✓ | 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍, j. hale [1]

III. First Glimpse

Evelyn awoke to the incessant beeping of her alarm clock. She rubbed her eyes gently as she rolled out of bed, landing ungracefully on the cold wood floor with a dull thump. As she turned her alarm off, she noticed the sun had not quite risen behind the thick blanket of clouds that always surrounded the town of Forks. She knew she had about an hour before Bella Swan would be there to pick her up, so she shuffled out of her room, a large and unattractive yawn escaping her throat.

The house was cold, and Evelyn shivered as she waited for the shower water to heat up. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach beginning to awaken as she thought about her first day at her new school. She wasn't too fond of the idea of having all of the attention on her, but from what Bella had said, it was simply unavoidable. As she scrubbed her hair and body with some of Marie's vanilla shampoo and soap, she hoped that everyone would at least be nice.

She stayed in the shower a bit too long, realizing as she came back into her room that she only had fifteen minutes until 7. She dressed quickly in a pair of blue jeans and a cream turtleneck, throwing on her ankle rain boots and a leather jacket to complete the look. She didn't have time to dry her long bronze hair, so she let it hang down her back to air-dry into its odd mixture of waves and curls that never seemed to look the same way twice. A few swipes with a mascara wand and some lip balm later, Evelyn deemed herself acceptable to go out in public.

When she finally got downstairs, Marie was already gone. Evelyn went to grab a banana and a granola bar to put in her bag, and grinned when she saw the note from her aunt.

Evvy,
Had to leave early to help with breakfast. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. Have the best day ever today, sweetie. I love you!

-M

Evelyn had just finished packing up her school backpack when she heard a distinct grumbling, almost a roar, coming towards her house from up the road. She assumed that had to be Bella, so she grabbed her bag, umbrella, and water bottle and headed out the door just as the orange truck pulled into her driveway.

She took a deep breath before opening the door, offering Bella what she hoped looked like a casual grin. "You weren't joking when you said this thing was loud. I heard you coming from all the way down the street." She put her water and umbrella in her bag as Bella backed out of the driveway and set off towards the highway.

"I told you! It even surprises me sometimes," Bella said. She glanced at Evelyn. "Are you nervous for today?"

Evelyn shrugged. "A little. I'm more nervous for all the attention you said I'll be getting. That's not really my thing."

"I'm the same way, but don't worry too much about it. Everyone seems pretty nice and yesterday wasn't so bad except for -" she paused for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing as she seemed to remember something from the previous day. "Well, never mind. I'm still getting used to everything too, so don't feel like you're alone."

Evelyn decided not to pry, and instead offered her a grateful smile. "Thanks again for everything, Bella. I don't really know what I'd do if I didn't have someone to help me out today."

Bella grinned. "No problem, I just wish you had came a day earlier so I could've had someone too!"

The girls laughed and chatted about school, teachers, and the people as they drove. Evelyn noticed that Bella wasn't as shy as she was at the diner yesterday, and that she was really quite funny and expressive once she got comfortable. She was similar to Evelyn in that way. Evelyn had had friends in Chicago, but she had never felt such an instantaneous connection like the one she felt with Bella. For some reason, she felt like Bella was trustworthy. She could find no sign of harshness or deceit in her brown eyes, and instinctively she knew that Bella would prove to be a great friend to her here in Forks.