petrichor [rosalie hale]

viii. prom night

"Sorry, repeat that?"

"Charlie said she literally tripped over her own feet," Jacob replied as he and Kiara waited in the car while Billy spoke to Sam outside Harry Clearwater's house. They'd gone to pick him up after he called the twins to tell them that Charlie had informed him Bella had ended up in hospital. "I don't really understand the full story but she left for Phoenix after breaking up with Edward, and then got such a surprise when she saw him at her hotel that she tripped, fell down two flights of stairs and crashed out a window."

Kiara had heard a lot of bullshit in her life but this might have been one of the most strangest lies she had ever heard. Sure, she knew Bella was clumsy but there was no part of her that believed the girl was clumsy enough to fall through a literal glass window. She knew something weird had been going on with Bella that involved the Cullen's since Rosalie had stopped replying to her texts that weekend and Bella had messaged her to say she couldn't handle being trapped in Forks.

Obviously Kiara wasn't about to go around town claiming things, but her father's warnings suddenly seemed to sit more at the front of her head as she considered the likelihood of Edward having had something to do with the broken leg that Bella was now nursing in the hospital. She didn't think it was like him to have thrown Bella out a window himself or anything but firstly, she didn't know enough about the boy to even decide what was or wasn't out of character for him and secondly, she figured it was just best to drop the subject for now.

Jacob continued to fiddle with the radio while Kiara found her eyes wandering back to where Sam and Billy were huddled in conversation, thick frown lines present on both of their faces as Harry Clearwater seemed to share their concerned expression. Jacob was saying something but she had zoned out, her mind lost in thought as she tried to understand why the three men seemed so concerned about Bella's clumsy persona when two of them hadn't met the girl in their lives.

"Oh, Charlie also apparently wants you to get ready with Bella for prom," Jacob told her after realising she had stopped listening to his rambles about Edward Cullen. He smirked at the groan that left his sister's mouth as she smacked her head against the car window frame, faintly noticing how the three men outside the house stopped their conversation to turn to look at the girl in confusion.

"Jake, I swear..." Kiara started, turning her head to glare at her twin. They'd spent less time together since she had gotten caught up in whatever drama Bella seemed to keep bringing her way but moments like this almost made her feel like nothing had changed between them. She eyed his long hair for a moment before narrowing her eyes in a threatening manner. "If you are trying to wind me up, you're succeeding. I'd be careful around any scissors or you'll end up with hair shorter than Sam's."

Jacob stopped laughing at that, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he avoiding her heavy glare. He was well aware that she was only joking but he hated to admit that Kiara's impulsive behaviour always did scare him a little. Ever since their dad had mentioned that she was back to hanging around with Paul and Jared (even though Jacob was still convinced they were in a gang), he wasn't really sure how to act around her. He could already see her rebellious streak coming back and he knew he didn't want to get in her way when it did.

Besides, Jake had no intention of ever getting close enough to the boys to find out just why they'd suddenly stopped turning up to school and hanging out with Sam. If Kiara wanted to find out, that was on her - but he had no part in it.

_____

The weeks between Bella breaking her leg and prom night went by rather uneventfully for Kiara Black. The Cullen's had returned back to school and were continuing their normal lives with Edward helping carry Bella's bags and books around school. They had still opted to sit at their own table away from the rest of the school, but Edward would occasionally sit with them next to Bella.