Hide & Seek

I snapped my head back around. My green eyes were wide open. No, it couldn't be... Maybe it was just a trick of the light. Maybe Arty's story just got to me, made me hallucinate something. Yeah, that was it.

I took another glance at the family.

It wasn't a hallucination.

It wasn't a trick of the light.

Artemis was right. They weren't human.

The one with bronze hair had his amber eyes staring directly into mine. It was like he could see everything that was in my head. Like he read my thoughts...

There were eight of them in all. The one the girl had been talking about, dark hair, very muscular looked like he could break me like a toothpick. I wouldn't be surprised since I was very close to being one. His butterscotch eyes weren't intimidating in the very least. More like... humorous, like he was laughing at me. But that feeling quickly went away when I looked at the blonde at his side.

If looks could kill would be the understatement of last century, this century, and the next couple to come. She could have easily been a supermodel. Agencies all over the world would be eating out of her palm just for her to pose for them. Her blonde hair framed her flawless face with waves of white gold. Her eyes glared at me with fire, she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen.

The couple beside them had their hands entwined underneath the table, they were talking very quietly to each other. The girl was very small, delicate even, with her black hair cut short and feathered of at the ends. She looked very retro. Someone who would wear the clothes that were in my closet... The boy she was connected with was less burly than the dark haired one but still had some muscle. He had blonde hair, and his own butterscotch eyes observed me.

I swear I felt calmer when I locked eyes with him.

Next was a girl that had dark mahogany hair that waved gently down to the middle of her back. Her butterscotch eyes matched the ones at her table, and the man I could tell by just a glance was the one she was in love with.

He had bronze colored hair, his face was angular and chiseled. The crooked smile he was giving his love would break just about any teen girl's heart. They were apart of each other, a unit, that like an atom, would cause major destruction if torn apart.

The last couple was one I practically recognized. It was Nessie. She was smiling at me, her teeth still as white as snow. She wasn't as pale as the other, there was pink on her cheeks. Next to her was one that stood out of the group the most. He skin was darker than Arty and Tate's, but they looked like they could somehow be related - far distant cousins? His hair was black, shoulder length, but pulled into a ponytail at the end of his hairline on his neck.

Their love felt even stronger than bronze haired boy and the girl that could have been her sister. I could just feel the hearts and cupids radiating off of them. They weren't looking at me, only each other and whispering to one another.

Jealousy clutched at my heart. All of them were obviously in love with each other.

I turned away from them and back to my table. As I picked up my sandwich I felt a presence at my side. I almost jumped out of my chair.

"Hey Copper, how is your first day going?" She asked, but I could tell by her eyes that she knew the answer.

I sighed. "It's been fine. I used to being the new student, but its very dull. I'm still questioning why my mom wanted to move here."

Her face seemed to brighten up. "It's not that bad. Once you get past all the rainy days, the cloudy skies, the cold days... alright, maybe it is a bit bad." She gave a bell-like laugh.

"Where did you live before you came here?" I asked, wondering why someone would want to move here in the first place.

"Toronto, in Canada. It was beautiful there at night." She took the empty chair beside me and sat down. "What about you?"

"The Mile-High City. Denver, Colorado. Mom and I would go hiking all the time." It was the truth. "Why did you move here anyways?"

"Dad wanted to get a bit of fresh air, away from the big cities. Plus they had an opening at the hospital, so everything worked out." She was still smiling.

I felt more stares burn into the back of my head. "So, are they your family?" I asked, cautious not to say anything too loud - but I think they heard me anyways. She nodded, her dark auburn curls bouncing.

"Yeah, they're my brothers and sisters."

"But, you all look the same age!"

Her look faltered before I could really catch it. "We're all adopted. The only one that I'm blood related to is my twin sister Bella, the one with the dark brown hair. Beside her is Edward Dwyer, he's a year younger than his twin brother and sister Rosalie and Jasper. They're the blondes. Then is Emmett and Alice Swan, Alice is a year younger." I nodded as she pointed them out. The glares seemed to have stopped.

She hadn't mentioned the tan boy yet... "So who's the other-"

The bell rang before I could finish my sentence.

"Bye Copper, it was nice talking to you!" She disappeared in the blink of an eye and was at the side of the one she hadn't mentioned. He gave me a look, laughter in his dark brown eyes.

"Hey, Cop, you comin'?" I looked up at Roxe and nodded. "So you have Gym with Blackburn right?" I nodded as I threw my half-eaten food away. "Stellar, the gym is right beside the art building. I'll walk you there."

To say gym was fun was another understatement of the century. Coach Blackburn was an old, bi-polar lady that only liked to see her students in pain. After running three laps (more like jogging half of one and trying not to die while walking the rest) it was push up after push up after sit up after sit up after lunge. I almost died, literally.

I got hit in the back of the head by a dodge ball at least ten times in five minutes.

The bell rang and I happily ran for the locker rooms (or tried to run). I was outside in minutes, a light drizzle wetting my already sweaty hair and clothes. I ran for the main building. Roxe had said that was where the History classes were.

I made it to Mr. Reid's room with seconds to spare. Everyone was chatting with friends. I sat in one of the empty desks near the back, happy that no one was staring at me. This was the last class of the day.

"Good afternoon everyone," the teacher called attention to everyone. "This is a packed course and I only have a year with you all. So, I have created a project which will be all of you in groups of two making a quick introduction presentation. I've already made groups, so once I call your names get together and I'll give farther details.

I saw Artemis groan and his sister punched his shoulder when they were called into the same group.

Each group was called...

"And the last group, due to the uneven number, will be Copper Acres, Isabella Mason, and Edward Dwyer. You will have Illinois."

I turned around and instantly froze, seeing the flawless, deeply in love couple strutting toward me gracefully.