Lauren Mallory was having the best day of her high school career.
She'd successfully positioned herself as the center of attention around the most gorgeous boy to ever set foot in Forks High. Her strategic wardrobe choices had garnered appreciative looks from half the male student body. And her volleyball commentary had been, in her opinion, both witty and subtly seductive.
*He definitely noticed,* she thought with satisfaction as she touched up her lip gloss in the girls' bathroom mirror. *Those little smiles when I made my jokes? Classic male appreciation. He's probably thinking about me right now.*
She was so focused on perfecting her appearance for what she'd already mentally labeled "the after-school encounter" that she almost missed the soft sound of the bathroom door closing behind her.
Almost.
"Well, hey there, sugar."
Lauren's hand froze halfway to her lips as she met honey-colored eyes in the mirror's reflection. Jessamyn Hale stood behind her with that perfect posture and devastating smile that made every other girl at school feel like a rough draft.
"Oh," Lauren managed, turning around with what she hoped looked like casual confidence. "Hi, Jessamyn. Don't think I've ever seen you in here before."
"Haven't had much reason to visit," Jessamyn replied, her Texas drawl warm as honey but somehow carrying undertones that made Lauren's skin prickle with unease. "But today's been... educational. I felt like we should have ourselves a little chat."
Before Lauren could ask what she meant, the bathroom door opened again. Edythe Cullen entered with fluid grace, her copper hair catching the fluorescent light, followed immediately by Eleanor, who bounced in with that characteristic energy that somehow always seemed barely contained.
*Three of them,* Lauren realized, her confidence faltering slightly. *Why are all three of them here?*
"Lauren Mallory," Edythe said, her refined voice carrying perfect politeness that somehow felt more threatening than outright hostility. "We don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Edythe Cullen."
"And I'm Eleanor," the compact brunette added with a smile that was just a little too bright. "We've been hearing so much about you today."
Lauren's grip tightened on her lip gloss tube. Something about this situation felt wrong—the way they'd all appeared simultaneously, the way they were positioned between her and the door, the strange intensity in their golden eyes.
"That's... nice," she said carefully. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Oh, just girl talk," Jessamyn said with deceptive lightness, though her smile had taken on an edge that made Lauren want to take a step backward. "You know how it is—new student arrives, gets everyone all excited, and suddenly there's all kinds of... interesting... social dynamics to navigate."
Eleanor tilted her head with that same bright smile. "We couldn't help but notice how friendly you've been with Veer today. So... enthusiastic."
"He seems like a nice guy," Lauren replied, trying to project confidence she no longer felt. "I was just being welcoming."
"Welcoming," Edythe repeated thoughtfully, as if testing the word. "Is that what you call the volleyball commentary? All that talk about... handling balls?"
Heat flooded Lauren's cheeks. "I was just having fun. It's called a sense of humor."
"Humor," Eleanor said with delighted laughter that somehow didn't reach her eyes. "Oh, that's precious. Because for a minute there, it looked like you were marking territory."
The temperature in the bathroom seemed to drop several degrees. Lauren found herself pressed back against the sink, though she couldn't remember moving.
"Look," she said, trying to inject authority into her voice, "I don't know what this is about, but—"
"This is about understanding boundaries, darlin'," Jessamyn interrupted, her drawl deepening as she took a single, fluid step forward. "See, some things in this world belong to some people. And some people... well, they get real particular about protecting what's theirs."
Lauren's breath caught as Jessamyn's power activated without warning. The vampire's gift—the ability to magnify emotions—reached out like invisible fingers, finding the small kernel of unease that had been growing in Lauren's chest and feeding it, nurturing it, pushing it toward something larger.
What had been mild nervousness suddenly spiked into genuine anxiety. Her heart rate increased, her palms began to sweat, and the rational part of her mind that insisted this was just a conversation between classmates began to blur under the weight of escalating fear.
"I don't understand," she whispered, and was horrified to hear how shaky her voice sounded.
"Of course you don't, sweet thing," Eleanor said with false sympathy, reaching out as if to pat Lauren's shoulder in comfort.
The moment Eleanor's fingertips made contact with Lauren's cardigan, her power activated. Lauren's muscles locked completely—not just tense, but utterly immobilized. She could breathe, could blink, could move her eyes, but everything else was frozen as if she'd been turned to stone.
*What's happening to me?* she thought frantically, but couldn't even voice the question.
"Now that we have your attention," Edythe said with perfect politeness, "let me paint you a little picture."
Edythe's gift was more subtle than her sisters', but infinitely more invasive. Where Edward could only receive thoughts, Edythe could plant them, shape them, rewrite them entirely. She slipped into Lauren's paralyzed mind like a skilled surgeon, her power weaving illusions with surgical precision.
Suddenly, Lauren wasn't standing in the school bathroom anymore. She was in a vast, empty space that stretched endlessly in all directions, and she was very, very small. Three figures loomed over her—not the teenage girls she'd been talking to, but something else entirely. Something with golden eyes that glowed like flames and smiles that revealed teeth far too sharp for human mouths.
*This isn't real,* part of her mind insisted. *This is impossible.*
But Edythe's power whispered back: *Is it? Are you sure? Look at them. Really look.*
In the illusion, the three figures began to change. Their beautiful faces elongated slightly, becoming more angular, more predatory. Their fingernails extended into claws. And when they smiled, their canine teeth gleamed like ivory daggers.
"You see, sugar," Jessamyn's voice echoed in the impossible space, "there are things in this world that little girls like you don't understand. Dangerous things. Ancient things. Things that have been walking this earth since before your great-great-grandmother was born."
Eleanor's voice joined in, cheerful and bright as ever: "And these things? They don't like sharing. They're not good at it. In fact, when someone tries to take something that belongs to them, they get... creative... about expressing their displeasure."
"The boy," Edythe's refined voice cut through Lauren's terror like a blade, "is not available. Not to you, not to anyone else who might get confused about their place in the natural order. Do I make myself clear?"
In the real bathroom, Lauren's paralyzed body began to shake—tiny tremors that Eleanor's power couldn't completely suppress. Tears leaked from her eyes as Jessamyn's gift pushed her anxiety past fear, past terror, into something approaching psychological breakdown.
But Edythe wasn't finished with her lesson.
The illusion shifted, and suddenly Lauren was watching herself from the outside—but a version of herself that had ignored this warning. She saw herself continuing to pursue Veer, becoming more aggressive, more desperate. She watched as her efforts grew increasingly pathetic, as other students began to whisper about her obvious desperation, as she became the school's laughingstock.
Then the scene changed again, and she saw what happened to girls who interfered with things they didn't understand. Accidents. Mysterious illnesses. Social destruction so complete that transfer to another school became the only option.
"Of course," Eleanor's voice said with false brightness, "these are just possibilities. Potential futures. Things that might happen if certain people made certain choices."
"But they don't have to happen," Jessamyn added, her drawl warm with false compassion. "Smart girls, girls who understand their limitations, girls who know when to step back gracefully—those girls tend to have much happier endings to their stories."
Edythe's illusion began to fade, leaving Lauren back in the school bathroom with three impossibly beautiful teenagers who somehow radiated more menace than any physical threat she'd ever encountered.
"So," Edythe said with perfect politeness, "what kind of girl are you, Lauren? The smart kind? Or the kind who needs more... extensive... education?"
Eleanor released her paralysis, and Lauren collapsed against the sink, gasping as her muscles remembered how to function. Jessamyn allowed her terror to recede to more manageable levels, leaving behind only enough residual fear to ensure the lesson stuck.
"I..." Lauren's voice came out as barely a whisper. "I understand."
"Do you?" Eleanor asked with that bright smile. "Because we'd hate for there to be any confusion. Confusion can lead to... accidents."
"I understand," Lauren repeated more firmly, though her hands were still shaking. "I'll... I'll leave him alone."
"That's what we like to hear," Jessamyn said with satisfaction, her drawl warm and approving. "Smart girls who know their place in the world tend to live much happier lives."
Edythe moved toward the bathroom door with fluid grace, her sisters following. But just before they left, she turned back with one final thought.
"Oh, and Lauren? If you're thinking about telling anyone about this conversation, remember—who would believe you? Three honor students having a polite chat with you in the bathroom? How perfectly... normal."
With that, they were gone, leaving Lauren alone with her racing heart and the growing certainty that she'd just encountered something far more dangerous than high school social politics.
She looked at herself in the mirror, noting her pale complexion and slightly wild eyes. By tomorrow, she told herself, this would all seem like some kind of stress-induced hallucination. An overreaction to the pressure of competing for attention.
But even as she tried to rationalize what had happened, she knew with absolute certainty that she would not be pursuing Veer Dwyer any further. Some instincts, it turned out, were more powerful than teenage desire.
And some warnings, once given by the right kind of messenger, didn't need to be repeated.
---
In the hallway outside, the three Cullen sisters moved with renewed satisfaction, their territorial crisis efficiently resolved.
"Well," Eleanor said cheerfully, "that went better than expected."
"Much more civilized than my first impulse," Jessamyn agreed, her drawl warm with amusement. "Which involved significantly more property damage."
"Education is always preferable to destruction," Edythe observed with refined approval. "Though I suspect Miss Mallory will be giving our new student a very wide berth from now on."
Alice appeared around the corner as if summoned, her pixie features bright with satisfaction. "How did it go?"
"Perfectly," Eleanor replied. "One territorial threat neutralized, zero witnesses, and I didn't have to actually hurt anyone. Personal growth!"
"And now," Jessamyn said with growing anticipation, "we can focus on more pleasant matters. Like properly introducing ourselves to a certain divine young man."
As they made their way toward the final period of the day, each sister felt the satisfying glow that came from a problem efficiently solved. Lauren Mallory would no longer be an issue, leaving them free to pursue their cosmic destiny without interference from aggressive cheerleaders with poor judgment.
Behind them, in the girls' bathroom, Lauren Mallory was still staring at her reflection and wondering if she was losing her mind.
But her hands had finally stopped shaking, and she was already mentally composing apologies to Mike Newton for her earlier dismissive comments.
Some lessons, it turned out, were more effective than others.
---
Meanwhile, in AP Government, Veer was struggling to focus on constitutional law while his enhanced senses kept picking up traces of familiar scents in the hallway. The Cullen sisters had been nearby recently, and something about their residual presence suggested they'd been... active.
*What exactly have they been up to?* he wondered, but supposed he'd find out soon enough.
After all, in a school as small as Forks High, secrets rarely stayed hidden for long.
Even supernatural ones.
—
# The Proper Introduction
The final bell of the day rang with the kind of triumphant authority that marked the end of institutional obligations, and Veer felt a wave of relief wash over him. He'd successfully navigated his first day at Forks High without accidentally revealing his divine nature, crushing anyone with supernatural strength, or causing any major supernatural incidents.
*Small victories,* he thought as he gathered his books from his locker.
Bella appeared beside him, clutching a stack of signed papers with the expression of someone who'd survived a minor natural disaster.
"Please tell me you remembered to get all your teachers to sign these," she said, waving her collection of forms. "Because I had to interrupt Mr. Jefferson's lecture on the Revolutionary War to get his signature, and he looked at me like I'd personally betrayed George Washington."
"All signed and accounted for," Veer confirmed, pulling his own papers from his backpack. "Though Mrs. Goff in Spanish seemed personally offended that I needed documentation of my existence."
"Mrs. Cope is going to love us," Bella said with dark humor. "Two new students who can't manage basic administrative tasks without supervision."
They made their way toward the main office through hallways that were rapidly emptying as students headed for buses, cars, and freedom. The afternoon light filtering through the school's windows had taken on that golden quality that suggested the Pacific Northwest sky was actually considering cooperation with the concept of sunshine.
"So," Bella said as they walked, "grocery shopping after this? Because I checked Charlie's cabinets this morning, and I think we're approximately six hours away from having to survive on condiments and hope."
"Definitely grocery shopping," Veer agreed. "I'm thinking we need to stock up on actual food, coffee that doesn't taste like it was made from recycled cardboard, and maybe some of those frozen meals that at least pretend to be nutritious."
"You know what we also need?" Bella asked with growing enthusiasm. "Ingredients for actual cooking. I saw how you handled dinner last night—if you're going to be our family's culinary salvation, we should probably give you something better to work with than Charlie's emergency beer stash."
They were halfway to the administrative building when Veer's enhanced hearing picked up the sound of approaching footsteps—multiple sets, moving with the kind of fluid coordination that marked supernatural beings trying to look casual.
"Veer?"
The voice that called his name was honey and silk wrapped around steel, with just enough Texas drawl to make his name sound like an invitation. He turned to see Jessamyn Hale approaching with that tactical grace he'd admired in biology class, her honey-blonde hair catching the afternoon light.
Beside her walked her two sisters, and Veer felt his breath catch slightly at seeing them up close together. It was like witnessing some cosmic art installation—three variations on supernatural perfection, each beautiful in a completely different way but harmonizing into something that transcended individual attractiveness.
"Hey, Jessamyn," he said, trying to keep his voice steady despite the way his pulse had kicked up a notch. "How was the rest of your day?"
"Oh, just fine, sugar," Jessamyn replied with a smile that suggested the day had been more than fine. "Though I realized we never got properly introduced to your cousin."
She gestured gracefully toward her sisters. "These are my family—Eleanor and Edythe Cullen."
Eleanor bounced forward with that infectious energy Veer had noticed in the cafeteria, her auburn hair moving with each step. "Hi there! I've been dying to meet you properly. I'm Eleanor, and I have to say, your volleyball saves this afternoon were pretty impressive."
"You were watching?" Veer asked, though he wasn't entirely surprised.
"Hard not to notice when someone's got actual athletic ability in Coach Clapp's circus of teenage coordination disasters," Eleanor replied with a grin that suggested she found the entire concept of high school PE deeply entertaining.
Edythe stepped forward with refined elegance, extending her hand with old-world courtesy. "And I'm Edythe. It's lovely to meet you, Veer."
Her handshake was perfectly controlled—cool skin, just enough pressure to be polite, but Veer's enhanced senses caught the underlying strength that could have crushed his bones without effort.
"The pleasure's definitely mine," he said, then turned toward Bella. "And this is my cousin Bella Swan."
"Bella!" Eleanor's enthusiasm was immediately redirected toward the new target. "We've heard so much about you. Well, from Alice mostly. She's a bit of a gossip, but she's got great instincts about people."
Bella looked slightly overwhelmed by the sudden attention from three of the school's most intimidating social figures. "Um, hi. Nice to meet you all."
Edythe's expression shifted to something that might have been embarrassment mixed with familial exasperation. "Bella, I owe you an apology for my twin brother's behavior in biology today. Edward was... well, let's just say he was feeling under the weather."
"Under the weather?" Bella asked, confusion clear in her voice.
"Stomach issues," Edythe said with the kind of delicate precision that suggested she was choosing her words carefully. "He gets terrible digestive problems when he's stressed, and first days with new lab partners always make him anxious. He was probably fighting off some serious... constipation."
Veer had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. The idea of Edward Cullen's supernatural crisis being explained as bathroom difficulties was so absurd that it circled back around to being brilliant.
"Oh," Bella said, her relief obvious. "That actually makes sense. I thought maybe I'd done something to offend him."
"Not at all," Edythe assured her warmly. "He'll be much more comfortable tomorrow once his system... settles."
Eleanor was practically vibrating with suppressed laughter, while Jessamyn's expression of polite concern was a masterpiece of controlled amusement.
"Well," Veer said, sensing that this conversation could spiral into increasingly elaborate digestive fiction if left unchecked, "we should probably get these forms to Mrs. Cope before the office closes. We're running a bit behind schedule."
"Of course," Jessamyn said with immediate understanding. "Y'all have places to be. But before you rush off..." She paused, her golden eyes meeting his with unmistakable interest. "Maybe we could exchange contact information? I'd love to continue our conversation from biology class."
"Absolutely," Eleanor chimed in, already pulling out a phone that probably cost more than most people's cars. "We should all be friends. I have a feeling you two are going to fit right in here."
Veer felt a moment of surreal amusement as he found himself participating in the most normal teenage social interaction possible—exchanging phone numbers—with three vampires who were apparently cosmically destined to be his romantic partners.
"Here," he said, pulling out his own phone, "let me give you my number."
The process of entering contact information became a small group activity, with Eleanor enthusiastically adding both Bella and Veer to what appeared to be an extensive social network, while Edythe maintained her refined politeness and Jessamyn's fingers brushed against his with what couldn't possibly be accidental contact.
"Perfect," Jessamyn said as they finished the digital exchange. "Now we can properly coordinate our study group for biology. I have a feeling Mr. Banner's going to be giving us some challenging assignments."
"Study group sounds great," Veer replied, though he suspected that whatever studying happened would be secondary to other activities.
"And Bella," Eleanor added with genuine warmth, "you should definitely join us for lunch tomorrow. Our table's always got room for family."
"Family?" Bella asked, clearly surprised by the inclusive language.
"Anyone who's important to Veer is important to us," Edythe explained with simple sincerity. "That's how our family works."
As they prepared to part ways, Jessamyn stepped slightly closer to Veer, her voice dropping to a level that was probably meant to be private but which his enhanced hearing caught perfectly.
"Text me tonight, sugar," she said, her drawl warm with promise. "I'd love to hear how your grocery shopping adventure goes."
"I'll do that," Veer replied, meaning every word.
The three sisters moved away with their characteristic fluid grace, leaving Veer and Bella standing in the hallway with expressions of slightly stunned amazement.
"Well," Bella said after a moment, "that was... unexpectedly friendly."
"Very friendly," Veer agreed, watching the retreating figures with appreciation that was both aesthetic and increasingly personal.
"Did Jessamyn just ask you on a grocery shopping date?" Bella asked with growing amusement.
"I think she might have," Veer admitted. "Is that weird?"
"Veer," Bella said with the kind of patient tone usually reserved for explaining obvious concepts to small children, "you've been here for exactly one day, and you've already attracted the romantic attention of quite possibly the most beautiful girl in school. A girl, I might add, who has never shown interest in anyone before."
"And that's weird because...?"
Bella stared at him for a moment, then shook her head with fond exasperation. "Never mind. Let's just get these forms turned in so we can go buy groceries and pretend our lives are normal."
As they walked toward the main office, Veer's phone buzzed with a text notification. He glanced down to see a message from Jessamyn: "Looking forward to hearing from you tonight. Don't forget to buy something sweet—you'll need the energy. 😉"
*Well,* he thought as heat flooded his cheeks, *this is definitely going to be interesting.*
Behind them, three vampire sisters were already planning the most complicated courtship in supernatural history, while somewhere in the cosmic balance of things, destiny settled into place with the satisfied purr of a plan coming together exactly as intended.
The afternoon was shaping up to be memorable indeed.
—
As they approached the administrative building, Veer's phone buzzed insistently with notifications that demanded his attention despite his efforts to focus on the simple task of turning in paperwork.
The first message was from Jessamyn, sent just minutes after their hallway encounter: "Already missing that smile of yours, darlin'. Hope your evening plans include some time for proper conversation. 😉"
Before he could fully process the implications of that particular message, another notification appeared from Jacob: "Called about the CJ-7. Guy says engine turns over but doesn't start—probably fuel pump or electrical. Body's solid, interior needs work but nothing major. Still interested? We could check it out Saturday morning if you want."
Veer found himself juggling responses to both conversations while trying to maintain awareness of his surroundings. To Jessamyn: "Looking forward to it. Fair warning—my texting skills might be rusty compared to my cooking." To Jacob: "Definitely interested. Saturday works perfectly. What time should we head out?"
"You're actually texting while walking," Bella observed with amusement as they climbed the steps to the administrative building. "I didn't think you were capable of that level of teenage multitasking."
"Special circumstances," Veer replied, though he was grinning as Jacob's immediate response appeared: "Early as possible. Dad wants to make breakfast first—apparently feeding you properly is now a family priority."
Another message from Jessamyn followed almost instantly: "Sugar, something tells me your texting skills are just fine. Can't wait to find out what other talents you've been hiding."
Veer felt heat rise in his cheeks as he processed the subtext of that particular comment. "Maybe I should put the phone away before I walk into a wall or something equally dignified."
"Probably wise," Bella agreed, though she was clearly enjoying his flustered state. "Though I have to say, watching you get tongue-tied over text messages is pretty entertaining."
They reached the building entrance, and Veer was in the process of composing what he hoped was a reasonably smooth response to Jessamyn's flirtation when the sound of familiar voices from inside the office made his enhanced hearing snap to attention.
"...understand that schedule changes after the first week are highly irregular, Mr. Cullen," Mrs. Cope was saying with the kind of patient firmness that suggested this conversation had been going on for several minutes.
"I understand the policy," Edward's voice replied, and even through the walls, Veer could hear the barely controlled tension in his tone. "But surely there must be some flexibility for... medical considerations."
Veer and Bella exchanged glances as they paused just outside the door.
"Medical considerations?" Bella whispered, her voice carrying a mixture of confusion and growing concern.
Through the glass, they could see Edward standing at Mrs. Cope's desk with the kind of rigid posture that suggested every muscle in his body was clenched against some internal struggle. His bronze hair was slightly disheveled, as if he'd been running his hands through it, and his golden eyes held an intensity that would have been alarming in anyone else.
"If you have a medical condition that prevents you from participating in AP Biology," Mrs. Cope was saying with bureaucratic precision, "you'll need documentation from a physician. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll need to work with your current lab partner arrangement."
"This is about me," Bella said suddenly, her voice barely audible but filled with horrified realization. "He's trying to get out of biology because of me."
Veer felt his protective instincts flare as he watched his cousin's face crumple with hurt and self-doubt. "Bella, no. You heard what Edythe said—he's got digestive issues. Stress-related stomach problems. This probably has nothing to do with you personally."
But even as he said it, Veer knew they both recognized the hollowness of that explanation. Whatever was driving Edward's desperate attempt to escape biology class, it was clearly connected to Bella's presence in ways that went far beyond normal teenage social discomfort.
"I can't believe this," Bella whispered, her voice thick with the kind of humiliation that came from being rejected before you'd even realized you were hoping for acceptance. "I've been here for one day, and I've already made someone so uncomfortable that they're trying to change their entire schedule to avoid me."
"That's not—" Veer started, but the sound of approaching footsteps made them both look up as another student approached the office entrance.
Tyler Crowley, still in his gym clothes and carrying a sports bag, was clearly heading inside to handle some kind of administrative task. He nodded politely to Bella and Veer as he reached for the door handle, completely unaware of the supernatural drama playing out just feet away.
The moment Tyler opened the door, a gust of afternoon air swept through the office—carrying with it Bella's scent directly toward where Edward stood frozen at Mrs. Cope's desk.
The effect was immediate and devastating.
Edward's entire body went rigid, every muscle locking as if he'd been struck by lightning. His hands, which had been resting casually on the desk's surface, suddenly gripped the wood with enough force that Veer's enhanced hearing caught the faint sound of stressed materials.
And then Edward turned.
The look he fixed on Bella through the office's glass windows was unlike anything Veer had ever seen—not quite hatred, not quite hunger, but something that combined elements of both into an expression of such intense, complicated emotion that it was genuinely frightening to witness.
Bella took an involuntary step backward, her face going pale as she met those golden eyes. Even without supernatural senses, she could apparently feel the weight of whatever internal battle Edward was fighting, and her instinctive response was pure, visceral fear.
"Oh god," she breathed, her voice barely audible. "He hates me. He actually hates me."
The moment stretched between them like a taut wire, Edward's supernatural control warring with whatever primal response Bella's presence triggered, while she stood frozen in the grip of a terror she couldn't name or understand.
Then, as abruptly as it had begun, the confrontation ended. Edward straightened, his expression smoothing into something approaching normal human composure, though Veer's enhanced senses caught the tremor in his hands as he turned back to Mrs. Cope.
"Thank you for your time," Edward said with perfect politeness, his voice betraying none of the struggle that had just played out. "I think I'll stick with my current schedule after all."
Mrs. Cope looked mildly confused by the sudden reversal, but nodded with professional acceptance. "Of course, Mr. Cullen. Let me know if you have any other concerns."
Edward gathered his things with movements that looked casual but carried the careful precision of someone who didn't trust their own control. As he moved toward the office exit, he passed within inches of where Bella stood, but he didn't look at her again.
The moment he disappeared around the corner, Bella's composure completely crumbled.
"I need to sit down," she said in a shaky voice, sinking onto one of the benches outside the office. "I think I'm going to be sick."
Veer immediately moved to her side, his protective instincts fully engaged. "Hey, breathe. Just breathe. Whatever that was, it wasn't about you personally."
"Wasn't about me?" Bella's laugh was sharp and bitter. "Veer, did you see the way he looked at me? Like I was something disgusting that had crawled out from under a rock?"
"I saw someone fighting some kind of internal battle," Veer said carefully, which was technically true even if it completely understated the supernatural complexity of what they'd witnessed. "People have all kinds of personal issues that have nothing to do with the people around them."
Tyler emerged from the office, casting concerned glances at Bella's obvious distress. "Everything okay out here?" he asked with genuine concern.
"Fine," Veer replied quickly. "Just first-day stress. You know how it is."
Tyler nodded sympathetically and headed off, leaving them alone with the aftermath of whatever had just transpired.
"Come on," Veer said gently, helping Bella to her feet. "Let's get this paperwork turned in so we can get out of here. You'll feel better once we're doing something normal like arguing about grocery lists."
Bella nodded mutely, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "I just... I don't understand what I did wrong."
"You didn't do anything wrong," Veer said with firm conviction, even as his mind raced with the implications of what he'd just witnessed. Edward's reaction had been even more intense than he'd expected from the movies, and the sheer visceral terror it had provoked in Bella was genuinely disturbing to witness.
They entered the office, where Mrs. Cope received their signed paperwork with cheerful efficiency, completely oblivious to the supernatural drama that had just played out in her workspace.
"All set!" she announced with satisfaction. "You're both officially enrolled and accounted for. Welcome to Forks High!"
"Thank you," Bella managed, though her voice still carried traces of the shock she was trying to suppress.
As they left the administrative building, Veer found himself caught between multiple conflicting impulses. His protective instincts demanded he do something to shield Bella from further encounters with Edward until the vampire got his bloodlust under control. His rational mind insisted that interfering with the cosmic destiny playing out around them could have unpredictable consequences. And his enhanced senses were still processing the lingering traces of supernatural tension that hung in the air like invisible smoke.
But most immediately, he had a traumatized cousin who needed grocery shopping and normal human activities to help her process what she couldn't possibly understand.
"So," he said with determinedly casual cheer as they walked toward Bella's truck, "ready to discover whether Forks has decent produce, or if we're going to be living on canned vegetables and frozen pizza for the foreseeable future?"
Bella managed a weak smile. "After today, frozen pizza actually sounds pretty appealing. At least it can't glare at me with inexplicable hostility."
"See? You're already finding the silver lining," Veer replied, though internally he was making mental notes about Edward's apparent lack of control and what that might mean for everyone's safety in the coming days.
His phone buzzed with another message from Jessamyn: "Hope your afternoon is going smoothly, sugar. Let me know if you need any recommendations for local shopping. I know all the best places in town. 😉"
Under normal circumstances, the text would have made him smile. Today, it served as a reminder that his life had suddenly become infinitely more complicated than grocery shopping and homework.
But one crisis at a time. First, help Bella recover from her encounter with supernatural terror disguised as teenage social awkwardness.
Then figure out how to navigate a romantic destiny involving three vampire sisters while keeping his own divine nature secret.
The grocery store, by comparison, was going to feel like a vacation.
---
Hey fellow fanfic enthusiasts!
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Whether you loved it, hated it, or have some constructive criticism, your feedback is super important to me. Feel free to drop a comment or send me a message with your thoughts. Can't wait to hear from you!
If you're passionate about fanfiction and love discussing stories, characters, and plot twists, then you're in the right place! I've created a Discord (HHHwRsB6wd) server dedicated to diving deep into the world of fanfiction, especially my own stories. Whether you're a reader, a writer, or just someone who enjoys a good tale, I welcome you to join us for lively discussions, feedback sessions, and maybe even some sneak peeks into upcoming chapters, along with artwork related to the stories. Let's nerd out together over our favorite fandoms and explore the endless possibilities of storytelling!
Can't wait to see you there