Chapter Text
Bella Swan lived in Forks, Washington her whole life. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. She’s lived in Forks since her sixth birthday, almost a year after her Grandma Marie died, and a month after her mother Renee forgot to pay rent for the fourth time.
Before she was taken to the scary place with sad kids, her father, Charlie, came to take her home. He also seemed sad, but with him she had her own room that he helped her paint purple, and a whole bookshelf she got to fill all by herself.
He took her to meet the nice lady in town who gave them hamburgers and snuck Bella extra fries. And after that, he drove her over to the “Rez” to go fishing. She didn’t like fishing, it was boring and smelly, but she didn’t say that, she didn’t want him to send her back. But the next weekend, when they packed a tackle box and fishing rod into the car and drove to the Rez, Bella got to stay on land.
She met Rachel and Rebecca Black who were older than her, but still nice. And their little brother Jake who was even littler than her and stuck his fingers up his nose. They also didn’t talk about their mother, but they did tell fun stories about their great great great great great grandparents, and magic spirits, and heroes saving the tribe. Bella wanted to be just like them.
Except they went to school on the Rez, and Bella had to go to school in town. The kids there asked about her mom, except for Angela, she said she was sorry, but Bella didn’t know what for. She became her friend, with Lauren and Jessica, then Mike and Eric, and sometimes Tyler.
And that became Bella’s life in Forks. Somewhere, she stops fearing that Charlie will send her back to Renee or the scary house. Somewhere, she starts only calling him Dad. Somewhere Jake becomes like her little brother and the twins her big sisters. Somewhere her school friends become just friends, even when they are being silly or stupid.
It’s an easy life. Uncomplicated. It passes the time.
People in town start whispering about a new family moving in, a new doctor coming to the hospital, new kids enrolling in school, only days before Dr Carlisle Cullen and his wife Esme, and three of their five adopted kids, Alice and Edward Cullen, and Jasper Hale are actually spotted.
Rumors fly about the two missing members, Emmett Cullen and Rosalie Hale. Everything from running away to elope, to being secretly committed to mental hospitals, homeschooled after repeated expulsions, or sent to gifted European boarding schools.
Bella and Jake don’t believe Billy’s warnings, writing them off as old ghost stories. They make up their own wild theories as Jake works on his Rabbit in the garage. It’s his passion project after learning everything he could from Billy’s old truck. Her dad bought it off of them when she passed her driver’s test making ber the first of her friends with her own wheels… not that it could take them out of town, but a first was a first.
Edward gives her strange looks and covers his nose when they cross paths in the halls. She tries not to take it personally since by all accounts he and Jasper are a little weird around everybody. Alice tries approaching her a few times, talking a mile a minute, fast enough that even with a lifetime of keeping up with Jessica Stanley, she’s lost. But Bella’s answers must be lacking, because she suddenly joins her siblings in ignoring her.
They’re fine as classmates, getting out of group projects where they can, but working with others in the library when strictly necessary. The student body accepts Alice as the most friendly, Jasper as her awkward shadow, and Edward as a loner. They’re not as exciting as anyone hoped, so the rain beats them into its routine.
Their second year in Forks, the family is still reclusive, but the town has adjusted around them. Everyone tries to go to Dr Cullen when they’re ill or injured, the PTA moms smile at Esme at the supermarket, the student body of Forks High leaves the three teenagers alone unless absolutely necessary.
It’s a surprise to everyone when Emmett and Rosalie show up the second week of their senior year like they were there all along.
The rumors of where they were rekindle, but speculation quiets when it’s clear they won’t mingle either. With no new information to feed or counter some of the wilder stories, they settle into silent side eyes and wide berths around their designated lunch table.
This year, Edward is in her AP Bio. Mr Banner assigns them as lab partners and Edward spends the first week trying to get out of it, the second entirely ignoring her, and the rest only barely acknowledging her when they have to work together. She gets the sense it’s going to be a long year.
It’s mid-January when she finds Rosalie in the parking lot at lunch, glaring into the hood of Edward’s silver Volvo. For some reason, the blonde seems less intimidating alone. Bella knows the only time she’s been approached has been by guys she swiftly turned down, and she figures she could use a friend. Or at least an interaction from the Forks student population this year that wasn’t mandatory or a come-on.
“Car trouble?” She calls a little too quietly. She cringes debating how awkward it will be to repeat herself.
Rosalie still seems to hear, though, speaking sharply in her direction, “Not yet.”
Bella shuffles uncertainly waiting for Rosalie to say something else or at least look up.
She doesn’t.
Clearly, their interaction is over. Good try, Swan.
As she’s about to turn away, Rosalie’s eyes pin her down. And god, what color was that? Not just boring brown like hers, but lighter, almost gold. It’s the craziest hazel she’s ever seen—could she even call it hazel?
“Come here.” It is not a suggestion.
Bella’s feet move before her thoughts catch up. “Uh… I don’t really know anything about cars. My friend Jake actually—“
Those beautiful eyes roll like a prayer for patience. “Grab something and pull—unplug it, or break it, I don’t care—then close the hood, and walk away. Think you can manage that?”
“I think that’s property damage.” Bella raises her hands placatingly. “Listen, my dad’s a cop so—”
“It’s my family’s car. I can fix it later.”
“And why are you trying to break your fancy car?”
“Because my idiot brother—“
Bella can see her biting her tongue. She really does need a friend.
“I don’t have to tell you anything,” Rosalie snaps.
Bella sighs and wonders why she ever decides to be a nice person. “If you tell me why, maybe I’ll want to help you.”
The blonde seems to mutter something under her breath before explaining like she’s doing Bella a favor, “Edward…” she pauses choosing her words carefully, “he went into my room.”
“That’s it? That’s why you’re messing with his car? Or trying to.”
Her jaw tenses, “He found some really personal things and has been making some stupid judgey comments about it. For days! It’s not like he was invited to look in the first place!”
Bella’s eyebrows shoot up, her mind unwillingly racing with invasive possibilities. “That’s… awful.”
She crosses her arms. “And he says he couldn’t help it—even Emmett is defending him—but no one told him to poke around. If he didn’t like what he heard—found, I mean. It’s not like I forced him!”
The only words Bella thinks to say are, “I’m sorry.”
“So…?” She gestures to the car.
“Right. I really don’t know what I’m doing.”
“That’s the point. If I do it, he’ll just know how to fix it.” She must look confused, because Rosalie hurries to clarify, “Carlisle will make me tell him, but if I don’t know…”
“He suffers a little longer?”
“Exactly. So?”
“Okay.”
Rosalie turns around and Bella sticks her hand into the mess of cables and pipes. She unplugs something, hopefully small and inexpensive.
“Don’t just do one thing! Take a spark plug or something—cut his brakes.”
“I don’t even know what that is!” Bella huffs.
“I thought your friend was good with cars?” So she was listening.
“He might as well be speaking Latin to me.”
Rosalie groans, “Deus misereatur.”
“Was that actually Latin?” This school doesn’t even teach Latin.
“Just keep going.”
Bella digs around some more. Disconnecting anything that wiggles, tying things together that definitely shouldn’t touch, and even managing to take a nut off of something that seems important. She closes the hood and turns, “I think I did some damage.”
“Good.” Rosales smoothly pulls a clean rag out of her bag and offers it to Bella.
Bella takes it, “Thanks.”
They fall into an awkward silence as Bella cleans her hands. Just to get Rosalie to stop staring at her she speaks, “I’m sorry your brother invaded your privacy like that.”
“Thank you,” Rosalie says reflexively, but her eyes widen slightly in surprise.
They lapse back into quiet.
“Is it true you’re dating Emmett?” Bella blurts out. Her heart races once she registers what she said.
Rosalie levels her with a stare—and wow, her eyes really are gold—full of contempt. Bella is tempted to just toss the cloth back and melt into the pavement, but then something crazy happens.
The corner of Rosalie’s perfect lips tick up and a sound escapes her that could almost be a laugh if it didn’t sound like the most harmonious wind chimes.
Bella’s gasp gets caught in her throat saving her the embarrassment.
“These small towns are so desperate for something interesting… I let him hold an umbrella over my head one time, and the whole school thinks I’m dating my foster brother.” She shakes her head, sending bright honey hair dancing over her shoulder. “At least it wasn’t Edward, not that he would ever be so chivalrous.”
“I don’t know, he seems nice enough.” Bella doesn’t know whose benefit she’s lying for. “I’m his lab partner in Bio.”
“I know.” The way Rosalie says it makes Bella think that Edward is not so nice when talking about her at home.
But why would he ever bring her up? They weren’t friends. The most he ever said to her was fixing her answers on their worksheets. Bella coughs awkwardly, “Well anyway, thanks for clearing that up…” she trails off, switching to wipe grease off her right hand.
“You’re not going to ask me out now, are you?”
Bella almost drops the rag. “I- uh—“
“You’re prettier than anyone else who’s tried, I might actually think about it.” That smirk reappears and Bella feels woefully left out of the joke.
“Wha-?” This time she does drop it.
Rosalie steps into Bella’s space, picks up the cloth daintily, then turns away and starts walking back to the cafeteria. “I’ll see you around, Bella.” She throws over her shoulder.
And Bella is left standing there in the parking lot, feeling like an idiot.