Archive of Our Own ^beta

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It was 3:32am when Bella pulled her beat up Chevy into the gas station parking lot. The air was somewhere between frigid and subarctic, only amplified by the darkness. Washington’s isolated forests were a stark contrast to the bustling hub of noise and sunlight that had been Arizona, and a large part of her desperately longed for a sense of familiarity. 

The harsh, fluorescent lights above the gas pumps felt strange and disorienting at this hour, and she was distinctly aware of the fact that her body was currently running on three cups of coffee and the shitty burger she’d grabbed from a drive-thru six hours ago. She’d been determined to make it to Charlie’s by that morning, but the rumbling in her stomach made her question the decision not to stop for something more substantial. The only other car was an absolutely monstrous Jeep that someone had modified nearly beyond recognition. It was bright red and spattered with a thick layer of mud that suggested its owner thoroughly made use of the vehicle’s off-roading capabilities. It was parked off to the far side of the lot, no owner in sight, and Bella guessed they must be inside the gas station’s tiny convenience store. 

With a sigh, she pushed herself out of the truck and stretched her aching muscles. Rolling her head in a failing attempt to fight off a quickly approaching headache, she staggered her way towards the building, nodding wearily in response to the clerk’s greeting. She made her way over to a battered coffee station and filled the largest cup available. Moving in the direction of the register, she paused and then doubled back to an aisle lined with various varieties of trail mix and beef jerky before carrying her snacks to the counter to pay for her gas. The cashier smiled at her, no trace of the dark circles Bella knew must be under her own eyes. 

“What’re you doing on the road at this hour?” 

“Oh, uh, I’m on my way to my dad’s.” She shifted awkwardly, reaching for her things. 

“How nice. Are you moving up here, or just visiting?” 

“Moving,” She paused, before belatedly adding, “I used to live in Arizona.” 

“That’s quite a drive! Well, Washington is a nice area. Maybe not as warm as you’re used to, but it’s just beautiful. I’m sure you’ll love it.” The cashier smiled so warmly that Bella didn’t have the heart to tell them that she’d been here before and most certainly did not love it. She’d never been a fan of the cold or damp, and Washington was more often than not both. Instead she pulled her lips into something resembling a smile and thanked them as she exited the gas station. The night air hit her like an icy blanket, as though to drive home her opinion. 

She leaned against the side of her truck as gas trickled noisily into the tank. Her eyelids drooped and Bella blinked rapidly in an attempt to stay awake. Her gaze drifted to the jeep at the far side of the lot, still missing its driver. Something about it nagged at her, but her sleep-deprived brain couldn’t quite get a grasp on what it was. Just then, something moved against the edge of the forest behind the car and it hit her. 

Aside from herself and the cashier, the gas station had been empty. 

A figure was emerging from the treeline, shaping itself into the hulking silhouette of a man as the overhead lights began to illuminate it. The man had to have been well over six feet tall and was built like a mountain. Dark hair curled over his ears, in stark contrast to his skin; so pale she could have sworn it reflected the light, and he was dressed in jeans and a dirt-streaked wife beater. He moved with a gait that struck Bella as too smooth and silent for a man of his size. 

Two more men appeared behind the first. They were similar in height, with the same deathly pale complexion, although far less burly than their companion. The one on the left had blonde hair that brushed the shoulders of his dark t-shirt, and the one on the right had copper waves that almost could have been curls given a little more effort. As they drew closer, she realized the dark stains on their clothing weren’t dirt at all.

The lever on the pump clicked suddenly to indicate the tank was full, startling her. She quickly hung the pump back in its holster and recapped her tank, feeling embarrassed for openly staring at the strangers. They probably thought she was some kind of creep. She slid back into the truck and buckled in. When she looked up, the redheaded man was staring at her, brows furrowed in confusion. They definitely thought she was a creep. She smiled awkwardly at him, hoping it conveyed her apology. Beside him, the giant of a man turned to follow his gaze and grinned at her, baring his shiny white teeth. His canines were oddly pointed, almost like…fangs?  It was a ridiculous idea, but it lingered and the longer it did, the more the stains on their clothing began to look a lot like blood. The thought of that made her a little woozy–or maybe that was the exhaustion–but she forced herself to remain in reality and shifted the truck into reverse. The three strange men faded from view as Bella inched closer to Forks, Washington.

Chapter Text

The sun shone brightly overhead, bathing the meadow in warmth and light. She looked out over the sea of wild flowers, speckling the lush green with flecks of purple, white, and yellow. Despite the peaceful scene, a sense of dread sat heavy in her chest, as though someone had filled her lungs with cement. She glanced around the clearing, trying to determine the source of the feeling, but came up empty. Then, from behind her came a high sound like a whistle. The tune sent the cement in her lungs directly to her veins and when she looked down, she saw that her feet had turned to stone. She pulled at them desperately but they didn’t budge, trapping her in place. As she watched, the stone began to slowly travel up her legs. The whistle came again, closer now, and as her head snapped up she saw that there was a man standing before her. It was one of the men from the gas station; the one with long, blonde hair. 

“Help me, please!” She begged, “Please, before he catches me.”

As the blonde man reached toward her, an unexplainable sense of calm washed over her. She wasn’t sure how, but somehow she knew the man was causing it. She reached for him in return, just as her fingers became marble and a familiar figure broke through the treeline. 

A series of soft taps on the bedroom door startled Bella out of sleep. She struggled with the sheets for a moment where they had tangled around her, for one panicked moment believing that her legs really had turned to stone, and practically fell out of bed. Pulling herself up with the edge of the nightstand, she stumbled groggily to the door and pulled it open to find Charlie standing in the hallway, hand half-raised. His eyebrows raised as he took in the state of her. 

“You alright?”

“Wha–yeah.Yeah! Of course. Did you need something?” She raked a hand through her tangled hair in a useless attempt to smooth it. 

“Well no, but if you want to make it to school today, you’ll need to go soon.” He shifted awkwardly, clearly unaccustomed to the parental role. 

A bolt of panic lanced through her. “School! Right! Oh god, what time is it?” 

“You’ve still got about twenty minutes before you need to head out.” Charlie raised his hands in a placating gesture, stepping out of her way as she rushed down the hall toward the bathroom. Bella threw the door open, grabbing for the half-unpacked bag of toiletries on the sink. “Bella?” She looked up from her toothbrush to see that he’d followed her, a look of concern on his face. 

“Charlie.” 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” She mumbled around the toothbrush, using her free hand to search her bag for a hairbrush. 

“Well, we can start with the fact that you showed up at four in the morning last week looking like you hadn’t slept in days. Not that I’m complaining about you moving back here, believe me, but I was under the impression you hated it here. And based on the number of calls I’ve been getting from your mother, I’m going to go out on a limb and say you didn’t tell her.” 

Bella paused, hands braced on either side of the sink. She avoided his stare in the mirror, unable to look him in the eye. “I’m sorry. Look, I’ll–just tell mom that I’m okay and she can just focus on things with Phil.”

“What things with Phil? If he did something–”

“No! No. It’s not like that. I just…you know how mom is. The second she started dating him, it was like she was in another world. She was talking about them moving to Florida soon. Just the two of them, I don’t even think she thought of me.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was enough to satisfy Charlie. With a look that said her mother would be getting an earful next time she called, he backed out of the bathroom and left her to get ready. 

The drive to school was blessedly short, and she managed to convince the sour woman manning the front office that her tardiness was a side-effect of being new to the school. Her first class of the day was an algebra course covering equations that she’d been doing since freshman year, and she spent most of it dissociating while watching rivulets of rain water make their descent down the classroom’s window. 

English was next, and Bella at least found that somewhat interesting. The teacher was a peppy 20-something that had clearly minored in classical literature and talked them through the syllabus like Romeo and Juliet was the most interesting story they’d ever read. Personally, Bella preferred Poe to Shakespeare, but she admired the enthusiasm. The variety of material was promising at least; Arizona’s English class had mostly stuck to the more popular titles. She was reading through the titles when someone tapped her lightly on the arm. She glanced up to see another girl with wavy brown hair leaning across her desk. 

“Hi, you’re Isabella, right? I’m Jess, super nice to meet you.”  She flashed her a friendly smile that had just the slightest edge to it. 

“Oh, um, hi. You can just call me Bella; it’s nice to meet you too.” She returned Jess’ smile awkwardly, not sure how to interpret the other girl’s expression. 

The awkwardness seemed to put her at ease, because that bit of sharpness vanished immediately, replaced by an endearing wrinkle along the bridge of her nose. “Are you finding your way around okay? Not to be weird or anything, but I happened to overhear that you had a hard time finding the office this morning, and I’m pretty sure we have the next class together, so we can walk together if you want.” 

Bella felt something in her chest ease a bit. As much as she’d needed to get out of Arizona, it was also all she’d ever known in terms of school. The prospect of being the new girl in a town where everyone knew everyone was daunting, and she welcomed the opportunity to integrate faster. “That would be great.” 

Jess turned out to be a fount of information on more than just the school’s layout. She seemed to be privy to every stray scrap of gossip and interpersonal entanglement in town, and Bella found herself thinking that she’d make a very fearsome enemy. Luckily, she seemed to have deemed Bella a friend, and took the liberty of introducing her to the rest of her social circle at lunch. She was pleasantly surprised to find a fellow Edgar Allen Poe fan in Angela, who she was in the middle of discussing the English syllabus with when the outside door to the cafeteria opened, and in strolled three very familiar men.

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In the light of day, the three men from the gas station seemed much less threatening, although no less ethereal. Bella had assumed their alabaster complexions had been a trick of the flickering fluorescents lighting the pumps, but now she could see that they really were that pale, making the shadows beneath their eyes seem like a rather striking makeup choice rather than fatigue. In fact, every one of their features seemed unrealistically beautiful. It took her a few moments to snap out of her stunned daze, and she leaned towards Jessica.

“Who are they?”

Jessica paused in the middle of flirting with Mike to look over her shoulder at the trio. They’d been joined by two women. They were equally angelic, one with dark hair cut into a spiky bob and the other with blonde waves framing a face that was somehow even more beautiful than her companions. The five of them were making their way towards a table in the back of the cafeteria, hands empty of food or even a bottle of water. 

“Ohhh,” Jess whispered back, expression gleeful, “Those are the Cullens! They’re all adopted, which is good because half of them are also dating.” She made a face that suggested she wasn’t super into that idea, lack of blood relations notwithstanding. “The Hales–the blonde two–are twins and in the grade above us. The guy, Jasper, is dating Alice. She’s that tiny one with the amazing hair? And Rosalie is dating Emmett, the dude who looks like a linebacker. I actually heard the football coach tried to recruit him, but he turned him down. Edward is the only single one, but apparently he’s way too good for everyone here. Even a few of the guys have tried, but alas.”

Bella hummed acknowledgement, although she thought she was significantly less interested in their dating history. “Wait, they’re all adopted?” 

“Oh, yeah,” Jess nodded enthusiastically. “Their dad is Carlise Cullen, he’s the head of surgery at the hospital. Apparently he was like, a huge deal wherever they used to live, but he took a job out here in exchange for hours that let him spend more time with his wife and kids. I think his wife is like, an interior designer? Nobody really sees much of her, but apparently she’s really nice.” She seemed to realize that she’d gotten a bit off topic. “Anyway, Mrs. Cullen couldn’t have kids and they’re like, super rich, so they just adopted a bunch. If it helps, I’m pretty sure they adopted Alice and Emmett way after the twins, so it’s not like they grew up together or anything.”

“Also they’re definitely a cult.” Mike said, having been listening in. 

“Mike.” Jess chided, although she didn’t disagree. 

“It’s true! Everyone in town thinks so, anyway. They all get pulled out of school constantly to go 'hiking' and they barely speak to anyone outside of the family. Not to mention, they’re all just generally really weird.”

Bella frowned, turning back to look at the Cullens over her shoulder. 'Really weird' certainly described them. Damnnit. It would be her luck to run from things in Arizona straight into cult territory. Across the cafeteria, the man Jess had labeled Edward turned to stare back at her, eyes a honey brown in the dreary light from the window behind him. She flinched, wondering if he recognized her as well. If he hadn’t thought she was a total weirdo at the gas station, he certainly would now after she’d been staring at him for way longer than socially acceptable. 

His sister, Alice, elbowed him in the side. She said something that was clearly chastisement and leaned around him to wave cheerily at Bella. She returned it stiffly before hurriedly turning back to her lunch and hoping they’d forget all about her.

Unfortunately, the universe had it out for her, because she arrived to biology to find that Edward Cullen was her lab partner. Great. She slid onto the stool next to him, hyper-aware of her movements. To add insult to injury, the auburn-haired boy immediately clapped a hand over his nose and mouth, leaning as far away from her as possible. She mentally kicked herself for oversleeping and skipping a shower this morning; clearly she smelled terrible. 

Bella did her best to follow along with the lesson and pretend she couldn’t see Edward on the verge of vomiting next to her. It couldn’t be that bad, could it? Jessica and her friends hadn’t mentioned anything. Had they just been being nice, pretending not to notice? Subtly, she tugged a bit of her hair to her nose and sniffed. She certainly didn’t think she smelled particularly terrible, but maybe she’d gone nose-blind to it? Confusion and mortification continued to swirl in her veins until the bell rang, at which Edward practically launched himself out the door. 

Biology had been her last class of the day, so she made her way towards the door to the parking lot. It was right next to the main office, and she heard voices filtering through the open doorway as she approached. 

“...any way to change classes?” 

“I’m sorry Mr. Cullen, this late in the year there’s just no way you can drop the course.” The secretary was standing on the opposite side of the desk from Edward, wearing a confused and apologetic expression. 

“Please,” He insisted, “Is there anything I could replace it with? There are three other science classes available, none of them have openings?” 

Realization was a sharp sting. Bella’s vision blurred as she swiped a hand furiously at her eyes. Had she really smelled that awful? Or was he just trying to distance himself from the weirdo staring at him during lunch? Her first day and she’d already made this poor guy so uncomfortable he was literally begging to get away from her. On the heels of humiliation was a rush of anger. Why couldn’t he have just said something, or asked her to move instead of treating her like a leper for a half hour? 

All at once, a sense of comfort replaced the awfulness she’d been feeling only seconds before, and the sudden shift nearly gave her whiplash. She blinked rapidly, tears drying in her lashes, and when the world expanded past the conversation in the office Bella was startled to find Jasper Cullen leaning against the wall next to the office. She’d been so focused on the awfulness in class that she must have missed him standing there, clearly waiting for his brother. He was watching her, eyebrows furrowed over an intense gaze. She coughed, rubbing the side of her neck as she fumbled for words to explain in a way that wouldn’t make her want to crawl out of her skin. 

Jasper beat her to it. “Ignore him. He has a habit of being dramatic.” Every word was spoken deliberately, like he was out of practice and had to think about how each of them went together properly. Bella thought it was nice, like he had thought through everything he said to make sure he really meant it. Clearly, he’d put the pieces together himself and for some reason was taking her side on it. 

She gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you, but clearly something I did made him uncomfortable.” 

He frowned. “It’s not you.” He paused and corrected himself, “Nothing you did.” 

She wanted to ask him what he meant, what reason Edward could possibly have had for his behavior, but the man in question was exiting the office with a scowl on his face. Clearly he had not gotten what he wanted. When he saw her, the expression carved itself deeper into his face, and he dragged Jasper after him as he stormed down the hall. The unexplainable feeling of comfort went with them, replaced by annoyance. If she hadn’t done anything wrong, did he have to be such an asshole? It struck her then that this pendulum swing of emotions was odd, like a switch being flipped off and then on again. She watched the two retreating with a frown, the ghost of something tugging at the edge of her mind.

Chapter Text

The forest was eerily silent. Up ahead, a fawn was picking its way through the undergrowth, still clumsy with infancy. She watched, floating along behind it as incorporeal as the condensation that hung in the air, a sticky heat hanging among the trees despite the heavy canopy of leaves blocking out the worst of the sun high above. Somewhere behind her, a branch snapped and the fawn’s head snapped up in an instant. The smart thing to do would have been to run, but instinct kept the poor thing rooted in place as it’s eyes stared past her into the shadows. 

Nothing followed the sound, but the silence had gone from unsettling to oppressive. It pressed in around, anticipation and dread mixing with the humidity in a suffocating embrace. She was waiting for something, she realized. Waiting on what she knew was coming, no matter how much she tried to cling to the false peace of the scene before her. 

As if it had been waiting for her to acknowledge it, a blur of motion shot forward and snatched the fawn from where it stood, still frozen in a weak beam of sunlight. When it stilled, she saw that it was a man, kneeling over the fawn where it lay limp before him. He looked up, staring directly at her with honey brown eyes as blood dripped languidly from a set of deadly, gleaming fangs. 

A sound at the edge of her subconscious jolted Bella awake. She sat upright in the dark, the only illumination coming from the moonlight through her window. Which was now open. 

She stared at it as though if she looked long enough it might reveal itself to be a trick of the dim light. To her mounting dismay, it remained in its position, the lower glass raised a few inches from where it should have been flush with the wooden frame. Bella had definitely locked it when she’d gone to sleep that night, so why…? The curtains were also out of place, although it might have been unnoticeable if she’d been less paranoid about her surroundings. 

The thought that someone had been trying to obscure the fact that they’d entered the room propelled her into movement. She fumbled around blindly until it hit the grip of the metal bat leaning against the wall near her bed, eyes scanning the shadowed corners of the room. There was nothing, which left her with two options. Slowly, she climbed out of bed and lowered herself to the floor, grabbing her phone off the nightstand and using the flashlight to scan beneath the bed. Empty, save for her worn out slippers and a lone penny. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself back up with the bedframe and crossed to the closet, gripping the bat in one hand as she threw the door wide with the other. Hangers swung and rattled, and the dark shape of a sweater falling to the floor nearly made her scream. Heart thudding, she scanned the inside and saw that it, too, was empty. Pulling the door shut, she practically ran for the window and slammed it shut. She went to lock it and found that it already was. She leaned down to inspect the bolt and saw that the mechanism was twisted and broken where the window had been shoved straight through the metal stop. Hands shaking, she wrenched the curtains closed and stumbled backwards. Dropping the bat to the floor with a heavy thud, she crouched down with her head between her knees, a hysterical sob bubbling up from her throat. Her chest constricted, pushing air from her lungs as shudders overtook her entire body. Bella wasn’t sure how long she spent curled into a ball on the floor, panic replacing the blood in her veins as she tried to remember how to breathe, but suddenly she was blinking awake with her cheek pressed uncomfortably to the floorboards, legs tangled and asleep beneath her. The sunlight streaming through the window steadied her. It would not protect her, but at least she didn’t have to face this in the dark. 

She pushed herself off the floor, catching herself on the bedpost as her numb legs buckled under her weight. Bella waited for the pins and needles to subside and then made her way down the stairs to where Charlie was making himself a cup of coffee before his shift, already dressed in his uniform. The shiny badge identifying him as the town sheriff was pinned nearly to his chest and she was involuntarily reminded of another badge just like it, pinned to the chest of a man who looked at her like she was wasting his time. 

“Someone broke into my room last night.” She said without preamble, the words tasting metallic on her tongue.

Charlie froze with the mug halfway to his lips, “What?” 

“I woke up and the window was open, even though I shut it when I went to bed. The lock was broken when I went to check it.” 

She’d expected him to dismiss her, to tell her that she’d probably just left it open and forgotten, that the lock had always been broken and she was overthinking this. But before she’d even finished speaking, Charlie was taking the stairs two at a time, making a beeline for her bedroom. He erupted into a colorful series of curses when he saw the state of the lock. Wrenching the window upwards, he ran his fingers over the ledge, angry but unsurprised at what he saw. “Looks like someone took a crowbar to it. There are score marks where something was dug underneath the pane. This is the second floor, how the fuck–” He cut himself off and turned to Bella, “Are you alright? You’re not hurt?” 

“No,” She shook her head, feeling suddenly very small and childlike, “He was gone when I woke up.” 

“Good, good that’s…” Charlie squinted at her, “Did you say ‘he’?” 

Bella’s chin began to tremble before she once again dissolved into sobs. “I’m sorry. I'm so sorry. I swear I didn’t know, I wouldn’t have come if I thought–” She couldn’t finish, teeth chattering as she gasped for air that wouldn’t come.

Charlie folded her into a hug, cradling her tightly with one arm as he put his phone to his ear with the other. She was vaguely aware of him speaking, barking orders to someone on the other end. By the time he hung up, she’d exhausted the last of her tears and took a small step back to look him in the eyes. 

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

Chapter Text

Curled into the corner of Charlie’s sofa, idly picking at a hole in the fabric where the foam cushion pushed out, the horror of what was happening felt like it was happening to someone else. All of Bella’s emotions had burnt themselves out, having been running at max for the past year. Now she could barely feel her own fingers much less fear. She would be glad, if she had the capacity for it. It would make this conversation easier. Charlie was sitting next to her, waiting at full attention for her to speak. She didn’t remember when exactly they’d left the bedroom or when the pair of detectives, who she could hear faintly through the ceiling, had arrived. 

“Bella?” Charlie prodded. He looked concerned and she drummed up enough energy to feel sorry about it. 

“Near the end of last year, I got a job working for a coffee shop,” She started slowly, “It was fine for a few months, I actually really liked it, but around Christmas this guy came in. He seemed normal at first, you know? Polite, well-dressed. He came in pretty late, but I assumed he had just gotten off work. Eventually he became one of our regulars and I got used to seeing him, but after a month or two I started noticing things. The way he’d watch me the entire time he was in the store, the fact that he didn’t seem to actually be drinking the coffees he bought, asking me about weirdly personal things like what conditioner I used.” Bella swallowed. She didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to think about it, but her mouth was moving of its own accord now. “I just ignored it, chalked it up to poor social skills. But then one night, when I was walking to my car after close, he was there. Two hours after he’d left, just leaning against the car waiting on me. Wouldn’t move when I tried to get in and kept asking me to go somewhere with him.” 

The look on Charlie’s face said he knew where this was going. He’d worked for the police force for over almost two decades, this wasn’t the first time he’d heard about a stalker. It certainly hadn’t been for the officer who’d taken her report back in Arizona. She could still remember the disdain in his eyes. We can’t do anything unless a crime has been committed. It isn’t illegal for people to get coffee or be in a parking lot at night. Are you sure you aren’t just overreacting? She searched for the same reaction in her father’s face and came up empty. 

“After a while, someone came out of the building next door and it seemed to scare him off. When I got home, Mom and Phil took me to the police station but they said I had probably just misread the situation and that they couldn’t do anything unless he actually did something to me,” At this, Charlie made a furious noise somewhere between a scoff and a growl. He rubbed a hand over his eyes as Bella hugged her knees tighter to her chest, “He stopped coming in after that, but I started to feel like I was being watched. Then I saw him one day, outside my school. He was just standing across the street staring at me. And soon he was showing up everywhere. The mall, restaurants, my ballet studio. It was like he was always there, no matter where I went. The police still refused to do anything and I had stopped trying until he broke into our house.” 

“He–what do you mean? Renee never mentioned a break in,” Charlie scowled, “She never mentioned any of this for that matter.” 

“I came home one day and he’d left a note on my pillow saying a bunch of weird stuff like how much he liked the way I smelled and what he thought my corpse would look like. Somehow, the police said they still couldn’t do anything because there was no way to prove it was him. It just kept getting worse and worse. Eventually, mom and Phil decided it would be a good idea to move, and the next morning I woke up covered in blood with a dead bird on my chest. I was worried that he might do something to one of them next, so I packed a bag and drove here without telling anyone, hoping that he’d realize I was gone and leave them both alone,” She met Charlie’s eyes, “I didn’t think he would find me up here. If I had any idea, I would have never come here and dragged you into this.” 

“Dragging me into this is exactly what you should have done. Even if I did have command of an entire police force, I’m your dad, Bells. It’s my job to protect you from things like this.” He reached out and squeezed her knee in a gesture of comfort. She was grateful for him in that moment more than she ever had been. The sound of footsteps drew their attention and she turned to watch as the officers descended the stairs. 

“Well, nothing is obviously out of place, but let us know if you notice anything missing later. It doesn't look like the intruder left any evidence behind other than the marks on the window frame. We took finger prints around it, so hopefully that turns up something.” Said the one on the left, a plump man with short-cropped hair and freckles spattered over his nose. Bella nodded and his partner turned to Charlie. 

“We took a closer look at the window, and I’m not certain those marks are from a crowbar like you thought. They’re too thin and far apart,” She looked at Bella, “We’ll send photos over to forensics and see if they can figure out what made them. That way we might be able to match any recent purchases of the tool with a potential suspect.” 

“About that,” Charlie cleared his throat, “We already have a pretty good idea of who it was. Bella had a stalker back when she lived with her mother; escalated to break-ins and leaving dead animals in her bed. Could be the same guy followed her when she moved up here.” 

“Okay,” The female officer nodded and pulled out a pad of paper, “Could you give me a description of him?”

Bella sat up, reciting the information she’d given numerous times to the disinterested officers at the Phoenix Police Department. “He’s tall, white, with blonde hair about to his shoulders. His eyes are this really weird reddish brown color most of the time, I assume he wears colored contacts or something, because other times they’re practically black. I would say he’s in his late twenties or early thirties.” 

The officer scribbled her spiel down on the notepad. “Did you ever get his name at all?” 

“I don’t know if it’s his real name or not,” Bella took a deep breath, “but he said his name was James.” 

She stayed home from school that day, but decided to go the next day in spite of Charlie’s protests. She couldn’t afford to fall behind on school already when she’d just started here, and Bella needed the little bit of normalcy it offered. Nevertheless, he insisted on dropping her off and picking her up in his squad car, which she couldn’t complain about. As much as she craved the mundanity, stepping outside still made her hands tremble where she hid them in the sleeves of her sweatshirt. It was one Renee had bought her, something she’d seen in a boutique while traveling for one of Phil’s games, and it still smelled like her house in Arizona. 

Jess turned to her immediately when she sat down in English class. “Are you okay? You were out yesterday and Angela said she saw the police at your house on her way into school.” 

The genuine concern in her voice was a balm to Bella’s soul. “Mostly. We had a break in, someone pried my window open in the middle of the night.” 

“Oh my god!” Jess exclaimed a little too loudly. The teacher sent her a pointed look for talking during her lecture and Jess winced. “Whoops. But oh my god! They didn’t hurt you, right?”

“No, I didn’t even wake up until they left.”

“Good, I’m so glad. God, Bella, what an awful thing to happen in your first week in town. Guess that’s what happens when your dad’s chief of police. Lots of enemies, right?” She squeezed Bella’s arm sympathetically. 

“No, it’s actually…” Bella swallowed, wondering if it was a good idea to confide in this girl she’d only known for a day. She didn’t want to scare off her first friend, but at the same time it might be for the better if James started targeting people she cared about, “I moved to Forks because I was being stalked. We think the guy followed me here.” 

Jess’ eyes went wide and she clasped her hands over her mouth to muffle a gasp. “That’s awful! You must have been so scared. I know your dad probably has officers watching your house, but if you feel uncomfortable sleeping there you’re welcome to come crash at my place for a while.” 

“No, that’s okay. I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you because of me,” Bella gave her a small smile, “Thank you, though. It means a lot.”

Despite Bella’s reassurances that she was fine, Jessica had appointed herself the official Isabella Swan Protection Squad and roped several of their friends into walking Bella to and from classes. It was sweet, if a little excessive. Angela was appointed to take her to history, but she had economics that period and left her at the door with a quick hug and promised to come get her when class was over. The history classroom was set up lectern-style, with rows of seats terracing up from the front of the room where the teacher stood at a podium. As she took a seat at the back, someone slid in beside her. Bella turned, and was shocked to find Alice Cullen staring back at her with an anxious expression. 

“Bella!” She said, steepling her fingers on the desk in front of them, “I…heard you had a bit of a scare the other day.” 

Confusion coursed through her. “Um, yeah. Why?” Jess had said the Cullens didn’t interact with anyone outside of their family and Bella had only seen Alice once in the cafeteria. 

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay!” Alice paused for a second, then leaned in conspiratorily, “Full disclosure, Jasper mentioned Edward was being a bit of a brat the other day and that you seemed really upset. I just wanted to check in and make sure you knew it wasn’t on you. My brother has a habit of being melodramatic about the littlest things, and he’s mostly just sore that he finally got forced to have a lab partner. Bit of a lone wolf, that one. Likes his solitude while he listens to Claire De Lune and broods.” 

Bella snorted, rolling her eyes, “I’ll say. He was acting like I had rolled in trash or something, it was mortifying.” 

“Well that clearly can’t be it because you smell amazing. Maybe I should ask if he hit his head recently.” 

Alice turned out to be even friendlier than Jessica. She was positively bubbly and spent half the class talking Bella’s ear off about 1970s fashion, which was the time period they were currently learning about. If she had any fault, it was that she was a bit eccentric and would occasionally stop talking entirely to stare off into space. When class ended, Alice followed her to the door and then halted when she caught sight of Angela. 

“Looks like your ride is here. See you later, Bella!” Then she was off, disappearing around the corner. 

“Was that who I think it was?” Angela asked, staring after her in amazement. 

“Yep. She’s actually really nice, I think she and Jessica would get along well.” 

“Huh. Who knew?” They made their way towards the cafeteria after stopping by their lockers, the smell of overcooked hamburgers wafting over them. Across the room, she saw Jasper’s head snap up. She met his gaze, raising an eyebrow at him before turning away. She didn’t bother going over to thank him for sending Alice to check on her, she had a feeling he already knew. Jessica was waving them over to where she was already sitting with Mike, Eric, and Lauren, and Ben, so Bella slid into the chair beside her and unwrapped her chicken salad sandwich. Angela wasted no time informing the others about her new friend. 

“Seriously?” Eric turned to her, “She actually came up and talked to you. For the whole class?” 

“Yeah. Her brother is my lab partner and we didn’t really get off on the wrong foot, so she wanted to apologize.” 

“Wait, what do you mean? Was he being a jerk to you?” Mike demanded, shooting a look towards the Cullens’ table. Edward was looking in their direction and hastily turned away. 

“Um, sort of? He was acting like I smelled or something and then I overheard him asking to switch classes when I passed the office on my way out. According to Alice, he’s really just pissed off that he has to work with someone and overreacting.”  Bella shrugged.

“No kidding,” Angela frowned, “I get preferring to work alone, but it’s not like you asked to be paired up with him.” 

“It’s whatever. The whole break-in thing sort of makes it seem unimportant.” It wasn’t exactly that she was no longer upset about it, but yesterday’s fiasco had robbed her of the energy it took to care about something so trivial. Across the room, Edward grimaced at something. She saw Rosalie lean towards him, likely to ask what had put him in a sour mood, but he waved her off. Next to her, Jasper glanced from Edward to Bella. When he saw she was looking back at him, he raised an eyebrow at her like she’d done earlier and she had to bite back a laugh. Her amusement seemed to satisfy him, because he turned back to whatever conversation he’d been having with Emmett, although the tense set of his jaw suggested he was still concerned about something. 

“Well at least some of his family seems to feel bad about his behavior.” Said Jess, who had been watching the exchange. 

“Maybe this is a cult tactic and they’re trying to recruit the new girl.” Mike stabbed the air with a french fry in Bella’s direction.

Jessica sighed. “Or, maybe they’re just wary of people because half of them probably grew up in the foster system.”

“Cult.”

“Micheal.” 

Bella let herself be distracted by their antics and for a little while she could forget about stalkers, break-ins, and grouchy lab partners; wishing desperately that she could stay inside this little carefree bubble forever.