No Life Kid 21

The drizzle lasted all the way till the next Monday, Forks High School surrounded by the usual suffocating wet blanket that was the Pacific Northwest on a good day. Still, though, the outside might have been gray enough to make a colorblind person feel at home but the air inside the linoleum-tiled hallways of the school felt different.

Lighter.

Like whatever pressure had been hanging over everyone’s heads had eased away over the last few days. It was anyone’s guess as to how that could have happened.

Bella Swan was back, the entire school having noticed the new girl was gone for a few days because — unsurprisingly — they had nothing better going on.

Even the teachers.

Especially the teachers.

When Isabella Marie Swan had dragged herself through the front doors looking pale — paler than usual, which was saying something — and exhausted, with a half-coherent story about a sudden "family vacation" to Phoenix and missing home, nobody had pushed her too hard on the facts. 

Granted, they had plenty of questions.

Like how a girl from Phoenix looked paler than half the students.

But they kept those to themselves, partly out of politeness but mostly because Bella Swan had the look of someone that would shatter if you poked a bit too much.

Zander, of course, didn’t give a shit. He had taken it upon himself to publicly and frequently ask Bella about her trip back home for several reasons. As far anyone else knew, he’d always wanted to go to Arizona and wished he had the chance.

Personally, it was just funny watching her squirm.

While Edward didn’t take his antics as anything to really fuss about, Zander found himself on the other end of several golden-eyed glares from the vegetarian vamp, the protective boyfriend doing the most.

The rest of Cullens, on the other hand, had undergone a collective attitude adjustment.

Alice skipped down the halls, making sure to wave over at Zander every single time she saw him, Jasper right next to her giving him a simple nod. Rosalie — Ice Queen of the Olympic Peninsula — even offered Zander a stiff raise of her hand as they passed between first and second period.

There was an unspoken understanding between all of them now. Zander wasn't entirely sure what the terms of the treaty were, but then again... that was the unspoken part. He figured it was something along the lines of: You keep your teeth to yourself, we'll pretend you aren't an abomination of nature. 

Which was… fair enough.

"What's up, Marley?!"

The shout boomed across the crowded hallway, rattling the metal lockers.

Zander closed his eyes behind his blue lenses, a long slow breath finding its way free. Here we go. A hand went skyward as he turned around.

The heavy hand belonging to one Emmett Cullen collided with his palm, the high-five loud enough to force a flinch from the tenth of the student body present. Before Zander could pull his hand back, Emmett’s massive arms wrapped around his chest.

The ground beneath his feet vanished, Zander biting back a sigh as he received a  bear hug from an actual bear-wrestler.

"What's good, Emmy?" Zander drawled out, not bothering to struggle against the grip as he dangled high enough to nearly kiss the ceiling, fifty pairs of teenage eyes burning holes into the back of his neck.

“Everythin’ and nothin’, rasta man!” Emmett let him drop, grin wide enough to show off his dimples. "Beautiful day for both, though. We still on for today?"

Zander adjusted his coat, tugging the lapels straight. "...you gonna promise not to break my PS2 controllers this time?" It was becoming a hassle, honestly. He didn’t hate the vampire but despite being the friendliest of his ‘siblings’ not named Alice Cullen, he didn’t know what gentle meant in the slightest. “Seriously, Walter’s complaining.”

"Probably not," Emmett rubbed the back of his neck with a laugh. "You know how I get on the game. It’s competitive. But I'll try to keep the collateral damage down to a minimum."

"...uh-huh.” Zander blinked at the faux-sheepish vamp. “Yeah, we're still on. Better bring your A-game. I've been practicing."

“Sweet!” Golden eyes flashing with excitement, Emmett’s grin stretched even wider. “See ya after school."

The big vampire turned and swaggered off down the hall, the small sea of students parting like he was Moses. Zander stared back at him, adjusting his sunglasses as he rolled his eyes.

And then there's Emmett. 

Apparently, they were the best of friends now, at least according to the big guy. Whatever the reason, the Cullen muscle had already made up his mind.

Zander sighed. That… well, I guess I don't mind it that much. 

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

"Did you hear the animal attacks stopped?"

Jessica dropped her tray onto the table, sliding into the seat next to him. Wearing a bright pink sweater with her hair pulled up into a ponytail, she looked absolutely normal. pink sweater, her hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. "Mom said the ranger station had, like, no reports. None, all week.” She passed a bottle of Snapple to her left. "Like, nothing. No missing hikers, no weird tracks. Nada."

"Maybe whatever it was moved on," Zander twisted the cap open and handed it back to Jessica, his eyes forward and firmly away from the Cullen table across the room. "Animals migrate. It happens."

"Good riddance." Mike leaned across the table. "I mean, seriously. Town's weird enough without random animal attacks."

Tyler let out a loud snort, the Crowley boy leaning back in his chair and stretching his legs out like one bad move wouldn’t put him in the ER. "Yeah, well, you guys notice how much calmer everyone seems? Like, even the teachers are less stressed. Whole town was on edge with those wolf attacks."

Wolf attacks. 

Zander bit down a laugh at how the whole town had no idea he’d turned the thing freaking them all out into kitty litter. Well... One third of those things, at least. 

The red-headed problem and the guy who was out-loccing him were still at large, but he was betting they’d be back soon enough. 

"I think," Angela picked at the salad in front of her, her eyes tracking a cherry tomato that kept escaping her. "I think people just pick up on... energy. When something's wrong, even if you don't know what it is, you feel it." She looked up, dark eyes meeting Zander's for a fraction of a second before skittering away.

…okay. What was that?

"It's just nice that it's quiet again, I guess."

"Yeah. Nice and quiet." Zander echoed. "For sure."

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

Homecoming shopping was a special kind of torture, the brightly lit aisles of boutique dress shops designed to burn your eyes.  If that wasn’t enough, a host of terrible pop music — generally from 90s singers he’d never heard of — stung his ears on top of that. Both of them combined made every moment like being under direct Mexican sunlight.

But he toughed it out.

He had to.

He promised, after all.

Making it up to his Jaybird was something he was determined to do. So, Zander nodded at the right times, praised various shades of blue and pink, and kept his hands in his pockets to avoid accidentally crushing any sequins out of barely-repressed rage.

At the very least, he was pretty sure Jessica had forgiven him. Mostly. He couldn’t be entirely sure it was all smooth, but she hadn't brought up the "business trip" since that night. Even still, he could tell she was still a little fragile so she needed the normalcy.

They walked out of the third boutique of the night, sidewalk slick beneath their feet.

Walter kept exactly three paces behind them, umbrella tucked under one arm with his hands full of shopping bags. The butler managed to make walking around with hot pink paper bags covered in glittery logos somehow dignified, which was impressive on its own.

Jessica shivered, pulling her cardigan tighter as she leaned in and rested her head against his shoulder. Her arm looped through his and Zander held tight. “This is nice. Just... normal stuff."

Zander looked down at her, the sound of her beating heart loud as he wrapped his arm around her waist, chin resting on top of her head. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.”

END OF BOOK 1