SPRING || ROSALIE HALE

O N E

*many things are similar to the original draft but I still made a few changes*

"Raymond! Ray!" The soft hum of a voice distracted the teenager.

He looked up from the twirling stand of baggage claim to find a pale skinned brunette rushing his way. She was short, with chestnut colored hair and big, coffee eyes. Her pink lips were vibrant against her alabaster skin. The genuine happiness and pink tints to her cheeks was alluring almost as much as the grin etched to her features. She tripped over her luggage slightly walking his way and that was that—the mystery was solved.

It was Bella Swan.

Ray hadn't seen her since the middle of September. It was all a blur back then, solemn faces and many apologies. He still didn't understand why everyone said sorry to him, why they thought it was their fault his mother had died. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time that was all, still they felt compelled to come up to him with tears in their eyes and say, "I'm sorry for your loss," like they'd left him without a mother. The look upon their faces for weeks still bothered him to no end, except Bella and Renee were different.

The mother and daughter had shown up the day after it had all happened, a day earlier then his own father, Renee had taken over the funeral arrangement with a strong stride. She'd lost her best friend since childhood and yet the women didn't she'd a single tear in front of Ray, she didn't even mention it, she hugged him once, told him she would take care of everything and left it at that. He could hear her soft cries at night from the couch he slept on though, and Bella's comforting words to her through the paper thin walls of his apartment but even so he refused to mention it.

Bella on the other hand was his backbone, she knew exactly how to comfort him, how to speak to him, and most importantly how to keep others away. He didn't speak for a long time after Maria Palmero's death, and Bella knew why, it was his method of mourning. The brunette would make sure he ate, showered, and then laid in bed next to him for hours on end until there was something else to do. She had the maternal instincts to do so even under the worst of situations.

"Goose!" He called out to her tenderly, feeling her own arms wrap around him. A soft chuckle left her lips and tapped against his chest as they held one another in the middle of the Seattle airport. There was people murmuring around them, some stopping to stare at the sweet encounter and others grunting out in annoyance at the exchange but the pair did not care. It'd been a long time since they'd seen one another in a happy setting.

They were long lost best friends who were finally joining once more.

They pulled away and if possible Bella's cheeks had grown even more scarlet, pushing her hair back—it was a trait she'd taken to doing when she was young and embarrassed. Ray smiled at her, his dimples predominant.

"I was hoping you'd forgotten that nickname giraffe." She muttered softly.

"Not as much as I'd hoped you'd forgotten that one." He winked back, tapping the tip of her nose when she least expected it. Bella smacked his arm away in annoyance, although she was too slow as his hand was already down be his side. A slight chuckle left his lips once more as Bella cleared her throat and looked down to the dropped bags.

Ray followed her eyesight and was quick to pick the bags up, Bella lowered herself and plucked the backpack up, previously having been slung around her shoulders. "You don't have to get those..."

"What kind of best friend would I be if I didn't?" He questioned, rolling her bag. He took a moment to take in the scene and then realized that Bella was actually in Forks which amazed him—Bella hated Forks. From the moment they could speak properly she'd always talked about how dreary the raining town was, it was quite a spectacle to see her even near the town. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming to visit?"