Aiyanna
"Aiyanna."
When I looked up, I met Mike's bright blue eyes. His face expressions looked surprised, when he sat down beside me.
"I saw your car on the parking lot, and until now I couldn't believe it was yours. How have you been ?" he asked.
Never have I ever been grateful to have Mike sit next to me. He unconsciously served as a distraction and an excuse for me to not look at the table at the other end of the class where Alice was sitting. I never thought I would say this about her, but the scent that emanated from her felt as toxic as Laurent's dead body.
I could recognize her without even looking at her. Her steps had been lighter than Jasper's and Edward's.
"Could have been better if I could have slept a little more. I just came back from Mr Reeves' office."
"Oh, he called you ?"
I nodded. "With my mom." I insisted, rolling my eyes.
Curious, Mike asked me how it went and I was happy to answer and think of something else than the scent that was, quicker than expected, starting to make my nose itchy.
By the time I told him everything, the class started. It didn't prevent Mike from leaning in closer to me and continue our conversation, whispering.
"The Cullens have started eating with us since they came back. We couldn't say no, but if you want, we can..." Mike told me, but I immediately shook my head before he could finish his sentence.
"Why say no ? It's not their fault that they had to move out." I said, remembering the excuse they had to come up with to explain their absence.
The last thing I wanted was to be a source of discomfort between my friends and the Cullens who were trying to keep their cover.
"Are you sure you're okay with that ?" Mike insisted.
"I shouldn't have a say in the matter. What am I ? The lunch Queen ?" I scoffed.
Mike chuckled as well.
I answered to my name being called during attendance and so did Mike once his name was called a few seconds later.
Thankfully it was spring and summer was around the corner, so there were no objections when I decided to open the windows I was sitting next to.
The fresh air had allowed me to focus better on the class rather than Alice's scent, which made the whole hour go by smoothly.
And so did the next hours before lunch period.
As I walked from my last class of the morning to the cafeteria with Eric who was absorbed in his comic book, I could feel the change in the atmosphere on the entire campus. There was a certain and perceptible thrill in the air.
The walls I walked past had posters on them, with words associated to freedom, especially for senior classes.
Graduation was so close it was palpable. The posters were crowded everywhere, even on the cafeteria walls with reminders to buy yearbooks, announcements, advertisements for this year's prom which was this Saturday and deadlines to order graduation gowns, hats and tassels. I hadn't found the time to do that yet, much less thought about going to prom this year.
As expected, the end of the year didn't give me this pleasing sensation. On the contrary, it made me nervous when I thought of how I had to study twice harder to get back on track.
The end of the year seemed to be in everyone's conversations before I walked in the cafeteria with Eric. Some conversations changed to talk about my return on campus.
Soon, everything would go back to normal.
The good thing about gossips here, were that they never cared enough to make it last long. That was why, I was persuaded that the most curious ones about me would go back to their usual conversations within this hour.
I sat between Angela and Jessica, who I had already met in the English class we shared together this morning.
Eric and I had been the last ones to join the round table with three Cullens, Angela, Jessica, Mike and Bella.
Tyler and Lauren who were still together, had found other friends to eat with a long time ago.I never felt better than I did in this moment, when I unconsciously sat in front of Edward. It was as if, my body was finally functioning properly.
Again, the imprint.
I avoided looking at him for my own sake, as the last thing I wanted was to lose myself in his eyes with no way to escape.
"Have you sent your announcements, yet ?" Angela asked, including me in the conversation she was having with the others.
"No. I'd have to be sure I graduate first. It doesn't look good on my side." I confessed.
"Don't be so pessimistic. I'll give you my notes on the classes you missed. We can study together if you want."
Contrarily to Jessica and I, Angela was good at scientific subjects. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to study together.
"Count me in, too." Jessica intervened. "Please."
"Of course, Jess." Angela chuckled. "You guys can come over today."
I nodded, enthusiastic to go somewhere else than my house, Sam's place or the woods.I wasn't on patrol today and Quil's, Seth's and Leah's training wasn't until Wednesday, so I had no excuse to not focus on preparing the finals.
I was suddenly reminded of one detail : Edward had access to my thoughts.
One of our rules was to keep the pack's activities between the members of the pack. Emily was the exception since she lived where we all gathered most of the time to speak of our next moves. Therefore, I couldn't allow myself to think about the pack at school, at least when he was there.
So, I started singing a Backstreet boys' song as I took my first bite, in an attempt to keep my thoughts private.
"How about you Alice ? Have you sent yours, yet ?" Angela asked her.
"All done." Alice answered, and although I didn't look up to see her face expression, I could hear the smile in her answer.
"Lucky you." Angela sighed. "My mother has a thousand cousins and she expects me to hand-address one to everybody."
"I can help, if you don't mind." Alice volunteered.
Angela looked relieved, but then her eyes quickly flickered to mine as if to check my approbation, but I just continued eating.
"That's so nice of you..."
I was quickly thrown into another topic when Jessica nudged my sides with her elbow.
"Are you going to prom this weekend ?" She asked me. "Have you even had the time to look for a dress ?"
"I haven't. I'm not going this year." I answered. "I promised myself I'd stay focused until the end of the year. This is surely not the right time for me to party."
"Oh, just one night is okay."
"At this rate, if I take this one night, I'll be attending prom next year too, Jess."
Jessica chuckled, and quickly gave up on her attempts to make me go to prom with them.I couldn't help but notice two things when I went back to eating while listening to their conversations.
First of all, the scents. Even if we shared the same table, I couldn't catch neither Jasper's nor Alice's scents. My senses were only focused on the one whose scent was the purest and the most addictive.
Second, I unconsciously ate everything I had put on my plate. Ever since I first shapeshifted, I ate more than I usually did as a normal human to balance with the amount of energy turning required.
But then, as I rejected the imprinted I didn't eat as much as I did before it happened, even when I came back home. Back home, I had felt as if I was forcing myself to eat everything on my plate, no matter how delicious it was, to pleasure my parents and make them less worry about me. And here I was, finding my appetite at the cafeteria with the most bland food I had been given since I turned back to human.
I sighed, realizing that as long as he was near, I was at my best.
As expected, I finished the contents of my tray first. I looked at the clock on top of the cafeteria's front door which signaled that there were a little more than 30 minutes until next period. That was just enough...
I stood up with my tray and got rid of it before coming back to retrieve my backpack.
"Is it naptime already ?" Mike teased, not surprised.
It was a habit I had taken ever since I started having patrols in the beginning of the year. That was why, he wasn't surprised when I stood up.
"Better that than sleeping during class." I answered, waving goodbye before walking towards the parking lot. "See you guys later !"
~~
Edward
I couldn't focus on anything that was being said around me. It had been easier for Alice to participate in conversations while Jasper only participated if necessary when Alice was included.
I can't smell any of them. It's amazing - Jasper thought.
For once since we moved in Forks, Jasper wasn't in pain, because of Aiyanna's unpleasing scent to them which was strong enough to hide the human ones.
Alice was the only one whose gift was uneffective when it came to the shapeshifters and the people who would go around them. Her visions would become blank, making everything utterly unpredictable as if they didn't exist. As if Aiyanna didn't exist...
Although Aiyanna was sitting right in front of me, the mere thought of living a life without her in it was unbearable to me.
I knew I wasn't strong to live without her anymore. I barely survived once and I wasn't willing to try another time. I would go where she would go, in whatever state she would be in. Dead or alive. Even if it meant going to the Volturi.
I doubted my family would be willing to fulfill my wish. Maybe I could spare myself the flight to Volterra and just ask one of the wolves.
I looked up from the table I had been staring at unconsciously, only to see Aiyanna perfectly ignoring me. It was terrifying to see how good she was at it.
Now that I was looking at her, I couldn't help but contemplate her again. She had cut her hair shorter than the last time I saw her. I could clearly see the difference in every curls on top of her head. I could almost feel the softness of her hair without having to touch it. I never wished to run my hand in someone's hair more than I did in this instant.
Her face was bare of all forms of makeup which honestly, would have been useless on her.Aiyanna didn't wear earrings often, but today, her ears were adorned with small golden ones.
No words could grasp all of her beauty.
You're going to make the kids uncomfortable if you keep staring at her like that - Alice scolded me.
I sighed and quickly diverted my gaze against my will.
I was surprised to find out that we were now eating with Aiyanna's friends when I came back from these two weeks of absence. Alice had seen us holding a party at our house and it turned out that not only Aiyanna's friends but also several students of our different classes would attend. Alice figured that it'd be less uncomfortable for them to accept the invitation if she sympathized with them before.
Although I appreciated some of them, I had to admit that Angela was my personal favorite. She had tried her hardest to not let the uneasiness show, not just for Aiyanna but also for us.
Speaking of Aiyanna, I watched her get rid of her tray before coming back for her bag and walking out of the cafeteria while waving goodbye, without acknowledging me or my siblings for that matter.
I listened carefully to her steps, the sigh she let out once she got inside her car and even the sound of her seat being pushed back. So, she was indeed going to take a nap like Mike had mentioned.
The others didn't seem surprised to see her go before the end of lunch period, while I was.
She wasn't just different physically. Her whole habits had changed as well.
As soon as Aiyanna was out of sight, Alice tested the efficiency of her visions.
The uncertainty that hung on top of Aiyanna's head wasn't only making me anxious, but the rest of the family as well.
"Alice ? Alice !"
Angela had called Alice while waving her hand up and down in front of Alice's empty and lifeless eyes. A vision was being played in her head, one I wasn't pleased with.
Victoria was coming to Forks.
While Jasper worked on the other's emotions I suddenly laughed to draw attention to me while I kicked Alice's seat under the table to bring her back to reality.
"You sure are in need of a nap too." I joked.
"Sorry, I was daydreaming I guess." Alice answered, finally coming back.
She then proceeded to go back to the conversation she was proviously involved in as if nothing ever happened.
At the same time, she shared the details of her visions with me.
She's coming this weekend. Maybe Friday. It's still foggy with Aiyanna not so far. She'll be alone. Do we tell Aiyanna ?
Alice glanced in my direction quickly to see me nod once, before I stood up.
Although I didn't like the idea of having Aiyanna around Victoria, it was her leader's decision to involve her or not during the next chase. I doubted she would listen to anything else than the information I could give her.
When I stood up, Bella who had been sitting beside me silently - or was I the one who unconsciously shut her down until now ? - unexpectedly touched my arm.
I had been so focused on Aiyanna that I had forgotten about her presence. The fact that Bella's mind was silent to my gift also played a part in my indifference.
"Alice saw something, right ?" Bella whispered in a voice that could only be heard by my siblings and I.
However, seeing Bella made me realize that she was also someone who had to be protected as well. We couldn't leave her in Forks while Victoria would be there. Alice had to find something to take her out of harm's way while our family and the wolves would deal with Victoria.
I just shook my head as a response, and walked away before she could ask more questions.
When I reached the parking lot, it took a split second for me to localize her car. I unconsciously felt better this morning when I parked my car not so far from hers, because it meant that I would get to see her again.
If someone had told me that one person would control my emotions like Aiyanna did years ago, I never would have believed it. My life used to be so empty, although I had all the richness that I accumulated with the years.
This wealth, in whatever form it took, had no value compared to Aiyanna's mere presence in my life.
As I looked at her car, her face couldn't be seen because of how low she had pushed her seat back. Her heart was beating slower, but not enough for her to be in deep sleep.
I stopped in my tracks when I started hesitating. Should I wait until she would wake up again ? Would I have any other chance to speak to her ? I had caught her thoughts earlier about training three wolves, maybe it would be more beneficial for her to know about this information sooner than later.
Say what you came here for, and leave please - Aiyanna thought, which was the answer to my own thoughts.
I approached her car and stood by her window, although I was perfectly aware of how this was useless now that she was doted with heightened senses as well. She could have probably heard me as clearly even if I had stayed in the cafeteria, filled with students in heated conversations.
Aiyanna stood still. Her face wasn't facing her side of the car and she had put her vest on top of her upper body. She had taken off her shoes which stayed near the brake pedal, and her bag rested on the backseat.
"Alice saw Victoria coming back to town. Either on Friday or Saturday, she isn't sure yet. She will be alone, like last time."
We'll have to get her at that time, then - Aiyanna thought, more to herself than for me.
"We will be hunting her as well. Although we won't be able to count on Alice's predictions, this will be our chance for both of our clans to get to her."
"Why can't you count on Alice ?" Aiyanna asked out loud, without looking at me.
"Alice's visions become blank around you and your pack. She can't see your future as well." I reported. "Only my gift and Jasper's work around you, but not Alice's which also means that if your pack goes after Victoria this weekend as well, she won't be able to predict Victoria's plans."
Aiyanna sat up and rummaged through her bag until she found her phone. It was only now that I realized that she had changed it. I wouldn't be surprised to know that she had changed her phone number as well. I hadn't tried reaching out to her on the number I had saved on my phone, knowing perfectly that my attempts would have stayed unanswered, as they should.
"But you're there. What Alice can't see, you'll hear it." Aiyanna reminded me, as she texted all the information I had given her to Sam.
Indeed, I would be able to intercept Victoria's moves through her thoughts, and serve as a guide. But that was if Victoria hadn't figured out our gifts yet, like James once did with Alice.
"Well, thanks for the information." Aiyanna said, not looking at me once, as she sent her text and put her phone in her bag before she went back to the nap I had woken her up from.
Author's Note : Starting from next week the updates will be a little bit slower than usual because I have an exam I have to prepare for (yes school is over but I got to assess my english level lol), so please bare with me.
Also, as much as I am the one writing this story you are also the ones reading it. If there's anything you want to read in this story don't hesitate to share it. Most of the next chapters are already written but I can try to add your suggestions in them ;)
Again, thanks for appreciating this fanfiction and hoped you liked this chapter.