chapter two;
THE PIXIE GIRL, ALICE, WAS ONE OF the nicest and weirdest people Lorraine had ever met in her entire life.
She liked it.
"My family and I moved from Alaska here two years ago," Alice was also very affectionate and had linked their arms together as soon as they introduced themselves. "There's five of us and our parents of course. Three of them are seniors, so you'll probably see them more often than I do. Don't be intimidated by Rosalie's glare, she's a sweetheart once you know her."
„Don't worry," Lorraine grinned at her easily as they entered the classroom, „it takes a lot to intimidate me."
„That's good!" Alice chirped, bouncing on her toes excitedly. „You know, my brother, Jasper, he can be intimidating when he wants to be. But, again, he's totally harmless once you talk to him. A real gentleman, i promise."
Lorraine gave her a bemused look as they sat down. She didn't know why she told her that, but she wrote it off as one of the oddities of Alice.
It was only when she sat down that she noticed that they were early, which was a miracle because Lorraine was never early on anything—especially on something like classes.
„Must be a lazy day," Alice said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes and a melodic laugh when she saw glancing at the clock.
She grinned.
Lorraine really liked her.
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"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?"
"Bella," she corrected instinctively and wondered how many times she would have to do that today.
Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at her. Curiosity for one of the new girls, an abnormally—a freak in their small town where everyone knew each other so well.
( Not that Lorraine was a freak. She could just blend and fit in with anyone, unlike Bella. )
"Where's your next class?" the guy who looked like the stereotypical guy to play chess asked.
Bella had to check in her bag, taking out the schedule she had gotten earlier this morning, "Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six."
There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes, so Bella looked to the door. Her eyes caught a glimpse of familiar wavy brown hair and she squinted.
"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way..." Definitely over-helpful, she thought and turned back to him. Then he finally—because she had started to consider calling him chess boy in her head—added, "I'm Eric,"
Bella smiled tentatively. "Thanks."
They got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up to her dismay. Bella could have sworn several people behind them were walking close enough to eavesdrop and she hoped she wasn't getting paranoid.
Then the brown glimpse came back, startling her.
„Bella!" Lorraine cheered happily, like they hadn't seen each other an hour ago, and squeezed between Eric and her only to link their arms. She gave Eric a glance, „Not Bella."
„Eric," he blinked at Lorraine owlishly
This was a normal reaction to her friend. She was beautiful in all means. With her doe brown eyes and her silky hair, her olive skin and the natural charm she had—it was completely understandable why people liked to long for her.
Back in Phoenix, Lorraine was fairly popular with boys. She was the kind of girl that gave pretty smiles and light touches so boys would fall to their knees while Bella just sort of stood beside her and hoped they wouldn't cry once she'd break up with them.
She remembered the talks they had whenever Lorraine was going on a date with someone, sometimes even during the date. Normally the boys—or girls even—never satisfied her for long and Bella had to watch her break their hearts.
( „They were boring me to death, Bella. Can't a girl want some excitement in her life?" )
It never seemed to affect her.
"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" Eric asked before Bella could greet her back.
"Very," Bella tried not to sound annoyed, after all she had been the one to say yes to Eric's kind assistance.
"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"
"Three or four times a year."
"Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered, glancing to Lorraine repeatedly.
"Sunny," Lorraine told him brightly, squeezing Bella's arm tight and her free hand grabbed hers.
Eric smiled and turned back to Bella, "You don't look very tan."
"My mother is part albino," she deadpanned in return, with an incredibly straight face.
Lorraine snorted, but Eric studied her face apprehensively like he was trying to figure out if she was joking or not. Bella sighed.
„God, you people here have no sense of humour, do you?" Lorraine shook her head and her hair shook with her gracefully. „No wonder it's so gloomy all the time."
Eric seemed too mesmerised to be offended.
„A few months of this and we'll forget how to use sarcasm," Bella muttered to her. „Do you have Gym with me or something?"
„Oh, no," Lorraine's usually smiley face frowned for a fleeting second before she grinned once more, „I have my next class in this building and wanted to give you my company, honey."
Eric looked between them in confusion.
They ignored him, „How was your first class?"
„I met a new friend," Lorraine bragged to her, because of course she did.
Bella smiled fondly as the other brunette rattled off happily more to her than to Eric, but the boy was commenting once in a while anyway.
Later, it would occur to Bella, that while Lorraine talked in length about her new friend—she never once mentioned her name.
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Lorraine decided that the people in Forks were an incredibly boring cliche.
From popular groups to football jocks, to chess nerds, she had seen it all.
All of them were easy to please. Wearing a remarkably fake facette to her as they were being overwhelmingly welcoming. Or at least trying to, most of them.
Nevertheless, Lorraine gave bright smiles and giggles, joked around with anyone who talked to her until lunch finally finally came.
There was a guy walking next to her, talking rapidly. She met him in her chemistry class where he sat in front of her and was so kind to hold a conversation with her instead of listening to the teacher.
„Y'know, I'm kind of surprised Mr. Ardolf," Lorraine admitted she snorted when she heard the teacher's name, „didn't give us detention. I mean the man has like six ears on him."
„I think it's me," she replied in a feigned serious manner, walking into the cafeteria. „It's Monday, my lucky day!"
„How can a Monday be lucky?" Dean, she thought was his name, asked her in bafflement.
Lorraine shrugged, „With the right mindset?"
They went to the get their lunch, grabbing two tray swiftly. He continued to talk, explaining to her how things worked around the town.
Dean seemed like a nice person to her. He didn't have that mask around him that made it look obvious he was faking kindness and he was kind of funny too, even though his first words to her were a pick up line.
( „Am i going crazy or do you see the chemistry between us?" )
She wondered if he would be a good friend to her, she could care for him in the future.
Probably not.
„Uh, Lauren's table is staring at you," Dean pointed out. „I can feel her evil eyes from across the room and I'm not even the target."
„Who is Lauren?" Lorraine asked, looking over to the table Dean was glancing over at.
She caught a pair of warm brown eyes and lit up, waving cheerfully. Two out of three of the girls seemed displeased; but Bella waved back.
„Lauren is like, um," he looked like he was searching for the nice word for an insult, „the queen bee of this high school. The walking cliche in Forks, along with Jessica and Angela. Jessica is her slightly less popular, but equally judgemental counterpart and Angela is—well, the little angel on their shoulders. The shy nerd, if you will."
„Huh," Lorraine hummed, tilting her head to face Lauren's icy glare. „Let's go say hi."
„What?" Dean's voice got a pitch higher.
She gave him wild, mischievous sort of grin, the one she usually had on her face before she got herself into trouble.
„Well, you like that Angela girl," Lorraine grabbed his arm and started directing him in their direction and his struggle lessened with the sentence that came out of her mouth.
He looked something between panicked and confused, „How do you know that?"
„I didn't," she winked at him, waggling her eyebrows teasingly. „But you referred to her as an angel on their shoulders."
„I'm a flirty person."
„You're also incredibly easy to drag along," Lorraine told him before putting her plate next to Bella's, startling all of them as they hadn't see them coming. „Can you believe that five hours passed by and I haven't got detention yet?"
„Must be a new record," Bella replied.
„It is," she nodded before turning to the rest of the girls, one of which was eyeing her distastefully and the others seemed to vibrate with curiosity, „Hi, I'm Lorraine."
Dean stood behind her awkwardly.
„This is Dean," she added helpfully, snickering at him, „We had chemistry together."
„Chemistry with Mr. Ardolf?" a girl with curly dark hair and the kind of smile on her face her mother used to have in the presence of others asked. „Must've been fun."
Dean gave an easy grin, „She accidentally burned my hand."
It was not accidentally.
„I'm Jessica," the girl started to introduce them. „This is Angela and Lauren, of course. And you seem to know Bella."
„Hi," Angela said to her and gave the boy who moved to sit next to her a shy smile.
Lauren rolled her eyes. Lorraine started to wonder how her heart looks from the inside.
She blinked.
„Oh, yeah," Lorraine leaned back in her seat, beaming at them, „Bella and I go way back. Like elementary school way back."
„She's my best friend," Bella informed them and Lorraine bumped her shoulders to her grinningly.
She learned fairly quickly that the description Dean gave her was right. Lauren didn't speak to them once, opting to just ignore them. Jessica seemed more open to talk to them, but it wasn't all generous and Angela was the kind of person Bella used to be when they were younger.
„So, you're from California too?" Jessica asked her inquisitively.
Lorraine nodded, munching on her sandwich, „Mhm, obviously."
„Do you surf?"
„Well, yes..." her attention drifted away and she briefly noticed the same change in Bella, looking out to the window where five people passed by.
She blinked rapidly, noticing Alice amongst them. Lorraine remembered the siblings she mentioned and sat straighter in intrigue.
They didn't look anything alike, she thought. Except for the fact that all of them looked extraordinarily beautiful from afar.
„Who are they?" Bella asked curiously.
They looked towards them and Jessica's face twisted oddly, her eyes lingering on them for longer than the others.
Angela was the one who replied, „The Cullens."
„They're, um, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's foster children," Jessica turned back to them, talking in a lower tone than before. „They moved down here from Alaska, like, a few years ago."
„They kind of keep to themselves," Angela added in a softer tone.
„Yeah, cause two of them are together," Jessica gossiped with a tiny giggle, leaning forward to them as the group of siblings walked in, „like together together."
Her eyes went to the first pair.
There was the girl looked like someone shook a magazine of Vogue and she miraculously fell out. She was tall and statuesque, and she had a beautiful figure, the kind of figure that could make a girl cry in low self-esteem. Her hair reminded her of the Disney princess, Rapunzel, a golden colour with the length to her back waving slightly with wind outside.
The guy beside her was one was big — build like a football jock—much more muscular than Dean, with dark, curly hair. His face looked light, like he was about to make a joke about something.
„Um, the blonde one, that's Rosalie," Jessica informed them as they walked by them with intertwined hands, „and the big dark-haired guy, Emmett, they're, like, a thing."
They smiled at each other like they've heard them talking, which caused the two girls to giggle uncomfortably and lower their voices further.
„I'm not even sure that's legal," Jessica whispered to them.
Bella and Lorraine shared a look, raising their eyebrows. Adopted siblings, she thought amusedly, that sounded like a trope in a book they would read. Phoenix would that scandalous as well as the tiny town here.
„Jess, they're not actually related," Angela told her friend, giving her a disapproving look.
„Yeah, but they live together," Jessica protested, flailing her fork around. „It's weird."
Then Alice walked in, who in contrast to her siblings, was as short as a garden gnome. She was extremely thin and had small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.
Alice who waved at her cheerily and Lorraine found herself waving back to her with a bright smile, laughing when the tiny pixie danced around to her table happily.
„And, okay, the little dark haired girl's Alice," Jessica glanced to the skipping girl before looking back to them, „She's really weird."
„I met her in my first class," Lorraine said, grabbing a fry from Angela's plate—who looked like she didn't mind. She glanced to Bella, „She was the friend I mentioned. I like her."
Jessica scoffed.
„She looks nice," Bella said, nodding to Lorraine like she was remembering what she said about her after her english class. „Maybe a bit unusual, but she has a friendly face?"
„She is friendly to me when we're in class," Angela put in, smiling tentatively.
Lorraine's eyes went to the door again when the last two came in.
There was the one who Bella began to stare at. Lanky with less muscles but younger features, and untidy, bronze-colored hair. He was the only one of them who actually looked like he was going to a high school.
She elbowed her slightly, „You're drooling."
Bella blinked, raising her fingers to her lips automatically before her brain processed it. Then she dropped it and gave her a look, blushing.
It was the last Cullen sibling who caught her attention. He was tall and leaner than the bodybuilder, but still muscular. He had wavy honey blond that go over his ears and his ember eyes stood out to her. His skin seemed as flawless and smooth as the rest of his siblings, pale, even paler than Bella, and there were purple shadows under his eyes like he hadn't slept for weeks.
„Oh, wow," She rested her chin on her hand and dipped her head to the side appreciatively, coincidentally catching his eyes.
He froze in his steps briefly and a horrified sort of look washed over his face, staring back at her unblinkingly. It seemed as though he wasn't sure he was seeing right, as if he was seeing something he wasn't supposed to.
Lorraine was just about to wave at him, or maybe wink at him, but then his face pinched uncomfortably and he walked passed them before she could decide which to do.
„That's Jasper, the blonde one who looks like he's in pain," Jessica noticed her staring after him and said to them, „I used to think he had something with the weirdo, but then she came out as a—you know."
Lorraine furrowed her eyebrows and shared a look with Bella, „What?"
„A lesbian," she whispered to them lowly.
Another look and this time they rolled their eyes in realisation. Coming from a big city meant a lot more people lived in it—obviously heightening the chances of someone playing for the different team.
Forks was such a small town that everything seemed odd when out of order, like, new girls or gay people.
„How scandalous," Bella said drily. And her eyes almost involuntarily trailed off to the bronze haired guy, who followed the steps of his siblings smoothly, „They're... very nice looking."
Jessica followed her gaze and grinned at her like she knew something they didn't.
„Right. And that's Edward Cullen, he's like totally gorgeous, obviously," she told them eagerly, before she looked down on her tray, smile fading, "But apparently the Cullens don't like to keep it out of the family. Nobody here is good enough for any of them, especially Edward."
Lorraine looked to this Jasper guy again, finding his eyes on her. The horrified look was gone and he was staring at her unreadably.
"Like I care, you know?" Jessica laughed.
"How many times did he turn you down?" Lorraine asked her innocently, turning away from the golden eyes briefly.
Jessica scowled at her, "Seriously, don't waste your time with them. They're unreachable."
"I wasn't planning on it," Bella frowned.
A few seconds passed and Jessica seemed displeased with Lorraine's lack of answer, furrowing her eyebrows deeply at her.
"Really, Lorraine," Jessica pressed, looking over to where she was looking at. "Jasper never talks to anyone other than his sibling. One time I sat down next to him in the library and he glared at me. At me. As if I murdered his cat or something."
Lorraine's eyes flickered with something akin to fire, "Don't worry about it."
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She sat next to him in history.
The teacher wasn't there yet, even though the bell already rang. Lorraine did come in after the class was supposed to start and seeing as nobody dared to sit next to him, she took the free chair happily.
"Hi," she greeted, turning her body towards him.
Jasper looked like he was suffering from social anxiety, so she didn't mind it when he took a few moments to collect himself.
She spent the time to observe him very unsubtly, noting the white jacket he wore and didn't take off. His lashes were long, which was completely unfair in her opinion, and his gold eyes seemed to have different flecks in them, going from bright ember to a near brown.
Her brain noticed the way his chest didn't move, like he wasn't breathing.
Did she make him nervous?
„Hello," he finally replied in a ridiculously smooth voice, tilting his head toward her with the same pinched expression and his unnaturally perfect nose flailed giving her the impression that he can indeed breath.
He seemed to relax more after taking the breath and turned his body slightly to her.
„I'm Lorraine," she smiled at him brilliantly, ignoring the students around them trying to glance at them discreetly. „It's my first day here."
„Lorraine," Jasper frowned as he tested her name out slowly, before smothering his expression out. „Jasper Hale, ma'am."
She ignored the odd sense of deja vu, realising he kept his biological last name. Also that he had a southern drawl to his voice. Which only made him more attractive in her eyes.
Lorraine put on her most charming smile, „It's a real pleasure, Jasper."
„The pleasure is mine," his oddly bright eyes glistened in something like nostalgia.
Her lips curled up in a light smirk, „I'm sure it is."
Must to her dismay, the teacher arrived before she could deepen the conversation or try to see if his unbelievably pale skin can take a rose tone.
Although, and she cheered in her head, he seemed a bit disappointed as well.
„Uh, Lorraine Hawthorne?" the teacher called out, bringing the paper in his hand closer to his face as he read out. It was a middle aged man with a deep tan skin and glasses on his nose.
„Yes?" Lorraine raised her hand, reflexively schooling her face into faux innocence even though she knew she hadn't done something yet.
Nothing they knew anyway.
„I'm informed that you will attend my class from this day on," the man said as if they hadn't all known she and Bella would come here. „My name is Mr. Wilson, I hope you have been well educated in your previous school?"
„Top of my class, sir, all above d's," she joked, grinningly. She had been anything other than that, but Wilson gave a deep chuckle and Jasper cracked a small smile next to her. „You're in luck, though. History's my favourite class."
„Good," he nodded and turned to the entire class. „Now, take out your books. We're reading about the Trojan war today."
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Lorraine, Jasper thought as he watched her put her stuff in the bag at the end of the class, that is a difference.
Alice had said they would see his mate today, but it had given him a nasty shock to see her face in person. He found himself annoyed at his sister for not giving a warning at the very least, arguing with her about any meddling over lunch.
Jasper didn't want a mate in the first place, but now he had seen her and he didn't know how to feel about it anymore.
He decided to wait for her patiently as the room emptied itself out, the students walking out as soon as they heard the bell.
„So, Jessica tells me you've lived in Alaska before," she seemed to have no shame in admitting the fact that they've talked about them earlier at lunch. „How was that?"
Jasper considered how to answer that, pushing the chair to the table as she zipped her bag closed, „It was comfortable."
Comfortable was one way to say; more air, less humans and the chances on losing control lower.
„Mmh," she hummed along, looking a bit pleased that he waited for her.
He started to understand Edward's frustration over this Isabella girl. As his brother couldn't read the girl's thoughts, Jasper couldn't feel Loraine's emotions as well as he'd like to.
She was unpredictable for him. Her face told him that she wasn't curious enough to ask him questions and he wondered whether he accidentally projected his own curiosity or she was simply trying to hold a conversation with him.
„The weather was cooler," he found himself continuing, grabbing her hanging jacket for her instinctively. „Although Forks isn't exactly California either, but..."
„The people here are so much more nosy," Lorraine put on her jacket, it was black bomber jacket that looked a little too old and a bit too big on her. „Like seriously, it's like we've come from another planet. What's with all the gawking?"
Jasper smiled, although it tightened around the edges when they got out to the hallway, „How was it in Phoenix?"
„A lot warmer," she didn't ask how he knew about Phoenix, giving him a grin that made him focus more on her than the humans around them. „More people who liked to mind their own business, so... anyway, what's your next class?"
„Biology," he replied, straying them to a less crowded spot. And, because he could never control himself around her, he offered, „Would you like me to walk you to your next class?"
„You really are such a gentleman, Jasper," Lorraine laughed sweetly. „I'll see you later, yeah? Or maybe tomorrow, depends."
He dipped his head in a nod and she waved her fingers at him teasingly walking backwards until she had to turn around the corner.
Jasper watched her until she was out of sight, careful not to breath now that she wasn't in his proximity before walking to his own class rather reluctantly.
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At the end of the day Lorraine felt like her brain was about to explode and it wasn't even because of the lessons.
She opened the door to the office and was faced with the sight of a glaring Cullen sibling and a terrified looking Bella. Lorraine frowned, returning the icy glare easily even if it was long gone.
„What the fuck is his problem?" Lorraine didn't bother to whisper, turning her head to Bella.
Bella shook her head, swallowing hard. And the look on her face told her she was wondering the same thing.
"Never mind, then," Cullen said hastily, like he was rushing to get out of the room. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help."
He was out of the door before Lorraine could start insulting him.
„What an asshole."
Bella made an agreeing noise and went meekly to the desk, blanched in the face and handed the woman her the signed slip. Lorraine stepped next to her and followed the example.
"How did your first day go, my dears?" the receptionist asked maternally.
"Fine," Bella sounded like she was close to tears, which was either a sign for anger or he had actually upset her.
Lorraine gritted her teeth in mild rage, flashing the woman a smile that was bit too bright, „It was great. The people here are very welcoming."
„I see," she frowned and let them go.
The Cullen's car was gone by the time they got to the truck and Lorraine had the inkling that Edwin—or whatever his name was—was the reason for that.
Bella started talking about what happened when she saw that their fancy car was gone.
„I could kill him for you, Bells," Lorraine soothed her once they sat in the truck, stroking her hair comfortingly. „I can decorate your locker with his insides if you want me to."
Bella was fighting back the tears in her eyes, probably feeling embarrassed about it, „I was more thinking about running him over with the truck."
„We can do that too."
She gave a heavy sigh and started the loud motor, „How was your first day?"
„Oh, it was fantastic," Lorraine chirped and took her hand back to grab her phone. „I don't know what Jessica's problem is, the Cullens—expect for Edwin of course—are pretty cool. They're very attractive as well."
„Yeah, they are," Bella agreed more reluctantly. „The blonde girl looks like a model."
„Right?" Lorraine gestured with her hands passionately before opening her messages. „Looking like her would do wonders to my ego, doesn't surprise why she acts the way she does."
Bella was concentrated on the road, „I haven't seen her in any of my classes, she's a senior like you, right?"
„Yeah," Lorraine typed out a name, looking up to grin at Bella, „Jasper is too."
„Is he your new..." Bella trailed off like she wasn't sure what she should call him.
„Boyfriend? Boy toy? Target?" Lorraine listed off to her with a playful grin, „Soon, hopefully. He's so easy on the eyes and he doesn't even seem all that boring to me."
ME:
what does it mean when they have golden eyes?
like bright yellow kind of
HERMIONE GRANGER 🪄✨
vegetarians
as in they feed off animal
ironically 💀
ME:
okay, cool
thanks 👍🏼👍🏼
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Bella dropped her off at Daniel's elementary school.
Lorraine could've waited outside of the building like most of the parents here or she could've gotten them some food for dinner, but instead she had walked into the school and stood at the doorway of his class like the obnoxious older sister she was supposed to be.
She knocked on the wood next to her head, „Uh, I'm searching for this little kid about 4'4, really obsessed with dolls and the disney movie Lilo and Stitch?"
The teacher looked up from her desk, sighing, „Daniel, you're free to go."
Her brother blushed in embarrassment, glaring at Lorraine as he stood up from his seat where he was drawing on a paper.
„It's not dolls," he grumbled to his seat mate, „It's action figures, I swear. Stupid sister."
„Danny," Lorraine called out, leaning against the doorway, „I don't have all day, hurry up."
„I'm coming!" Daniel shouted, shrinking slightly when his teacher looked up to glare at him.
She slapped him on the back of his head when he ran past her. He tried to kick her in return, but she was already moving the stairs back down with a laugh that echoed through the building.
„Are we having dinner with Charlie?" he asked her as they walked to their new house, which wasn't that far away.
„Well, first of all, Charlie can't cook," Lorraine pointed out, „Bella does. And I thought we could order pizza and have a movie night."
„Oh!" Daniel brightened up, „yeah, cool! We didn't have one since..."
„Since dad died," she finished for him, holding him back when he was about to cross a street with a racing car driving past them. „We're watching Karate kid, just so you know."
He huffed, „Bitch."
author's note;
character.ai said bella and lorraine are gfs.
also how do we feel about this chapter? did i write them okay?
fun fact for the chapter:
lorraine was closer to her father than her mother for multiple reasons, one of which being that the mother thought her child was the devil.