[IC] Of Stone Hearts and Love (Rosalind x AutumnFrost)

[StarfrostedFox]

The first of the inevitable rain drops began falling from a sky covered with thick iron gray clouds, adding yet another layer of precipitation to the already sodden town of Forks Washington as a white Volkswagen beetle that had seen better days pulled out from a driveway in front of a whitewashed two-story house, causing the occupant of the car to sigh heavily. Risa blinked up at the clouds for a moment before turning her lips into a small frown, resolutely refusing to turn on the windshield wipers in hopes that her denial would somehow cause the storm to go away. After several moments in which the rain instead increased in volume, she gave up with a huff of defeat and clicked on the wipers. OK, she loved a good rainstorm, like any sane person, but there had to be a limit on how much water could fall from the sky, right? Apparently not...

Risa Kimura was a thin girl of average height, with sixteen years of life under her belt. She had long silky black hair that fell to the middle of her shoulder blades, bangs cut in layers around her face. She was Japanese by birth, which explained her almond shaped dark brown eyes, but had moved to the United States with her family when she was six she never had found out why her father had decided to take a job in Washington of all places, but she didn't complain. Most of the time. From what she could remember of Japan, it hadn't rained nearly as much as it tended to do here.

And if the rain hadn't been enough of a dampener, Risa was also having to start at a new school in town. Her former high school had recently seen the closing of its doors, the city funding unable to support having such a high concentration of high schools in one area, And had split the student population, sending them to the remaining schools in the area. She, naturally, was part of a smaller group that had been funneled into Forks High, Taking her away from her two best friends and subjecting her to be a subject of curiosity along with the nineteen other students that had been dealt a similar fate. Part of that was probably due to the fact that her parents had decided to purchase a house in the small town recently for some reason, Adding to the stress. Whatever the case was, she was no longer going to be commuting to the next city to get to school.

Pulling into a space in front of what she assumed was the front office, Risa Cut the engine to her car and stuffed the keys into the pocket of her jeans, flipping up the hood on her grey rain jacket before she braved the downpour, making a beeline for the office to get the paperwork for her first day at Forks High.

***

Releasing a slow controlled sigh, Jasper Cullen tried his best to work the tension out of his muscles, uncurl his hands from the fists they had become on his thighs. He concentrated on watching The fall of the raindrops out of the back window of the Volvo he was sitting in, focusing on every minute detail as the droplets of water broke against the pavement, the grass, the houses... But of course, his mind was much more capable of focusing on several things at once, so his worry continued to plague his thoughts, despite his effort to put the matter aside. For he and his family, Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett, were once again headed towards the current Hellhole of his life: Forks High school.

Jasper, and the rest of his adoptive family for that matter, were vampires, Predatory creatures that instinctively hunted and fed on the blood of humans, so the simple matter of pretending to be a regular student at a school full of fragile, Breakable, blood filled teenagers was a constant temptation. Fortunately for the unsuspecting humans, the Cullen Family worked particularly hard on resisting the call of human blood, practicing a "vegetarian" lifestyle, preying instead on animals. Being the newest member to the family, the least experienced with interacting with humans, Jasper frequently struggled to stay true to the choice of abstinence.

'It's because I'm weak.' He found himself thinking bitterly, casting his golden gaze down onto his clenched hands, staring at the crisscrossing pattern of scars on his skin. He had lived in such a different world then the others, where he had known nothing but fighting, death, and blood... Going down that particular line of memories wasn't going to help if he wanted to not kill anyone today. Jaw clenched, he lifted his gaze once again to the rain, trying to strengthen his resolve once more.

[Rosalind]

MADISON

As she awoke from the long slumber, Madison stretched and rolled over, and she looked to the window on the other side of the room. Outside was glum and grey, and she had to wonder if she really had left England? She sighed and slid her arms under the pillow and buried her face in it for a few more moments. She had been in Forks, Washington, America for only seven days, and already she pined for home. Chloe had had to leave the UK when her Father decided to get engaged to his American girlfriend and move them across the Atlantic. Her mother had died when she was young, and having just turned 17 Madison, or Maddie, had little choice. Her plans were too finish school here, save up and move back to England. It wasn't like they had moved somewhere warm and exciting, it was basically American's version of England here! She had seen nothing but rain and grey clouds since arriving. It was with an annoyed grunt that she remembered she had school today, her first day at an American school. She wondered briefly if American schools were as cliquey as they seemed on the TV. "Maddie... time to get up" came the rap at the door, and the voice of her dad's wife-to-be. She grumbled in response and lay for a few more moments, before kicking off the quilt, but falling to the floor with a spectacular thump when her leg caught in the cover.

She washed and scrubbed, and after double checking the weather outside she dressed herself. Her choice of attire for the day was a pair of tight skinny jeans teamed with below the knee brown boots. On top she wore a long vest, and an off the shoulder cream jumper. She combed her hand through her hair which was in its usual state of loose waves and pushed it over her shoulder. A quick slick of mascara to her lengthy lashes before spritzing herself with her favourite scent, and Maddie finally deemed herself ready. Still with an unhappy disposition about her, the blonde picked up the large slouch bag and her khaki parka coat, before heading down for breakfast.

After forcing down half a round of toast and a little bit of fruit, Maddie could put off leaving no longer. She had driven to the school, Forks High, twice just to ensure that she knew the way, but knowing her she would still probably get lost. Her father had gotten her a black Honda Civic to try and ease her into life here, but she wasn't too great at driving on the other side of the road and the lack of roundabouts, so another reason for leaving early was the emptier roads meant there was a lesser chance of an accident. Turning up the music a little too loud and with her foot a little heavier than it should have been, Maddie broke her first speed limit within five minutes and had to force herself to ease off the gas a little, her heavy foot bringing an amused smile to her face.

Arriving at the school, the car park was slowly filling up. Maddie made the quick decision to take a spot at the back of the carpark, so as to not embarass herself with trying to park. She killed the engine and sighed, before pulling her phone out of her bag. Looking at the Facebook app she saw a little red 15 over it. Smiling she clicked open the app and read the messages from her dearest and closest, and it managed to ease the knot in her stomach. She clicked onto the Status before typing something in.

First day at U.S.A high. Here we go

She got out of the car and looked towards the school that bore the name Forks High School. It was the complete opposite of anything she was used to, and the car park was already filling with friends reuniting. Maddie had been told there had been a merge, and that some students from another school would be attending. The admisions lady had hoped it would cheer her up a little and make her first day less daunting, it hadn't worked. Though Maddie was of a social and confident nature, she was now going to be the English girl in America. Yanking her hood over her head Maddie made for inside, temporarily ignoring all the looks and whispers as she passed.

EDWARD

Another year, another repeat, it was always the same. Edward had found himself living the same almost monotonous routine for as long as he could remember. It was their way of living as normal a life as possible, his family’s way of belonging and staying as close to their human side as they could. Living as adoptive son, Edward was the youngest Cullen to live with Dr Cullen and his wife. As the rumour had it, Rosalie and Jasper were twins and Emmett was the eldest of all of them. Doctor Cullen was the love of Forks, a man with such a heart and kind way; he was a man Edward so deeply admired. It was because of Carlisle that Edward had adopted this lifestyle, taking the Vegetarian path and no longer touching human blood. He had slipped up a few times, but now he was almost impervious to the lure of human blood. But it wasn’t so easy for some, and the thought that entered his mind was not a strange one.

The thing with Vampires, were often gifted with powers much beyond that of Vampire enhancements. What talents or traits you had as a human were oft brought through to this next life. Emmett had been remarkably strong as a human; he was now the strongest Vampire he knew. Carlisle was completely unaffected by blood and had complete control, his expertise helping him to save those who would otherwise be lost. Esme had boundless compassion and heart, and loved all so tenderly. But there were two Cullen’s whose talents went beyond that of intelligence and love, and that was he and Jasper. Edward had been able to read people in his human life, and once transformed this had progressed to him being able to read people’s minds. He could hear the thoughts of everyone and could even track someone from far away. It worked to his families advantage, he was able to protect them or sense when someone was in danger, or when someone struggled.

And that was what he heard now, and his golden eyes flicked to the review to behold Jasper in his usual frozen state. Jasper was the newest member of the Cullen clan, and his nature led him to struggle the most with the blood lure. Edward and Jasper were close, united in their mutual bachelor status. But Edward was also able to help Jasper, or distract him whenever he would falter.

Emmett and Rose began their usual routine, pawing at one another until Edward whipped his head around and looked at the pair of them. “Take it outside” he said with an agitated roll of the eyes, returned by an equally snappy expression from Rosalie. When the couple got out, Edward picked up his rucksack he too followed, moving round to Jasper under the guise of checking his tyre. “You all right?” He asked so quietly that only Vampire ears could pick it up.

As he turned around, a breeze disrupted the flow of the rain. A scent unlike anything he had ever experienced caused his jaw to square off, a hard edge taking to the perfectly chiselled features on his handsome face. His hand on the car had changed to a light support and was actually starting to dent the car, the metal crumpling underneath his balled fist.

[StarfrostedFox]

Fresh schedule in hand, A map of the school to accompany it, Risa ducked back out of the office and hurriedly got back in her car, trying to ignore the drip of rainwater from her jacket on to the dark washed pair of jeans she was wearing. She was momentarily grateful that she wasn't wearing a white T-shirt for her first day, speckles of water almost invisible against the dark red of her rib knit sweater, something that surely would have made her stand out among her peers and had jokes plaguing her for months. She could almost imagine a ghost of a conversation, people discussing the weird Asian girl with the white see-through shirt... But she quickly shook off the thoughts, not actually having made the blunder of wearing white in the rain, focusing instead on maneuvering her car around the edges of the school property, making her way towards the student parking lot. Pulling into a space between a couple of other cars that had seen better days, Ri sucked in a deep breath before she cut the engine, trying to brace herself for the upcoming immersion, and then released the air in a puff that made her cheeks momentarily bulge. Giving her head a shake, she briefly studied the map she had been given, comparing it to her schedule and locating her first period before stuffing the papers into her bag and getting out of the car, slinging one strap over her shoulder. Locking the car behind her as she walked away, she tried not to focus on a fluttering panicky feeling starting in her stomach.

Rain boots splashing in collected puddles that she wondered had ever completely evaporated before, Risa tried not to look around too much, fearing that she would catch the eyes of a curious teenager and go tripping over her own feet. She wasn't a clumsy person naturally, but if she tried to walk and focus on anything else, she usually ended up falling. Definitely not something she wanted to do within the first minute of getting to school. As it was, she was moving a bit faster then was probably normal and consequently ended up bumping someone with her arm that she hadn't immediately seen. Cheeks flushing with embarrassment, the teenager turned towards the person she had hit, looking out from her hood at another girl with a light brown jacket and blonde curls hidden within her own coat. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to run into you like that." Risa apologized sincerely, her voice coming out with a bit more of her Japanese accent because of her agitation. "are you all right?"

***

The lustfull emotions beginning to roll off of Emmet and Rosalie were just starting to get on his nerves when Edward mercifully snapped at them to take it elsewhere. There was a momentary stab of irritation from Rose, but the pair quickly left with a whisper of fabric, closing the door behind them quietly. Jasper glanced towards his adopted brother, aware of the concern that Edward was feeling as the bronze haired vampire also got out of the car, whispering a question to him even as he pretended to check one of the tires of the Volvo. His first reaction was to get irritated at having his thoughts on display, but Jasper instead opted for a chagrined sort of gratitude for the concern. It wasn't Edward's fault that he could pick out all of the thoughts that crossed his mind, just as it was impossible for Jasper not to notice the emotions of those around him. That was just what they were.

Settling on an answer that was a combination of truths, Jasper had just gotten out of the car himself and had opened his mouth to respond when a sudden shift in Edward's mood made his muscles freeze, His nostrils flared to scent the air. Naturally, the warm sent of blood hit him first, several students still walking through the parking lot, and the back of his throat Felt as if it had suddenly ignited into flames. He struggled not to focus on the instinctive urge to jump towards the nearest group of people, give in to the sudden burning desire to quench his thirst. Reaching out, he gripped Edwards shoulder, using the contact to focus his thoughts and discover the reason behind the sudden tension he could feel coming off of him.

"What's wrong Edward?" He hissed in a low voice, still scanning the area for potential threats. It was almost as if his brother were having a similar struggle to his own... Tightening The grip he had on Edward's shoulder, Jasper truly hope that wasn't the case.

[Rosalind]

MADDIE

It was only once inside that Maddie made to take her hood down. She really had once thought that America was warm and sunny, yet the constant downpour of rain showed no signs of easing off. She was already miserable when she made to reach into her bag for the wad of papers when someone knocked into her, causing her bag to fall from her hands. “Wonderful” she groaned, bending down quickly to scoop up her belongings and stuff them back into her bag before they got kicked about the soaked floor. “I am fine… It’s fine” she said to the perpetrator, yanking back her hood and shaking out her curled hair.

Once composure was regained, Maddie looked to her company and she smiled. There had been no intent to come across as rude, and she smiled, slotting back into her usual happy ways. “It’s fine, honestly” She said with a sincere smile and unfolded the paperwork and looked to her allotted locker and its code. At her old school they had had lockers, but they were all key operated. She remembered having a locker right down the back end of the school, and it had taken a great deal of begging to get herself moved to the main part of school. But she already knew that this school was completely different to her last school. For one thing, she would have finished school back home, compulsory education stopping at sixteen. Being back in an educational establishment when she was supposed to be finished wasn’t exactly the most heart-warming matter.

“Hey, don’t suppose you know where locker 216 is do you?” She asked looking up to the girl as she peeled her own hood back. Although it was more than clear by her English accent, she continued to say “You can probably tell that I am new here… and I haven’t even stopped to look at this map they gave me” she added, stepping away from the entrance to the school, not missing the looks of all the students as they poured inside.

EDWARD

“I’m sure it was nothing” Edward said, forcing himself to compose. He looked down the length of his arm to his car and to the folded metal beneath his knuckles. He growled in frustration as he straightened his arm out, flexing his fingers. They didn’t hurt, he couldn’t feel physical pain. But under the guise of being human he rubbed his fingers and looked back around, and the smell had gone.

That smell had been like nothing else; in all his years as a Vampire he had not smelt anything as delicious as that. It was what the word euphoria would smell like if it had a scent, it was almost intoxicating. It had taken every inch of his resolve not to follow his hunter’s nose and kill this person, his humane side winning only by an inch. Edward was usually the most composed, was able to distract himself away from the blood lure and focus on enough things, and eventually that desire would fade away.

But for some reason today something broke through, a scent appealed to him more than anything before. He needed to speak to Carlisle about this, but knew the man was in surgery this morning. Hoping it was just a one off due to the influx of students; Edward looked to Jasper and shook his head. “It’s nothing” he said as he pushed off from the car, doing his best to act calm so that Jasper could not read his anxious mood.

[StarfrostedFox]

A fresh wave of guilt washed over Risa as she noticed that her collision with the other teenager had caused the girl to drop her bag, contents spilling out. Before she could react and help pick up the mess, The papers and other paraphernalia had already been collected swiftly, most going back into the bag that had been dropped. Expecting an angry retort, some sort of insult, she was slightly taken aback as the girl instead smiled as she turned in her direction, Insisting that everything was all right. Ri blinked A few times quickly before she offered her own tentative smile in return. "thanks. I am sorry though. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

Carefully pulling her own hood back, shaking off a few excess raindrops on to the entrance rug, Risa was surprised A little when the girl Drew her attention again, looking up from some papers she was holding and asking about locker locations. Feeling slightly awkward, especially when the girl also admitted that she herself was also new to Forks High, But in a rather pretty sounding British accent, Risa nevertheless could only give a helpless shrug to her shoulders as she too moved away from the entrance doors. "i'm sorry to say that I can't. You're not the only one that's new... They transferred me here after my old school closed. This is my first day." She confessed apologetically, brushing back part of her black hair from her face. Somewhat curious now about the location of her own locker, she unzipped her backpack and pulled out her schedule, scanning over the information in search of anything of relevance. "you said 216, right? Looks like they gave me the locker right next to yours. Hopefully that doesn't mean they shoved us off in some forgotten corner of the school." She chuckled softly. "want to see if we can find it together?" She asked, feeling another explosion of nervousness.

***

Slowly, the feeling of agitation slipped away from Edward and Jasper felt his own body relaxing in response. He tried not to let the frown linger on his face as he glanced quickly from the dent in the car to the other vampire's face, not wanting to draw suspicion from the humans still lingering around the parking lot, but decided against raising objections as Edward again insisted that the sudden reaction was nothing. Hoping that this was truly the case, the tall blonde vampire plucked his backpack from where it still lay on the seat of the car, hooking the straps across his shoulders as he sighed softly. "if you insist." He murmured softly, turning towards the high school and beginning to walk towards the tangible aura of excitement, worry,, Curiosity, and hormones that usually permeated the building.

Every step was a challenge, the barrage of emotions stronger today thanks to the acceptance of a handful of new students, and Jasper found that he was choosing to hold his breath rather then subject himself to the tormenting scent in The air, not wanting the extra distraction as he played the human teenager. He again wondered how the others handled this immersion so easily, how Carlisle could go so far as to perform surgeries and treat the wounded, but again chastised his own weakness in the matter, admitting to their years of experience that he did not have. Idly noting the presence of new vehicles in the parking lot, Jasper attempted to ignore the emotions swirling around him, trying to resist the temptation to cast a calming influence over the school just to have a moment of peace.

"i'm glad I only have another year of this." He huffed, Giving his head a shake as he turned his steps in the direction of his first class. Calculus. A subject he could probably teach better then the current teacher. Not that he would admit that to Mr. Bertie's face.

[Rosalind]

MADDIE

“Honestly don’t worry about it” Maddie replied. “To be fair it was only a matter of time before I walked into something, haven’t got a clue where anything is here” she added a slight saddened frown as she pushed her hair back from her face. When Maddie asked about the locker she instantly saw the hesitation in the other girl, and for a moment Maddie felt a little awkward. She knew from her own time back in England at school that showing around the new kid wasn’t exactly a desired job. But her ill ease was quickly quashed when the girl explained that she was one of the other new kids she was told about. Suddenly Maddie felt relief and she couldn’t help but smile.

“Yeah, the admin lot told me about the merge when I signed up” she said. “I got to confess, I am a little relieved. I really didn’t want to be the new kid” Maddie added with a light chuckle, as now she was one of twenty odd new kids here. When her company said that her locker was right next door, the blonde’s sense of relief increased and she felt almost hopeful about the first day. Maddie did not want to become one of those desperate sorts, and she had never had trouble making friends, but there had been a sense of gloom about this day. She was in a real non touristy part of America and she was English, she had been warned people would both be enthralled and in awe of her. The fact that she was on route to making friends with someone, she felt silly for being happy.

So Maddie agreed, and shared a joke about their lockers being down some dank corridor as they walked. But a little less than five steps in, Maddie froze and her eyes creased. Something about the blonde which no one knew was that she had vision, premonitions about the future. They were never set in stone and were always a little blurry, and once Maddie had been terrified of them. But she tried to ignore it, putting it down to weird symptoms of a headache. She placed her fingers to her forehead as the foggy image flooded her mind, and she saw a pair of honey coloured eyes and a set of the most perfectly white teeth, and an image of the sun. It lasted only a few seconds and the blonde shook it off, pretending nothing had happened.

EDWARD

“Yeah, until it’s time to head back to Alaska and start again” Edward said somewhat grimly, thinking about the continuous cycle of their lives. They could only stay here so long before people would start to question why Carlisle was not aging. Carlisle loved his job and he was a remarkable doctor, and he had been at hospitals all over the country. But for the teen looking Vampires in his family they would have to go back to school and play the role of students once more. Edward loved to learn, but the curriculum hadn’t changed much. And he grew tired of the same old teenage drama that riddled schools. And not to mention the admiration all the Cullen’s received.

They were just inside the threshold of the school and someone’s mind hit him, a new one. It was different, it was seeing something, and there was a supernatural element to what she was thinking. And the subject of her thoughts caused Edward to feel alarmed, more so than that delicious scent that had hit him earlier. This mind was looking on Jasper, though she did not know it due to the foggy blur. But she saw both amber eyes and glittering sun, and there was a content feel about it. Edward’s hand tightened around the straps of his bag and he looked back to Jasper. Was this mind having a vision? Was that possible? Well, Aro had visions of sorts, although his more relied on contact before he could read every thought of the subject. This was more an image of the future, or so Edward believed.

“Things are changing here” Edward warned, and he departed company from Jasper and headed to his history lesson, whipping out his phone and texting Carlisle quickly on his way.

[StarfrostedFox]

A soft laugh escaped past her lips as the blond girl admitted to being relieved at not being the only new student at the school, though Risa was under the assumption that all of the new students starting today were coming from other schools. Apparently, she was mistaken. Giving her head a small shake and pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she put on another smile. "I agree. It will be nice to not be the center of attention."

Zipping up her backpack once more, Risa slid it back onto her shoulders before riffling through the papers still in her hands until she located the map of the school she had been given. Dark eyes quickly scanning over the page, she was slightly annoyed that there didn't seem to be any indicator of locker numbers anywhere on the map. She released a heavy sigh through her lips, once again absently brushing her bangs from her eyes, before giving a shrug to her companion. "looks like we are just going to have to hope that we get lucky." Risa emphasized this point by smacking the back of her hand against the front of the map. "they decided to omit the locker numbers."

With another sigh, Risa picked a direction and began walking, taking a moment to briefly glance towards the other teenager. "So, um... My name's Risa, by the way." She offered, giving a Quick flash of her teeth in a grin before she glanced once again away, not wanting to run into anyone else. "What's yours?" She then asked, waiting for the response.

The response never came. Eyebrows drawing together in a confused look that made her lips slightly pucker, Risa turned her head to look at her new companion and came to an uncertain stop when she didn't see the girl there. Pivoting on the spot, she saw the other at a standstill several paces back down the hallway, fingers against her forehead, Looking as if she were in some sort of pain, or concentrating on something very hard. Growing concerned, Risa quickly approached, hesitating with her hand partially outstretched as if to grip the girl by her shoulder. "hey, are you all right? Is your head bothering you? I've got some aspirin in my bag if you need something for it...." She offered, frowning somewhat as she studied the other's face.

***

"yes." Jasper sighed, Mirroring the fatigue he felt from Edward and his own emotions as he thought of the inevitable change they would have to go through once again. "until we have to do it all over again." He agreed, words coming out quickly and quietly, trying to preserve what little air he had left in his lungs in case he needed to speak in class.

The shift in Edward's emotions was once again abrupt, alarming, slamming into Jasper and catching him off guard, making every muscle in his body stiffen with alarm as he came to a sudden halt, eyes once again snapping to his brother. The influx of new students was having a much bigger impact on the both of them then he would've liked, their actions becoming too obvious, two strange. But Edward could have stopped hearing thoughts, Jasper could have stopped feeling emotions, just as easily as a human could lift a boulder. Momentarily making the assumption that this second reaction was similar to the first, Jaz didn't hesitate to soothe away some of the anxiety he could feel coming off of the bronze haired vampire.

After a moment, Edward looked directly at him and Jasper met his gaze with a question in his thoughts and on his face. He got an answer, but it wasn't something he was expecting to hear. Things were changing. Changing how? Before he could get any other answers out of Edward, the other had begun to walk away, Pulling out his cell phone, Fingers tapping quickly against the device as he wrote a message. Presumably, the message was to Carlisle, but Jasper would have to wait to find out what it was about later. Edward wasn't giving away any information at the moment.partially annoyed, wishing he had a better understanding of the changes that were happening around him so that he could be better prepared, the blonde vampire resisted the temptation to go after his brother as he turned in the opposite direction, striding down the hallway in the direction of his own class.

[Rosalind]

MADDIE

Maddie had hoped the girl hadn’t noticed, she hated trying to explain what was wrong whenever she had one of these visions. People would think she was crazy if she told them that she saw things! They always came true though, whatever she saw had happened. So what on earth did that mean? Red eyes were only seen in films and the sun had yet to make an appearance here in Forks, it left her confused and a little unsteady. But she had no time to dwell as Risa was in front of her, a familiar look of concern etched on her face as she looked to Maddie.

But the blonde offered a smile and tried to brush off what had happened, cursing this condition she had. It had been useful sometimes; it had gotten her out of a few dangerous or troublesome situations, and had saved her backside more than once. But when she looked like an absent freak clutching her head in public, she could have gone without it.

“I get these headaches sometimes” Maddie lied reaching into her bag and pulling out a bottle of water. “They come and go really quickly” She added, downing half the bottle in once before making her way again. “Oh, and I’m Madison… Maddie” she said introducing herself.

It took sometime but eventually the pair found their lockers, and she was thankful it wasn’t at the other end of the building, but rather situated close to the cafeteria. Off-loading half her bag and hanging her coat in the locker, she checked down her schedule once more and was a little disappointed to learn they wouldn’t be sharing a class until Gym. With a promise made to meet up on break, Maddie made off for the English building.

The English building was quite the distance away and it took Maddie some time to find which room she was supposed to be in. Although she was quickly accosted by some of the regular Forks students who were in awe of her and kept asking questions, something she managed to get out of when she finally found the English room she needed. Maddie made her way into the class, still trying to make heads or tails of that vision as she handed a piece of paper to the teacher before being directed to a seat at the back of the classroom.

EDWARD

The message was sent and Edward did not have to wait long for a reply. Carlisle phoned straight back and Edward hid behind a row of lockers, and told Carlisle everything. The senior Vampire sounded concerned, and told Edward he would look into all that he could, and that Edward was to tell the others of his problem with the smell, so that they could keep an eye on him. Edward refused of course, he hated the thought of being babied but he was certain Carlisle would inform the others anyway. He would not act out of malice but rather protection for his adoptive son. Edward had a deep respect and fondness for Carlisle, and could not carry disfavour for anything he did in the interest of others.

With the phone call ended he continued on his way to the history block, and was thankful to learn upon arrival that he was seated towards the back once more. Edward was already advanced in his education, having taken school several times already. But as he did not sleep he spent his forever expanding his knowledge. He was well versed in all subjects, both practical and theory. Edward had to often ignore the urge to correct teachers when they distributed incorrect information. He knew it was the same for Jasper when they learnt about the Civil War. Jasper had actually served in it and knew more than anyone alive today.

Placing his bag on the table he pulled out the notebook and pen, though any notes he took would be for show only. He’d taken history numerous times and always excelled, receiving perfect grades on all his work and exams. Once he used to make errors on purpose just to look more human, but out of habit he just wrote what he knew. The Cullen clan all help perfect grades, despite occasionally having to miss school, like when it was sunny. Rosalie spread the rumour that when the sun was out they all went hiking or camping, and no one ever questioned it. They couldn’t risk coming to school when the sun was out, the shimmering skin would give them up as something not quite human.

Edward remembered he had been too still too long and he moved his shoulders and moved his chest, following the routine of actions to make himself look more human.

[StarfrostedFox]

Pausing with the little bottle of aspirin partially pulled from her bag as she finally received a reaction, Risa adopted a look of sympathetic concern at the explanation of brief but intense headaches. She had very little experience with headaches herself, but she knew her mother suffered with frequent migraines. The idea of having overwhelming pain to the point where it made every other action near impossible sounded miserable. But Madison seemed to recover quickly, even revealing her name at last, and didn't except the offer of painkillers. Nodding her head in acknowledgment, Risa let the bottle drop back into the depths of her bag, readjusting The backpack into a more comfortable position once again.

"i'm glad to hear that they don't linger." She said sincerely, turning to walk alongside Maddie down the hallway once again. "and I'm glad we ran into each other. Literally." She added with a slightly embarrassed giggle.

Finding their lockers wasn't as much of a challenge as they had been expecting, The cafeteria within sight as Maddie pointed out their numbers sandwiched in between what looked like a trophy case and the door of a classroom. Breathing a momentary sigh of relief, Risa twisted The dial on the lock to the number she had memorized the day before, relieved when the locker opened easily. She deposited her jacket but not much else, she didn't have any textbooks yet, and quickly shut the door again, spinning the dial before turning back towards Madison.

The two Took a few moments to compare their schedules, holding them side-by-side. Risa Felt a twinge of disappointment as they quickly discovered that they only shared one class, gym. And that wasn't until the end of the day. At least she had lunch to look forward to. With so few students, it didn't make sense to have multiple lunches. "well, looks like I'll be seeing you at lunch. Good luck." She offered, waving her hand before briefly consulting her schedule once again and turning her steps in the direction of her first class.

Calculus was bound to be an interesting way to start off her day. Risa didn't particularly mind math, but it wasn't her favorite subject. She preferred the sciences and anything having to do with art and music. Unfortunately for her, Forks wasn't big enough to have many extracurricular classes, especially not those that involved the purchasing of musical equipment or supplies for an art class. Still, she would make do with biology, Her class directly after lunch, And expand her artistic cravings at home. Despite being one of several new students, she was stopped frequently on her way to calculus, the regular students quite excited buy a new face. She smiled politely, participated in a little chatting, but frequently had to remind the other students that she didn't want to be late for class. She was surprisingly worn out by the time she did get to the classroom and Risa wearily made her way to the front of the classroom, giving her teacher, Mr. Birdy, A piece of paper that the woman in the office had asked her to get signed by all of her teachers. He gawped A little, but made quick work of putting his signature on the paper and handing it back, indicating a seat that she could take in the second to last row. With a small smile for the man, she quickly made her way over to her new desk, sliding into it and pulling out a notebook, pencil, and a couple of extra erasers.

***

Just his luck, Jasper had to have two of the new students in his calculus class that morning. Not completely surprising, considering how few students there actually were, but he wished it had played out differently. The second of the new students, a girl with Japanese features, Had been directed to a seat very near to his own, only separated from him by one other person. He could feel her nervousness, anxiety, fatigue, excitement, and trepidation like a tangible cloud, mirroring the other new student who had been placed on the other side of the classroom. Her arrival had sparked a renewal of excitement and curiosity from the regular students, a distinctive attraction coming off of the boys and a few stamps of jealousy or condescension from the girls. Jasper momentarily had to fight off yet another wave of temptation to simply soothe the room around him, Closing his bright golden eyes for several seconds as he waited for the peak in the emotions to calm down.

And on top of the raging emotions, he couldn't help but feel the heat rippling off of the bodies around him, hear the pounding of hearts and the sound of blood moving through veins. To distract him from thinking about the temptation of satiating his ever present thirst, Jasper concentrated on what he had felt from Edward earlier, worked on picking apart the emotions that he felt. But this exercise did him no good. He had no idea what had caused such anxiety and his brother. Not having a source or explanation brought back his frustration and Jaz opened his eyes once again only to narrow them slightly with annoyance. Finally making up his mind, he slipped a cell phone from one of his pockets, flipping it open and quickly typing out a message and sending it to Edward.

tell me what is going on. You know I don't like being in the dark.

[Rosalind]

MADDIE

Sat at the back and out of immediate shot of the teacher, Maddie dug her phone out of her bag. Her phone was bleeping away numerous notifications, and it was with a fond yet sad smile she scrolled through them all. She missed her pals back home, she missed England. She really did not get America, so many things were different. She couldn’t quite grasp this driving on the other side of the road, and she was convinced she was going to have a crash soon. The numerous advert breaks during the TV shows here were different, and she was pining for the Soaps and reality shows she adored back home. Maddie desperately wished she had siblings so at least she wouldn’t feel so isolated. Her father was so often busy with his new wife, and whilst Maddie got on with her, she wasn’t one could call a friend. She sighed and rested her chin on her hand as the English teacher announced the years study plans, and of an upcoming trip they’d be taken on to watch a play.

Maddie was aware of the attention she was receiving from the other students, and was constantly in their eyes or on their tongues. The blonde pushed a hand through her hair and tried to act indifferent to the attention she received, but in truth it was starting to grate on her. Maddie wasn’t exactly a shy person or an introvert, but being stared at was enough to make anyone feel uncomfortable. She jotted down notes and spent most the lesson secretly on her phone, talking amongst her friends back home and telling them all about life state side.

The lesson continued and Maddie took little notice of what was going on. When her phone quietened down she was left with either education or her thoughts, and what was prominent was those red eyes. She thought back on her vision, and she remained confused. Previously whatever she had seen had always come true, had always been to do with the familiar. Yet now she could make no sense of those blood red eyes and the gleaming teeth, nor of the sun, it was all nonsense. Maddie found herself looking around for someone with red eyes, as if it would be staring right back at her. And when the bell rang, the confusion had developed into a genuine headache.

EDWARD

ON ITS WAY