Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Bella POV
I officially hated airports. I’ve never been particularly fond of them, but today makes me want to avoid them for the rest of my life, my vampire life. Well, at least half vampire life.
Usually highly sensitive hearing and smell were a blessing, however, airports manage to transform them into detriments. Airports are a culmination of sweat, blood, and fast food grease with the constant cacophony of thousands of humans rushing to catch their flight; a migraine waiting to happen. Normally, a direct flight from Phoenix to Seattle would be no more than 3 hours. However, the flight had been delayed due to the adverse weather conditions surrounding the northwestern region. It took over 4 hours of waiting at the gate before the pilot deemed it safe to fly, making me regret not driving.
At this point, I was ready to call this entire trip off and stay in Phoenix, but I couldn’t do that to Charlie. It had been almost 2 years since he'd made a trip down to Arizona, his position as sheriff does not allow him to travel often. Then add the fact that I couldn’t come up to Forks without making people suspicious about my accelerated growth. It’d be quite odd if one summer a 4 year old visited him, and then the next year a 7 year old appeared. So we had to wait and see if it looked like I stopped aging at some point, as there was a decline as I got older. It’s been about 4 years since I stopped having visible changes, or at least visible to humans. My actual age finally matched my appearance for the first time since birth.
After 3 extremely tedious hours of being stuck behind a crying baby and next to a conceited guy who can’t take no for an answer, the plane finally landed. I rapidly got off the plane, ignoring the jerk’s last attempt to get my number. I texted Charlie about my arrival as I searched for the closest exit out of the airport. I didn’t need to worry about luggage, since I shipped it out earlier this week in order to avoid any extra hassle. Thank god.
As I stepped out into the crisp cool air, I closed my eyes and deeply inhaled the fresh scents of the forest, of its recently rained upon fauna. Had I landed when I was supposed to land, I would’ve taken my time to enjoy the views on my way to Forks. Unfortunately, I couldn’t, so I took one last calming breath, and I started to run.
I skidded to a stop at the end of the street of the address Charlie texted me. I strolled up to a quaint soft yellow-painted house with a police cruiser parked in front, next to a monstrous red chipped chevy truck. I heard a constant faint thudding with an occasional snore. My mind immediately formed a plan. Pranking Charlie was one of my favorite pastimes. I snuck into the house quite easily, considering Charlie left the door unlocked for me. I followed his heartbeat, finding myself in what appears to be a living room. Charlie was stretched across the worn couch, the TV playing a baseball game on mute. I took the remote and blasted the television sound, placing the remote on the ground as if it fell. Charlie suddenly bolted straight up on the couch, frantically scanning around the living room. Once I heard his heartbeat revert back to a calm steady beat, I sprinted to the living room once again.
“Boo!,” I screeched. And Charlie actually let out a high pitched scream, like a girl. My body shook with uncontrollable laughter as I dropped to the ground and rolled around the carpeted floor.
“Goddammit Bella! You shouldn’t do that to an old man. You almost gave me a heart attack,” he huffed, attempting to catch his breath. “Anyways, come on,” he motioned me closer, “give your old man a hug before he dies of a weak heart.”
I pointed my finger in his direction, as I got closer. “Hey, you regretting my stay already? We’ve only been planning this since I can remember,” I teased him as I went in for a hug. I breathed in his familiar scent of pine and leather.
“Yeah, Yeah, I’m not so sure about this anymore. I don’t know how you turned out to be such a troublemaker. ‘Cuz it’s clearly not from me,” he joked. “Well, let me show you around and give you the scoop for tomorrow.”
“You sure you can handle that or do you need help up the stairs, old geezer?,” I retorted. He makes the motion to swat me, but before he can, I run away laughing.
After the quick house tour, Charlie informed me that I have to be careful. Apparently, there’s a vampire coven of seven living in Forks, five of whom attend Forks High School. He explained that their diet of animal blood allowed them to control their thirst and be able to be among humans. He also reminded me about the Quileute shifters, not that there should be issues. Coming to Forks, I expected two years of normal American high school, not to be in the middle of some kind of supernatural world. I’ve only met one other vampire and according to Pierre, there’s no knowledge of the existence of half vampires. He didn’t even think it was possible for a vampire to impregnate a woman, much less not kill her in the process; an enigma, really. Charlie didn’t advise me not to interact with the Cullens, just to be careful. He told me that the decision was mine to make about how I was going to interact with them. He knows about my curiosity regarding vampires, since my friendships have only been limited to humans and with Pierre. Rapid aging did not bode well with maintaining long term friendships.
So this could be my chance, I just don’t know how.