Chapter Text
Sitting idly in her room, Reina looked around one last time for anything of value that she may have neglected to pack. Despite having spent a lot of time inside this room, she didn’t feel attached enough to feel sad at leaving it behind. Or leaving behind this life with her foster mother; Renée.
Due to training and being focused on other matters, she barely spent time inside with her or her foster sister, Bella. She enjoys their company enough, even if she feels as if she didn’t show it enough due to her mostly aloof personality. In contrast to Renée’s extroverted and bubbly nature and Bella’s suffering-in-silence attitude but well-meaning awkwardness. She never felt excluded in their family dynamic, being something of an ambivert herself.
Internally bidding her room goodbye, she proceeded to go downstairs, where Renée was waiting for Bella and her; with plates of varied viennoiseries, that Phil bought for breakfast, in front of her on the dining table.
«I assume you’re finished with your usual pondering for the day.» said Renée smilingly.
«You know I need to contemplate the absurd meaning of my existence at least once a day. Otherwise I’ll just be a silly muscle-head who makes silly noises instead of talking civilly.»
«Ah so you’re doing humanity a favor just by thinking. Don’t know how Phil and I will deal with the lack of your presence with us.» Suddenly feeling overly conscious of her words, Renée hurriedly changed the subject. «Now that you’re here, we just need to hear Bella stumbling down the stairs to know she’s done getting ready. Go ahead and eat first, dear, Phil and I have already eaten.»
Not having anything to say that may provide comfort to her foster mother, Reina sat down to eat. Even with her eyes on her breakfast, she still heard Bella’s descent from her room.
«Good morning everyone.» mumbled Bella, quickly joining her foster sister on the table so that she can also have her breakfast. After all, they would need to go to the airport later on to join Charlie, Bella’s dad in the small city of Forks.
Reina knew that her foster sister was struggling with the move from Phoenix to Forks, just as her mother was. Their relationship may not have been the healthiest, with Bella playing the role of an adult many times in her mom’s stead, but it was still hard for her to leave behind the life she was used to.
For Reina, she didn’t really mind the move. Her side-hustle already demanded her to move from place to place, and she didn’t really believe in the idea of a stagnant home. Bella, though, was the type to give too much of herself, even when she didn’t need to. She had incessantly worried over standing as an obstacle in the path of her mom’s happiness. Recognizing how different their personalities are, even if they’re both quiet on the surface; Reina only offered quiet support when she could.
After eating their fill of food, the sisters stood up to wash the used plates, since the house was going to be empty for a while from any inhabitant. Renée was also going to be travelling with her most recent boyfriend; Philip. He was a baseball player whose league demanded from him to move every once in a while. Both girls didn’t mind him much, content to see Renée being happy with him. Despite her faults as a mother, they just hoped the sparkles Phil put in her eyes will stay there. Besides, Reina can take care of him if matters go South.
Being done with everything, everyone went out of the house so that the girls can be taken to the airport in Phil’s car. During the entire car ride, Renée kept reassuring the girls that they can come back whenever they want and reminding them to stay in contact with her though calls and e-mails. Bella and Reina looked at each other commensurately, but obediently listened to their mother’s chatter; it was going to be a while before they saw her again.
After reaching the airport, they did what was expected of them quickly and then came the time for the final goodbye’s with Renée and Phil. «Well girls, I hope your trip goes well. Won’t you give me one final see-you-later hug ?» said Renée all while her eyes teared up slightly. They obliged her request, Reina separating from the hug earlier than Bella, knowing that the brunette needed it.
And so, they went on the plane; leaving Phoenix and Arizona behind.
Reina let Bella take the window seat, hoping that looking at the scenery outside may distract her from drowning in misery. Meanwhile, she plugged in her earbuds, figuring she could take a nap while listening to a calm mixture of her favorite songs.
Charlie was already awaiting their arrival when their plane landed. His appearance didn’t change from the last time they saw him, much like the town he resided in. He was clearly trying to look casual, in his used jeans and gray shirt paired with a cardigan. When he saw them, his eyes gained a happy glint, glad to see their safe arrival.
«Bells, Rein; it’s been a while.» he started with, awkwardly trying to make conversation.
Acknowledging his efforts and aware that she couldn’t rely on Bella to break the tension, Reina went up to him to give him a quick hug and immediately saying afterwards «It’s good to see you, Charlie. I hope everything’s been well and dandy on your side.»
«Ah well, as the chief; work never seems to end but I’ve pretty much gotten used to the workload. Are you still doing your usual part-time odd jobs ?» replied Charlie after hugging her, happy to converse with his foster daughter.
«Yeah, I still am. It’s become easy enough after years of doing it.» reassured Reina, knowing that he tended to worry about her safety when doing her jobs.
Bella finally snapped out of her stupor and stepped up to also hug her dad. «Hey Ch- dad. Glad you’re well.»
Reine silently watched Charlie try to reign back an obvious reaction to hearing Bella falter to say ‘Dad’. She wasn’t going to touch the hornet nest that was their relationship with a stick, so she hurriedly carried her and Bella’s bags to lug them to Charlie’s police cruiser.
«Let’s go already, we still have road ahead of us and I want to organize my clothes quickly so I can get some training done today.» she said to break any weird tension before it could start between her awkward companions.
«Wait, Rein, let me help you with some of the luggage !» said Charlie as he hurried after her.
«It’s okay, old man. I’m younger and stronger than you ever could be, so I need to take it easy on the weak.» teased Reina, wanting to offend him enough to forget about taking anything off her hands.
«Why you- I’ll have you know that I’m still the police chief and young enough to kick without cracking any bones !» defended Charlie, all while trying to hide a smile at his foster daughter’s antics, glad that she still treated him casually.
While they were exchanging jabs and lightly talking with each other, Bella followed behind them quietly but enjoying the banter, as she didn’t feel pressured to join in.
After setting down the bags and settling in the car, with Reina taking the shotgun seat, not only due to her height, but also to talk to Charlie and let Bella be; they started towards Forks.
Charlie’s house looked as charming as usual from the outside when they arrived. Reina quickly jumped out of the car so she could grab the luggage before her foster father could even try to go for it.
«Damn kid, you’re like Sonic and the Hulk mixed in one being. I admit my defeat in front of your prowess.» joked Charlie, getting out so that he can open up the door for his girls.
«Glad that you know your place, old man.» cheekily replied Reina.
«We all know that you never stood a chance.» added Bella, finding it in her to add a little quip.
«Okay, Okay, your old man is a loser, I get it.» said Charlie as he raised his hands to the sky, all while trying but failing to hide a small smile.
Then, they all walked into the house, where both girls proceeded to immediately go up to their rooms, already knowing them from their many stays in the past summers. Reina left Bella to organize her things so she could also do hers; in her room in the attic.
She saw that Charlie had renovated it a little, judging from the fresh smell of paint and the added bed and desk. She was glad there was a some space in the middle of the space for her to do some yoga. Done appreciating her space for the coming days, she began putting out her stuff from the suitcase and bags.
Almost an hour later, she could confidently say that she’s finished settling in. She then decided to descend downstairs, to check on Bella and Charlie, and play buffer for them again. She found the both of them sitting in the old, square, oak table in the still abysmally yellow kitchen.
«I appreciate the the renovations, Charlie. They were surprisingly in good taste, considering your taste, or lack thereof.» started Reina. She knew that he didn’t care much for the space he lived in, so him going out of his way to, most likely, consult someone on how to make their move easier on them; showed how excited he was to have them join him in Forks.
«Of course, Rein. I’m glad you and Bella like them. Now I’m sure you’re hungry after all the hours of travel. We’ll be having take-out later. For now, they should be here by now.»
Just as Bella was about to ask him whom he was awaiting, the doorbell rang. Charlie instantly stood up so he could open the door for his guests. Bella and Rein looked at each other confusedly. Their questions got answered swiftly enough, hearing before seeing a familiar man on wheelchairs, with his son, following behind their father.
«Bella, Rein ! Welcome back to Forks ! You’ve grown up a lot from when I last saw the both of you. This old fool has been in a frenzy for a while now, all excited about your arrival.» said Billy with a warm tone.
«Hey ! Shut up before I roll you down a hill.» grumbled Charlie, while glaring at his best friend and trying to hide his slight blush of embarrassment.
«Not if I kick your kneecaps inwards !»
«Are they always like this ?» asked Bella, looking exasperatedly at the scene while Reina just looked on bemusedly.
«I think it gets worse with age. By the way, I’m Jake. I don’t know if you remember, Bella, but we used to make mud cakes together while your sister was trying to become Bruce Lee.» replied Jacob to her while re-introducing himself to the sisters, though he mainly addressed Bella.
«I’ll have you know that I’m even better than Bruce Lee.» said Reina monotonously and flipped her hair to prove the point.
«Be careful now, Jake. She may just beat you up to assert dominance.» added Bella, tentatively smiling at her childhood friend.
«Damn, okay. I don’t think I’m ready enough to test that, please have mercy, Rein.» replied Jacob, smiling sheepishly up at Rein, who stood at a staggering six foot compared to him, as he still hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet.
«Ah, I have a surprise waiting for you outside, Bella.» intervened Charlie, finally done play-fighting Billy. He then led everyone outside, where a faded-orange Chev truck, that wasn’t there when they arrived, awaited Bella. «This is your welcome present. I know it isn’t much but I hope you like it.»
«Oh my ! I-I love it, thank you Ch-dad.» said Bella, giving her dad a quick hug and then speedily walked towards the truck so she could look at it up-close. Reina and Jacob followed behind her.
«Well squirt, you’ll finally get to have your own ride just like I do.» teased Reina, all while ruffling her foster sister’s hair, who was too distracted by her gift to try to protest.
«You got a ride ? What kind and where is it ?» asked Jacob, curious and excited to know what she had. The platinum blonde had always been a cool figure he admired and she seemed to have become impossibly cooler than before !
«My baby’s a 2004 Triumph Rocket 3 and it will hopefully arrive by night. I want our new school mates to see her and be in awe at her awesomeness tomorrow.» answered Reine, smirking just by thinking about her beloved motorcycle.
«That’s amazing, dude ! I hope I see it soon. And Bella,» he turned towards the brunette; «if you encounter any problems with the truck, I can fix it up for you.»
«Don’t worry about it puppy. I can easily fix it up if there’s something wrong with it.» intervened Reine, as she had enough knowledge cars if it was just an easy fix. Moreover, Jake seemed to be harboring some kind of crush for her little sister. However, he was too young for Bella, so she figured that she didn’t need to let him grow anymore foolish hope for something to happen. She could only meddle when in Forks, though. If she got called outside, Bella was on her own.
«Oh.., well I’m still here if y’all need something. Though I can’t do much, since you will be attending Forks High School.» replied Jacob, slightly disappointed.
«Too bad, we won’t have a familiar face around tomorrow.» interjected Bella, she was anxious for her first day in the town’s high school.
«As long as I’m there with you, you don’t need to worry about something happening. If someone is mean, I’ll rock their world.» reassured Reine while putting an arm around the shorter Swan.
Bella looked up in her sister’s gunmetal gray eyes and wondered how, regardless of their intimidating color, they never failed to bring reassurance to her. Despite her absences sometimes due to her work, Reina was someone she felt she can truly rely on, unlike her mom or dad (which made her feel quite guilty).
She suddenly felt silly for worrying too much about school the following day. Her sister had consistently been there for her when she needed her, she was like an unyielding fortress in front of conflict, and she still would be. Definitely cheered up compared to before, she nodded appreciatively at Rein.
Pleased that Bella had finally calmed down, Reina proceeded to leave her foster family with the guests and went back up to her room so that she can finally have her training session of the day. She couldn’t afford to be lazy, with how dangerous her missions can be. Her bike will arrive by night, so she had plenty of time to get done with training, showering and eating dinner with Charlie and Bella.
After showering and eating take-out pizza, which her foster father ordered from what he swore was ‘best food place around’, she asked her father if he knew when her bike will arrive, only to discover that he had already taken care of everything while she was dressing up after her shower, and that it was already parked outside.
Grateful for his thoughtfulness but unable to contain herself, she quickly went out to inspect her little silver Triumph. She was aware that she wouldn’t be able to sleep normally otherwise.
After making sure that every inch looked in perfect shining condition; she bid the rest of her family good night and thanked Charlie.
Reina was strict with herself about maintaining a healthy schedule and controlling herself so that she could be in her best state while awake, so she fell asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow, affirming to herself that everything will go just fine tomorrow.
Without the need for an alarm, Reina allowed her internal clock to wake her up at 6 AM so that she can start her morning routine for the first day.
She wasn’t really worried about her future school mates. She knew that when people saw her intimidating figure and heard how much older she was compared to them, they would think her to be some delinquent and would think twice before messing with her or Bella.
She was fully aware of her tall height, compared to most women, and she fully leaned into it, wearing a cropped white Tee with some red prints on it, paired with blue jeans and black combat boots which made her legs look longer. She added a black leather jacket that had fur on the inside, so that it can protect her from the cold while riding her motorcycle.
Done with the base of her outfit, she then added her go-to accessories, a red leather belt, her silver ear piercings, necklaces and small rings that won’t bother her while wearing her driving gloves.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she felt satisfied at what she saw reflected back to her. Her outfit was great, her platinum blonde hair brushed through and shining even in the dim lighting if her room, her eyes outlined with eyeliner and lips shining with lipgloss. She had a «look good, feel good» attitude towards life, so her appearance mattered to her; she was the type to want to look hot even if she was beating some ugly creature.
Finally, she carried a leather bag that would carry her notebook, her pencil case, perfume and lipgloss, and her trusted knife roll that she resorted to when needed, along with her helmet.
Reina then went out of her room to go downstairs, where she proceeded to make quick but filling sandwiches for breakfast, familiar with Charlie’s lack of cooking skills, and wanting to take the duty off of Bella’s shoulders at least for today (Bella liked to cook, while it was just a chore for Rein, even if she wasn’t bad at it).
Just as she was done, she heard Bella’s and Charlie’s morning greetings. She said ‘good morning’ back to them and waited until they sat down so they can silently eat their food.
«I need to go now, girls. If you need anything, call me up.» said Charlie, washing his plate and stepping towards the door where he took his work coat off the hanger. «Bella, there’s a map for you if you’re afraid of getting lost.»
«You don’t need to worry about it, old man. I’ll drive slowly in front of her, I already memorized where the school’s at.» intervened Reina, all-knowing about Bella’s clumsiness and planning ahead to make it easier on both of them.
«Hey ! I can orientate myself using a map while driving.» mumbled Bella mutinously, although she knew that past incidents proved how much of a disaster she was.
«I don’t even need to refute that cuz I’m sure you’re aware the catastrophes you’re capable of.» said Reina, looking at her foster sister pitifully. «Bye Charlie, have a good day at work. And Bella, let’s go already, I don’t wanna get lost while trying to find my class after getting our time-tables. I’m gonna wait for you outside while you finish up.»
While Charlie left the house to go to the police station, Bella made her final preparations so that she can join her sister in the front yard. Then she took her new truck’s keys and left the house.
«You can follow me from behind. I’m gonna make my departure now, squirt. See ya there.» said Reina; as she left her sister behind to struggle with her orange Chev without feeling too embarrassed.
With her helmet and motorcycle glasses adding a gray filter to her eyesight, she looked at the sidewalk and the greenery which characterized Folks, driving slowly so that her sister could follow her and so that she doesn’t accidentally slip due to the wet road.
After a while she saw the sign for the high school and the cluster of reddish-brown houses it was made of, the loads of cars in the parking lot and the teenagers standing in small groups together, passing the time while waiting for the bell to signal the start of classes. One matter that she was glad for was the small population of students compared to that of bigger cities’ schools. Whilst she knew that inhabitants of small communities tend to be judgemental, there still wasn’t as much negative energy as in bigger ones, like Phoenix.
As Reina pulled up to the parking lot, some students glanced up to check out the source of the noise. While she was taking off her protective gear, she noticed her sister pull up shortly after her own arrival.
«Well, look at you, driving in your charming ride and arriving with no incident. I feel very proud of you, Bells.» began Rein, while sneering at Bella who was having some struggle getting down from the truck.
«Shut up, Rein.» grunted back Bella, after her feet safely touched the ground with her school bag in hand. «I see that this place already has a bit of a staring problem. It’s like we’re a new animal species in a zoo.»
«Well, we kind of are. I doubt they get many new students around here, let alone the fact that we’re the police chief’s daughters.» said Reina, shrugging off the stares easily enough due to how used she was to being looked at by strangers, and hanging her arm around her sister’s shoulders so that they can start walking towards the main office.
As they walked into the cosy office, they saw a red-headed lady sitting behind the counter and directly went up to her. «Uhm, hello miss. I’m Isabella Swan and this is my bigger sister, Reine Swan. We’re the new students.»
«Oh, good morning dear. The two of you are quite punctual. You can call me Mrs. Cope. I already have your schedules ready along with maps of the school you may need if you get lost.» greeted the receptionist. «I already highlighted the buildings in which your classes will take place. Also, please get your teachers for the day to sign these slips of paper.» she said, as she gave each of them a slip of paper. «You may come to my office for anything you may need.»
«Thank you for your help and efforts, Mrs. Cope. We will surely come to you if we have any problems. I hope you have a great rest of the day.» smiled charmingly Reina down at her, and turned her sister and herself around so that the sisters can start heading towards each of their classes.
«Lucky you, you’re starting your day with English, one of your favorites. My first class is calculus, can you believe it ?» said Reina to her sister, having a small smile of contentment at the fact that she would have calculus first.
«I’m sure that liking that insanity of a subject must have been the reason behind some of your brain damage.» snipped Bella, still unable to comprehend, after many years, how her sister could genuinely like subjects that would drive others insane.
«Hey, I don’t insult your silly, beloved classics now, do I ?» replied Reina, while raising an eyebrow at Bella.
«You literally just did.» rolled her eyes Bella. After a while, she stopped in front of a building. «I think building 3 must be this one. I just need to find my class. You’ve successfully led me to here, so you better go back to your own building, which I’m pretty sure you left behind due to you insisting on accompanying me.» griped Bella, shoving at her sister to go away from her building.
«My legs are longer than yours, so I can easily reach building 5 in time for class to start, don’t worry about it brat.» nonchalantly said Reina, allowing her sister to push her away, jokingly thinking about how she was in her teenage rebellion phase. A funny thought, considering how much of a stick in the mud Bella can sometimes be.
«Anyways, I’ll leave now, for real this time. Good luck with that blonde kid that I’ve seen targeting you from down the hall.» added Rein as a final quip, before putting her hands in her jeans’ pockets and whistling a random tune as she left towards her own building; leaving behind Bella, who was soon ambushed by a ‘Eric Yorkie’.
While walking around, she pretended to not notice whenever someone tried to approach her to introduce themselves to her, staring directly in front and not needing to overuse her eyes to sense. She suddenly spotted a very tall and burly figure of a man, with dark curly hair, seeming to be kissing goodbye a gorgeous blond who had to be his girlfriend.
What caught her attention; however, was how foreign the energy surrounding them was. It was as if they were sorcerers but at the same time weren’t. As if sensing her stare, the two out of the ordinary blonde and brunet turned their heads towards her direction a little too quick for normal humans. She couldn’t criticize their acting, it wasn’t their fault that her eyes were just too sharp compared to the usual person.
As she didn’t want to make them feel too discomforted, she flashed a smile at them, not even attempting to hide the interest in her gunmetal eyes. She reached them in no time and introduced herself to them without being prompted; «Hello there ! You must be part of my new classmates. I’m Reina Swan, it’s a pleasure.»
«Hey new girl. I’m Emmet Cullen and this is my girlfriend; Rosalie Hale. Don’t mind her too much, she’s not very talkative around unfamiliar faces. Our family is usually all the rage, but you and your sister have stolen the spotlight.» greeted back Emmet, seemingly friendly enough, even while his golden eyes (weirdly enough) remained guarded. Rosalie merely glanced at Reina, and was a little startled to find her taller than her.
«Can’t help that the mortals just can’t help but bask in my awesomeness, what can I say.» said Rein, raising her hands in a ‘what can you do ?’ motion, while smirking arrogantly at them. This caused Emmet and Rosalie to exchange a look between each other, and afterwards Emmet proceeded to laugh as Rosalie rolled her eyes and hid the tiniest start of a smile.
«I like your attitude, Reina. I have a feeling you’re gonna be an amusing addition to our town.» replied Emmet, after getting done with his laughing fit.
At that exact moment; the bell rang, signaling the end of the wait for classes to start. Rein stood outside still even as her future classmates settled inside, waiting for her teacher to make his appearance so she could give him her slip of paper, first thing. In the meanwhile, she reflected back on her interaction with the first students she spoke to today, outside of Bella.
She had noticed fellow students keeping a wide breach from them, and the way they were taken back when she was successfully chatting with them. They must have the same energy around them which kept most normal people from creating close bonds with people in possession of cursed energy. She also didn’t know what to make out of the unusual eye color they owned. She was sure there wasn’t a clan out there with the traits of golden eyes, fair skin and inhumane beauty.
«You must be our new student and chief Swan’s oldest daughter.» said her calculus teacher, which turned out to be a mature-looking woman who had a clean appearance.
«Yes ma’am. Reina Swan at your service. Mrs.Cope asked me to give this slip to each of my teachers for today to sign.» replied Rein, smilingly, having turned her charm on at the woman while raising her hand to give her the paper.
«I see.» she said, then quickly signed it. «You can call me Ms. Bett, and as your schedule must indicate; I’m your calculus teacher for your senior year here. Please follow me inside.» she added, as she walked towards her teacher’s desk to put down her bag, which at the same time caused the class to put a stop to their chatter.
«Everyone, we will have a new classmate joining us for this year. Please welcome Reine Swan.» started Ms.Bett, while motioning with her hands at Rein, who was casually standing at the front of the classroom, not flinching in the slightest bit at the eyes ogling her, with her hands once again put in her pockets. «You may ask her a few questions if you wish to get to know her better.»
«How do you find Forks compared to Arizona ?» asked a blonde girl, sitting at at the front.
«It’s nice enough. I don’t like a place anymore than the other.» answered Reina, keeping a neutral tone.
«Do you have a nickname we can call you by ?» asked tanned, dark haired boy at the back.
«You can just call me by Reina, unless I happen to say otherwise.» she replied back, still smiling, even with the somewhat cold response.
«You can sit down next to Rosalie at the back.» intervened the teacher, wanting to get started with the lesson already.
Reina nodded at her words and walked towards where Rosalie was sitting, familiar with her face now. As she reached her seat, she briefly looked at the statuesque-like blonde, then sat down at her desk after putting her bag on top of it. She put aside any thoughts concerning her two recent acquaintances and proceeded to focus on the Ms.Bett.
The first half of classes for the day passed smoothly enough for Reine. She successfully avoided any unnecessary interaction and noted that she shared her AP Spanish class with another unnatural blonde whose name was Jasper Hale and was, apparently, Rosalie’s taller twin brother and the leaner counterpart to her boyfriend; though that didn’t diminish his muscular built.
Just like with the others, common people tended to avoid him; moreover, he appeared to have even less tolerance for them than his ‘twin’ and her boyfriend. He seemed uncomfortable when Mrs.Goff placed her next to him. Not top mention, he kept glancing at her throughout the class, as if unable to stop himself from analyzing the new student.
Reina pretended not to notice the staring, but keeping it, just like everything, noted down in her figurative list of remarks. Really, it wasn’t his fault that her senses were enhanced by her third eye.
Since she didn’t have sportswear, she was excused from her gym class, which took place before lunch break. She just passed the time looking at her classmates and memorizing as many faces as she could.
When the time for school lunch hit, she left the gym before anyone else and went towards the place where the cafeteria was supposed to be at, according to the map. She went up to the lunch ladies and grabbed a piece of cake, deciding that it will be her lunch. Without looking around, she headed towards a table and sat down, instinctively knowing that this was the table her sister was going to sit at when she came.
Accordingly, her prediction came true; as a few seconds later, her sister came into the lunch room, with a shorter brunette hanging off her shoulder, seeming to be talking at Bella, rather than talking to her.
While waiting in the line to grab each of their lunches, the group of two become that of seven. When Bella saw Reina, she mumbled something to her first companion, and after; the band of 11th graders headed towards the table Rein was waiting for her sister at.
«Looking good enough, Bells. These your new friends ?» asked pleasantly Rein, while taking her first bite of her piece of chocolate cake, staring with half-lidded eyes at her sister
«Hey Rein. And yeah, let me introduce you.» answered back Bella, and while motioning with her hands, «Everyone, meet my sister; Reina. And this is Jessica, Mike and Eric.» with each one of them waving at Reina. «As for the others, I’m not sure, as we still haven’t talked to one another.»
«With everyone talking about the two of you as if this is, like, pre-school all over again and you’re a shiny new toy, we already know your sister’s name.» said Jessica in a giggly way, not caring enough to introduce the ones unknown to Bella.
«Hmm, glad to know that everyone’s obsessed with us. U sure u haven’t had a breakdown yet ?» teased Reina, already knowing that her sister must’ve been uncomfortable with all the attention.
«Ah, that reminds me !» suddenly said the brown-haired girl wearing glasses. Immediately after, a flash went as she took a picture of a startled Bella and one of Reina who, having already predicted it, already had a hand in front of her at distance from her face, which made it so only her palm appeared in her picture. «Aww, why cover your face, Reina ? This would make a great headline for the school’s newspaper !» she whined, after seeing how her shots turned out.
«Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m sure it’s not ethical for a journalist to take someone’s pics before they give them permission for it.» replied Reina, smiling at the courage of the girl, usually dealing with people who are too intimidated to talk to her, let alone take a sudden picture of her. «Not to mention, you know my name but I still don’t.» she finished.
«Oh, my name’s Angela ! Nice to meet-» tried to reply Angela, although with a shier tone compared to before, when she was abruptly interrupted by a male voice.
«The feature’s dead, Angela. Don’t bring it up again.» said Eric. «Bella refused to do it and I’m sure her sister also wouldn’t want to.»
«Ohh..» sighed Angela, drooping her head.
«Well, what if I actually wanted to do it ?» fakely pouted Rein. «I don’t appreciate someone taking decisions in my stead.» she continued, purposely stabbing a little harshly into her piece of cake. She noticed Eric trying to hide a flinch at her words, Bella staring suspiciously in her direction, while the others were looking with greedy eyes at the exchange.
«Do you actually want to ?!» yelped Angela, her eyes shining with excitement.
«Well no, actually.» answered Reine, smiling auspiciously even as Angela clearly looked disappointed with her response. She didn’t wince even when she felt Bella try to jab her with her elbow, as if to make her stop.
«Quit playing around with people’s emotions, Rein.» intervened Bella, finally realizing that she was just hurting herself by uselessly trying to jab at Reine’s rock solid abs.
Reine unexpectedly stood at that moment, not bothering to defend herself from her sister’s claim. The others looked at her with wide eyes, frozen in their places by the expectation of something to happen. Bella just looked on disappointingly as she saw that her sister startled an entire table only to take off her leather jacket.
She was sure that these were just Reina’s sadistic tendencies making an appearance, and the slightly feral smile she spied on her sister’s face further confirmed her suspicions about her intentions. Her features got filled with even more dread by the ogles at her sister’s biceps. She knew that Reina worked extremely hard on her physique, but she didn’t understand the need to show it off at that moment.
«Really ?» finally broke Bella, when she saw Reina return to her seat, without the slightest shame at the doubled looks fixed her way. She even had the expression of cat that got the cream blatantly on her face. Bella felt mortified as she heard a fairy-like giggle from a table on the side, and she didn’t dare to turn and check the one responsible for the sound.
«What ?» asked Reina, tilting her head to the side. The gesture would have appeared endearing on anyone else, but on her; she just looked like a big predator cat sizing up her prey. «I was just playing around with little Angela here and I merely felt too hot with the jacket on.» she giggled as she stuck out her tongue and winked mischievously at the rest of the table.
«Haha your sister is so funny, Bella !» laughed obnoxiously Jessica, attempting to bring back the attention unto herself. «Anyways, I know that this is, like, your first day, but have you seen or heard about the Cullen family ?» At Bella’s questioning look and Reina’s blank look, she followed up with; «So don't make it obvious, but I want you to look toward your right, toward the back of the cafeteria.»
At which, Bella tried (and failed) to look conspicuously from behind a curtain of her hair, while Reina unashamedly turned her head to stare directly at the table the brunette indicated.
«Ah, I know a few of them due to shared classes.» said Reina, smiling whilst still staring. «What makes them so amazing ? Are they like geniuses ? or they own the city ?» asked Rein, not actually needing an answer.
«Well, they are among the best scorers in school performance, but, like, they’re not thaaaat smart.» rolled her eyes Jessica. «And Bella, might wanna lay off on the ogling for a little bit.» she told Bella while not bothering with Reina, whom she realized was too headstrong for her to tell her what to do (she also didn’t want to risk being punched by a girl who had biceps bigger than most of the boy she knew).
«You know, even though they’re all adopted by Dr.Cullen and his wife, they’re all together, like, in a couple way. Emmet Cullen; the huge giant, is with the blonde girl; Rosalie Hale. The blonde guy; Jasper Hale, is always attached to the hip of the short girl; Alice Cullen, so everyone believes they’re the same. And the statue that’s left is Edward Cullen.» yapped Jessica, seeming on a roll at the chance of gossiping about the family.
«It’s like their father is playing parent while also playing matchmaker.» interjected a blonde girl with blue eyes, having a mean smile on her face.
«I know right, Lauren !» said back Jessica, happy that someone was going along with the discussion.
«So what’s with, mhm, Eddie was it ?» asked unexpectedly Reina. «Nobody was adopted for him to date ? Or does he just suck at getting some ?» she continued, still watching; when said ‘Eddie’ twitched at the name she made up, while his table companions smirked at his discomfort. Apparently finally satisfied by some reached conclusion, she turned to her sister. «Bella, is he that more interesting for you to pay him more attention than your cool, swell, gorgeous sister ?» she pouted in Bella’s way.
«What ?! What are you-» started Bella, when she was interrupted by a bitter Jessica. «Don’t get your hopes up. He’s, like, so frosty and thinks no one here is good enough for his taste.»
«Oooh, someone is angwy !» teased Reina, not caring at the glare Jessica directed her way or Bella’s sullen face. «If he’s so aloof, just leave him be, maybe he’s just ace or aromnatic. Nonetheless, you’re way too invested on their business, for an outsider. Better be careful, curiosity may just kill the cat if she’s not careful.» she carried on, grinning at Jessica, who got sudden chills.
Due to her ‘sight’, Reina felt the Cullen’s apprehensive yet intrigued look at her. She didn’t care about defending them as much as she did about their nature. Their beauty was too perfect; with no pores and golden eyes that were too slow to blink normally. She didn’t immediately classify them as threats, she wasn’t scared of the unknown like most of her cowardly co-workers. Not only was she not allowed doubts in herself, she was no wimp.
Reina didn’t feel pressed to investigate them. She already foresaw future interactions between them and the Swan sisters, and so, left it up to her future self to untangle the mystery. She also noted down Bella’s interest in Edward; she would additionally be sure to use that interest in the future, if needed.
«Anyways, the bell is going to ring in some minutes, I’m going to go around for a walk and manipulate the lunch ladies into giving me more cake to eat, see ya Sis and brats.» said Reina, standing from the table, while swinging her jacket over her left shoulder. She pretended to not pay attention to Bella’s betrayed gaze and grumbling about her eating too many sweets.
She felt someone burning an imploring stare at her from the Cullen’s family, so she casually looked at it and its occupiers. The little pixie known as Alice smiled at her, and Reina beamed back at her and gave her a greeting sign by lifting her index and middle fingers to her head. Finally, she headed over to the lunch ladies, staring hungrily at the cake plates they have left.
«Can I please have three of these plates ?» asked charmingly Reina the lunch ladies, sparkles seeming to surround her. «The cake was simply amazing and I just couldn’t help wanting to care some of the leftovers off your hands.» went on Rein while putting down her hand as if hitting a mosquito, the mosquito being a small curse. She was certain that she was going to get what she wanted, going by the blushing women who were starting to smile unlike earlier.
As Reina busied herself with her important cake business, the infamous Cullen table was caught in its own debacle over the platinum blonde and her sister.
«Why are all of you twisting yourselves up over two human girls ?» griped Rosalie at her fellow coven members. She didn’t see what all the fuss was for. Sure, the blonde Swan sister whom she had some classes with had a slight unsettling aura around her despite her human scent, but she didn’t see why Alice and Edward were also interested in her brunette sister.
«Alice has been blocking me from her mind, so I cannot pretend to know about her motives. As for my own interest in the two humans, it is due to the fact that I cannot hear neither of their thoughts.» answered Edward his sister’s questions, a miffed expression on his face. He wasn’t used to being in the dark about others’ minds; his curiosity driven up the wall at this unexpected phenomenon.
«Well, they both will be very important to our family in the future, Rose, Edward.» deigned Alice to throw a bone at her fellow coven members. «Moreover, I’m sure you noticed how the atmosphere around Rein is quite special. She seems to perceive more than others; I wonder if she has a foreshadowing gift like me ...» went on Alice, trailing off into a daze as she tilted her head contemplatively.
Jasper stayed silent as his companions talked among themselves, he had been observing Reina since their class together. Despite her unflappable personality and how uncaring she seemed to be about her surroundings, her posture revealed how disciplined she must be about whatever fighting style she practices. She gave the impression of someone who was always ready to fight and win. He saw how she was sizing them up earlier and recognized that she must have her own suspicions about them.
He had tried to inspect what she was feeling earlier using his pathokinesis, only to find that she was mostly an empty slate; only fleetingly feeling amusement, interest and fondness for her sweets and sister. It was .. refreshing for him. Humans were usually feeling too much. But her emotions left him feeling reassured unlike any instance before. He felt as if he held the world within his hands and nothing could shake him.
He felt Edward looking at him inquisitively, but he didn’t bother offering up any words. Even when the bell rang and they all separated to go to their classes, Jasper kept speculating about Reina, whom he felt an undeniable spark for.
Reina’s remaining classes passed quickly enough, as she was starting to grow bored with everything. She walked out of her final class of the day with Mrs.Kapoor and decided that she would wait for her sister in the school’s parking lot.
When she arrived, she leaned against Triumph and tilted her head to the sky; deciding that she would watch clouds to pass the time. She never was a people person and her job as a sorcerer kept her too busy to create connections to other people. Jujutsu sorcerers, after all, tended to work in one-man teams. She didn’t find a problem with that, her techniques usually made her fellow sorcerers too scared to interact with her, due to how dangerous it is.
She cut off her wandering mind when she sensed that Bella was soon going to arrive in the parking lot. When she saw her bothered expression, Reina shortened the distance separating them. «What has your face screwed up like that, Bells ? Someone bother you ?» began Reina, aware that her sister wouldn’t speak if she didn’t bully her into it.
«It’s nothing.» replied Bella, seeing her sister’s unimpressed raised eyebrow, she hurriedly continued. «It’s just ... You know that Edward Cullen that Jessica pointed out back in lunch break ?»
«Hmm, Eddie boy ?» drawled Reina, purposely messing up his name again. «What about him ? Did he see your ankles and call you a whore or something ?» she carried on, while staring from the side of her eyes at the Cullen family who were also arriving from their classes. She observed Edward’s distinct absence and how the rest of his family were behaving as nothing was wrong.
«Well... he did react like that...» said Bella embarrassingly, looking at her shoes awkwardly. «We shared Biology class. The entire time he looked disgusted by my presence, as if I insulted his ancestors. I even smelled my hair to check of I was smelling weird...»
Reina burst out laughing at her sister’s words, slapping her knee at the image she pictured of Bella, her clumsy and stiff little sister, sniffing her own hair inside class because of Eddie, who reminded her of a tall Victorian child.
«Hey ! It’s not funny ! I felt so embarrassed by the whole thing !» complained Bella, attempting to shut her sister who was attracting unwanted attention with her guffaws.
«Aaah.. Bella, never change.» said Rein, finally done laughing at her sister’s expense. Seeing Bella’s annoyed pout and the glare she directed up at her, she relented with her teasing as Bella seemed successfully distracted from thinking about any silly Eddie. «How about this ? I’ll help you cook dinner tonight, hmm ?» attempted to persuade Reina.
«You better. And carry me over your back while doing push-ups.» added Bella.
«You barely weigh anything; that’s not as much of a struggle as you think it is. But sure, I appreciate anything that helps in my training.» agreed Reina without a second thought. «Anygays, let’s go home already. You already know the path back, right ?» at her sister’s nod, she continued; «Then I’ll just drive using my usual speed.» finished Reina while putting on her protective gear and then swinging her leg over her motorcycle.
«See ya in a few, squirt.» bid Reina, shooting off and leaving her sister and the students left behind in a cloud of dust.
Bella merely sighed at the startled stares of her peers. No one controlled her sister and their fellow high school attendees would soon enough get used to Reina’s antics. Well, as much as they could, Reina tended to not be predictable for some people, as a result of her playing around too much for others’ own good.
She threw a longing look in the direction of the Cullen cars; then went up on her own faded orange ride. She hoped she would be able to ask Edward the following day about his curious behavior towards her.