Life, annoyingly, decided to become normal.
Which was suspicious.
Routine (The Calm Before the Idiocy)
Mornings were training.
Always training.
Rain or not.
Run through the trees.
Strength drills.
Balance.
Endurance.
My body moved like it belonged to me now—no hesitation, no wasted motion.
I still didn't use shadows.
Not because I couldn't.
Because I wouldn't.
"Discipline before power," I told you, wiping sweat off my face. "Otherwise you become a cautionary tale."
The Monarch sulked quietly.
Good.
School followed.
Forks High stopped whispering quite as loudly, but the looks never really went away. Apparently, you don't "blend in" when you look like a mythological being who wandered into algebra class by accident.
Classes passed.
English. Math. Biology.
Biology.
Yes, that biology.
Edward sat stiff. Bella nearly suffocated from secondhand awkwardness.
I watched it unfold with the calm detachment of a man who knew exactly where this train was headed.
Lunch was… consistent.
Alice waved me over like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Emmett joked.
Jasper stayed tense.
Edward watched Bella like a man defusing a bomb.
Rosalie watched me like she was deciding whether I was worth the effort.
Alexia was calm, observant.
Diana was cheerful, asking normal questions like this was a perfectly normal lunch table and not a supernatural council meeting.
A week passed.
Like that.
Training.
School.
Lunch with vampires.
No explosions.
Which meant—
Something was coming.
The Accident (Canon, Right on Schedule)
It happened fast.
Too fast.
The screech of tires.
Metal screaming against metal.
Time stretched.
I turned.
Bella stood frozen.
A van skidded toward her.
And then—
Edward.
He moved.
Too fast for human eyes.
Too precise.
One moment Bella was about to be paste.
The next, Edward had stopped a moving vehicle with his bare hands.
Silence slammed into the parking lot.
Everyone stared.
Bella stared.
Edward stared at his own hand like it had betrayed him.
I exhaled slowly.
"…There it is."
Canon had officially clocked in.
Chaos followed.
Teachers yelling.
Students panicking.
Bella insisting she was fine.
Edward vanished shortly after, expression dark, furious with himself.
I watched Rosalie.
Her jaw was tight.
Her eyes sharp.
She wasn't looking at Bella.
She was looking at me.
Later (The Cornering)
It happened after school.
I was heading to my car when—
"Adam."
I stopped.
Didn't turn.
"Rosalie," I replied calmly.
She stood a few steps behind me, arms crossed, posture rigid.
We were alone.
Mostly.
The air felt heavier.
She studied me for a long moment.
Then she spoke.
"So," she said coolly, "no questions?"
I blinked.
"…About?"
She frowned slightly, clearly displeased.
"What you just saw."
I turned slowly.
Met her gaze.
And for a second—
I genuinely didn't get it.
Then it clicked.
"Oh."
I chuckled softly.
"That's what this is about?"
Her eyes narrowed. "You're not surprised."
"No," I admitted. "I'm not."
She stepped closer, voice sharp. "You're not scared."
"Also no."
Her hand twitched.
"Then explain," she demanded, "why you haven't said anything."
I tilted my head, thinking.
Then smiled.
"Because," I said, "it would be rude."
She stared at me like I'd insulted her intelligence.
"You know," she said slowly.
"I know," I confirmed.
Her eyes hardened. "How?"
And there it was.
The real question.
I looked past her, toward the school building, where Alice was very obviously pretending not to watch us through a window.
I laughed quietly.
"Ah," I said. "Now I get it."
She frowned. "Get what?"
"That you think I shouldn't know."
I stepped closer, lowering my voice.
"But here's the funny part, Rosalie."
Her muscles tensed.
"Only one of you knows that I know."
Her breath hitched—just barely.
"…Alice," she said.
"Bingo."
Her expression shifted.
Confusion.
Suspicion.
A flicker of something dangerously close to concern.
"You shouldn't be able to tell," she said.
"I shouldn't be able to do a lot of things," I replied mildly.
She stared at me, searching for something—fear, deception, weakness.
She found none.
"…You're not human," she said quietly.
I smiled.
"I never claimed to be."
Silence stretched.
Then she straightened.
"Come with me," she said. "We need to talk."
I gestured around us.
"Here?" I raised an eyebrow. "In public?"
She hesitated.
I chuckled.
"Yeah," I thought so.
I nodded toward the trees at the edge of the lot.
"Quiet place," I suggested. "No witnesses. Less drama."
She studied me one last time.
Then turned and walked.
I followed.
"Rosalie," I said casually as we left the parking lot, "just so you know—"
She glanced back.
"I'm on your side."
She didn't answer.
But she didn't stop either.
And behind us—
Canon shuddered.
[Chapter Nine Complete.]