinks he's too good for all of us." Jessica finished with an advice as she waved some people to our table.
I nodded slowly, trying to look casual while stealing another glance.
They were too beautiful. Too still.
And the way they didn't eat, didn't interact, didn't blink unless necessary… and the same attraction and chill I get when I see mom.
'They are… cold ones, huh?' I thought to myself. I should probably ask Atlas he probably knows more about the Cullens.
Others join our table and they start asking questions about me which I agian avoided with vague answers and strained amile which at this point was my instinctual defensive mechanism.
By the time lunch ended, my head buzzed from names, hallways, and way too much forced friendliness. I console myself saying I was the center of gossip for today… maybe the week. I was new news and would soon grow old.
With that thought I went over to all my remaining classes. Nothing much happened, no more Cullens trying to control their blood lust, no more over friendliness
When the final bell rang, the rain had returned with a vengeance. I pulled my hood up and made my way to the parking lot, footsteps echoing in the slushy puddles.
I passed the main office on the way to my car. That's when I saw him from the window.
Edward Cullen, standing stiff-backed across from the secretary's desk, hands clenched at his sides. He wasn't yelling, but his voice low and tight cut through the glass.
"I just need to switch. Biology fourth period. Put me anywhere else."
The secretary frowned, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Edward. We're full. There's no other option."
His jaw ticked. He closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded stiffly and turned away.
Our eyes met through the window.
He froze for the briefest second, everything in him went still. Then he turned sharply and disappeared around the corner.
I stood there, raindrops clinging to my lashes, not moving for a long moment.
He'd really tried to switch classes. Just to avoid me. What did I do to him?
A sense of loathing emerged from my heart but it soon snuffed magically as if I could not muster anger towards him. Confused I entered my car.
The drive home was quiet. The forest blurred past in endless green shadows. The windshield wipers clicked like a metronome, counting something I couldn't name.
When the mansion came into view towering and gleaming in the gray rain I felt like I was walking into a different world again.
I parked under the covered portico and shut off the engine, resting my forehead against the steering wheel for a second.
Something wasn't right. I should be feeling anger at Edward but somehow my feelings are exact opposite.
Is… is this mate bond? I couldn't help but think.
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[An: So there's already 20+ Chapters on my Patr**n. So if you guys want to read more. Go to my Patr*on/41_Claws. There are currently 20 advance unedited chapters on it…]
Ps~Donate Powerstone for extra chapter tomorrow. Failure again? No problem! After all it is the steps to success -By Sun Tzu(probably)
100 stones once more.
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