Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was certainly no better way to go to one’s first college class than covered in grease and smelling like the fried chicken wings at the Thriftway deli counter.

Bella parked her truck and scowled at her own face in the rearview mirror. She’d changed out of her work shirt and smoothed her hair back as best she could into a ponytail, but she couldn’t really do anything about the oil or the smell. Eight hours slicing ham and refilling warming pans with overcooked pieces of deep-fried foodstuffs was going to leave its mark, and she just didn’t have time to shower before class. She wondered what it would be like. She hadn’t been in a classroom since she’d graduated in Arizona.

She could have done anything. She’d been accepted to Northern Arizona University, and to both WSU and University of Idaho. She’d been offered a fairly decent job, too, by one of her mother’s friends back in Phoenix.

And yet, here she was. She rested her hands on the steering wheel and gazed at the nearby building. It was small, its sides covered in white clapboard. A sign out front read Peninsula College. It didn’t offer as much as some places, but she could get her Associate Arts degree here while working, and still have time to spend with Charlie.

She’d needed this. As much as she loved her mother, Bella knew she had to move away and establish her own life somewhere. She couldn’t do that while also picking up the slack for Renee. But all the same, she just couldn’t bring herself to separate from family entirely – hence coming back here to Forks, to the place where she’d spent her summers as a kid with her father. Charlie seemed quietly pleased that she was here.

Bella stepped out of her truck. It was raining, as it always seemed to do here in Washington State. She tucked her books against her chest and hurried inside.She made it with two minutes to spare. Bella slid into the only empty seat in the small classroom and took out a pen and notepad.

The class seemed interesting – French. She’d taken some Spanish in high school, but she needed another language credit, and she’d thought this was a good idea. She flipped open her coursebook and skimmed the first few pages. Irregular verbs – être, faire, aller, avoir. Hm.

She became aware, as the instructor began talking, of being watched. Bella kept her gaze forward, but she could see that someone to her left was staring at her. She could feel his regard like a hot spot on her skin. As time went on, she got more and more uncomfortable. What was wrong with him? Bella stole a look.

He was unexpectedly beautiful, as if he’d come to life off the pages of a fashion magazine. He had a strong jaw and a straight nose, and neatly coiffed brown hair. She’d have been a little awed by it if he hadn’t been glaring at her with the nastiest sneer she’d ever seen in her life. It was as if he’d stepped in a particularly revolting pile of dog crap.

If she’d been younger, she probably would have shrunk back and tried to make herself invisible. Bella glared straight back into his dark eyes for a moment before turning back to the front to ignore him. Fuck him. I’ve dealt with worse than that dick at the deli counter, I bet.

When she glanced back again, he was ignoring her, too.

She packed up her books after class and went up to the front. The instructor gave her an inquiring look. “Sorry to bother you, Mr...Williams, was it?” He nodded and shook her hand with a smile. “My shift at work ends less than a half hour before your class starts. I just wanted to let you know. Is there anything I need to do if I wind up being late?”

“Nothing special, no, Miss Swan,” he said. “We understand our students often have work and family obligations that can conflict. I do ask that you wait to enter the class until I’m not in the middle of talking so that you don’t disrupt the other students, though.”

“Of course.” She gave him a polite smile. “Thank you. I think I’m going to enjoy this class.”

“Glad to hear it.” The instructor turned to the young man who’d been glaring earlier. Bella resisted the urge to scuttle out of the room, instead leaving with her head held high and her pace deliberately calm. “Ah, Edward,” she heard Mr. Williams say. “What can I help you with?”

Ah. So Mister Sneer had a name. Bella resolved to do her best to forget it. She had more important things to think about – like what to pick up on the way home for her and Charlie’s dinner. Bella started her truck’s engine and pulled out of the parking lot.

Chapter Text

Charlie paused on his way out the door. He was in his blue sheriff’s uniform. “Oh, hey. Class tonight?”

“Yes.” Bella popped a sandwich into the microwave. “At least I’m not going straight there from work this time. I’m pretty sure everyone in that class just thinks I wear potato wedge perfume.” She glanced at the table to make sure she had her backpack with her.

“French class, right?” Charlie’s brows lowered. “Has that young man you told me about been bothering you?”

“Mister Sneer? No, he hasn’t. He never showed up again after that first time.” Bella shrugged and sat down to her quick dinner. “Maybe he just didn’t like the smell of stale fryer grease or something, who knows?”

“That’s good. Glad to hear it.” Charlie gave her a wave. “Call my cell if you need anything. I’ll pick up if I can.”

“Have a good shift,” she told him.

For once, she got to Peninsula early. Yet another advantage to not having the day shift, she thought. Humming, Bella headed inside. She decided to duck into the bathroom before class started since she had extra time. She washed her hands, then stopped dead.

A woman stood with her back against the closed door, staring at her.

She wasn’t especially tall – maybe an inch or two taller than Bella herself – but her presence was strangely imposing. Her arms were folded across her chest, her immaculately manicured fingers resting on her arm. Her honey-golden hair draped flawlessly over her shoulders. Eyes of the same honey gold were fixed on Bella, unblinking. “You’re Isabella Swan.”

Bella stared at her. “...Yes?” She couldn’t really think of anything else to say.

The young woman still didn’t blink. It was unnerving. “You’re going to be late for class today.” She reached behind her and turned the tumbler on the door, locking them in.

Outrage welled up, but Bella didn’t quite dare to voice her indignation. Something about this person seemed off. Threatening even, and in a way that meant real danger, not just posturing. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why. There was nothing overtly dangerous there. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“I’m Rosalie Hale.” She spoke the name almost haughtily, like a Hollywood starlet might have done. “I’ve come on behalf of my brother, Edward Cullen. Delivering a message, if you will.”

“Ed…?” Bella was incredulous. “What, the creep that stared at me in class last week?”

Rosalie’s lips tightened. “Drop the French class,” she said. “You can always take it later. You’re only in your first year.”

“Why the hell would I do that?”

“It’s in your best interests, I assure you.”

Rosalie’s eyes had darkened to almost black. It was eerie. Edward’s eyes had also looked like that, Bella remembered. Must be a charming family trait. “I’m not dropping anything. I’m just living my life, and I’m going to keep doing that. Whatever your brother’s problem is, tell him to build a bridge and get over it. I’ve never even spoken to him.”

“Speaking has nothing to do with it.” Rosalie took a single, controlled step toward her, and lowered her voice. “Drop the class. Do that, and you’ll never have to cross paths with my family again. And I promise you, you don’t want to.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. You both seem just delightful.” Bella had had enough. “Get out of my way. I don’t want to talk to you, and I have French to study.”

There was silence. Rosalie studied her through narrowed eyes. Then, without a word, she unlocked the door and stepped aside, holding it open with sarcastic flair. “You’ll regret this,” she said softly as Bella passed her.

That did it. Bella rounded on her, intent on giving her a piece of her mind, her soft voice still ringing in her ears, and…

Rosalie was gone.

Bella blinked as the bathroom door slowly closed, hiding the empty room behind it. She looked up the short hall, but it was empty. She looked behind her toward the classroom, even though Rosalie couldn’t possibly have slipped past her. It, too, was deserted. Rosalie had simply vanished, as if the floor had swallowed her up.

“I am losing my goddamn mind,” Bella muttered. She headed to class. She had to wait until a good moment to go in, since the lecture had already started.

Edward was there. Of course he was. Fortunately, he was sitting off in the corner by himself, and she didn’t have to sit beside him. She wondered what he’d told his sister that had made her come after her, and why. Bella sat down and took out her coursebook.

She tried to pay attention, but the confrontation had left her nervous and jittery. Bella turned on her phone and flicked to an internet browser. A search for “Hale” and “Cullen” alongside Forks only pulled up a small news article from a couple of years ago. It was about a new doctor’s practice opening up along the main street. Carlisle Cullen, she thought, glancing at the picture of the smiling man in scrubs. Bet they’re related somehow. A further search was fruitless. There was nothing current on the web about either Rosalie Hale or Edward Cullen.

It seemed odd that a doctor’s family would corner and threaten her like they were members of some kind of mafia. And she wasn’t even sure why. Edward didn’t like the look of Bella, so he wanted her out of his first-year French class? Who did that? What kind of an entitled, self-important person was he? And he’d sent his sister after her instead of even talking to her himself.

Jerk. Bella was seething.

She didn’t think she’d learned much once class was over. Without looking back, she grabbed her things and left. Bella didn’t want to accidentally look at Edward, or do anything that might trigger yet another conversation with him or his family members. Her steps slowed as she reached the parking lot.

There was a young woman idling near the driver’s side door of Bella’s 1963 Chevy. She was tiny, less than five feet tall Bella guessed, with short, dark hair. She wore a green raincoat over black leggings and boots, with a matching green umbrella. Her eyes found Bella’s a moment later. Before Bella had a chance to register their amber color, their owner was shaking her hand. “Hello,” the stranger said. There was just a hint of the south in the way she spoke. “Pardon the intrusion. Are you Isabella Swan?”

“Oh, god, tell me you’re not another Hale,” Bella blurted.

The girl’s brows arched, but she smiled. “No. A Cullen, actually,” she said. “I’m sorry to bother you, but my sister told me she’d approached you and it hadn’t gone well. Do you have a minute to chat? There’s a burger place just down the street. Please let me buy you some dinner to make up for the unpleasantness.” She paused. “Or if you don’t have time now, I can leave you my card? But we do need to talk to you, please. To clear some things up.”

If Bella were smart, she’d tell this unexpected third Cullen (second Cullen?) to get lost. But Alice seemed warm and apologetic, and Bella was at least a little curious about this family that she somehow kept tripping over lately.

And besides, she was hungry, and a burger sounded like exactly what she wanted. “All right,” she said.

“Splendid. Let’s go, then. We can talk once we’re sitting down. Much more pleasant to have discussions that way.” She gave Bella an engaging smile.

Bella stuck her books in her truck. “I’m sorry,” she said as they headed for the sidewalk, “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Oh! Where are my manners?” The girl offered her a hand contained in a dainty gray leather glove. “Alice. Alice Cullen.”

“Nice to meet you. You can call me Bella.” They walked for a while. “So are you related to Doctor Cullen? I saw his name online.”

“Yes. He and Esme are our parents,” Alice said.

Bella’s brow wrinkled. “Not to get too personal, but he doesn’t really look old enough to have that many kids your age.”

Alice laughed. “He gets that a lot,” she said. “We’re adopted, and Carlisle and Esme seem to have baby faces. Rosalie hates it when people think she’s Carlisle’s sister.” She opened the door of the restaurant when they reached it. “Order anything you like, please. I really do feel so bad about the inconvenience we caused you.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Bella mumbled. “I just got glared at, and your sister made me late for class. Could have been worse.”

“All the same, though,” Alice said.

They didn’t really talk until a server brought Bella her meal. It was a tiny place with only a couple of tables, but the cheeseburger and chocolate shake looked pretty good. She took a bite. “So,” she said once she’d swallowed, “what can I do for you?”

Alice folded her hands on the table. “See, the thing is,” she said slowly, “my brother has some...sensitivities to things, sometimes. Particularly to smells.”

Bella gave her a look. “Are you about to tell me I have to drop my class because I stink?”

“No! No,” Alice said with a startled laugh. “It’s nothing you’re doing wrong. I’m just explaining why he might have come across the wrong way.” She tapped the table and chewed her lower lip. “Rosalie is overprotective of him sometimes. I hope she didn’t scare you.”

“She threatened me,” Bella said, “but I was more angry than scared.”

“Really? Most people find her terrifying.” Alice waved the subject aside. “Anyway, that doesn’t matter. Edward shouldn’t have been rude, and Rosalie didn’t handle the situation very well. Please accept my apology on behalf of my family. You don’t have to drop your class or anything like that. We’ll deal with things on our end.”

Bella’s feathers were decidedly less ruffled now. She was willing to extend an olive branch, she decided. “I understand getting protective over neurodivergent family members,” she said. “My mom has ADHD and she needed help with things sometimes.”

“Neurodi…? Oh.” Alice stopped. “Right. Edward.” There was a pause. “It sounds like you believe in taking care of your family, too, Bella.”

“Yeah, I do,” Bella said. “Renee isn’t a great cook, so I did that for her. And I made sure she remembered to pay the bills, because sometimes she’d forget. Things like that.” What was it about Alice that made her so easy to talk to? She’d never just up and told a stranger about something this personal. “I’m glad we straightened this out. I was starting to wonder if I’d pissed off the mafia or something.”

Alice smothered her laughter. “Is that how Rosalie came across? Oh, I’ll never let her hear the end of that. I’ll have to start calling her Michael Corleone.”

Bella brightened. “You like The Godfather? That’s one of my favorite movies.”

“Sure do. I love classic films, especially anything with Audrey Hepburn in it.”

“Elegance is the only beauty that never fades,” Bella said.

Alice’s face lit up. “Oh, that’s one of my favorite quotes from her!” She clapped her hands. “I just knew I liked you. You clearly have excellent taste.” Bella laughed. “Listen, I wish I could stay here and talk Hepburn with you, but I have to go. There’s someplace I have to be. But here.” Alice took a case from her purse, opened it, and slid a card across the table. “There’s my number. The local theater has a viewing of My Fair Lady next week. I’d love if you would come enjoy it with us. Rosalie and I always try to catch anything from the golden era of Hollywood that we can.”

Bella rested her fingers on the card. “Rosalie?”

“She won’t bite you, I promise,” Alice said. “I’ll make her behave. And besides, she’s really very charming when she wants to be. You’ll come, won’t you? Say you will. I don’t have any friends here who will squeal over classic movies with me.”

What did she have to lose, really? It wasn’t as if Bella had many close friends here either. She had a few friends who still lived in the nearby reservation, but anyone else she’d met as a kid had long since left Forks for college or work opportunities. And besides, weirdly antisocial or not, the Cullen/Hales seemed interesting. “Well, all right. I have to check my work schedule, but I’ll come if I’m free.”

“Wonderful!” Alice rose and tucked both purse and umbrella under her arm with a pleased look. “It was lovely to meet you, Bella Swan. I’ll look forward to seeing you again next week.”

Bella headed back to her truck. It was strange to go from wanting to strangle someone to agreeing to watch a movie with them within a couple of hours, she reflected. But at least it seemed like life was about to become a little less boring.

Chapter Text

Olympic Theater wasn’t exactly “local,” given it was over an hour’s drive from Forks. Bella parked her truck and got out, looking around. She didn’t see anyone she knew. She consulted her phone. Hey, I’m here.

Hi! Even though it was only text, she could practically hear Alice’s cheerful chirp. We’ll be there in five. Rosalie’s driving, or it’d be faster.

A group of people passed Bella on their way inside, chattering. They weren’t in formal wear, but everyone looked a bit dressed up. She looked down at herself uneasily. At least her jeans and turtleneck were clean. There was a smudge on the toe of one of her Vans. She rubbed it against her pants leg.

The rumble of a powerful engine came to her ears. Bella looked up as a black sports car pulled into the parking lot. It wasn’t necessarily flashy, but its sleek lines hinted at a high price tag. She glanced at the badge on the hood. Wow. Aston Martin, nice. The driver’s side door opened, and a movie star stepped out.

At least, that was Bella’s first impression. She had to blink for a second before she recognized Rosalie. The young woman wore a simple black dress that hugged her to mid-thigh, and classic black pumps with tasteful rhinestone detailing. Her purse had a snakeskin pattern. She looked amazing, Bella had to admit to herself. Beautiful, confident, poised – and as glacial as a queen, she thought, shivering as Rosalie’s emotionless gaze found her. Bella’s breath caught in her throat.

Alice popped out of the passenger’s seat. Her black dress was a bit more sporty, and had a sequined logo on the chest. She’d also donned elegant black gloves. She waved with a brilliant smile. “Hi, Bella,” she said. “Ready for some 1960s cinematic gold?”

“Yeah.” Bella tore her eyes off Rosalie with an effort. “But I think maybe I’m kind of underdressed.”

“Nonsense.” Alice linked her arm with hers. “You look adorable. Besides, this isn’t a fancy dress thing. Rosalie and I just like fashion.”

“You do look nice.” Bella’s gaze slid back to Rosalie, who was still unsmiling. “Very nice.”

“Thank you.” Alice beamed. Then she gave Rosalie a pointed look.

The blonde scowled and looked away. “Yes. Thank you.”

“Don’t we have something to say to Bella?” Alice prompted. “So we can all go in and have a nice time together?”

The glare Rosalie leveled at her could have flattened a small city. Alice gazed right back, her smile unwavering. Finally, the blonde lowered her eyes. “My apologies for the misunderstanding at Peninsula College,” she mumbled.

“Oh. Yeah. Um, that’s all right.” Bella wanted to squirm.

“Wonderful,” Alice said cheerfully. She tugged on Bella’s arm. “We’re all friends again. It’s fun time, then! Come on, let’s go find our seats.”

It wasn’t a large building, and there weren’t too many people there, but the staff had made an effort to decorate a little for the event. There were a few framed movie posters up from the 50s and 60s, and someone had set up some dusty red velvet stanchions to guide customers in the door. Alice seemed delighted by all of it; Rosalie didn’t react much outside of a polite smile or two when the shorter girl addressed her.

When they sat down, Bella found herself – to her dismay – seated between her two companions. She got the sense from Rosalie’s rigid posture that this had been Alice’s idea. There really wasn’t a polite way to ask not to sit next to the blonde, was there? She focused her attention on Alice. “So you guys do things like this a lot?”

“Oh, yes,” Alice said. “They don’t show the classics nearly as often as they used to, of course. But we still love going to the Grand Illusion Cinema in Seattle for screenings, and there are sometimes shows in Spokane and Tacoma if we feel like going that far. They’re great fun.” She wriggled in excitement. “My favorites are the ones where the crowd dresses up in period appropriate costumes. I have a few dresses in my wardrobe that simply can’t be worn anywhere else, but they’re so lovely.”

“Wow. It sounds like you almost do a reenactment thing.”

“Something like that.” Alice’s eyes twinkled. “Rosalie’s favorites are Wuthering Heights and Gone with the Wind, she loves movies from the thirties.”

Bella dared to glance at Rosalie. “Oh really, do you?”

“I appreciate the fashions and aesthetics of the era,” Rosalie said stiffly.

“Was that flappers?” Bella grimaced. “No, wait, those were in the twenties.”

“Knee length dresses with puffed sleeves and collars for daywear.” Rosalie eyed her. “Afternoon dresses for stepping out, with nice embroidery and buttons. And of course, long dresses with a flair along the bottom and plunging necklines. Dresses on the red carpet are still often callbacks to the era. The first backless gowns came out in the thirties.”

“Did they really?” Bella was genuinely interested. “I thought people were really poor in the thirties. How did they afford multiple dresses a day?”

Rosalie’s expression changed subtly for a moment. Had that been embarrassment? Had Bella even really seen it, or had she imagined it? “Many people were poor, yes,” she said. “High fashion is for the rich. That’s always the case. But fabric was being manufactured more cheaply than before, so even the poor could afford a few things.”

“I had no idea.” Bella giggled nervously. “I guess that’s what I get for never paying attention in history classes.”

“They wouldn’t have covered the history of fashion anyway, probably,” Alice said. “I like fashion from the fifties and sixties more, personally. I love a cute little polka-dotted swing dress, or a hippie skirt, or even a nice beatnik style turtleneck.” She kicked her legs, giving her the air of a girl much younger than she was. Or maybe it was just that normal chairs weren’t made for women as small as her.

“I don’t know anything about fashion,” Bella said. “I just kind of walk into a clothes store, grab whatever in my size that doesn’t look totally stupid, and leave.”

Alice’s eyes lit up. “Oooh, you’re in for it,” Rosalie muttered.

“Hush, Rose.” Alice gave her a look. “Do you need to go shopping, Bella? I love shopping. I can help! Will you let me? I’d love to help.”

Bella blinked, a little taken aback by the flurry of words. “Uh...sure, I guess,” she said. “But I don’t really have a ton of cash, just so you know. We wouldn’t be shopping at the Gap. I mostly have to stick to thrift stores and stuff like that.”

“A challenge. I love a good challenge.” Alice chortled and rubbed her hands together. “You just leave it to me. We’ll have you looking like a fashion plate on a budget in no time. You wouldn’t believe how many pretty things I’ve found on thrift store racks.”

“You’ve done it now.” Rosalie rolled her eyes. “Alice would mount an expedition to the Arctic if she thought she could get a deal on a Tommy Hilfiger at the end of it.”

“At least I’m aware that the Pageboy went out before the 1940’s, Rose.”

“Your Dior is going in the dumpster tonight, pipsqueak.”

Bella was saved from further awkwardness by a sudden dimming of the lights. The curtains on the stage pulled back to reveal the screen, and the opening credits of My Fair Lady began to play.

Bella found herself greatly enjoying the movie. Normally she preferred to watch movies uninterrupted, but Alice occasionally touched her arm and whispered interesting details into her ear. “Did you know Julie Andrews lost out to Audrey Hepburn to do the lead for this, even though Hepburn couldn’t really sing and had to be dubbed? And Andrews had already been doing the lead on the Broadway show.”

“Wow, really?” Bella’s brows arched.

“She did.” Alice’s eyes twinkled. “But then Andrews got an Oscar for playing Mary Poppins the same year, so she did all right.”

“That’s really cool. I love the old movies, but I never really looked into their background,” Bella said.

Alice sighed dramatically. “I’m just a sucker for all the Hollywood gossip.” They giggled together over an awkward conversation onscreen. “This was all based on a Greek legend, you know.”

“Was it?”

“Yes. Shaw wrote the play and called it Pygmalion after the Greek story of a sculptor who fell in love with his own statue of his ideal woman.” Alice shook her head. “It’s a crying shame they don’t teach Greek and Latin literature much anymore. Odyssey is quite wonderful. Have you read it?”

Bella scratched her jaw. “Well, yes,” she said. “It was all right. Kind of dry, though, I thought.”

“I suppose it does need some research nowadays to really understand its context,” Alice sighed. “Such a shame. It really is the bee’s knees.”

Bella laughed. “Are you a thousand years old?” Alice just smiled.

There was an intermission in the middle of the movie. Rosalie stood and went outside immediately once the lights went on. Bella looked after her thoughtfully; then she glanced at her remaining companion. “I’ll be right back.” Alice nodded.

Rosalie stood apart from everyone else, flicking idly at her phone. Her striking golden eyes found Bella at once as she approached. Bella cleared her throat. “Listen,” she said, “I’m kind of getting the vibe that Alice dragged you along to make up for that thing at college. It’s really okay, you don’t have to sit next to me or talk to me if you don’t want to.”

The blonde closed her phone with a click and tucked it into her purse. “No one drags me anywhere,” she said. “But your benignity is noted.”

Ouch. Bella’s hackles rose. “So do you get off on being hostile, or is this just a special performance for my benefit?”

“If I were being hostile, you’d know it,” Rosalie said. “I’m just not as familiar with complete strangers as Alice is.”

“But you’re fine with making vague threats in public bathrooms. Interesting philosophy.”

“I am a lady,” Rosalie said coldly. “I’m well aware that isn’t in vogue these days, but I carry myself accordingly. Terribly sorry it isn’t to your liking.”

Bella snorted. “Yeah, it’s the impeccable manners I’ve got a problem with. You got me. My bad.” The blonde’s eyes darkened visibly. What the hell is with that, anyway? “You know, it’s too bad you’ve got such a winning personality. The pretty face is kind of wasted on you.”

“It seems you do have a problem with manners, impeccable or not. I don’t recall asking for your opinion on my face, Miss Swan.”

“Ahem.” Bella jumped a little as Alice seemed to materialize at her elbow. She glanced at both of them. “Was I interrupting something?”

Rosalie gave her a look, but shrugged and averted her eyes. “Nothing important, no.”

“Oh, good. Because the movie’s going to start again soon. Don’t want to miss the second half, right?” Alice gave Bella’s sleeve a little tug.

The interruption was probably good. The words that were hovering on Bella’s lips a moment prior would probably have resulted in a catfight between a deli girl and a doctor’s daughter, expensive dress and propriety be damned. Bella swallowed her irritation. Movie. Nice outing. Not getting arrested when your dad’s a sheriff. Behave, Swan. “Oh, yeah. Can’t miss Henry and Eliza’s joyful reunion, can we? Let’s go back in.” She made a point to shuffle into their seats first, so that she wasn’t in the middle. Neither Alice nor Rosalie commented on the change in seating.

The rest of the evening went much better. Bella even found herself having fun, laughing at the little jokes and factoids Alice provided. She clasped Bella’s hands as they said goodbye at the end of the event. “I’ve had such a good time. Thank you for coming with us,” Alice said. “We really must do it again soon.”

“Yeah, we should.” Bella smiled. “You’ve got my number, we’ll figure something out.”

And they would, Bella reflected later, as she got ready for bed. But maybe they could manage to go someplace without Rosalie next time.

Chapter Text

Charlie was at the kitchen table, his head resting on his hand. He was still dressed in his sheriff’s uniform from the night before. Bella paused on the stairs, taking in the piles of file folders and papers and photos on the table. “Long night, huh?”

He looked up, startled. Then he exhaled and gave her a halfhearted smile. His eyes were bloodshot. “Pretty long, yeah,” he said. He quickly pushed the photos back into a folder. “We’ve got a bad case, seems like.”

Bella poured herself some coffee from the fresh pot, and topped up his half-full cup without being asked. “Need my Watson to your Holmes?”

Charlie shook his head. “Not this time, Bella. Sorry, but this one’s pretty ugly.”

“Yeah?” Bella cocked an eyebrow at him as she poured milk over a bowl of cereal. “Did Ben Wilson get drunk and get his butt kicked by the bouncers at Blakeslees again?”

“I wish.” Charlie took a sip of his coffee, nodding his thanks for it. “Sorry, but this isn’t some kid swiping a candy bar from the gas station. I know I’ve let you play Sherlock Holmes on some little things before, but not this one.”

“That bad, huh?” Bella studied him. He’d been extra quiet lately, she realized. “Are you sure you don’t want help?”

“I’m sure. Thanks, but not this time,” Charlie said. “I like not giving my kid screaming nightmares.”

It stung a little, but Bella let it go. For now. “Much appreciated. I need my beauty sleep these days.”

“Off to Thriftway this morning?”

“Yep. Morning shift, then a couple hours to mess around before Composition and French classes.”

“Not going out with friends today?” he asked.

“Not today, no. The danishes with Alice thing is tomorrow.” Bella finished her cereal, dumped her dishes in the sink and headed for the stairs with her coffee. “Take it easy today, huh, Charlie? You look pretty beat.”

“I will once I’m done here. Promise.” He grinned at her, looking a little more like himself.

Morning shift was about average. Bella was pulled off the deli counter and sent to mop floors since one of her coworkers had called in sick. She didn’t mind that, since it meant she could zone out and just clean things without having to worry about serving customers, besides giving directions occasionally. She also preferred getting off work smelling like berry scented cleaner instead of rancid fry oil, so that was another plus. She decided to buy herself a little lunch before she left work. Bella hummed to herself as she waited to check out.

Her eyes fell on the magazine rack near the register. A local paper was stuffed into it. More Fatal Animal Attacks Reported Near Forks, read the headline. The picture below it showed a few sheriff’s officers, including – she did a double take – Charlie himself. He’d given a quote, too, which was printed just under the picture. It was something about staying in town and not letting teenagers hang out in the woods. Bella added the paper to her purchases.

She tucked herself into the passenger’s seat of her truck to munch her sandwich and read the article more thoroughly. There wasn’t a lot of information in it. There had been a number of people killed by wild animals in the past couple of weeks, apparently. The paper was vague about what kind of animal it was. Bella’s brow furrowed as she opened her can of Coke and took a sip. Wild animals didn’t often kill people, and when they did, it wasn’t usually more than one incident. It wasn’t likely to be a wolf, lone or in a pack. That left black bears and, perhaps, cougars. But shouldn’t the article have specified that? Especially if it had been several attacks within weeks of each other. Surely they had to know whether it was a bear or not by now?

Interesting. Bella chewed thoughtfully. Was this the case Charlie didn’t want her to see?

She carefully tore the article out of the paper and tucked it into her college notebook for safekeeping. The rest of her break was spent listening to music and relaxing a little, or at least as much as she could on the somewhat-uncomfortable truck seat.

Edward was in French class, but he was pointedly not looking at her. That was fine with Bella. She got out her pen and notebook, and her coursebook. She flipped to last class’s lesson to refresh her memory on what they’d covered. Salut, Marie. Je m’appele Paul. Comment ça va? Her lips moved as she skimmed.

A buzz at her hip caught her attention. Bella switched on her phone. Hi Bella! It was Alice, she realized. I know we talked about maybe grabbing coffee tomorrow morning, but something important’s come up. Could we do it in the evening sometime? We could do dinner instead. Would that work?

Bella considered that. Sure, we could grab pizza or something. I was going to study then but I’ll move that to the morning.

Great! Sorry to cancel at the last minute like this. My thing can’t be put off, unfortunately. A few seconds passed, and then a picture of a beautiful mountain sunset lit up the screen. On the bright side, the scenery here is pretty nice.

Bella smiled. She guessed Alice must be camping or something. Then she remembered. Hey, be careful, all right? I read in the paper there’s some animals out there attacking people.

We did hear about that. Don’t worry, we’re taking precautions, Alice texted back. But thanks for caring.

Anytime. See you tomorrow evening. Bella tucked her phone away.

When she got home that evening, Charlie was in a different chair, but he hadn’t moved from the kitchen table. The papers and files had been rearranged into piles. Bella dropped her backpack and eyed him on the way to the fridge. “You said you’d take it easy today. I bet you didn’t even take a nap, did you?”

“Sure I did,” he said. “I snoozed for an hour.”

“You just passed out on the table,” Bella accused. He gave her a guilty look, and she shook her head at him. “That must be one hell of a case.” She pulled out some eggs and put a frying pan on the burner. He just grunted. “I saw your interview in the paper. Bears or something killing people in the woods, huh?”

There was a beat of silence. Eggs sizzled in oil. Bella put some bread in the toaster. “Yes,” Charlie said finally. “There’s something out there hurting people.”

“That’s your really ugly case, huh?” Bella glanced at him. “Why isn’t it just being handled by animal control, or maybe Fish and Wildlife? The sheriff’s department doesn’t usually have to handle rogue mountain lions, does it?”

“Not usually, no.” He shut his mouth tightly, until his mustache bristled.

She chewed her lip. “This one is really bugging you, isn’t it?” Charlie grunted again. He shuffled some papers into another folder. Bella buttered her toast and scooped her eggs on top of it. “I think you should tell me about it. You always said you liked to think about things out loud.”

“Not this one, Bella. No.”

“If it’s a gore thing, you can just not show me the pictures,” she said. He gave her a look. “Come on, Charlie. I’ve watched a lot of true crime documentaries. I’ve seen tons of crime scene photos and horror movies. Just you telling me about some bodies won’t give me nightmares, I promise. And besides, maybe it’ll make you feel better to talk about it. You look pretty rough.”

He sighed, and she knew she’d won. “All right, fine. Sit down and let me figure out what I want to tell you. I probably won’t give you any names.” Bella put her plate on a clear section of the table and began to munch her dinner. Charlie went through some papers. “All right, so a man was found on January 24 near the fishing docks. He had teeth wounds on his throat and some blunt force trauma in various places, mostly to his chest. Cause of death was exsanguination. His body had been completely drained of blood.”

Bella frowned. “That’s weird. Some animals kill by choking out their prey, but they’d just eat the flesh, wouldn’t they?”

“That’s the usual way of things, yes.” Charlie read a bit further. “No animal tracks found. There were a few human footprints taken from the scene. Nothing really stood out, unfortunately, since there was a lot of very wet mud and not much that held a good foot impression. There was one footprint found that could have been a woman’s shoe or boot, size 7. No weapons or usable fingerprints found at the scene.”

“Okay,” Bella murmured.

Charlie took another sheaf of papers from the table. “On February 3, a couple was reported missing after they didn’t come back from a camping trip. They’d left on January 30. Their bodies were found about a mile from their campsite. They’d been dead for 2 days, but it had been cold enough to preserve their bodies pretty well. There was some animal activity; scavengers had done some damage to their faces and torsos. Fortunately for our investigation, their throats were relatively untouched, and it could be determined that they also died from exsanguination through the carotid arteries. There was no trace of blood in their bodies, or anywhere around where they’d been killed.” He glanced up at Bella. “There were no recent animal tracks bigger than a raccoon’s. The scavengers were likely mostly birds and rodents.”

“Any human tracks?” Bella asked.

“Not that we could find. But the snow had been disturbed in a few areas, like someone had swept away tracks with a broom or branches.” Charlie paused significantly. “Animals don’t cover their tracks.”

No, that was true. Bella ate a mouthful of egg toast. “That’s really strange.”

“Strange, yeah. Bizarre. Horrific.” Charlie exhaled heavily. “And we’ve got no idea what’s going on. There weren’t any tire tracks or snowmobile marks anywhere near the crime scene. How would anyone even get out there?”

“A serial killer, maybe. A hiker.”

“He’d have a really odd MO, then. He’d have to tear out his victims’ throats with something that looks a lot like modified human teeth, suck out all their blood somehow, and carry it away to dispose of it. And he’d have to do it all on foot in really remote areas. Even the fishing docks don’t have any buildings nearby, other than a tiny deserted shed, and there weren’t any recent vehicle tracks.” Charlie rubbed his face. “But it has to be a person. No animal would do things this way. It’s got to be some really, really twisted person.”

Bella regarded him soberly. “Are you going to have to call in the feds?”

“Maybe. Probably.” Charlie sighed. “I’d really rather be able to solve it ourselves, and not have to announce there might be a serial killer working in the Forks area. That would cause a panic. Panicked people do stupid, stupid things. But we don’t have the resources to deal with multiple murders, we don’t know that we can solve anything before someone else gets hurt, and we’re running out of options.”

She finished her dinner and cleaned up her dishes in silence. Then she went back to the table to hug him. “I’m sorry. I guess I can’t really at all. All this is really awful.”

He patted her and smiled. “You did help, Bella. Talking about it did make me feel a bit better.” He searched her face. “You be careful, all right? I’d stay in town until this all gets cleared up. Don’t go out into the woods, especially not by yourself.”

“Of course not,” Bella said with a laugh. “The only places I go are with Alice Cullen, and she’s never taken me anyplace more remote than the theater. Though she does go camping sometimes, I guess. I’ll tell her no if she asks me to go.”

“Good,” he said. “And I know you know this already, but don’t tell anyone about this case. I don’t want there to be a panic. When the public needs to know, we’ll make a carefully worded announcement about it after we’ve got safeguards in place. All right?”

“My lips are sealed,” she said virtuously. “And I’ll even spend the rest of the evening doing homework. How’s that?”

“That’s my girl.” He chuckled. “I think maybe I’ll pack this up. I’m not getting any further on it anyway, and I’ve got a few hours left before my next shift. Might as well catch a little shut-eye.”

“Good,” Bella said, and headed upstairs to get started on her composition paper.

Chapter Text

Charlie was gone when Bella got up the next morning. She had no idea what time he’d gone out, but there was no coffee made, so she suspected he hadn’t wound up getting much sleep or any breakfast. She shook her head. She’d really have to get some frozen breakfast sandwiches or something so he’d at least have an option on days like these.

She hoped that didn’t mean there had been another “animal” murder. Bella grimaced at the thought. If it was, things were getting…really scary. A serial killer dedicated enough to hike miles out into the wilderness to find victims had to be really unhinged. She measured coffee grounds into the percolator and turned it on. Should she tell Renee about it, she wondered? She probably would have to, at some point. But when?

Probably whenever it escalated to official announcements. There really wouldn’t be much point in worrying her before then. Besides, that would give Bella time to figure out how to explain to Renee that she wasn’t going to go back to Phoenix. That would be the first thing her mother would suggest, she was sure of it. And sure, there were benefits to not being in the path of a murderous psycho, but it wasn’t like Phoenix didn’t have its share of violent crime, and she was settling in here. Bella wanted to finish her courses and get her degree. She wanted to hang out with Alice, and maybe get even more of a social life and get her own place, and grow into independence generally.

She met Alice for lunch at Pacific Pizza. The diminutive girl waved at her from a table. “Hey!” she said brightly.

“Hi.” Bella smiled as she sat down. “How’d your camping trip go?”

“Camping? Oh, you mean the mountains thing. We weren’t camping exactly, it was just a really long hike.” Alice shrugged. “We didn’t get back until late, but the scenery was incredible.”

“I bet it was.” Bella consulted the menu on the table. “I’m kind of in the mood for pepperoni. What do you feel like having?”

“Not much,” Alice said with a smile. “We had a huge breakfast when we got back from our trip. But I’ll order a slice of something meaty to be sociable.”

They got their food and got settled. “So your family hikes, huh? Health nuts? Crunchy granola folks?”

“Hardly,” Alice laughed. “We like seeing animals. And fish and birds, I guess, and plants. Mostly the animals and the views, though.” She took out her phone and flipped through her pictures, then displayed one. Bella squinted at the grazing elk on the screen. “That’s my best one from that trip, I think.”

“Nice. You ever think about getting an actual camera for that? I bet you could do some night photography or something.”

“I could,” Alice agreed. “And I have thought about it. But it’s just one more thing to carry, then, and we like to travel light.” She nibbled the edges of a piece of salami. “Listen, I meant to ask you. Do you mind if Rosalie comes along on our shopping trip? She wants to look for shoes, and I know the luxury brands better than she does. She promised she’d behave.” Bella hesitated. “You can say no. I’d just have to call and tell her.”

“I guess it’s fine,” Bella mumbled.

“Great! We’ll meet up at Goodwill in Port Angeles and keep going from there,” Alice said cheerfully. “We’ll have you looking groovy in no time.”

That made Bella chuckle. “Sometimes I swear you learned to talk by listening to someone’s grandma. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone call something groovy in real life other than you.”

“Well, pardon me if I like the hippie thing sometimes.” Alice peeled another bit of salami off her pizza.

It wasn’t as if she’d never been in a Goodwill before, Bella reflected later as her companion rummaged through racks with surprising speed. But Alice made the whole place seem very different. It felt much less boring, and much more like some kind of an adventure. A quest, maybe, only at the end you didn’t get some magic sword that gave you a plus one to some stat, you got…

“Prada!” Alice pounced on something with a triumphant squeal. “Oh, this is perfect for you. You like crew necks, right?” She fairly tossed a bit of blue-gray knitted fabric at her. “This is a great start. What else are you looking for? Pants, skirts, dresses, shoes? Casual, formal?”

“Uh...casual. Don’t know where I’d ever wear formal crap to,” Bella said. “And no skirts, please. I’ve kind of sworn off those. Everything else is fine.” Alice grinned and dove back into her meticulous search.

Bella’s eyes strayed between two racks, across the store to the shoe section. She could see Rosalie there. The blonde was going through boxes, turned to one side so Bella could see her profile. Her own words came back to haunt her. The pretty face is kind of wasted on you. Whatever else might be true of Rosalie Hale, Bella couldn’t fault her looks. She was flawless, from her long, straight nose to her full lips to the soft, smooth lines of her jaw. She even moved with grace, like a dancer. Bella grimaced and looked away. She’s a bitch, Bella, she told herself, as if that were something she could forget.

A pair of dark dress trousers and a couple more shirts made it onto the pile in Bella’s arms before Alice shooed her off to the dressing room. She decided to keep the Prada sweater, but none of the other things fit properly. Alice still seemed quite pleased. “That’s a two hundred dollar item for only eight dollars,” she said as they pulled out of the parking lot. “But we’ll find you more than that!”

That was a pretty good deal, Bella guessed. She glanced at Rosalie in the passenger’s seat. “You have any luck in shoes?”

“No.” Rosalie glanced back at her, expressionless. “But the night is young.”

Bella cleared her throat. “Yeah.” Best to let it rest there, she decided. The less she talked to Rosalie, the less likely it was for either of them to say the wrong thing. And she wanted to stay friends with Alice, right? Right. Best not to fight with her sister, then.

It was getting late by the time they hit the final thrift store in Port Angeles. They’d found two Calvin Klein t-shirts, some kind of custom Levi’s (Bella still didn’t really understand what that meant, but they fit well enough) and a pair of pristine Nikes that Alice had triumphantly unearthed from under a pile of dingy old ballet slippers in a corner. Bella would have been satisfied with that. Rosalie would have as well, since she’d already found a pair of strappy black leather heels she’d seemed pleased with. (Stripping? Tripping? Bell couldn’t remember what brand they were.) But Alice was bound and determined to get Bella a dress for some reason, and they had yet to find one.

Bella sighed as she came out of the dressing room for the fourth time. “I don’t know.”

“It looks like it fits. It does fit, doesn’t it?” Alice twitched at the collar of the yellow minidress she’d found. “Come on, Bella, it’s adorable.”

“It’s fine, I guess.” Bella grimaced and tugged at the skirt. She was aware of Rosalie rolling her eyes and disappearing somewhere among the racks of clothes, but she paid her no mind. “I don’t know, it kind of looks like I should play tennis in it. I don’t really play tennis.”

Alice pouted at her. “Are you sure you can’t tell me what you’d want? I can’t really tell what to look for.”

“I’m sorry. I just really don’t wear them often,” Bella said. “And I don’t have places to wear them to, I guess? So I haven’t kept up with what’s on tap, even.” She tugged at the hem of the dress again. “But I think I’d want it a bit longer, whatever it winds up looking like.”

“Here.” Bella’s vision was suddenly obscured by a wall of navy fabric. She blinked and took it; the dress fell into her arms, revealing Rosalie’s impassive face. “Try that,” the blonde said succinctly, and folded her arms.

“Uh.” Bella was too surprised to make a smart remark. “All right, give me a minute.”

It was surprisingly comfortable. The dress fell to just above her knees and cinched tight at the waist. Its collar was open to halfway down her chest, displaying her collarbones. There were ruffles in the skirt that somehow reminded her of both a 1920s flapper and an extra in a cowboy movie saloon. She lifted a skeptical gaze to the mirror, and paused. It actually didn’t look half bad. The ruffle at the collar wasn’t the best, but… “Huh,” she said aloud.

Alice put her head on one side as Bella emerged. “Huh.”

“That’s what I said.” Bella grinned and twirled to show it from all angles. It swished satisfyingly around her knees. “The collar’s weird. Other than that, it’s not bad, is it?”

“You know what? I like it,” Alice said. “It makes you look taller, and it flatters you. And we can always alter the collar. Wait, let me see.” She peeked at the tags and examined a seam or two. “Wow, do you know what this is? It’s a vintage Chanel, Rosalie.”

The blonde stood off to one side, watching, her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes were half closed. Bella couldn’t quite decipher her expression. There was a certain gleam in Rosalie’s gaze. It almost felt like...no. Bella shook it off and stood up straighter in a sudden burst of courage. “Well, what do you think?” she said. “You’re the one who gave it to me, after all.”

The faintest ghost of a smile curved Rosalie’s lips. It was so brief Bella almost thought she’d imagined it. “You look acceptable,” Rosalie said. She turned a bored expression on Alice. “So can we go now? This place closes in fifteen minutes anyway.”

“We can.” Alice fairly beamed. “There you go, Bella. I told you we could get you some really good things for cheap. It’s not a whole new wardrobe, but it’s close, right?”

“It’s great,” Bella agreed. “Let me get out of this thing so we can buy it. Not sure where I’ll be wearing it, but it’s pretty cool.”

Alice disappeared into the bathroom when they went to the till. Bella paid for her purchase and tucked it under her arm. Would it be weird to wait around inside until Alice returned? Maybe. Yes, it felt weird. Bella headed outside, to where Rosalie was already waiting by the car. It was Rosalie’s, Alice had mentioned – not the Aston Martin they’d brought to the movie, but another understated luxury car, a pale gray BMW. How much money did this family have, anyway? Their dad was a doctor, yes, but did he really make that kind of cash?

Okay, so maybe she was a tiny bit jealous.

Rosalie gave her a sidelong glance. “I suppose now we’ll have to come up with some event for you to wear that dress to.”

How in hell was this woman so good at putting Bella’s hackles up? “Look, we can’t all be doctors’ kids in goddamn Gucci, all right? Some of us work for a living.”

“Well, aren’t we sensitive.” Rosalie rolled her eyes. “I was trying to do you a favor.”

“Did anyone ask you for a damn favor?” Bella snapped.

“You should. You’re working in a grocery store in the middle of nowhere. You clearly have more potential than that.”

“No one asked you!” Bella threw up her hands. “What, do you think you’re my life coach now? What is with you?”

There was a sigh behind them. “I can’t leave you two alone for ten seconds, can I?” Alice had her hands on her hips. Both Rosalie and Bella turned to glare at her; the shorter woman was completely unfazed. She tugged on Rosalie’s lapel. “Come on. Let’s talk for a minute.” Rosalie muttered something that was probably very uncomplimentary, but she stalked after Alice to a corner of the parking lot.

Bella rubbed her face. All right, so maybe she should have tried to find a more diplomatic response. Two near-catfights in parking lots in only two meetings maybe wasn’t the best record. This really wasn’t like her; Bella had never been that person who yelled a lot and wanted to hit people. But then, she’d also never met anyone who could push her buttons with such unerring accuracy.

Ugh.

Alice and Rosalie talked in hushed voices. Rosalie was gesturing wildly, clearly upset, while Alice soothed her. Double ugh. Bella grimaced. This is going to be one hell of an awkward ride home.

At last, the two returned to the vehicle. Alice got into the car while Rosalie hesitated. “I was meant to ask you to come to a showing of Wuthering Heights with us next week,” she said stiffly. “I may have phrased it in a way you misunderstood. It wasn’t meant to be a reflection on your pedigree or your income level.”

“My pedig…” Bella had to choke back laughter. Rosalie gave her a sour look. Had she really been going to invite her somewhere? Bella thought back on the conversation, and sighed. “Okay. Maybe I overreacted. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

Dark amber eyes met hers. “Does that mean you accept the invitation?”

“I had fun last time, so sure. What the hell, why not.” Bella rubbed her ear. “But maybe let’s skip the sniping at each other this time?”

Rosalie’s lips tightened for a moment. Then she nodded and extended her arm. “A truce, then.”

“Truce,” Bella agreed, and shook her hand. She was surprised by the strength in those long, cool fingers. To look at her, she’d never have thought Rosalie would be interested in working out.

Alice glanced into the back seat as they got into the car. “Are you two playing nice now?”

“Sure,” Bella said. Rosalie nodded primly and put her key into the ignition.

“Great!” Alice chirped. “I’d hate to end a lovely shopping trip on a bad note. Did Rosalie invite you to the movie? Oh, good. You should definitely wear that dress when we go, it’s just perfect. Although it might have been better if it had been a tribute to late 1930s fashion instead, since that’s when the movie came out. There were actually a lot of tributes to earlier fashion trends in that year’s Chanel line, did you know that? For example, in their winter collection…”

Alice was off on one of her monologues about fashion. No offense to Alice, but that didn’t really interest Bella much. She found herself thinking more about the Cullen/Hale family. It seemed strange for all of them to be adopted but still all have such an unusual eye color, didn’t it? Maybe they’d all been adopted from the same family. That did happen sometimes, probably. Bella’s thumb flicked over her phone as she googled it. A search for “yellow eyes” only turned up results for jaundice, werewolves and cats. No luck there, she guessed. Alice and Rosalie were plainly in the pink of health, and neither of them were mythical beings. Well, perhaps the cat thing might be accurate in Rosalie’s case – Bella could certainly imagine her hissing and spitting. The mental image of Rosalie with pointed, furry ears made her shake her head to clear it.

That brought back her musings about their family fortune. She did a cursory search for Aston Martin prices, then goggled at the results. Bella searched for the car they were currently driving in, and then a new Bentley Arnage, which Alice had mentioned Edward driving. Jesus, she thought as she did the mental math. That’s nearly a million bucks just in cars for these three, and didn’t they mention another couple of brothers or husbands or whatever? And then there’d be the doctor himself, and his wife. There’s no way one doctor could afford all that by himself. Wonder what his wife does?

She suddenly became aware that someone had said her name. Bella looked up from her phone to find Alice peering at her over the seat. “Oh, sorry,” she said, tucking her phone away. “I got distracted. What were you saying about Chanel?” Her nosiness could wait until later.

Chapter Text

Approximately the last thing Bella would ever want to see during one of her shifts at Thriftway would be Rosalie Hale. So of course that was exactly what she saw when she looked up from the gigantic ham haunch she’d been trying to slice and package for an hour in between a constant stream of customers. How were there even that many people in Forks, and why had they all decided they wanted sliced deli goods at the same time?

God fucking damn it.

Bella quickly sanitized her hands and went to the counter, putting on her best customer service smile. “Good morning, what can I get for you?”

Rosalie was silent for a second, blinking. It was as if she hadn’t expected the question. Which would be ridiculous, of course, because why else would she be standing at a deli counter? “A pound of that,” she said, pointing. “Please.”

A slightly gelatinous loaf rested in the corner of the case. Bella looked at it, then back at Rosalie, her brow creasing. “Headcheese? Really?”

“Yes.” Rosalie drew herself up with her handbag in both hands, pursing her lips. She eyed the man waiting next to her with obvious distaste. Then, glancing back at Bella with a faint scowl, “My brother Emmett likes it.”

“Okay.” Bella drew the word out slightly as she took the jellylike loaf from the case and put it on the other slicer. “Thin, thick, medium cut?”

“Thick is fine.” Rosalie’s mouth was a thin line, and her nostrils were flaring. She was plainly very out of her element. Which made sense, really, now that Bella thought about it. She certainly wouldn’t have expected Rosalie to be doing grocery shopping – or at least not in a place like the Thriftway in Forks. She cut up the loaf with practiced skill, wrapped it and popped it on the scale. One pound, on the dot. She felt the tiniest thrill of victory, as she did every time that happened.

A label was printed, and Bella smoothed it neatly over the ends of the wax paper to hold the package closed. “One pound of headcheese,” she said, pushing it across the counter toward her. “Will that be all today, ma’am?”

Rosalie’s gaze turned positively icy for a moment at the “ma’am.” Then she cleared her throat. “Would you be open to a cup of coffee after your job here?”

Bella nearly fell into the slicer. “Wait, what?”

“Coffee,” Rosalie said. “Or tea. Or whatever it is you enjoy drinking while having a conversation. I will even cover the bill, if you wish.”

It was curiosity that won out, more than anything. “All right,” Bella heard herself saying. “I’m done at 3:30.”

“Excellent.” Rosalie tapped her debit card against the reader. Then, her mouth pinching, she reached out and picked up the package of headcheese with an immaculately manicured finger and thumb. She gave Bella a tight smile. “I shall return then.” Her heels clacked crisply on the floor as she headed for the exit.

She was, as she’d promised, waiting in the parking lot when Bella emerged at the end of her shift. She’d changed from the almost corporate-style pants suit she’d been wearing into something more casual, though the jeans, jacket and boots she was wearing were still plainly very expensive. All of it flattered the blonde’s curves quite nicely. Bella almost grimaced. Why do I keep thinking things like that? Keep it in your pants, Swan. This is Rosalie Hale we’re talking about. She probably bites. Rosalie inclined her head stiffly at Bella’s guarded greeting. “Is the coffee shop down the street acceptable?”

“Sure, it’s fine,” Bella said. “What’s up?”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer to wait until we’re properly sitting down and paying attention to have this conversation.”

“Uh...sure.” Bella could never figure out what Rosalie’s deal was. All formality or cattiness, standoffish neutrality or all-too-personal barbs, ice queen flawlessness or social blundering worthy of...well, of Bella’s usual finesse. She wondered again what on earth the blonde wanted to discuss. Hopefully this one wouldn’t end in another fight, especially since Alice wasn’t here to referee anything.

They sat down with their coffee in a corner. Bella welcomed the free caffeine, regardless of its source. She sipped her cappuccino and gave Rosalie an expectant look.

Rosalie sat very straight, her hands folded precisely on the table. Then she moved back, her nose wrinkling. “Ugh. This table smells of old pastries.”

“You seem pretty delicate for someone who goes on twenty-mile hiking trips,” Bella drawled.

“Hiking tri…?” Rosalie paused. “Oh, yes. Well, the forest doesn’t smell of stale danishes, now does it? But that’s beside the point of coming here. I wanted to talk to you because I have two things to tell you,” she said. “Before we go to the showing of Wuthering Heights, I mean. I’d like to clear the air.”

Bella rested her elbow on the table and took another fortifying mouthful of coffee. “Fire away.”

Rosalie eyed her, expressionless. “That seems like a needlessly violent metaphor to use in reference to a perfectly civil conversation.”

“Uh huh.” Bella felt the back of her neck grow tense, but she wasn’t going to rise to the bait this time. Well, not unless the bait was better than that, anyway.

Manicured fingers dismissed the point. “In any case, I’ve been thinking about the course of our acquaintance,” Rosalie went on. “It didn’t have the best start, as I was misinformed, and you were needlessly contrarian. And I’m perhaps not the best at phrasing things at times. It’s possible that I could have put some things to you in a better way than I did. So…” Her nose twitched a little. “I will attempt to be more careful in how I phrase things with you.”

Bella just stared at her as she processed the words. “You really just can’t help yourself, can you?”

“Excuse me?” A perfectly shaped eyebrow arched.

A sigh. “Never mind,” Bella said. “So was all of…that..,” with a vague handwave, “supposed to be an apology?”

“That’s putting it a bit more strongly than necessary,” Rosalie said primly. “I’d think of it more like an olive branch. A logical result of our truce. But yes.”

Well, at least the coffee was good. “All right, then. Weak apology accepted. What’s item number two on the agenda?”

Rosalie gave her a sharp look, but Bella kept her expression innocent and inquisitive. “Yes. Well.” The blonde turned her coffee cup on the table. She hadn’t taken a single sip, Bella noticed. “The second thing I wanted to discuss was something I said to you during our last outing. I’d like to clarify what I actually meant.” Bella just waited, her curiosity piqued again. “I said your work was beneath you.”

“Ah, yeah. I recall,” Bella said dryly.

“I meant it.” Rosalie’s brows came down as she leaned forward. “You are selling yourself short, Isabella Swan. You’re quite clever, Edward says so. You had excellent grades in high school. You’re going to college. You aren’t terrible looking. You can do better.”

“How the hell would you know what my high school grades were?”

“You were in the running for valedictorian,” Rosalie said with a shrug. “I assume your grades were appropriate for the title.” Bella stared at her. For once in her life, she’d been rendered speechless. “What? I checked the appropriate Phoenix newspapers for the year of your graduation. I was just confirming what I already knew about you.”

“Jesus Christ, Rosalie.”

“Anyway.” The blonde waved the subject aside and opened her purse. “My point is that you can do better, and you should. That market of yours only pays minimum wage. It won’t look nearly as good on your resume as something more appropriate for you. Here.” She pushed a card across the table at her. “This is my father’s business card. One of his receptionists is part-time, but she’s going on maternity leave soon. It’s flexible, because most of what she does is filing and organizing things in the office. Put in an application. Alice and I will put in a good word for you.”

Bella looked down at the card. “A doctor’s receptionist?”

“Sure. It’ll look so much better on your work history than some supermarket,” Rosalie said. “Plus if you have a more professional credential, you’ll do better in future job searches. You’ll have more and better contacts, too. You really should be thinking about things like that at your age.”

“Uh.” Bella couldn’t seem to find anything intelligent to say.

“Please consider it. You’ll do much better in the long run.” Rosalie got up, clasping her purse in both hands as she’d done in the deli. “And now, since we’ve finally managed to have a conversation where no one is needlessly combative, I believe I will bid you good afternoon.”

Bella shook her head. “Why do you talk like someone in an old Harlequin novel?” Rosalie’s expression didn’t change. “All right. I don’t think I’m qualified at all, but it would be nice to have a job where I don’t come home smelling like cheap bologna and fry oil.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.” Rosalie’s lips quirked just a bit. “Good afternoon, and I shall see you at the screening of Wuthering Heights. Ah, before I forget - we've discovered that while it’s cosplay-friendly, it's specifically Victorian cosplay rather than the 1930's. You may want to consult with Alice if you don’t have anything appropriate in your own closet.” Then she left, her high heels striking a staccato rhythm against the floor tiles as she went.

Well. Bella sipped her coffee and watched the poised blonde disappear down the sidewalk. If there was one thing Rosalie Hale was good at, it was making a flawless entrance – or exit. She sighed as she rose from the booth. If Rosalie could get as good at everything between those two things, they might actually start to get along.