𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 ✧ 𝐬𝐚𝐦 𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐲

6.

"Right, I forgot. You got here after they skipped town. Well...they're back now." Mike said, he was disappointed that they were back, Ivy knew he was trying to go for Bella - again.

"Edward Cullen?" Ivy asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah. Those are the Cullens. They're Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids." Jessica explained. "They don't really like to talk to anyone, except Bella, of course." She added, jealousy laced her voice, but she feigned indifference. Nonetheless, Ivy could smell the jealousy. She was a little jealous too.

"They're all like together." Tyler quipped, "Like the big guy and the blonde girl. Rosalie and Emmett — And Jasper and Alice, the sour-faced blondie and the little short-haired girl."

He tried his best to motion towards them without making it obvious. But it's not like he was saying anything the Cullens didn't already know.

"Oh...cool." Ivy didn't really care. She just let her friends chat amongst themselves as she dug into her bad cafeteria food.

In a few minutes, they forgot she had existed and moved on to another topic. Angela and Jess barely acknowledged her, because they knew she wouldn't even listen anyways, so they stopped trying. They would usually forget to include her in their inside jokes or stories, but Ivy didn't mind. She liked it better that way.

The interview with Sam Uley had opened up new opportunities for her grandpa, and she was helping him every step of the way. It's not like he needed her help, but she wanted him to retire already, and he wouldn't. Ivy respected his decision and decided to make everything easier for him. She handled all the publishing, editing, revising, and other trivial things. Not that his books ever needed editing, he was so dedicated to his work that it was always near perfect.

Speaking of Sam, she hadn't seen him in a while. Sure, he stopped by once in a while to say hello every week, which Ivy found strange but cute. But he never really stuck around for long, even though she could tell he really wanted to. He'd drop by for a few minutes, maybe an hour. They would sit on the porch and have some small talk, but he'd always seem like he wanted to say something else — like he wanted to tell her something else, but never got around to it. It wasn't like Ivy to pry, either, so she just let it be. She was just bothered he wasn't spending as much time with her as she hoped, secretly. But it wasn't his place, they weren't even dating.

When he was around, He would help her do things that required more physical activity, like carrying copies of novels to the car.

Sometimes, Ivy would pack lunches for the boys. She would make pasta or sandwiches or whatever else they wanted, though Sam would usually yell at them for giving all this work to her, especially when she already had enough work to drown her. Still, she refused to say no and still did it all, even if by the end of the day she would pass out before she got into bed.

Today, she had wondered if he would drop by. The last time she saw him was two weeks ago when he and Jacob came over to fix her car.

Ivy: hey, you coming today?
delivered 2:20 PM

Ivy bit her lip and furrowed her brows. It's been a million times since she texted him but the butterflies were all the same. Something about Sam made her want to be around him all the time and she didn't know why.

Time passed and still no answer. After school, she checked her phone once more. 0 messages. Ivy sighed, knowing he might not come this week, or maybe ever. But he wouldn't ghost her, would he?

She drove back home fast, ready to get started on more work she had to do. It had become a routine.

On the way back, she drove past the cliffs and saw at least five shirtless boys on the cliff. It was Sam and his boys, she could tell because they were shirtless and howling like wolves. Sam was the one in the middle, he looked the biggest, not physically but in a way that made him look like the leader. She stopped the car and got out to take a closer look at them. As if on instinct, Sam turned his head to look her in the eye. How did he notice her from that far? His concentrated expression softened and changed into a smile, he grinned widely, waving at her with both his hands, slowly. Ivy smiled back, but it wasn't as big of a smile as his, and held up her hand. She sent a small, careful wave back. He watched as she awkwardly got in her car, the wind blowing in her hair as she covered her face with a single hand. Sam was also worried about her at that very moment. What if another car had just rammed into hers? How could he get there in time if he was all the way over here? It felt foreign to see her so close yet there were literal cliffs surrounding them.

Once back home, Ivy sighed and fell back onto her bed. She stared up at the ceiling. He didn't come today, but after seeing him at that cliff, waving at her. Ivy was reassured he was just busy. She still couldn't understand why his presence affected her greatly. They had known each other for just a few months.

The next day, she was approached by one of the Cullens.

"Hello." She heard a calm, quiet voice say to her. Ivy looked up from her book. "Hello..." She trailed off, noticing her eyes meet with Edward Cullen's golden ones.

"I believe we haven't met before. I'm Edward Cullen." He introduced himself, holding out his hand for her to shake. Ivy tried as hard as she could to mask her confusion, "Ivy Lee. It's nice to meet you." She replied just as politely. Edward fell silent for a split second, then pointed to her book.

"Ah..I liked that one. Quite bleak, I suppose." He commented. What was up with this guy's language? He spoke like he was from the 1800s.

"Yeah. I'm halfway through it so – don't spoil." Ivy joked lightly, a half-hearted smile lazily plastered on her face. "Edward! Who's this?"

If Ivy could remember correctly, Jessica had said this girl's name was —

"Alice." Edward answered so quick as if he was reading Ivy's mind. "This is my sister, Alice."

"It's nice to meet you, Ivy!" Alice said, grinning and shaking her hand fervently. Ivy wondered how she knew her name. "Hi..." she managed to slip out. Had Jessica been lying? Or maybe even wrong? The two Cullens she had met were not anything like what Jessica had mentioned at all.

Bella trailed along behind them, clinging onto Edward. "Oh...Hey, Ivy." She greeted simply.

"Bella, Hi. How's Charlie?"

Bella shrugged, "He's doing okay."

"Ivy, since you're new you MUST sit with us at lunch today. You have to join all of us!" Alice gushed, a hopeful smile on her face.

It was hard to say no.