The weekend had passed all too quickly, yet all too slowly. The minutes seemed to drag on, each tick of the clock on the room in the living room echoed, yet time sped by too fast for it to seem real. Each sound, her mother's footsteps, her father's breathing, the soft electrical whirr of the powerlines and the electricity traversing circuits and wires, it was all too loud, they'd have her eyes darting about her darkened bedroom anxiously. It stopped her from sleeping on Saturday, she'd refused to eat at all on Sunday, the girl was unwilling to leave her bedroom, even when her mother came in and sat with her for an hour.
Fae had told her, what else could she do but tell her? Warn her, warn her father. Ensure them that any conclusions they may have drawn were wrong. Dark blue eyes had swirled with confusion at first, although it had changed into anger and fear. Fae had described the monster's scent, what had happened. How she had ran and cried and felt her life begin to slip from her fingertips. She had cried after, sitting in the darkness.
Her arms and ribs and neck had darkened into swirling patterns of dark red, purple and blue bruises. Her mother had gently rubbed an ointment into them, sat a pack of painkillers and a water bottle and gently kissed her forehead. That night Fae would swallow down sleeping pills that made her throat feel slimy and push her earbuds in and curl up in a nest of blankets with her music blaring and stare at stupid pictures and sad jokes, if only to ease any anxiety building up like water behind a dam wall. Sleep however was not a gradual fade to black, no, instead it struck Fae over the head like a baseball bat. Her limbs felt too heavy to move, even to turn off her phone and music.
The small speck of sunlight that managed to rear it's ugly head through the crack in the curtains awoke her before her alarm did. Blinding and golden, Fae awoke to the light's calling, tangled in the cord of her headphones and her phone a little less than half-charged. She felt bleary eyed and sort of refreshed, though wanted desperately to go back to sleep as she rolled over and fumbled blindly for the charger at her bedside. Less than an hour and a half later, she would find herself being loaded into the backseat of her parent's car and driven down the winding, rainy roads to Forks High School, Washington.
Brown eyes darted to the doors of the school. Up the steps from what seemed like a private parking lot solely for students. There was a section on the road for the bright yellow school busses to pull up, Fae gasped at the sight of it. How was it real? The thought a canary yellow school bus was somehow the normal bus was inherently comical. Her hands twisted in her lap, however, tensed and the veins steadily darkening as she smelt it. The Fork's smell. Sickly sweet and overwhelming. Honey and roses and blood.
Cold fear, anger, hatred. The stench of teenagers, sweat, shared anxiety, perfumes and deodorants, or worse a lack of them. The smell of the beast mingled with them all. It was strong, several of them too, if she was picking them up right. Why would they be here? At a public high school? Maybe looking for meals to groom and take, maybe to snatch a kid running desperately late for class. Fae's hands had begun to shake. She looked in the rearview mirror, she met her mother's gaze. Fae shook her head.
Marie took her hand. Warmth, "You'll be alright. It's dead, like you said. It can't hurt you."
But the others can. Can't you smell them? She wanted to argue, brown eyes pleading and hands buried in her hair, barely containing her shout. They're here. I can feel it. I can smell it. I can sense it. Mama, I'm scared. Dad, don't make me go. I can't, I don't want to. Yet she didn't. She didn't argue. Fae Smith sat for a moment, silent and still, or as still as she could given her hands couldn't stop shaking.
The sixteen year old wiped her hands on her top. A burgundy thing with long sleeves and a square neckline. Her hands felt cold, cold and sweaty. Fae adjusted her grip on her backpack and picked up her phone. It was something she'd have to do whether she liked it or not. Brown eyes shut tightly and Fae savoured the last few seconds of safety.
Then, suddenly, she slipped from the car. Each step felt robotic. Her eyes downcast and ears open. Fae tried not to breathe, if only to not be forced to inhale the wretched, stuffy air. Her chest felt tight as she forced herself up the stairs as quickly as possible and into her future hellscape. The flourescent lighting was a chilly blue, it seemed to wash everything around it out with a near sickly green hue. The halls were long, the floor was a pale linoleum that reeked of a pine scented disinfectant.
Each step had her shaking further, brown eyes fixated on her hands. No claws had pushed forward, the blood vessels weren't pronounced and an ugly black, they were darker than they should have been, but not to the point of drawing attention, yet they were growing darker by the minute. There was the burning sensation of eyes resting upon her though. Fae paused. Where was she meant to go? She needed her schedule, she needed her locker.
She pulled to the side of the hall and nestled herself between the wall and a pillar. Fae pressed her back against it and pulled her phone from her bag. Distraction. She had to find a distraction before it got worse. If she thought about it, she'd panic and then she'd shift and then she'd expose her family, expose her kind and then they'd all be hunted and experimented on and die painfully and their kinds' extinction and genocide would be her fault and goddamit! She had to stop going on tangents.
Fae looked down at the glowing screen, the generically aesthetic image of a display at a record store. Hands with statement rings rifled through a box of them, it was focused on an old Stevie Nicks record. Her hands. It had been taken and put through a countless amount of filters and other edits to the saturation and lighting by her friend Kate. She smiled at it, the record was nestled in a full cabinet in her room, between a Lana Del Rey record and many other ones. She could almost hear Ewan's laughter and envision Lexi's wide smile. They had all been so happy that day.
"You're in my spot." A low voice chimed.
"Huh?" Fae sounded, her eyes looked up and her nose was overwhelmed with the violently sweet smell, like the woman from the forest, sour citrus, rotting fruit . The voice was attached to the man before her, because there was not a singular chance that he was a high school student. He was tall and incredibly pale, with short dark hair and brilliantly violent golden eyes. They were a greenish gold under the blue toned light of the school, rimmed with a dark red, not bright and warm, like the shades of marigold, golden sunlight and honey of her kind, but they weren't the predatory, cruel and sick, fear instilling crimson of the monster. She stepped back, closer to the wall. He stayed in his spot. He was big, like a bear. She gaped momentarily, fear filled her veins and she suddenly realised the corner she was backing herself into. "Oh, sorry. I'm new, I didn't know, sorry."
"No, no. It's fine." He smiled briefly. It was an awkward attempt to appear non-threatening. Her hackles lowered slightly, a small chuckle slipped from his lips, Fae felt an impending sense of horror grow in her chest. "It's kind of funny though, I scared you good. Who're you?"
"Haha, yeah." She forced out. It came out awkward and the laugh didn't even sound like a laugh should have. "I'm Fae."
"Emmett." He nodded, raising his hand in a small wave. He suddenly seemed so much less threatening. Was this the key, not presenting yourself as their prey? Fae wondered. She straightened her back and met his eyes. "Nice to meet you. Oh my God, is that a tamagotchi?"
Fae blinked for a second. "Yes?"
What was even happening anymore? An adult man, a grown adult man, a monstrous killing machine, was looking at the old tamagotchi on her bag with a massive grin on his face. She fumbled with it for a second, pulling anxiously at the joining ring until it slipped from the zipper and presented it to him.
A beautiful blonde woman strolled over. Emmett took the tamagotchi and eagerly hit the buttons, interacting with the pixel character with a smile. She placed herself between Emmett and Fae. Her presence reeked confidence and a slight haughtiness, she smiled, it was forced and delicate, undeniably gorgeous. Fae felt her knees go weak, although fear pooled in her belly as the sickly scent grew stronger. They were both the creatures then. She smelt of roses and honey, undercut with a slight twinge of blood and slight tangy notes of vinegar. It screamed danger, as did the glint in her golden eyes. Fae blinked, they surely wouldn't attack her here, in such a public place?
"Is he bothering you?" She asked, tone sweet, she shot a pointed glance to the man, Emmett. Fae shook her head, she looped her thumbs through the belt loops of her black jeans and met the golden eyed woman's gaze. Her hair was a rich, shiny dark blonde. Not the same pale, near white of the one that had strangled her.
"Not really." She had to play it cool, pretend to be calm. She placed a friendly smile upon her lips, it was a more genuine one, if only for the act being the only thing keeping her alive. Could they hear her heartrate? See her hands twinging black? Sense her fear? Fae paused for a second and wondered if her eyes were beginning to change or not.
"Look, Rose, it's happy." Emmett cut in, he held out the pixelated image. The woman, Rose, spared a brief glance to it and nodded before she looked at Fae once more.
Confidence, she had to portray confidence! Even if it was complete bullshit. She had ran through mock GCSE drama tasks, witnessed many more of the older years performances. She could fake confidence. Show them she wasn't able to be bullied and not as much of an easy target. They wouldn't find their prey in her. She opened her posture and straightened her back. Both of them still towered over her, she smiled at Rose, wider and pushed out a hand. "I'm Fae."
"Rosalie." She hesitantly took the hand offered, Fae had to bite back any form of recoil at the touch of the cold flesh upon her own. Rosalie tilted her head at the voice, her tone had changed slightly. It wasn't as cold. It was more so intrigued than hostile. "You're from England?"
Fae nodded, she brought both of her hands back together and folded them across her stomach. It was warm. She was alive. "Yeah, its a little town near Manchester, hence why I don't exactly sound like Harry Styles."
Rosalie laughed. It was sweet, like bells chiming. Her head tipped back slightly, hair falling in shiny ringlets. She was majestic, like a disney princess come to life. "Good one."
The brunette offered a grin in return. Perhaps if she spun this right, she could play it like Renfield and Dracula would not drink her blood. It would buy her time, at least. To be anything other than the prey, like Lucy Westenra had been to Dracula. "Thanks."
"What do you have first, new kid?" Emmett asked. He raised a dark eyebrow.
Rosalie slapped his arm, butting in with a low hiss. "Don't be rude. She has a name."
Emmett looked briefly apologetic, Fae waved it off with a hand. It didn't shake anymore. Either she was very good at pretending to be confident, or she was no longer in such a state of panic that she toed the edge of wolfing out and having a panic attack.
She smiled sheepishly, it was wide and pushed at her eyes in an uncomfortable manner, Fae used a hand to brush her hair back, behind her shoulder. She spoke with a slight sing-song, a half-chuckle made it's way into her dialogue. Fuck. She really was pretending it was her GCSE drama exam. "Not a clue. I haven't got my schedule or anything but I'm praying it's not geography. I'm shit at geography."
Emmett chuckled and Rosalie smiled. "Do you know where the office is?" Her tone was warm. Fae shook her head. "Come on, we'll show you."
Rosalie and Emmett walked at a steady pace, slightly fast, and their strides seemed more fit for a catwalk than a high school hall way, yet they hovered at a respectful distance. Emmett was more talkative, although he seemed more light-hearted and airy in disposition, Rosalie seemed to be more reserved.
Was it truly wise to follow them? To place even a miniscule amount of trust in them? These monstrous strangers, regardless of how much charm they were able to wield. As they walked, Rose would softly point out people and note their grades and minor attributes, like a guide. She especially eyed some of the male students. Her voice would always be low as she'd lean over to Fae, she'd tilt her head over, if only curious to hear what the vampire had to say. She'd point to a boy at his locker, tall, short, buzzed red hair. "He's a senior, like's hitting on freshman girls, doesn't like to take no for an answer, avoid him."
"Thank you." She whispered to them as they waited out the front of the office doors. They let her go in, on her own. A kind of calm settled over her, a refreshing chill seeping over her bones, a small warmth in her chest. It wasn't the unrelenting cold that seemed to burn with her fear, it was the cool breeze on a hot day, the taste of air immediately after brushing your teeth. Fae smiled slightly, at the very least, they weren't hunting her.
Rosalie nodded, like it was no big deal, showing her to the office, tipping her off to the other biggest predators in the school, the ones that wouldn't drink her blood outside of perhaps a weird kink thing. "Do you need us to show you around after?" Fae smiled and shook her head, Emmett still had her tamagotchi, she noted, it was tucked into his pocket. Him and Rosalie made to turn and walk away, until Rosalie suddenly turned on her heel, she smiled genuinely, her hand fidgeted with her golden pendant, a large lion pendant. "I forgot to say, earlier. I like your necklace."
Fae's hand moved to her throat. Suddenly, she felt sick. The compliment was nice, but it was the implication was not. It was a choker that had belonged to her nanna, a string of shiny white pearls. She put it on that morning in order to distract from the way her concealer couldn't fully hide the dark shadow the blue bruises left on her skin. Her blood went cold, could Rosalie see it? Did she know? Was she friends with the monster that had been killed? Ripped to shreds by the direwolves of La Push, did she know the creature that had tried to kill her? She smiled and forced herself to roll one of the pearls through her fingers, despite her bones feeling as brittle as glass. "Thank you."
-
The morning had not been a fun occasion for Fae Smith. The principal had conducted a brief meeting with her, looked over her results and reports from her prior school and asked her about her electives. There was no drama class running in her age group at Forks high, instead he offered art and music as alternatives. Fae chose neither, she grimaced as she was forced between the two and geography. She chose geography. She smiled as he told her there was an ancient history course, thankfully, as well as an advanced english, legal and biology classes were running, each which still had an open space for her. Mathematics, as well as a bi-weekly PE, were unfortunately mandatory. Fae frowned but accepted it with as much grace possible.
The office lady, a skinny, smiley woman by the name of Priscilla had smiled and entered Fae into the classes and the system without a complaint. She smiled as the printer began to whirr and spat out a spreadsheet like schedule. "There you go." She said with a smile.
The principal then showed her to her first class. It was unfortunately geography. She sat in silence, in a seat by herself. There was no one that stunk like a monster, thankfully, yet Fae also found herself feeling oddly alone. Was she hoping for one of them to be there, Emmett or Rosalie? Maybe if only for the comfort of a familiar face.
The teacher, a middle aged man that seemed to take pleasure only in talking about rivers and hills, and insisted on referring to places by the wrong names. He quizzed her on where she was from, Fae tilted her head when he asked what it was like to grow up in Ireland. She wasn't Irish though? He pointed to Wales. Was he taking the piss? She wondered as she chewed on the inside of her lip. Maybe I would have been better off to pick art.
Her other classes were no better. It felt like everyone in her classes were staring at her, it made her skin prickle and her slouch in her seat, if only to try and hide from the prying eyes and subtle gestures people made. They pointed to their friends, whispered. Fae had come from a relatively small town, yes, but at least the small town kids she knew weren't freaks, most of them at least. New kids were fairly rare and often sparked interest, but that normally meant approaching them and trying to become friends. Her group had never participated though. They knew it was rude to stare and whisper and point, the Forks kids, evidently didn't.
Fae fumbled with her pen in her hand, she twirled her wrist, scribbling small circles like a tornado in the margin of her book, small smiley faces whilst they analysed Shakespeare in english. Her ears intently focused on the voices. The teacher, Ms Pierce, a short blonde woman much more competent than her geography teacher, Mr Miller, droned on about although Shakespeare's only real techniques being dialogue and verse, the iambic pentameter of the lines provided insights to the text that elevated it and the characters.
Fae rolled her eyes and tried to tune out her voice, the hushed whispered conversations of the Fork's kids had to be more interesting. Yet, it wasn't. How they didn't care, how they stole one of their dad's beers and their shift at the store, just normal teen talk. It was too early in the school year for the big gossip and fun drama.
It travelled by fast. The school bells were near deafening as they screamed the symbol for the end of class and beginning of the lunch period. Fae was near overwhelmed by the sound, then the idea of the dreaded cafeteria. It was something she'd always seen in dramatic teen movies, but now she'd have to live with it. Her mouth grew dry at the thought of finding a table, or risk sitting out in the hallway or outside.
Each step felt like a death march, or at least, until brown eyes locked on the towering forms of both Rosalie and Emmett, golden eyes locked directly on her. Emmett smiled and waved her over, she waved awkwardly at the two seniors, like a middle aged man greeted his wife's friends as they all came over for wine and gorged themselves on cheeseboards. "You're sitting with us, Effie."
"Effie?" She repeated his nickname carefully. It was weird, she didn't like it. She liked being called Fae, not any other variation of her name. She shook her head at him, Emmett raised his eyebrows. Rosalie rolled her eyes good naturedly and lightly shoved him forward with her free hand. Why were they holding their lunch boxes already?
"Fae-Effie." Emmett stated, slower, as if it made the nickname a more obvious jump in logic. He moved his hands from two points, enforcing the metaphorical jump to form the nickname.
She bit the inside of her cheek and held back a grimace. She still didn't think it was a very good nickname. Fae folded her arms and deadpanned. "I have never, in my life, hated anything more than that.. Like ever."
Yes, being snarky with whatever vampiric fucking creatures Emmett and Rosalie were was probably more than just flirting with death, but she had already had an attempt on her life within the span of four days. Confidence was key, like in any horror movie, an even mix of luck, snark, caution and confidence and she'd be the final girl.
Rosalie chuckled, she chose an empty table. It was metal and round. Suddenly it felt like there was an army of eyes resting upon the trio. Like the whole school stared in astonishment at them. Fae glanced to the side at a table and listened in, one thing she caught was a girl's low whisper to her friend. "Fuck, the latest new kid is with the Cullen's too."
"Why aren't they with the other Cullen's though? Rosalie is like the most snobby out of all of them." Her friend replied.
Fae frowned and looked carefully at Rosalie's expression. Could she hear them too? There was the slightest flinch and her golden eyes lightly skimmed in the direction of the table. Emmett looked slightly more upset. He offered his hand out to her, Rosalie took it. They had supernatural hearing as well too. She'd have to be careful when having private conversations then. Maybe she could signal she knew - would that make them kill her? No, she couldn't, not yet. Her lip trembled slightly, open and hesitating to find something to say, Emmett looked angry now, Rose looked withdrawn.
Fae wrung her palms together, her bruises hurt as she held her breath. Would they slaughter everyone here? Her? The other girls, like the vampires from the Lost Boys had to the security guard in the opening to the movie? She had to try and console her, or at least distract and cheer her up, right? They were familiar, friendly. But what did she say? Something about the weather? Music? She could bullshit about bands for hours if she tried hard enough, or theatre, or musical theatre, or movies, but did Rose want to hear anything about her interests? Would they help?
Her bag was on the table. A key chain was clipped to it, car keys. They were encrusted with a few rhinestones, but looked well loved. Fae looked to it and then to Rose. There was the slightest hint of motor oil under the honey and flowers and blood and incessant soured-sweetness. It didn't come from Emmett, it was her. Rosalie liked cars? She probably had one, given she was likely well over fifty despite looking to be in her early twenties and had the money to back it up.
"So, what kind of car do you have?" Fae asked, pulling out a tupperware container from her backpack.
Rosalie raised her eyebrows for a second. Fae gestured to the keys. The blonde smiled briefly, she leaned forward in her seat, she breifly pushed her lunch, a frankly very appetizing salad bowl around with her fork. She displayed her pearly white teeth in a grin, accidentally revealing her long sharp fangs. Fae pretended not to notice. Her tone was excited. "It's a BMW M3 convertible. Cherry Red. Do you want to see it this afternoon?"
"Sure," Fae smiled. She had no clue what the M3 meant, vaguely recognised BMW as a brand and a colour. She knew nothing about cars, or if it was safe to go to a car, she knew it was a death sentence if she got into the car with the vampires, but would it be just as deadly to look at it? She took a bite of her sandwich, it was leftover roast and veggies slapped in a bread roll. She blinked at Rose imploringly. "How fast can it go?"
"I made some modifications the other day, it can go from zero to sixty in three point five." Rosalie stated with a proud smile, she folded her hands on the table.
Fae widened her eyes and hummed appreciatively at it. Was that a good thing? She briefly glanced to their lunchboxes. They had food but they hadn't eaten any of it. Rosalie at least had something normal, a salad, and had taken the effort to at least move it around and stab it with her fork. Emmett just ignored his food, which seemed to be a can of creamed corn and a large block of cheddar cheese. "Why the fuck do you have just a can of creamed corn?"
"Because I love creamed corn, Effie." Emmett defended, although he made no effort to open the can or eat the contents. There was no chance it was the truth, but there was no heartbeat for her to declare it was a lie either. Stupid vampires. Stupid dead people. Fae rolled her eyes gave him a disgusted look, she then glanced to the blonde woman and pointed at him with her thumb, as if to say "get a load of this dude" Rosalie rolled her eyes and chuckled.
-
The sixteen year old stared down at her phone anxiously. It was nearing four, the school day had ended a little over half an hour prior, the whopping total of three yellow buses had all left, most of the cars had vanished from the parking lot as had all of the students. She had already gone to look at Rosalie's car, it was pretty, and looked like it was nice, the engine had purred wonderfully when the blonde had twisted the key in the ignition and Emmett had whooped as she revved it.
Fae had simply grinned and gushed excitedly that it was so cool, she was unfortunately forced to come clean about her lack of knowledge or interest in matters of the mechanical, but Rosalie had waved her hand and said it was fine. She offered to teach her and the brunette had to decline it in the nicest way possible. A vampire wanted to teach her about cars? Cerridwen be merciful, what strange world had she forced her into?
They had offered to drive her home too, Emmett and Rose did, Fae waved it off with faux nonchalance. "It would be fine." She'd told them. All the while inside she was screaming about stranger danger. It would not do well to get into a strangers' car. She was not looking to be picked up like a hitchhiking German backpacker in Australia in the 90s, nor to be lured and slaughtered by two vampires that otherwise seemed to be lovely people.
It was quiet and gradually growing colder. A pale hand, chipped black nail polish and a small ring, a silver wishbone on her right pointer finger snaked its way across her neck, the pearls on her neck felt icy to the touch, her collarbones felt cold and her skin began to bloom with goose bumps. She should have brought a coat.
Fae grimaced as she glanced to the sky, then back to her phone. It was gradually darkening and only going to grow colder. The sky was a looming dark grey, clouds blocked almost all light and the air loomed with the subtle smell of coming rain. Brown eyes stared on the pale light of her phone as it buzzed in her hand. A new message. From her mother. She was still waiting to pick up her dad from work, he'd be another ten minutes or so, the school was twenty minutes from his work. Marie couldn't leave to get her immediately then drive back, double back to the pharmacy then home to La Push once more. She would be tired and irritable from her day of job hunting.
"You know what, fuck it." Fae muttered. She threw both her arms through the straps of her black backpack and plugged her headphones in and picked out the music out on her phone. Fae texted her mother that she was going to walk home and shoved the device into her pocket. The smell of the monsters had gone from the school and the surrounding areas, other than at least the lingering scent that told her it was a common haunt of theirs. She knew what they were, what the scent was, she could walk.
Only one earbud sat in her ear though, she was going to have to cut through the forest, it was likely the fastest way to get home and the way her parents would make her go when they couldn't take her and until she got her learner's permit and a vehicle of her own.
The forest in Forks looked much the same as it did in La Push, that morning, Fae had envisioned it as much more predatory and evil, but how could a forest truly be evil? The creators, whether it be spirits or Cerridwen or anything else, how could anything natural be made inherently evil? Humans and wolfbloods, all speckled with numerous bad, dark and sick individuals, the vampiric monsters, twisted and lifeless, coldblooded killers that were twisted versions of nature, undead.
Fae shivered. Nothing undead should be able to reek such havoc in the realm of the living, yet they did. Did their existence prove something about the relation between innocence and inherent cruelty? But Emmett and Rosalie didn't seem evil beyond reason, they didn't seem to want world domination, like Dracula did.
The woods were quiet but the birds and bugs still sounded. Fae breathed easier each time the continual ambiance of nature increased it melody, an orchestra, a band. The scent's left a path. She walked it at first, before finally growing comfortable enough to break out into a run. Her chest heaved and her bruised sides ached painfully, but it felt invigorating. The shadows of the tree's and the way moss grew, the scent of the creatures that roamed La Push, it seemed familiar, inviting, even. Each pointed her in the direction of her home until she came to what was evidently a border.
The brunette skidded to a stop before it. On the La Push side, there was a thunderous thudding, brown eyes became flecked with marigold and her nails became elongated. Until, out from the bushes, a massive creature pulled to a stop before her. One of the wolves. The patchwork one. Spots of darker fur that splattered the creatures back and sides, a dark stripe across the bridge of it's nose and human brown eyes. It had it's teeth pulled back into a harsh snarl, until it comprehended her appearance.
The eyes swirled with recognition and something Fae couldn't quite recognise. It was a bit of a lanky thing, tall and threatening and no doubt strong, but still. It was cute, a bit like an overgrown puppy, but the girl knew none the less how deadly it was. How fast it could run, the power behind its' jaws and sharpness of its' teeth.
Fae was utterly confounded. How had it known she was here? She sniffed, it was on the La Push side of the two scents and drew no closer. Territory? Fae wondered. Would it let her cross over? Brown eyes watched the wolf carefully as she drew closer. It hadn't hurt her when she was being threatened by the monster, in fact, it seemed oddly human, forced into a stalemate less two days prior.
It let her cross over with no issue. In fact, the massive wolf seemed oddly thankful she did, if only by the way it let out a large breath, a sigh? Fae stared at the wolf. She reached a hand out, her claws had retracted entirely. The wolf stared at her momentarily, confused. Likely it was wondering what on earth she was doing. Fae smiled slightly, it was shaky. "Hi."
It came out as merely more than a breath as the wolf padded closer to her. It stood taller than her, at least six foot. It was so close she could feel it's warmth, it didn't stink like wild animals tended to. It smelt of the earth and mud and wind and the sea and slightly musky. Fae moved her arm and gently pressed her hand into the fur of the wolf.
It was warm like an electric blanket on a cold day, fur softer than that of a blanket and thick. She shuddered slightly at the warmth that seemed to flood her system. Like the sun hitting her skin on a chilly winter day, like freshly baked cookies or a hot chocolate. The wolf shook as her hand made contact too. Fae recoiled slightly, was it telling her to back off?
No noise escaped the creature's mouth. Not a growl to request space or indicate any warning. Fae reached out her other hand, to the beast's face. She held it there for a moment. It didn't react, she placed it on the wolf's head and began to scratch it, like one would a puppy. "Thank you, for the other day."
The wolf crooned slightly and pushed into her hands, it took steady inhales of her wrists although was careful, as if it knew the bruises were there. It nodded, so it could understand her? Fae noted. She tilted her head at it, what a confusing creature, truly what had happened to any semblance of sanity in her life upon landing in the US?
Suddenly, Fae was brought back to reality as the song changed. The intro to 'edge of seventeen' seemed oddly jarring in comparison to the soothing, melancholic tone of 'smoke signals'. The teenaged girl reached into her pocket and fished it out and tapped the pause button. Sorry, Stevie, this is more important.
The wolf blinked at her and Fae smiled at it. Its' gaze softened and it tried to emulate the expression on its own face, or until at least he, the wolf seemed like a he, realised it appeared more so a snarl than a smile. His ears flattened apologetically and Fae let a laugh tear its way from her throat.
"Would you like to walk with me?" She asked him as she spared a glance to the time. It had been half an hour since she'd left school? Already? On the lockscreen, there was a text from her mother 'alrigt, c u at home ;)', Fae's lip curled downwards slightly, how old people texted was gross. She looked at the wolf, who suddenly seemed concerned, she smiled at him. "I'm Fae, by the way."
He nudged her slightly with his side, though the force was akin to nothing, Fae was not expecting it and therefore stumbled forwards. She caught herself, thankfully, but that meant it was alright for him to make fun of her. The wolf let out a bark that sounded quite like a bark of laughter and continued to let out awkward, half-giggle sounding vocalisations. She grimaced at him, she looked into his eyes and realised there was definitely a human behind them. No way would an animal know it was ok to laugh when someone stumbled.
She scowled at him, he nudged her with his nose and she bit back a chuckle. Fae started walking once more, she sniffed the air and walked. The paths were unfamiliar and once more she decided to wing it, using her nose and basic senses and tell tales of nature, as well as the wolf that would herd her, like a sheepdog would, onto a safer or more familiar path. She memorised the turns or twists and features and scents that stood out.
Then suddenly, they veered right and she was back on the path. She grasped the fur of the wolf and her breath was stolen from her lungs. The path she had sprinted from, the path she had ran back to her home from. The path the monster had hunted her from. Her hand wound its way deeper, until she could feel the skin of the wolf and could only see spotted fur over her hand. Everything felt like it was too small, like her lungs couldn't recover the air that had escaped from them. Her mouth gaped and Fae felt cold, so cold, colder than ice, so cold her skin burned and she shook.
The wolf pressed itself close and seemed to nudge her to a tree, until her back pressed against it and she slid to the ground. Her backpack was still on. It was uncomfortable, she was on too much of a lean to still be hunched over and cold, salted tears fell from her eyes like rain. Fae could feel them pausing on the edge of her face and the base of her chin, they didn't fall immediately, no, they pooled and it itched, until eventually, one drop, two drops, three drops.
He pressed himself close, her hands formed fists in the soft spotty grey fur and she pressed her face into it. He understood, he and his pack had saved her ass. They tore the thing to shreds, it could not hurt her, Fae sat and breathed in the scent, it was calming, slightly sour with distress, yet the warmth and distinct earthiness was comforting. The tears had stopped, yet she sat there and dry sobs, distorted with phlegm and hiccupped gasps for air around them for what felt like hours. The wolf stayed by her. The creature let out a soft coo every now and then, a low croon as if to console her, Fae clutched it tighter each time. "Thank you."
She went to stand up, only to have the wolf stand with her, Fae leant against him. There was an overwhelming sensation of both everything and nothing, this utmost contentedness that settled over her bones with each breath she took beside the wolf. He wasn't like her, he wasn't a wolfblood, he wasn't her kind. But he was a shifter, Fae was near certain, no wolf could ever be so large, ever be powerful as to kill something so brutal and survive, so utterly human unless there was something supernatural about it.
He turned to her, a soft expression contorted the wolf's face into something so familiar. The grey stripe along his muzzle finished between his eyes. Her hand reached out and she delicately felt it beneath her fingers, the soft fur felt seamless despite the sudden drastic shift in colour from dark to pale, the wolf's eyes closed and her hands trailed, to the slightly thicker fur of his eyebrows, to which she could feel the twitches in muscle beneath, then to stroke the soft fur of his ears. It would probably be very weird if this was an actual human beneath it, and it very likely was, but Fae couldn't really bring herself to care. She had already cried on him today, finding out she pet a person wouldn't be the most embarrassing thing on her mind.
The wolf padded forward, down the path towards the street. Her hands fell to her sides. The clearing out of the trees could be seen, the dark grey of the tar road and the gravel of to the side that the occasional hiker sometimes liked to park their car on. There was a slight glimmer of a much brighter light, had the sun finally decided to peek out it's golden face from the clouds? Fae walked along side him, she moved just a little faster than normal, she wanted to see the sun. It felt like it had been a millennia.
The path grew wider and the treeline stopped. The wolf stopped with it. Fae paused, she spared a glance to her house. The car wasn't out the front yet. The sun still shone through the clouds, it felt so warm. A warm smile painted the girl's expression and she turned back to the wolf. She nodded at the creature and turned away. Fae stopped mid-swivel and bolted back to it. Her arms could not fully wrap around his neck, but she tried. She shut her eyes and tried to will a message to pass from her to the wolf. Another thank you? She felt a common understanding, a comfort, a trust? A trust for the creature before her, and she hoped it, he, whoever he was felt the same.
He bumped her shoulders with his head once she pulled back, and Fae found herself staring into the creature's eyes once more. Perplexed by the deep, swirling brown and the intelligence, the quiet, guarded thoughts behind them and the warmth they held. She was slow to step away, although quick and careful to cross the street. Swift up the drive way and she barely fumbled with the lock. She ripped off her shoes out the front and sat them on the shoe rack inside before shutting it and clicking the lock.
She did not stare out the window, nor peer through the door, she remained unknowing of the wolf that remained on the path, carefully watching the house from across the street. He did not leave, not until he knew she was safe, guarded by the arrival of a jeep and two adults that looked like her.
sorry this took so long i was halfway through writing then i went and made lunch and forgot about it
this chapter clocks in at 7.2k words so new record !!
just a preface, i love rosalie and emmett ok, theyre my fav vampires, they're really interesting as characters outside of just car girl and male wife, smeyer did them so dirty it's not funny with a lack of exploration for them and their bond as well as individuals and their trauma. i want them to be friends with fae ok.
in the old version it used to be just 'fae was there and effortlessly won the title of everyones fav' but here i thought i'd try and show off just how much she's trying and bs-ing her charm and confidence into existence and ptsd cause of the attack cause it felt v mary sue-ish whilst rereading and the lack of any lasting effects from the attack kinda pissed me off, so i'm trying to have it be kinda episodic but with an overarching plot and theme.
i hope this is ok, thanks for reading.
( thinking maybe of publishing this on ao3, should i? )