A/N: This story is not twillight. It’s based on the first twillight movie and many actions are changed to fit our narrative. So it’s the same situation with supernatural.
*English is not my first language.
I never thought about how I would die. Dying surrounded by those I love is the best way for me to go.
Outside the windows of Charlie's small police car, the sky was heavy and gray. Despite my warm clothes and heating I felt cold inside. I tried to ignore Charlie and stared at the black carpet on the floor. I traced its pattern with my eyes and ignored the growing anxiety in my stomach. This was clearly the worst decision of my short life, and deep down I knew it very well. I knew it already that morning in the crowded airport hall, as I hugged my mommy, my nose buried in her soft hair, breathing in the familiar scent of her perfume and holding back my tears. I shouldn't have left her. But now I'm here. In Forks. The rainiest town in America. I look at the roads full of puddles and imagine they are my tears.
Charlie stops at a stop sign at an intersection and starts drumming his fingertips on the dashboard. Other than that, the only sound in the car is the radio playing quietly and my heavy breathing, full of anxiety about the familiar and the unknown. I try to focus on the tones of an old rock song, but I can't. I get lost in the lyrics, the words going in one ear and out the other. It drives me absolutely crazy because I can't concentrate on it at all. It sings something about an "wayward son."
"Well, Bella... very nice hair. It's grown a lot..." Charlie begins awkwardly and runs his fingers through my long dark waves. "Yeah... I haven't cut them since I was here for the last time..." I realize how stupid that sounded and quickly tuck the strand of hair behind my ear. A strange, unreadable expression crosses Charlie's face and he clicks the radio off. There is complete silence, which does nothing to calm me down. Charlie sighs deeply and starts the engine again. I immediately feel guilty. I am a terrible, cold person. The weather seems to match my mood; continuous waterfalls of rain pour down from the sky. Lightning flashes through the puffy clouds and it gets so dark and foggy that the scenery is barely visible. I press my nose against the cold, dewy glass and mindlessly focus on the blurry people hiding under their umbrellas, rushing home on the wet sidewalk. I won't survive a week here. I'm a sun-spoiled girlie from Arizona, used to the burning sun and desert wind and high air conditioning bills.
We stop at Charlie's house, and all the memories of my old life immediately flood my mind. When I was younger, I used to come here almost every weekend. That has changed. I hadn't seen Charlie in so long, and to be honest, I was really sorry about that. He had aged a little, with a few wrinkles framing his eyes. He had lost some of his hair. His face was still adorned with a thick black mustache, which he proudly cultivated. The good-natured sparkle in his eyes remained, revealing what a kind person he was.
"I have a little gift for you..." he smiled and led me to a small orange pickup truck.
Oh my god, Dad, a car? Thank you so much!" I ran towards it. and ran my fingers over the bodywork. "I don't even deserve this!"
I walked around the car several times, holding the hood over my head, because the rain would ruin my hair.
Then I wrinkled my nose. "Wait a minute. Is it old?"
"It's from Billy Black. Do you remember him? He has a son named Jacob."
"No, I don't think so... The Blacks? Are they from around here?" I searched my memory. I didn't know any Blacks.
"They're from the reservation, and I used to go fishing with Billy. He's in a wheelchair now." Charlie explained impatiently. I nodded and filed the information away in a drawer in my head. I'll never meet these people anyway.
I unpacked and looked around the room.
A bed with purple sheets, a rug in its place. A window with airy white curtains. Charlie hadn't changed it much; he had just replaced my old bed and placed a few nice decorations around the room. I smiled at the pretty table lamp and the bulletin board on the opposite wall. I put my only warm clothes in the closet and reminded myself that I needed to buy some more. More than three-quarters of my clothes had stayed in Phoenix; the flood of shorts, skirts, and thin-strapped T-shirts would be useless here. I stacked my books on the shelves, rummaged through a few of my old children's CDs, and mixed them with the new ones. In a few moments, this familiar, yet impersonal room was warm and full of life. Maybe it won't be so bad here. Who knows.
Dinner with Charlie was quiet. We ate cheese toasties that we quickly prepared together. I squinted at the TV behind Charlie and didn't think about anything. The effects of traveling all day were starting to show. I was pretty tired and sore.
"Are you nervous about school?" Charlie asked between bites. He enrolled me in a local school with about three hundred students. That was about two and a half thousand fewer than I had at my original school. Yes, Dad, I was absolutely terrified. "Not really. I'm doing well in school, but..."
"Nothing... I don't feel comfortable around people. That’s all.”
"But honey, I feel that way too. It's normal. We are not social butterflies.”
He smiled at me, but I knew he didn't really understand what I meant. I'm weird. Different. Pale, skinny, and, in my opinion, not very attractive. I'm quiet, I don't play any sports, and there's not much I'm good at. "Come on, Bella. The locals are great people. They'll accept you right away. No one here will judge you..."
I smiled and finished the last bite of my sandwich. "What about you? How have you been doing all this time?"
"Please, don't pretend you care."
"I do care." I leaned across the table, Charlie sighed and played with my hair.
"My job isn't like what you see on TV. The worst things here are muggings. Maybe petty crimes. Insignificant nonsense."
"Dad, you know what I meant."
That little shy smile again. "Shouldn't you go to bed?"
Resignedly, I cleared both plates and washed the dishes. I said good night to him and went to the bathroom.
I reserved that moment after my shower to look at my face in the mirror. A sunken, pale face. Expressionless eyes. Uninteresting. Warm, bitter tears warm my cheeks and my throat begins to burn. When I was with Charlie, I felt better. Safe. When I was alone, a heavy stone of doubt settled in my stomach. I took a few deep breaths and looked into my own teary eyes. It'll be okay.
My sadness lingered at breakfast that morning. I chewed my cereal mixed with milk vaguely, not even noticing the taste. Charlie was no longer there; he was on his way to work and didn't look very happy about it. Actually, he looked pretty annoyed. I hoped that it wasn't because of me.
The car ride felt as blurry and foggy as breakfast.
I sat in the car for a while at parking lot by my new school, thinking about everything and nothing, looking out the window. It wasn't raining, which was rare. Few people walked past my car, whether they were engrossed in conversation or walking alone, they looked less lost than I did. No one even glanced at me, no one even noticed the pale and petite girl hiding behind the foggy glass. Fine. Maybe I could stop feeling sorry for myself, at least for a moment. I'm not helping anything, just wallowing in my comfortable sadness again. It's my default setting.
Finally, I forced myself to get out.
With a bold, characteristically uncertain step, I set off for school. It was perfectly clear to me that I would wander around it endlessly. The sharp, yellowish light of the crackling fluorescent lights hit my eyes, and I perceived the people around me as one indistinct mass. I headed to my first class and prayed that so that it would pass as quickly as possible.
And that's exactly what happened. I had gym class, where someone almost killed me with a ball during dodgeball, boring math class full of equations that I had learned two weeks ago, and lunch. Lunch was by far the most interesting part of the day, and probably my most successful social interaction in the last seventeen years. A few people invited me to their table and struck up a conversation with me. They were very nice to me, but I still didn't feel comfortable. They were strangers. I didn't feel like they were really interested in me. I was just a toy, pretty and new. Sooner or later, they would get bored with me and forget all about me.
I pushed my food around on my plate. And then I saw them (to be honest, they were impossible to miss). A group of five people entered the crowded dining room and the atmosphere seemed to change. Everyone stared at them. Envious. Longing. A million emotions in a single second. One was more attractive than the other, and I couldn't stop staring at them. I was glad I wasn't alone. Two girls, a blonde and a brunette with incredibly pale skin, were engaged in a passionate conversation, and their beautiful, perfect laughter carried meters away. Behind them walked two boys, equally pale, their muscles visible under their T-shirts, both seeming to guard the girls. Last to enter was a tall boy with caramel hair. He froze in mid-motion and looked me straight in the face. We only looked at each other for a moment, a chill ran down my spine.
"Who are those people? Are they models?" I blurted out, still staring at him.
"They're the Cullens. Aren’t they gorgeous? Little bit mysterious? But they don't talk to anyone much," said Angela, one of the girls at my table.
"They all date each other, but they're adopted siblings. That’s not mysterious, that’s straight up gross.” Jessica joined the conversation.
"They're Dr. Cullen's children. He’s the only doctor we have. And they are pretty weird, if you want my opinion." Mike remarked, trying to get my attention, but I was still staring awkwardly at the boy, the last one who came alone.
"But the last one... he was alone."
"That's Edward..." Angela giggled.
"Don't think you have a chance." Both girls laughed, and I looked away for a moment so as not to make myself even more awkward.
"No, I didn't think so..."
"That's good. They're cute, but really cold. I have already said it. They don't talk to anyone."
"I heard they're all psychopaths..." Angela remarked excitedly, her eyes wide.
"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised. They're fucking weirdos." Mike spat angrily. "I can't stand them, like the other day I..." I didn't hear the rest of what he said. I was fascinated by them. They seemed perfect to me. I even had the feeling that Edward Cullen smiled at me. At me.
I stomped up the stairs to the third floor. I was panting heavily and felt ashamed of my lack of fitness.
When I entered the classroom, sweaty and out of breath, the teacher was already there. Fortunately, nothing was happening yet.
"Ah, you must be Isabella Swan, right? I'm very happy to have you here. The only seat available is over there." I shook the friendly teacher's hand, and before I could tell him that I preferred to be called Bella, I noticed who I would be sitting next to. Next to him. Edward from the cafeteria.
I imagined walking up to him and introducing myself. We could be friends, right?
Instead, it was absolutely awful. He looked at me as if I had just robbed and killed his grandmother and her dog.
"I'm Bella. Bella Swan, I'm new—"
"I'm new here." I said again, i knew that i’m blushing.
I swallowed hard and sat down. I had no idea what this guy's problem was. We'd known each other for about half a minute, and I already wanted to sink into the ground. I tried not to stare at him, but it was almost impossible because he kept staring at me. Did I have something dirty on me? Was there something wrong with my hair? Had I forgotten to put on deodorant? I'd had enough of him. After class, I bolted out of there. Now everyone was staring at me, but I didn't care. I wanted to get out of there. Now. Before i explode. Hopefully forever. I don't know why this bothered me, even though I wanted everyone to ignore me. Actually, I didn't really understand myself.
I fought back tears, but I was losing. Now I'm going to walk into the school office and beg them on my knees to transfer me, just...
"So put me anywhere, I don't care, do you understand?"
He can't be serious. He's such an idiot.
I leaned my back against the wall and took a deep breath. That was the moment I decided I was going to fight him. He can't destroy me.
