Floss

Forks high school is made up of a mixture of odd looking buildings. It’s as if someone simply roped them off and declared they were misshapen parts of the same puzzle. We’re shown to the office building first, and after a general meeting with the Principal, who seems far more interested in whatever call he’s waiting for, we’re stuck with Miss Cope, his assistant who wants to discuss how the lessons we’ve been previously doing in England fit in with their curriculum.

It’s a little easier for Teddy, he’ll sit some GCSE exams in the summer alongside going to all of the typical classes he would as a ‘sophomore’ in high-school. Essentially, as long as he works well he’ll graduate with the rest of the year he’s entering.

I’m more difficult, I’ve spent the last year and a half doing A-levels, so I’ve been focusing on only four subjects. That wasn’t to say there wasn’t options, I’d had several thrust at me from all angles. I’d settled on just focusing on the upcoming four months until the school closed for summer. I could work out everything else from then onwards. Up until that point, I’d have one session a day with a tutor familiar with the British A-level courses and I’d email my coursework back to my teachers in London. I’d sit my exams with Teddy in the summer but also attend the rest of the standard high school senior syllabus and give their finals a go as well. I suppose my results across the boards would play a part in what I did when autumn struck. I still didn't have my head around how credits worked.

“So,” she finished with a wide smile, her lipstick too bright, “Here are your schedules…” The paper was thrust at us and Teddy snatched both before dumping the crinkled A4 in my palm. I frowned as I unravelled it, it was good of them to allow this time for me to focus on previous subjects. In all truth, the high school has been nothing but accommodating.

That didn’t mean I particularly wanted to be here.

“Okay,” She muses, “What I thought would be nice is if we have a student show you around, so you can get an idea of all the different buildings. I’ve asked for them period two, which gives you both another ten minutes.” We both nod, little more is necessary and as a cough echoes from the small reception in the next room she vanishes. There’s an odd quietness again, as I scan through my timetable. I’m missing trigonometry to work on my English or Sociology coursework apparently. That works out pretty well as I can’t even recall what trigonometry means.

The anxiety is bubbling in my stomach and for a change, I know Teddy feels much the same way. He’s twitching, he does to a degree anyway, the built up energy and rapid thoughts that no amount of pills can really control, but his leg is bouncing now, the chair shaking ever so slightly under him. I can’t think of anything particularly comforting that doesn’t make me feel like a hypocrite so I settle for flicking his bobbing knee slightly, breaking his train of thought.

His smirk reappears and there’s a no doubt sarcastic comment coming my way when Mrs Cope raises her voice, “Miss Cullen? Can I help you?”

The words in reply are practically sung, the voice high and soft. “I’m here for the tour…”

“But Miss Maloney…”

“Lauren hadn’t finished a piece of work for English, so I offered to take her place. I hope that’s not a problem?”

“Well, no. I suppose, Mr Berty won’t…”

The stranger’s voice took on a practically desolate tone, clearly to try and guilt trip the older woman, and I internally grimaced a little. Whoever had to be that eager to take Teddy and I on a tour had to be a little odd. Teddy, as he often was, seemed to be on the same wavelength, “Bet this is a right goody-two-shoes.” I grinned, “Trying to up some sort of grade.”

An image forms in my head, again, only built by stereotypes on a television. I was expecting someone with long plaits, braces and something in plaid when instead I got very much the opposite. If we were on an American melodrama, this girl would have been one of the bitches, dressed in clothes that were very clearly designer and fit her small frame perfectly. But we were in tiny Forks, Washington and as she smiled widely, perfectly coiffed hair bouncing along with her steps as her freezing hand was thrust into mine it was clear just how far from stereotypes we were.

I was ridiculous, and I felt it instantly, as she started to chatter away to an awestruck Teddy who was hanging to her every word. Carrie was right, I’d built everything up to something ridiculous.

This was just school. It would be different but not anywhere near as much as I had imagined. I’d been psyching myself out exactly as my currently entranced little brother had teased.

“Shall we go?” She, Alice, beamed again, her teeth an almost startling white. “We should probably start with English – building Three, it’s the closest and it looks like it may rain.” She catches sight of my frown and laughs, her face lighting up as if I’m the funniest thing she’s ever seen.

The school is smaller than we’re both used to, and with our timetable just rotating two days I know it won’t take long to know exactly where we need to go. “We finish a bit earlier.” Teddy nudges me, with a wink. “And start earlier.” Alice giggles at me again.

“It must be a big change, coming over here from England. I have always wanted to go, London mainly – but that’s just for fashion more than anything.” She pauses and I glance either side, waiting for her to announce some attraction. All I can see are dull off-white walls. There’s a couple of seconds and she’s fully animated again, clearly she’d lost her train of thought. A bell rings out suddenly, and quickly a mass of bodies appear. It’s my first chance to look at the other students, the teenagers that make up the youth of Forks. They’re painfully normal, I realise instantly.

“Oh, lesson change!” Alice needlessly informs us. It’s not hard to catch the vast amount of eyes dragging over us and I’m self-conscious again, fighting the urge to hide behind my hair and instead staring a few people out as they pass. “Edward!” Alice’s voice lifts, and she sounds utterly delighted as a familiar, and equally, attractive face breaks through the muddle of people. He smiles widely, and she dances over, dragging him to us. “This is my brother Edward.” She doesn’t have to say it for the resemblance to be clear. “But you’ve already met haven’t you?”

“Kinda.” Teddy grins at him, “Bella’s boyfriend.”

Edwards nods, “That’s me. Nice to see you both again, how is the tour going?”

“It’s going fine of course!” Alice huffs, although it quickly snaps back into that dazzling smile and she laughs. I get the feeling she laughs a lot, one of those perpetually happy people. She radiates it. “Honestly Edward,” she waves him off, and the hallway starts to empty as people shuffle into their next class. “We’re on to the gym next anyway. See you at lunch.”

His eyebrows lift and he waves us away, vanishing quickly. “Definitely going to ask him what he uses in his hair.” Teddy murmurs just for my ears, but Alice perks up and I can tell she’s heard. Within the next hour Alice shows us the rest of the buildings, snatching both of our schedules and pointing out the individual rooms. There’s talk of teachers as well, but most of that I don’t worry about, teachers are easy enough to learn.

“You’re actually with Edward three periods a day, he’ll keep an eye on you.”

“Oh, right thanks.” I don’t feel like I particularly need someone keeping an eye on me- Teddy will certainly be doing that and vice versa but I don’t want to sound rude. “And obviously I’m with you in Government, I’m sure if we ask Mr Jefferson nicely he’ll let us sit together…” she realises the forwardness of her statement and falters a little, “I mean, only if you want too…”

“Yeah,” the look on her face is so downcast and contradictory to how she has been for the last hour I can barely stand it, “Sounds good, I think that’s the lesson I’ll struggle with most, to be honest.” Instantly she’s over it. It wouldn’t be bad sitting next to Alice, she’s ridiculously nice although that may be a cover to suggest there isn’t much going on in her mind other than the fashions she keeps alluding to. Doesn’t matter, she’s nice, obviously eager to be welcoming and I’d be stupid not to go along with it. I like her already.

Alice finishes her tour with a flourish as the bell rings again. “Break is ten minutes and then there’s two more lessons until lunch.”

“Cool.” Teddy is getting fidgety and I know the stretched out conversation between the three of us is boring him. He wants to dive right out into the deep end. “What’s your next lesson then?”

“Gym.” He says instantly, timetable absorbed and remembered. “What do I do with kit?”

“You’ll have to borrow it today and they’ll give you a form to order some.” Edwards appears suddenly, Teddy rolling his eyes as I jump. “Wimp.”

“Shut up.” He mimics kicking me and this time I pull a face, realising how ridiculous we look and quickly stopping myself from retaliating further, “Oh, hey Bella.” I’d barely seen her, half hidden behind Edward. She looks tired and is fighting back a yawn when she waves gently, “How are you getting on? Weird isn’t it?”

“Definitely.” Teddy responds on my behalf, he shrugs nonchalantly, “We’ll get used to it.”

“Quicker than you’d think,” Bella confirms, offering a more generous smile. “Got anything good next?”

Alice recounts our timetables quickly, and we all pretend not to notice how Bella’s eyes tighten when Alice tells her just how many lessons I have with her precious boyfriend. She even clings to him a little harder and when Teddy's eyes meet mine I cough to hold down a giggle. Some more small talk, and I meet a few others people very briefly as they pass. The break finishes quickly and it clearly is just a time meant to drop off and collect books for lessons. “We don’t have lockers, do we Ted?”

“Ah,” It’s Edward that responds, “I’ll take you back to the office after English if you like and we can look into it?”

“Brilliant, thank you.”


The pack ran three separate patrols a night. In pairs or trios. Sam figured that everyone needed some sleep, considering half of the pack was still at school and if their grades suffered any more Sam would have to deal with Billy telling him off like he was about six.

Sunday night had a bad combination.

“So, let me get this right? ” Leah’s voice, as usual, was full of a sense of scorn. Paul was in a bad enough mood as it was, he did not have time for Leah’s bitchiness. “You’re totally fine having to listen to Jake’s pining for little miss vampire lover?”

“We all see the problem with it Leah. You going on isn’t helping him, is it?" Sam had to have done this on purpose, Paul figured, he’d been pestering him for the last two days and this was his little revenge for Paul not bowing to his every want. Paul did not want to imprint. Therefore, he would not imprint. Simple. If Sam wanted to annoy him into submission by making him patrol with Leah it would not work.

"I mean, anything happens Jake will jump in to defend her, and we’ll have to run in and save him.”

He was trying desperately to tune her out, and easily he would keep slipping back to Friday night, to that overwhelming feeling of seeing her, the relentless urge to...

“Oh, sorry. Was my concern about all our lives distracting you from daydreaming about dear ‘lil Florence? It’s actually pitiful you know – watching you start swooning like Jared does.”

“Purposefully missing Sam out there?” Paul snaps, knowing exactly how hard it would hit.

“Go to hell.” A bark escapes Paul in way of a laugh and he hears her howl from her position several miles away. His joy at her rage doesn’t laugh long, as soon as he settles that longing builds up throughout his body again, like ropes are tied tight around his limbs, pulling him towards Forks. He doesn’t respond, he’d chew through those ties if he could, have nothing to do with her. Those blue eyes flash in front of him again, the soft curls and the way the lighting caught all those different tones of blonde. He catches himself, shakes his head hard. Growls as if it will loosen the ties. It doesn’t, it won’t as Jared continually tells him.

Paul’s been in pain, more times than he can count, losing his temper with a brother, getting overly aggressive in training. It happens but this isn’t pain, not in that way – it’s a burn, deep within him that flares and simmers. He digs his claws into the thick undergrowth, certain that if he dipped his control an ounce his feet would lead him directly into the woods surrounding Forks. He’d probably be able to smell her out, her perfume is the sweetest scent that’s ever passed by him.

Maybe just seeing her, for a few seconds would make him feel better, release the pressure. Maybe it would make it worse, like an addict relapsing. He refused to be an addict, he would not be an addict. Not a slave to part of this curse. He’d rather die.

“Happy to push you off a cliff if that makes you feel better?” Leah is back again, voice harder now, more spiteful. “At least it will give us a break. You know what? You might actually be more annoying than Jacob right now. And that’s one hell of a prize.”

His hackles rose as his vision began to cloud. His temper overcame him.