Falling For A Vampire Should Be Scarier - BrightBlackOut

Chapter 1: Moving Back To Forks

Chapter Text

Driving into the Quileute reservation filled David with both nostalgia and anxiety. It had been eight years since he last came here. His mom had kept up her visits in the summer, combining her trip with a summer cleaning of their house in Forks. The others of the household had opted for staying in New York, since the trip to and back from Washington was insanely long. Paired with the fact that even in summer the weather in Forks was awful, neither David nor his sister had wanted to spend the summer holidays in rain. David hoped the Clearwaters wouldn’t take offence to him dropping by unannounced.

His childhood’s version of himself had clearly attached a lot of value to those memories, since he barely needed the GPS to find their house. Regret filled his heart for not accompanying his mother on her trips, now more than ever missing his childhood best friend. He drove up their front lawn and parked himself where they used to. Since they had probably heard him arriving, he steeled his resolve and climbed out of his car. David walked up their porch and politely knocked, waiting for any response. Never could he have expected the response he got.

“TELL HIM TO JUMP OFF A f*ckING CLIFF, MOM! I DON’T GIVE A sh*t! HE CAN KILL HIMSELF FOR ALL I CARE!” David was just completely baffled by what was going on. Before he recomposed himself, the door opened to a slightly aged version of a very familiar face.

“Hi aunt Sue. I have a feeling I’m stopping by at an inopportune time, unannounced at that. I’m real-“ David didn’t get any further into his explanation, getting cut off by a rib-crushing hug.

“David! Oh my god, how you grew up. It took me a second. Your hair is longer than in the last picture I saw, but your bright blue eyes gave you away. I swear I’ve never seen anyone else with eyes like that.” She had released the hug and was currently guiding him inside, making him sit down in their living room, all on automatic pilot. “I’m so glad to see you again! It’s been so long. Inopportune? That doesn’t exist for family. Speaking about family, how is your mother? She didn’t stop by last year so I was a bit worried, but then again I’m always a bit…” David honestly had trouble following the word stream that was flowing from Sue’s mouth. His breath hitched when she started talking about his mother though. She obviously noticed and stopped talking.

David was having trouble breathing, which was completely idiotic. He knew he’d have to tell them and obviously the subject wouldn’t stay at bay for long. A part of him wanted to throw it out right now, but he was aware of the fact that it was just him and Sue now. This was something he absolutely refused to talk about more than once. He straightened his back, took a deep breath and looked Sue in the eye.

“It’s something I rather not explain more than once, if possible. Could you perhaps get the others here so I can tell all of you at the same time?”

Her body froze completely for a few seconds, before she gave him a tiny nod – threatened by tears – as she started moving deeper into the house, going to get the others presumably. From her reaction, he could tell that she understood the implications of what he’d just said. Before she could yell at the others to come downstairs however, he heard Harry meeting Sue in the hallway.

“We have a guest?” David couldn’t make out what was being said, since Sue’s reply was muffled before she yelled out.

“Leah! Seth! We have important company, both of you come downstairs now. I don’t care what you’re doing, get your asses down here!”

After which she returned to the living room, hand hooked in Harry’s arm. David had to admit to himself, Harry had seemingly suffered more under the wheel of time than Sue had. The man gave him a warm smile, before settling himself and his wife down in a couch opposite to David.

“Good to see you again, son.”

David didn’t get out of his words, too pleased by hearing himself getting called that again, so he just returned a grateful nod. It wasn’t long before the next family member arrived in the salon, thought this one with a sour mood.

“I swear mom, I don’t want to be rude but I’m in no mood to entertain any guests.” Leah arrived with a sigh, before turning to where the guest was seated down. “I’m sorry, …” Which was when she stopped, though her brows were furrowing.

“David, Miller.”

David completed her sentence, since she was clearly struggling a bit with recognizing him. Which made sense since it had been eight years ago they last saw each other. David only knew it was Leah so quickly since he was expecting her to show up, which wasn’t the case the other way around. Leah had grown up beautifully, though her red-stained eyes were a clear indication of recent loss, in whatever form it happened. From her cries when he arrived at the house however, he figured a break-up. Those eyes widened in recognition when she heard his name.

“DAVID! You bastard!” She yelled angrily, though clearly excited as she threw herself straight into his arms. David was a bit taken aback by the strength of her hug, though he returned the favour wholeheartedly.

“Hi, Leah! It’s been a while.”

Though he didn’t get anything else out since a boy in the middle of puberty flocked inside with the same reaction as his sister. Soon after, they were a heap of three people elated of reuniting after too long of a time. When he’d finally finished hugging, David made eye contact with Sue who was obviously internally celebrating his return, though with a present anxiety as to where the others were. David picked up on it and coughed, which prompted the other teens into breaking up the hug and taking each their own seat. Seth had clearly not picked up on the change in atmosphere, since he unabashedly asked.

“Is Lily with you? It’s been so long. Not that I’m not happy to see you, obviously.” David felt his face pinch together, not being able to hide the hurt the memory of his sister brought.

“Uhm. No, Seth. Sorry.”

He felt the wobble in his voice and made eye contact with Sue. She was the one who’d been the closest with his mother. Their bond was the original connection between their families. Sue earned the explanation the most. David was glad he’d practiced his explanation multiple times or he wouldn’t have gotten a word out of his mouth.

“A year and a half ago both my parents and sister went missing after getting caught in a landslide. Two months later all of them were officially declared dead.” He missed oxygen in his lungs, struggling a second for breath. He had lost eye contact with Sue, casting his eyes towards the ground before he added. “I’m sorry for not letting you know earlier. I… hit a hard patch and didn’t feel like contacting anyone for a while. Since their bodies were never found, I decided on not having a funeral.”

Seconds of silence were stretched out severely until Sue broke it with footsteps fading into the kitchen. Both of his childhood’s friends kept quiet. Eventually it was Harry who filled the emptiness.

“David, I know there are no words that can ease the pain of your loss. Just know that we’ll always be here for you no matter what.” Which got a back-up from both Seth and Leah, who were clearly at a loss of words themselves. Harry continued however.

“Give Sue some time to process it. Now, am I right to assume that you came back to Forks to stay?” David had always known that his uncle Harry was the more practical out of him and his aunt. Apparently he’d seen right through whatever defences David thought he had in place when he arrived.

“Still able to read me perfectly, I see,” David answered. “You’re right. I moved back into our old house last week. It took a while to settle in and it feels weird, though I’m not completely alone. Our dog, Chip, stayed with me away from the vacation and moved here with me. I sold our house in New York, so no need to worry about any financial issues at least.” He really did try to smile at that. He felt the need to assure them a bit more than he currently had though.

“I’m doing better than it looks at the moment. I took a year off of school last year to focus on my mental health under the guidance of a therapist.” This time he felt himself able to give a small smile, actually content with the progress he’d made the last year. His uncle clearly picked up on it, since he gave him an understanding nod.

“Great to hear, son. Now, why don’t you, Leah and Seth go take a stroll. Return in an hour and we’ll eat something together.” Once again, it warmed his heart at being called ‘son’.

Both Leah and Seth had been pushed into action at those words and stood up. While Seth was moving over to fetch both his and his sister’s jacket, Leah came over and gave him another hug. “I hate that that happened to you, but I’m glad I got you back. I missed you, big bro.” If anyone else had said the first part, he might’ve hit them. But he understood what Leah meant and returned the hug. “I’m sorry I was gone for so long, little sis. I missed you too.” He felt disgusted with his past self that let himself lose this connection. Out of sight, out of mind had sadly been a reality for the ten-year old version of himself. Out of nowhere a weight slammed into his flank.

“You’re not bonding without me, I hope?” Seth interjected. Since he was only 15 years old, he was quite a bit shorter than both Leah and David. Obviously he looked nothing like 8 years ago, but in David’s mind nothing less adorable.

“Of course not, you were and always will be my only little brother.” While he ruffled his jet black hair playfully. “Let’s head out on that walk. We’ll be back in time, uncle Harry!”

“See ya, son!” And with that, they were off into the woods.

O – O – O

Since it was still late summer, dusk hadn’t set in yet at this hour, which meant the visibility in the forest was more than good enough. They’d been walking in silence for a while, just enjoying nature’s sounds when David decided to break the ice.

“Leah, am I allowed to ask who you thought was at the door when I arrived?” Leah’s step faltered, but only for a second.

“Sure, if I get to ask some questions in return.” David wasn’t planning on hiding anything from the only family he had left so he nodded in confirmation. “I thought it was Sam. Sam Uley, my ex-boyfriend of three years. He dumped me two weeks ago and is now engaged to Emily Young.”

For a second David wasn’t sure whether he had been listening attentively enough to all of that. He stopped walking completely, baffled by what he thought to just have heard. When he looked up, he got from Leah’s look that he had heard correctly.

“Okay, so well… At least you know your ex is completely mentally deranged. I’m sorry you had to find out this way though. But like… What the f*ck?” Leah snorted at that, though David could clearly hear the hidden tears in the sound.

“Pfuh, you tell me. I don’t want to talk about it more than that though.”

“That’s okay. It’s your turn to ask a question anyway. Seth, you get one afterwards, okay?” He looked at the boy, who was following the conversation along silently.

“You said you took a year off of school, does that mean you’re going to 12^th grade now?” Leah shot her question.

“Yeah, I’m starting school next week at Forks High School as a senior. I actually already graduated though, mom kept us home-schooled in New York, but I was a year ahead of my age. I don’t need to go to school, but I figured it’d be good to get into a school rhythm again before starting college. I’m just going to work on my resume before I apply to university next year. You already graduated, I’m guessing? What are your plans?” David shot the question back.

“I actually just got a job straight after high-school. I’m working as a forester for the reservation, which is honestly quite amazing. It earns a pretty penny and allows me to just spend my time in the woods.”

It was then that Seth decided to add a painful detail that Leah clearly didn’t want to be reminded off. “She’s also working with Sam, which she’s less happy about at the moment.”

Leah gave her little brother a cold look at that. “Thanks for the details, Seth. Anyways, David, college. Any plans?” David gave her a sly grin.

“Obviously, big ones at that. I’m planning on med school, after pre-med obviously.” He saw both of their stunned faces. “I know, I know. But I really think I could do it. I just have to figure out a way to make sure I can do my undergraduate in Seattle, that way I can stay close by.” He saw both of them getting a smile on their face, so he decided to get off of the practical topic and onto the more fun ones.

“So, unless anything changed, it’s still surfing season. What do you say we do that the coming week? I only start school the week after that, so I have some time settling in.” It was Seth that wholeheartedly agreed to it before his sister could. Soon thereafter they were already planning their surfing trip, making sure the activity fit into both Leah’s work schedule and Seth’s school schedule.

Chapter 2: First Day of School Part I

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

One of those universal rules was that the first day of school had to suck. There were no exceptions. Just because you moved from New York to Forks and had to start school two weeks into the school year, didn’t mean you got to escape that rule. David realized that he probably hadn’t a lot of reasons to complain about. He’d had last week to settle in and by now, felt rather comfortable in the room that used to be his parents’ master bedroom. The day of surfing with Leah and Seth had absolutely been amazing. He had agreed to drop by at least weekly on Sunday for lunch to eat with the rest of the family.

For now, however, he was focused on turning off his annoying alarm. Something that was rewarded with a grateful bark from Chip, his black Labrador. David quickly grabbed some fresh clothes and followed his daily routine to the shower. In there he tried to get his messy brown hair free from all grease. If he was going to meet a whole new school, the least he could do is try to look presentable. He really hoped his casual look, a jeans with a plain shirt, would be fine. Since he was still adjusting to the cold summer temperatures in Forks, he threw a black jacket on top of it. When he finished dressing himself, he went downstairs and made sure to serve Chip his breakfast before he prepared himself some oatmeal. Since David was expecting to waste some time by acquiring his daily school schedule, he made sure to leave on time. Saying goodbye by giving Chip a loving kiss on the head, promising him a walk after school, he jumped in his parents’ car – now his own – on his way to Forks High School.

Since he arrived early, he was able to claim a nice spot in the parking lot. David grabbed his backpack and headed towards the main school building. The school was quite intimidating, existing out of six other side buildings. It’d be alright, or so he told himself. He walked around for a while until he found the secretary. He went inside and waited while the elder woman finished talking with another student. When it was his turn, he introduced himself.

“Hi, my name is David Miller, I’m a transfer student. I was told to come here.”

“Oh yes, we were expecting you. My name is Mrs. Johnson, it’s nice to meet you.”

From there she started explaining how his days at school would look like. She also gave him a floorplan of the school, so he’d find his way. If that’d been all, it would’ve been fine. Only she somehow felt the need to keep talking about her personal life in between. Not that it wasn’t insanely interesting to who she was married and what she had spent the weekend doing. Not only that, no. No, she also had to insist on telling the story about how she and her husband went fishing that summer. Apparently she had seen a kid there that looked a lot like him. After having insisted for three times that it couldn’t have been him since he was in New York this summer, they were interrupted by the bell. Great, he should’ve already been in class. She still hadn’t finished explaining about the clubs the school offered, so she gave him some flyers. Not that he planned on joining any extracurricular activities. This whole year was already extracurricular for him.

“I should lead you to your locker, but unfortunately the bell already rang. I should really get started on my other work.”

And Oh god, are you kidding me? Whose fault is it that you didn’t get to finish your talk? Surely it wasn’t his since he was pretty sure that he had only spoken about twenty words, including his introduction, other than that he had just nodded and hummed. They were however interrupted by a girl entering the secretary’s office.

“Hi, I need a late pass.”

“Well, hello there Mirta. You’re just who I needed.”

It was clear from the suspicious look on this Latina girl’s face, that she didn’t think the same. She gave a questioning look at the woman, before she looked over to David.

“You see, Mr. Miller here could use someone to bring him to class and show him his locker. If you can do that for him, I will give you a late pass without writing it down as a compensation.”

Mirta gave him a searching gaze, which made David a bit nervous and he took a safe step back, without making it too obvious that he did so. Apparently having found what she was looking for, Mirta quipped back towards Mrs. Johnson.

“Sure, I’ll show him around.”

She took the late pass and walked out. She clearly noticed he hadn’t followed, since she turned around and said “Well?”. This was enough of an acknowledgement of his presence to shoot David into action. They were walking silently through the hallways when she spoke up.

“You got a first name too, Mr. Miller? The name’s Mirta Garcia.”

“Uhm, nice to meet you Mirta. My name is David.”

She stood still and turned towards him.

“You sound awfully East Coast, that at least explains why I’m touring you around. Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Yeah, I’m from New York. Well, Forks originally, but I lived there for quite a while. I’ll be back to normal quick enough.” He joked. It got a quiet snort out of the girl.

“Let’s hope so. Anyways, we’ve arrived at your locker. Dump the stuff you don’t need for your first classes in here. The cafeteria is over there.” She pointed her finger towards a hallway on his left. “What’s your first class? I’ll drop you there and then I can move on. No offense, but I don’t want to lose too much time of class if possible.”

“No offense taken, that’s fully understandable.” He looked to the paper he had gotten with his schedule on. “I start with Calculus, from Mr. Varner, it says here. If you can just point me in the direction Building 5, I’ll find it myself. That way you can move on to your own class in time.” After all, it’d be awfully rude to make the girl waste too much of the time. It wasn’t her fault Mrs. Johnson was a complete gossip.

“You’re kidding me?” He looked up from the paper, slightly startled. Is he a horrible teacher or something? Maybe bad luck having to start out with someone like that?

“Uhm, no?”

“Well, you’re with me then. I have Calculus too. Let’s go David.”

Relieved, he smiled at her. “Let’s go then, indeed! Lead the way.” He closed his locker after having placed some of the books he wouldn’t need immediately in there. They walked for a few seconds in silence, before Mirta decided to break it.

“Mr. Varner is pretty chill, I wouldn’t worry too much. We’re here by the way. I’m going in first, follow me.” She knocked the door and entered.

“Ms. Garcia, why does it not surprise me you’re late?”

David heard a voice ask Mirta. It was a deeper voice, however his voice gave away that he wasn’t upset at all. More like he’d just expected her to be late to class. He entered after her and saw her giving the man her late pass. The man in question was a white male at the end of his thirties with a properly trimmed brown beard.

“Because you care about your pupils and know them so well of course.” She said, with a little sass hidden in her voice.

“And who did you bring with you? Usually you come alone when you’re late. Don’t tell me you’re actively recruiting other people to show up late to my class.” He had voiced the question of who he was towards David, so he decided to answer the question himself and combining it with a small defense of Mirta.

“I’m David Miller, sir. I’m a new student, she’s late because she was told to show me around the school. I’m sorry we disrupted your class.”

“Ah yes, I was told about you. It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Mr. Varner. You were from New York, if I’m not mistaken?” His voice welcoming, clearly forgiving his interruption. David mentally groaned at the man commenting on where he was from. He wasn’t looking forward to any questions.

“Yes, sir.”

David could hear a lot of ooh’s, aah’s and one or two “yikes” at that. Which was to be expected to be honest, he too probably would’ve reacted quite the same if someone transferred from so far away.

“Very well, take a seat, the both of you.”

David followed Mirta and took a seat at the back of the class, still a spot open next to Mirta. She gave him a small smile before she focused. He too paid attention to class. It was honestly nothing new, he’d already seen all of this, though it had been a while since he’d seen the material. He should probably catch up with it tonight.

When class ended after an hour, he packed his books when Mirta spoke up. “What’s your next one?”

He didn’t need to grab his sheet, he knew this one by heart since he had seen the sheet the first time. “Biochemistry! You too?” He didn’t even try to stop his smile. He hoped she had it too, she was pretty chill for as far as he had gotten to know her up until now.

“Well, someone’s excited. No such luck though, I have History. A stroke of luck for you though, it’s really easy to find. I’ll show you the direction of the building, but there’s only four classrooms in building 2, so it should be easy enough. I’ll see you around, perhaps.”

“Thanks Mirta. I hope to see you again.” He was a little bit sad that she had a different class, but oh well. He had expected the day to be more challenging socially, so he wasn’t complaining. At least he knew where his next class would take place.

David quickly hurried off to building 2 and entered the classroom, happily noticing two things. First of all, the teacher wasn’t present yet. Secondly, this was obviously the correct room unless other classrooms had a separate workspace with some Erlenmeyer’s, sinks and electrical outlets. That could’ve also been biology, he guessed but he saw no anatomy or biology posters anywhere so he figured he was in the right place.

He looked around and saw an empty table, so he moved along some people and just sat down. Kids around him kept talking, but no one approached him, which was honestly quite alright with him. He took his textbook and laid it out on his bench, just waiting for the teacher to arrive. Not long after, she did, proven by any and every conversation stopping. David could instantly tell that this woman was no good news. Just by the way she moved herself towards her desk told him that no one would try anything funny during her class, if the students instantly quietening down hadn’t given it away. She placed her stuff at her desk and turned around to face the classroom, she instantly found him and made eye contact.

“You the new student, Mr. Miller?” Her voice rang strictly cold.

“Yes, ma’am.” He knew she just wanted confirmation, nothing more and nothing less.

“Well, since you bring our class up to an uneven number, you’ll be doing your semester project alone. You can come collect the form about it after class. I expect you to be able to read the description of the task, I’m not intending to answer any questions regarding it.” David scoffed mentally, as if that hadn’t been clear from just here tone. No words were further ‘wasted’ on him. It was horrifyingly obvious that one of his favorite subjects had just taken a major L.

Class was horrible, it was obviously a complete repeat from what he’d learned two years ago. At least that meant that he’d probably be able to handle his semester project alone, whatever it’d turn out to be. He suffered through the class period, this one way less enjoyable than the last. Not soon enough, the bell rang. Instead of talking once class was over, most people packed their stuff in silence and only spoke up once out of class. David followed their example, already figuring it probably had to do with his lovely teacher, Ms. Smith. He quickly stepped past her desk, where he was given a paper without Ms. Smith glancing up from whatever she was doing.

David hurried outside, up to his next class; Psychology. In yet another building. He was quickly getting tired of shuffling around so much throughout the day, though he guessed he should’ve expected that with the curriculum he picked. Since he’d already technically passed high-school, he picked up classes that held any interest to him and were at some level connected with the medical field or pre-med.

After a bit of struggling, David found his next class and apparently everyone – including the teacher – was already present. The man in question, Mr. Allen if he remembered correctly from his timetable, was around sixty years old, though had a kind look on his face. When David entered the class, the man turned to him.

“You’re the new student, Mr. Miller, right?” His voice patient, not annoyed by the fact that David had apparently arrived just a tad later than the others.

“Yes, sir.” David was just looking around the class to see if there was any seat left open when the teacher changed the basic opinion David had formed of him with just one sentence.

“Why don’t you introduce yourself to the class and tell them three interesting things about yourself.”

David barely managed to suppress an audible groan. Like hell he was going to do a basic introduction. He held no interest in sharing anything about himself. If people wanted to get to know him, that was fine, but by having a conversation, not like this. He created a clearly passive aggressive smile on his face, though with his back to the teacher so the older man couldn’t tell.

“Hi everyone. My name is David Miller. If I have to limit myself to sharing only three mind-boggling interesting things about myself, I’d have to go with the fact that I live in Forks, I’m an Aries and my blood type is O negative.”

David didn’t wait on any reaction and moved himself to the only open spot he saw, at a three seat. David wasn’t worried about the teacher’s reaction. What was he going to do? Call his parents? While Mr. Allen was recollecting himself, he suddenly heard a whisper from his left.

“Damn, I can’t believe you’re actually an Aries. I’ve always wanted to meet one.” The deep timbre of the voice was laced with humor and David found a grin taking over his face before he turned to his left to look at whoever had appreciated his introduction.

For a second David was stunned speechless. He didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed this absolute hunk of a man when he entered the classroom. Not only was this dude a wall of a man, he was drop dead gorgeous with flawless pale skin. In addition to that, his eyes had a honey-gold shine to them that made it almost impossible to look away. To top everything off, his broad smile created cute dimples in his cheeks while showing off a perfect set of teeth. David snapped out of the trance the man’s exterior had trapped him in, wishing the moment had lasted shorter than it’d felt to him. He blessed the stars that he came up with a witty response.

“A reaction like that could only come from a Leo.” David said, accompanied by a grin that was returned, before he added, “You’re welcome though. I hope he at least got the message and doesn’t try to make me do something like that again.” David was about to try to make more conversation when the Adonis’ other neighbor tapped his arm, making the man turn away from David.

“Emmett, I think you should pay attention to class.” David heard a girl’s angelic voice say.

With a bit of leaning forward, David could see whose voice that was and suddenly he felt horribly out of place. His neighbor – apparently called Emmett – was hot, but what could only be his girlfriend was an absolute goddess. There was no way she hadn’t just walked out of a fashion magazine. David barely avoided outright staring and managed to prevent his mouth falling wide open from astonishment. Being gay alone wasn’t enough prevention of starting to drooling at that sight.

He was probably gaping into space for a few seconds before he finally registered Mr. Allen’s voice. That’s when he realized he should probably not antagonize the man any further this lecture, so he started paying attention and taking notes. For the rest of class, nothing was said. David had mentally prepared himself to say something when the bell rang.

The moment it did however, both supermodels were out of the classroom in an instant. A bit dejected by it all, David took out his timetable and saw that he had yet another change of buildings ahead of him. This time it was at least easier to find, since he’d already walked past this one when he came to his psychology class. He arrived timely for his last lecture before lunch and was planning to take a seat somewhere when Mr. Mason addressed him.

“You’re the transfer student, right? Mr. Miller?” David got a foreboding feeling, not excited for where this was headed. He tried to steer the conversation away from what felt unavoidable.

“Yes, sir. I’ll just take a seat so you can get on with your-” Though sadly enough, he was interrupted at that point.

“Nonsense! I think it’s best to introduce yourself to your peers first. How about you tell them a few interesting things about yourself?” By now David was actually questioning his life choices. When he faced the class however, he saw a familiar face snickering in the back of the classroom, all by himself. David decided to entertain his neighbor from last class with another performance.

“Hi everyone, my name is David Miller. Since I know you’re all dying to know about me, I’ll tell you some fascinating details about myself. As some of you might already know, I’m an Aries. I like hiking and long walks on the beach. I moved to Forks two weeks ago and I’m already starting to regret that decision.” He got a few laughs out of his introduction and once again didn’t wait for any permission to take a seat. Moving past his classmates, he reached the back of the class.

“This seat open?” David addressed the boy, not sure whether his girlfriend might be running late or anything. He got another grin in return.

“Sure man. The name’s Emmett by the way, Emmett Cullen.” His smile welcoming, though David couldn’t help but feeling there was an edge to it. David took off his backpack and sat himself down.

“Nice to meet you, Emmett. I’d introduce myself but I have the feeling you already know just about everything about me.” David was trying to actively continue the conversation, but was cut off by their teacher.

“Mr. Miller, I think you’ve disturbed my lesson enough as it is. Maybe you should try paying some attention to what I’m saying instead of what Mr. Cullen is saying?” David looked up and noticed for the first time that the man had indeed actually begun writing the subject of said class on the board. He decided to at least try to not antagonize the man any further.

“Of course sir, my apologies.”

To which the man nodded, before he went on to explain that they’d be working in pairs this class. Giving them the task to discuss a poem by Shakespeare they’d apparently seen last class. David was completely baffled, but the man made no comment on the fact that David hadn’t seen any of that. Mr. Mason just seated himself behind his own desk to start grading papers, it looked like. David was absolutely fuming when he started angrily whispering to his neighbor.

“Did he just interrupt our chat to make me pay attention so I could hear that I had to talk with you about material I didn’t see?” Emmett actually left out a short chuckle at that.

“Yeah, I guess he did.”

David sighed. “Are all schools like this? Jesus…”

Emmett picked the unspoken message David had unknowingly given. “Is this your first school or something? Yes, they’re pretty much all like this. Not all teachers are though, luckily enough.” Emmett gave him a grin. David felt a bit embarrassed about sharing something he didn’t mean to.

“It actually is. I’ve always been home schooled up until now. I hope that’s not too weird.” Hopefully having been home schooled wouldn’t get him made fun of. The brick wall that was his neighbor let out a snort.

“I think there’s things way weirder than being home schooled. Just wondering, why switch things up in your senior year then?” And damn, David should’ve seen that question coming from a mile away. He decided to not mention his dead parents and instead gave an answer that wasn’t complete, but wasn’t a lie either.

“I actually already finished high school. My mom planned for me to finish the home schooling schedule a year earlier than planned so I could experience a year of high school with exclusively subjects I actually enjoy before starting college.” Emmett gave him a heartfelt smile before reacting.

“She sounds like a wise woman.” To which David felt himself deflate a bit at the reminder of her loss, before recollecting his pride.

“She certainly was.” Emmett proved to be among the empathetic highschoolers by catching up on it and reacting properly. “I’m sorry. How long has it been, if you don’t mind me asking?” David hadn’t expected himself to share so much with someone he barely knew, but something about the other boy was pulling him in.

“Only a year.” David felt himself admit, the longing clear in his voice. He felt that Emmett was just about to react before their conversation was once again disturbed by Mr. Mason.

“Mr. Cullen, Mr. Miller. You guys sure seem to be utterly invested in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18. Care to share your rather enthused opinions with the rest of the class. Maybe you guys noticed something the others missed.” David felt like a deer caught in headlights. Emmett however reacted smoothly in his stead.

“Of course, Mr. Mason. Like most of you, I noticed that the “procreation” sequence of the first 17 sonnets ended with the speaker’s realization that the young man might not need children to preserve his beauty; he could also live. It was then that David commented that the first rhyme of Sonnet 18 might be a direct conclusion of that, since that was the speaker’s first attempt to preserve the young man’s beauty for all time. This way he’d be carrying the beauty of the beloved down to future generations without any need for procreation.”

David barely managed to catch the explanation and tried his best to not come across as caught completely unawares. The English teacher merely raised his right eyebrow, switched his gaze over from Emmett to David. Since he apparently didn’t notice anything wrong – or didn’t get paid enough to care – he went along with it.

“A solid remark from Mr. Miller then. Indeed you guys, as you can see…” David cancelled out the noise of Mr. Mason and whispered to Emmett.

“Thanks for saving me. Also, wow.”

He was honestly completely blown away. This man was a clear ten out of ten in looks, was sympathetic towards him and had a great feeling for humor. To top that off he turned out to be terrifyingly intelligent too. It made sense how he’d managed to land himself a girlfriend like the one he’d seen in Psychology.

“Haha, no problem. Anyways, so you moved back in with your dad or …?” Was Emmett’s cheerful response. David felt himself grimace. He decided to just tell Emmett the truth, since it was just going to get dragged out otherwise.

“No, my close family died in a landslide on vacation a year ago. I moved back since the only family I have left lives here.” David saw pity taking over Emmett’s face. He didn’t like it when people pitied him, but he couldn’t really blame his neighbor for doing so.

“I’m really sorry to hear that. But at least you got to reunite with the ones living way out here then. Who are they, if I may ask? I haven’t heard from any Millers to be honest. Or they’re from your mother’s side perhaps?” David was at least relieved that they quickly moved past the subject of his family’s death. He wasn’t really feeling like wallowing over it.

“Oh, no. They’re not blood-related. Not that that makes them feel any less like a family. To be honest, I think it’s weird some people are that caught up about there being a blood connection or not. Family is just another word for loving people to come home to. In my opinion, at least.”

David decided to add the last part, since he was a bit afraid of pushing his views on Emmett, who already felt like a bit of a friend to David. Emmett’s warm beam of white teeth however made any doubt disappear like snow for the sun.

“I’m going to remember that phrasing. I wholeheartedly agree. I’m actually adopted so, yeah. Can’t say I disagree. I don’t remember my parents as clearly, but Carlisle and Esmée are everything I could want out of a father and mother.” The muscle-head told, clearly happily thinking about his adoptive parents. “Who took you in?” Emmett reminded David of the question he’d asked earlier.

“Oh, they didn’t actually take me in. I live alone. But they’re the Clearwaters from the reserve. I’ve known them for as long as I can remember, so it was really nice to see them again,” David excitedly shared with his neighbor.

He didn’t expect for the fluid conversation to take a halt there, so when nothing returned, he looked to his left. There he saw confliction having taken over Emmett’s face. David thought back for a second, trying to see whether he’d said something weird. Emmett’s question however freed his mind of any doubt.

“You mean the Quileute reserve?”

David was horribly confused as to why the other suddenly sounded aggressive.

“Yeah, why? What’s wrong w-”

This time it wasn’t any teacher that interrupted their ongoing dialogue, but instead the school bell indicating lunch time. Emmett however had clearly heard his response. What horrified David was the clear disgust that completely took over the dark-haired beauty’s face. He was expecting some sort of explanation, but only received.

“Nothing, bye.”

Even though the last word was said rather enthusiastically, David couldn’t help but feel that that ‘bye’ sounded an awful lot like ‘goodbye’ instead of a ‘see you later’. David had no time to react to what Emmett had said before the boy was rushing out of their classroom.

Realization of what had just happened was slowly sinking in and with it a rising bile of anger was rising up. Of course the Adonis of a man had to be an utter piece of white trash. He’d checked all of David’s boxes for possibly becoming a close friend. But no one could be perfect, clearly proven by the boy turning out to be a racist piece of sh*t.

Notes:

Emmett = racist? Or could there possibly be another reason for him to dislike the Quileutes? (Truly a mystery)

Chapter 3: First Day of School Part II

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After the horrible realization had settled in, David shot into action. He barely got out of his own mind enough to figure out his way back to his locker. There he ditched his stuff and picked up the lunch box he’d prepared this morning. It wasn’t anything fancy, just some slices of bread with cheese. He didn’t really feel like wasting money on expensive food. He’d had to last with the money he’d inherited for a while before he started making money for himself, after all.

When he finally made it to the cafeteria, he was elated to see it was way smaller than he’d feared. He supposed it made sense since Forks High School wasn’t the biggest school out there. The biggest problem he now faced was where to seat himself. He hadn’t gotten to know anyone except Mirta. Well, Emmett too, but he decided to try and forget about that asshole. David kept scanning the room until his eyes finally settled on a table with only one seat filled, with Mirta at it of all people. He rushed over.

“Any of these seats open?”

In response to his question, Mirta looked up from the book she’d had her nose stuck in. David gave it a closer look and noticed it was a crossword puzzle. That felt like a rather strong implication of the girl not being too extravert. Not that that bothered him, since he’d been home schooled his whole life he’d never been the most social guy. He wasn’t anywhere near to asocial though, always having been sent to clubs to make sure his social skills weren’t lacking. A more apt description was that, for a teenager, he was rather well adapted to being on his own.

“Oh, hi David! Yes, I usually sit only with Alexander. He’s always late on Mondays though. His Spanish teacher loves giving them homework over the weekend, but for some reason he never does it. I’m honestly curious how long it’s going to take Mrs. Goff to realize that giving him a talking to isn’t going to change his behavior.” David relaxed while Mirta was talking about what seemed to be her best friend. He snickered at her commentary.

“And he’s actually doing more interesting stuff over the weekend? Or he just can’t be bothered?” He was having fun imagining it already. His mind had always been rather imaginative, though it was a difficult task since he had no idea what this Alexander looked like.

“He just can’t be bothered. He does all his other schoolwork. I think he honestly forgot the first time, but now he gets a kick out of not doing it and having her rant about it. She probably regrets allowing him in her class again this year. Alexander has been going at it strong for over a year.”

David was baffled, this boy had balls. He was just laughing at what Mirta was telling him when he saw a dark-haired Asian boy walking over. With him he had a rather nerdy looking white girl in tow, complete with glasses and a camera.

“Is that the famous Alexander coming over here? Looks like he brought someone along with him.” Mirta glanced to follow where David had been looking, immediately followed by a groan.

“Ugh, no. They’re from the school newspaper. We’re a small school, you’re one of the few interesting things happening. I’m afraid they’re going to harass you for information.” She had only just finished her sentence or the two newcomers had arrived and proved her correct instantly.

“Hi there! David Miller, right? I’m Eric and this is Angela. We’re from the school newspaper and you’re big news, man!” The guy, Eric, took the lead. David had absolutely zero interest in anything being written about him, though he knew the limits of what he could prevent.

“Hi Eric and Angela, nice to meet you. I’m not interested in doing an interview though. I also want to state that I do not consent to any pictures of myself being taken or published. It’s a free country, so I can’t stop you from doing anything; but I’d like you guys to know that I’d prefer you didn’t.”

The nice looks were wiped off their faces the moment he said his bit. He could tell that Eric wasn’t ready to give up, but apparently Angela had noticed it wouldn’t matter. She took the lead.

“Alright, thank you for your time. If you change your mind, you can find us at that table every lunch period,” she said while pointing at the table they’d come from. David wasn’t about to be rude to someone who was clearly respecting his boundaries at the cost of her own interest, so he returned with a polite smile on his face.

“Thank you, Angela. If I change my mind, I will.” With that, the paparazzi were gone. David let out a sigh of relief, while Mirta snickered softly.

“Jesus. Going to school is more intense than I expected.” He should’ve expected the confused look from Mirta after his statement. He was about to explain himself, when another voice quipped in.

“Tell me about it! Mrs. Goff is really trying to up her game, by the way.”

David turned his head to where the new voice had come from. A blue eyed, blonde boy with a happy smile was already taking his seat on the other side of Mirta. David didn’t know how but the guy had a carefree aura hanging around him.

“I’m Alexander by the way. Impressed that you managed to convince Mirta to sit with her.” David was a bit caught off guard at that. He hadn’t really convinced her or anything. When he said so, Alexander seemed to get even more interested.

“You’re the new kid! David, right? So, tell me. How’d you guys meet?”

“Yes, I just transferred and Mirta was assigned to show me around the school just before first period that we happened to have together.”

David shrugged, it’s not like he’d done anything special. After that David talked a bit about himself, while also getting to know both Mirta and Alexander. Now he knew that that whilst Alexander was more language-oriented, Mirta preferred sciences. He learned that he had Biology, his next period, together with Mirta. It also turned out Alexander had had Psychology together with him. David was about to ask a question about Emmett when the school bell rang once more, indicating the start of the afternoon.

Mirta and him shared the walk past the lockers towards the biology classroom. It was nice to have someone with him who knew where the classroom was. When they arrived, David hesitated for a second. Would Mr. Banner make him introduce himself to the class as well? He surely hoped not. His worries were laid to rest when the man saw him enter and just told him to pick whatever seat he liked. Quickly he hurried along to where Mirta had sat down. Since they’d been among the first students to arrive, they were still allowed to quietly chat.

Amongst the students trickling in was one that immediately caught the eye of David. He somehow reminded him of Emmett, even though he couldn’t place why. The feeling of interest apparently mutual since the boy’s eyes instantly connected with David’s own. Upon David’s polite greeting smile however, the boy’s face soured. Mirta caught on, probably due to the lack of David’s response to whatever Mirta had said.

“Do you know him or something? He looks rather displeased. Did you do something?” she asked.

David was completely lost, so he whispered back. “No, I don’t know him. I haven’t seen him yet, so I don’t think I did anything either?”

“That’s Edward, one of the Cullens. They’re Dr and Mrs. Cullen’s foster kids.”

David made the connection then, so he shared quickly with Mirta that he’d been seated next to Emmett for two periods. He would’ve told her more, but it was at that time that Mr. Banner started with his class.

It was an interesting class, well taught and with enough energy to get almost all the students to actually do their best. David decided quickly that this class would be his favorite. He’d expected it to either be this one or Biochemistry before he started, but Biochemistry was out of the competition thanks to Ms. Smith. Mr. Banner was a good teacher, enthusiastically talking about the different ways of genetic inheritance. When the bell rang, David felt like he’d actually learned something. Obviously it was just a refresher since he already knew this stuff, but it’d been a while so it was nice to hear it once more. What made class even better is that when they got zero homework, Mirta told him that Mr. Banner apparently almost never gave homework.

With only one class left for the day, David asked Mirta quickly for her telephone number. Without there being any need, David declared it was purely for amicable purposes. That way he’d be able to text her. Mirta gave hers quickly before she had to leave to her own last period.

“I’ll make us a group chat with Alexander. See you tomorrow, David.”

And with a quick hand wave, they were both going their separate ways. By now he was getting familiar with the school lay-out, so he found his way to Physics fast enough. Upon his arrival, the teacher made a ‘come here’ gesture to where she was seated at her desk. He walked over and politely introduced himself as the new student.

“Hi, Mr. Miller. I was expecting you. I work with assigned seats, since we sometimes do little practical sessions and it’s easier if you can depend a bit on your partner. I’m glad you showed up since it brings our class up until an even number, that way no one is alone.” She was actually sounding pretty excited for him to arrive. David was already feeling like she’d be a good teacher. “Ah, there he is. Mr. Cullen, this is your freshly arrived partner, Mr. Miller. Will you show him to your places?”

David turned around and felt himself stiffen. Was fate torturing him? This was the third time he’d get placed next to Emmett Cullen. After thinking about it for a second, David realized that it was possible that the boy was always sitting alone because no one else wanted to sit next to him, because of his racist tendencies. Somehow that thought filled him with relief, since it implied that being racist was at least an exception and not the standard. The boy in question only gave an excited smile, as if he was actually happy to see David again.

“Hey there! Man, Saturn must be aligned with Jupiter for me to keep running into an Aries.” David couldn’t help himself, he actually snickered at that before following Emmett to their assigned seat. By now, almost everyone had arrived.

“Just so you know, Mrs. Tamu is pretty cool. She doesn’t care for a bit of chatting during class as long as you can follow along with the material and don’t disturb the others.”

David felt himself give Emmett a polite smile. He didn’t know how to react to that since he wasn’t sure whether or not he’d even want to talk with his neighbour. His whole reaction to the Quileute reserve still bothered him. But with Emmett acting normal, it got David to think he had misinterpreted the situation. Emmett apparently didn’t want the conversation to be over, since he prodded once more, in hope of getting any reaction this time.

“By the way, you said that your mom wanted you to use your senior year of high school to take exclusively subjects you actually enjoy before starting college, right? What are the three you’re taking without me?” David tried to not let it show, but the phrasing of ‘taking without me’ made him smile. As if he’d planned to have as much classes possible with Emmett. He went along with it.

“I decided to take Calculus, Biochemistry and Biology without you.”

Which successfully got a chuckle out of his neighbor. The sound was accompanied by David’s resolve crumbling. Maybe he’d been mistaken about the racist aspect. After all, except for that, the boy next to him seemed amazing. He decided to let it go for the moment and think back on it later.

“I’ll try to not take it personally. That’s a lot of sciences though, sounds like you have an idea for college ready then?”

David waited a second with answering, since he was checking whether he was still following what Mrs. Tamu was explaining. Still busy with the second law of Newton, he noticed in the blink of an eye. Nothing he would be missing sleep over if he had to finish up some exercises at home.

“I’m thinking of med school,” he admitted.

David hoped Emmett wouldn’t make fun of him because of it. He knew it was unlikely he would, but after the potentially racist reaction, David had lost a bit of the earlier confidence he’d had in Emmett. For all he knew Emmett could start derogatorily asking whether David thought he was smart enough for that. His worries were for naught.

“Damn, that’s impressive. I don’t think I could do that. But I take it you’re intelligent enough, since you finished the high school curriculum a year earlier.” To which David could only try to hide his blush.

“Thanks. Though if your answer in English class told me anything, it’s that you’re probably smarter than I am,” David told Emmett.

It was the truth and he meant it. That display of intelligence had been out of this world, since Emmett had definitely been as involved in the conversation as David had been. In an instant, he had either remembered two opinions on the piece or come up with them himself. “I think you’d be able to do it. If you want to, obviously,” he added.

“I respect the profession, but I don’t react well to blood. I don’t think it’d be my thing,” Emmett said.

“Any idea as to what you want to do after this year?” David asked curiously.

“Nope, maybe travel. See something of the world,” Emmett replied with a shrug.

David couldn’t stop himself from asking the question that shot through his mind at that answer. “Do you think that’s the smartest idea? Are you open enough towards other cultures?”

It surprised David to see a regretful smile on Emmett’s face at his remark. “You noticed that, huh?”

“It’d be weird for me not to notice you suddenly shutting down a smooth-going conversation, using the school bell as a chance to flee. I’m going to be honest though, you acting like that towards the Quileute people is a dealbreaker. I can’t be friends with a racist.”

Though his words were harsh, he spoke them softly. Even if he personally didn’t like Emmett, it wasn’t for him to virtue signal to other people. If they wanted to be friends with Emmett regardless of his disgusting attitude towards people of color, then that was their choice. Emmett’s face looked shocked at his statement though.

“Just so we’re clear, I don’t care about skin color or anything like that. I just don’t like the Quileute people. It’s -”

BAM

The door to the classroom slammed open, successfully cutting off Emmett’s sentence. Not just David and Emmett, but the whole classroom’s attention had been caught by it. Everyone looked at the person who entered. David recognized the boy from his biology class. Mirta had said he was a Cullen, but David had forgotten his name, so he stuck with ‘Emmett’s adoptive brother’ in his head. Mrs. Tamu addressed the boy.

“Mr. Cullen, care to explain why you’re interrupting my classroom so loudly?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Tamu. I’m here to collect my brother, we have to leave due to family reasons. I have a note from Mrs. Smith from the secretary,” the boy said.

He walked smoothly across the distance between the two of them and handed the woman the note. While the woman was reading it, the boy looked over towards Emmett with a warning gaze. David wasn’t sure what to think of it. Perhaps he interpreted the look wrong and it was a look urging on Emmett to hurry up? Emmett stood up and packed his back quickly.

“I’m sorry, guess I have to leave,” Emmett said.

“Oh, yeah. I hope everything’s okay.”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Emmett who reacted to that, but a voice behind David. “It will be. It’s a minor, but urgent matter that we shouldn’t let get out of hand.”

David turned around and saw that Emmett’s brother was standing there. His voice sounded incredibly serious, on the edge of threatening. Any worry David could get surrounding the tone the conversation was in, disappeared with Emmett merely chuckling.

“You’re so tense, Edward. I’m sure you’re worrying about nothing. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be fine. See you tomorrow, David!” Emmett said before leaving class, accompanied by Edward Cullen.

After they left, Mrs. Tamu continued the class. She had plenty of energy and was clearly pursuing her passion, giving her all to make everything clear to her students. It was obvious that the woman enjoyed teaching and was genuinely fascinated by physics. With the distraction that Emmett was gone, he managed to pay attention and finished all his exercises during class. That way he didn’t have to finish them at home like some others apparently had to.

When classes were over, David took his car to the local grocery store and did some shopping for the next days. At home he was greeted by a very excited Chip. David managed to make sure to take him for a short walk before starting on dinner. It wasn’t anything fancy, but he was happy eating simple dinner. He’d slaved away enough the past days to get everything in the house clean, he needed some rest.

Notes:

It would almost seem like Edward prevented Emmett from telling David too much. Like someone saw the future in which Emmett blabbered on, Edward saw this vision and acted to prevent it. Or something like that, just guessing ;)

Chapter 4: Adjusting to Forks

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

David had always been appreciative of his parents. Unlike most teens he was aware how much they did for him, how much they loved him. He had been especially grateful towards them when he decided to move back to Forks, by himself. His parents had never sold their first house, planning to return one day, after retirement, to their roots. It hadn’t come to that stage, but it was the only place David could somewhat call home without their loss staring him in the face every single day.

Since he was now legally an adult, he had had to go through the paperwork to change his permanent residence back to Forks. It had been both a happy and a sad experience to come back to his childhood's home. It was known, but cold without either of his parents or his sister there with him. The first time he’d seen the house again and gone through the building and quickly concluded that there was quite a bit of cleaning to be done. Though his mom had come back every year in summer to make sure most of the house stayed clean, it had still amassed quite a bit of dust and spider webs since the last summer she'd done her cleaning.

After all, the last cleaning was from 2 years ago, since David hadn't come in her stead last summer. He had been at his old home in New York mourning the loss of his whole family. He still didn't know whether he had completely taken peace with it. Hell, he knew he hadn't. But a year's worth of therapy had helped him to get slightly over his survivor's guilt. It hadn't been his fault to get so terribly ill that he had opted to stay home instead of joining the others on vacation. Nor would him having gone with them changed anything. It's not like he could've stopped the landslide under which they had gotten caught. Their bodies had never been found, the mud and earth too heavy to find all the passed aways ones.

David was brought out of his thoughts by a bark to his left. He looked down and saw his best friend, Chip, who had saved him from his own spiralling thoughts. David squatted down to his knees.

"You're right buddy. No use getting caught up in the past, right? A clean slate, a new beginning here. Matter of fact, it’s time for school anyways!" In return he got another happy bark and a tongue in his face. David happily ruffled his dog's ears before straightening his back.

"Alright Chip, I’m heading out. But I’ll see you again this afternoon and then we’ll go for a walk!” To which he got another joyous bark. After all, Chip was smart enough to recognize the word walk for what it was.

David had felt a bit uncomfortable about it in the beginning, but eventually decided on using his parent's room as his own. Since it was the master bedroom, it was way bigger than his own. That way he could use his own childhood's room as a bureau. Then wouldn't have to work in the same place he slept, apparently that was healthy. That’s also where he picked up his bag for school. He’d left it there yesterday evening after finishing up some homework. David was still stuck on what to do with Lily's room, but decided to think about that later on. For now, he’d focus on getting his ass to school in time. It wouldn’t do to make it a habit of entering late to Mr. Varner’s class.

On his drive to school, his thoughts drove off to the past for a bit. David had cleaned out their own place in New York, after having terminated the lease agreement. It's not like he had an income he could use to keep renting it. The plan was to just save some money, hold it in the bank and then eventually use it to cover at least part of his student loans. In a way he was lucky that he didn't have any extended family, since he'd need all the inherited money for himself. His parents had not been close to poor, since they had no trouble keeping their house in Forks as their property, not planning on selling it. Luckily they had thought to teach both David and his sister the value of money.

When David arrived at school, he blessed himself for not having gotten in a car accident. He’d definitely not spent enough attention to the road, stuck in his own head. He met up with Mirta in the hallway just outside their calculus classroom.

“What’d you do last night? How are you adjusting to Forks?” she asked.

“It’s definitely smaller and quieter than New York, that’s for sure. Chip, my dog, likes the outdoors here more though. He’s still brimming with excitement after yesterday’s walk, think he smelled some animals he isn’t used to.”

“Makes sense. Outside of walking, there isn’t much too do however. Me and Alexander are heading out to Port Angeles to catch a movie this Friday. You’re free to join us, only if you want to obviously, …” Mirta trailed off.

“I’d love that! What movie are we seeing?” David asked.

“I honestly have no clue, some thriller or horror thing Alex wanted to see. It’d just be great for you to be there with us. It helps people making less comments about us being a great couple,” Mirta said, letting out a groan of frustration afterwards.

“And you’re not interested in him like that? You two do have a great vibe,” David had to admit.

“Unless I grow I dick, I’m afraid he isn’t interested in me. Though I wouldn’t be interested in him unless he grew a vagin* and some tit* either, so I can’t blame him for it,” Mirta said.

David didn’t know what he had to be most stunned about. The fact that she outed herself so casually, outed someone else without them being there or by her casual volume while outing two people. It was like she had not one ounce of shame regarding the subject, which was stunning for a highschooler. Mirta should perhaps have studied her surroundings before saying something like that, since Mr. Varner had just arrived.

“Language, Ms. Garcia!”

It seemed that getting caught so off guard, did manage to get her to be embarrassed. Her cheeks flushed red and she adverted her eyes from the man when they walked inside the classroom to their semi-assigned seats. Once they had their textbooks out and Mr. Varner had started his class, David whispered to Mirta.

“Just so you know, I don’t care about you guys’ sexuality. But I do respect how confident you are in your sexuality. Though I don’t know if Mr. Varner wanted to know about it.” David could only barely prevent chuckling at his own joke.

“I mean, his fault for eavesdropping,” Mirta said jokingly with a grin.

“Yeah, I can’t believe he didn’t have any earphones in to prevent him from hearing you come out to me.”

“Mr. Miller, Ms. Garcia, do you guys have anything to share with the rest of class?” Mr. Varner asked in a clearly irritated tone that successfully shut both of them up for the rest of class.

Staying silent sadly enough continued for David throughout his Biochemistry class since Ms. Smith was one of the worst teachers David could imagine. When he entered his Psychology classroom, he heard his name getting called out.

“David, I saved you a spot!” Alexander called out.

David headed over to him and took a seat next to the enthusiastic blonde. He quickly did check to apologize to Emmett for sitting next to someone else, but didn’t see the muscle-bound hunk. His girlfriend was missing too. Were they skipping class to make out? David was definitely going to ask Emmett during English.

“So, I heard you’re joining us to the movies?”

“Yeah, sounded like fun. What movie are we seeing, by the way?”

“It’s called ‘It!’, it came out a week ago. A horror movie about a clown.”

“Ooh, the clown type. I’m okay with that, not too creepy to get out of my head afterwards. Though I do hope it’s well done, otherwise I’m going to have trouble not laughing out loud.”

Not too late after that, class did start, without Emmet and his girlfriend. Alexander and him chatted a bit throughout the period. It was their first time chatting one on one, but David found himself liking the other guy. Alexander – or Alex, as he told David to call him – was a carefree guy with a great smile. David found himself slightly attracted to the other guy. Curse Mirta for telling David that Alex was gay, otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten interested this quickly.

Not that he necessarily minded being into Alex. It’s just that he knew it was better for him to get people to know as friends first, it made him less nervous to be around people. He’d have to pay attention to not stare too long at the other guy. Though David was rather straight-passing and hadn’t outed himself just yet, so he figured he’d be safe for at least a while.

When class was over, David headed over to his English class from Mr. Mason. Though he dreaded being in the class because of the teacher, he was looking forward to spending time with Emmett. He was curious as to what the family situation had been too, but wouldn’t ask details if Emmett didn’t want to share them.

He was also still curious as to why Emmett had a dislike for the Quileute people. The boy had said he wasn’t a racist, after all. David was willing to hear the other out. Maybe he actually had some lived experience and didn’t like some of them and had the boy mistakenly broadened that to all of them. Even though David still wouldn’t approve of that train of thought, he would at least be able understand it.

Unfortunately, Emmett didn’t show up to class. It was at this point that David was starting to hope that Emmett was just skipping class and that the family issue hadn’t turned out bigger than expected. Mr. Mason on the other hand took the opportunity to call on David multiple times this period. He also made a few comments regarding “not being as insightful as yesterday”, which was obviously true, but irked David anyways. Did a high school teacher not have anything better to do than bully a child? Even if David was technically already an adult.

It was with a sour mood that David arrived at the lunch table. It turned out he was even first, nor Mirta nor Alex were present yet. At first he was just scrolling on his socials a bit until he saw a picture of Leah, which gave him a great idea. He swapped to his texts and shot one to Leah.

‘Hi sis, was thinking of you. School ends at 3 p.m. for me, what do you think of me dropping by afterwards? You free? No idea of what your work schedule is like.’

He did not expect an instant reply.

‘I’d love that. Just stop by after class. Sam’s been an asshole and technically my superior. I’m sitting around on my ass all day, definitely welcome. Just no Chip here.’

David felt for Leah. Having to work with your ex was one thing, if he was your boss… that couldn’t possibly work. Leaving Chip behind at home was a bit of a bummer, but he understood not wanting dogs in the nature reserve.

‘Understood, hang in there! I’ll be there as soon as I can :)’

“Who are you texting?”

David gasped out his surprise, not having heard Alex arriving. He looked up and saw the blond boy carrying a tray, clearly opting to buy his lunch instead of bringing it from home like David did.

“Alexander! You trying to give me a heart attack? And Leah.”

“Oh, cool. You’re definitely closer with your sister than I am. Don’t get me wrong, I love her, but not to the point where I’d text her at lunch break.”

David was glad to have explained his family situation already to his new friends. He’d had to explain it to enough people lately, definitely ready for a break from explaining. Just chatting about it was nice though. More than that, having Alexander refer to Leah as his sister made something small brighten up inside of him.

“No worries, I understand. I’d go crazy if I had to live together with Leah too.”

Soon after, Mirta joined them. As they talked, David couldn’t help but look around in the cafeteria. Emmett being absent was a bit disturbing to him. David hoped to at least catch a glimpse of him, since that’d mean that he just skipped class or something. However, he noticed there was one table completely empty.

“Is that table always empty?” David found himself asking the other two.

“No, that’s where the Cullens sit usually,” Mirta answered him, “They take some time off every now and then. I’m actually jealous of them. Every time we have sunny weather, they apparently go camping with their whole family. It doesn’t happen that often in Forks, but still.”

“But… it’s raining?” David asked, a bit confused.

“I don’t know why they’re gone now.” Mirta shrugged. “They’re not the most social either. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of them talking with anyone that isn’t a Cullen unless absolutely necessary. Their dad is really something though. He’s a doctor at the local clinic and my mom couldn’t stop praising about what a great doctor he was after she went.”

David couldn’t help but wonder whether his level of interaction with Emmett had been unusual then. Maybe he was just curious about the outsider and was otherwise not interested. He’d figure that out as time progressed, he guessed. For now he had to focus on something else. His friend’s mom had (recently?) been in the hospital.

“Is she okay?”

“Physically, yes. Mentally, no. My mom is a bit of a hypochondriac. She just twisted her ankle, but claimed it was sprained or perhaps even broken. Dr. Cullen eased her worries.”

After lunch, he and Mirta went on to biology. Mr. Banner continued where he left off yesterday and David was starting to really like his classes. Edward being absent from Biology at least confirmed that the Cullens were indeed not at school today. This was once again proved in his Physics class where he sadly had to sit alone. They continued making exercises about Newton’s second law. David couldn’t help but feel a bit lonely. As soon as class was finished, he rushed over to the reservation.

When he arrived, he imagined for a split second seeing some large animal slipping away in the bushes. There was no way there would be any bears near the parking lot of the reservation’s headquarters though, right? He figured he’d ask Leah, so he headed inside.

Notes:

Who could believe such ridiculous stories about vampires?
While I'm sure the younger Quileutes respect the elders, I doubt all of them believe their tribe stories about white people being vampires... (until they become wolves themselves). Surely some of them are more sceptical. Thus, Leah doesn't believe any of it, believes them to be fables/fairytales.

Chapter 5: Port Angeles

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

On Wednesday, nothing changed. The Cullens were still absent. Wednesday was special though, since they had physical education in the afternoon instead of their afternoon classes. It was fun to really get out there and move for a bit during class. David also couldn’t help but notice Alex’s physique in the changing room. He carefully made a comment about it afterwards and Alex’s answer explained where his massive upper body came from.

“Yeah, I do gymnastics. Swinging yourself from bar to bar three times a week requires some muscle.”

“You can say that again. Mirta said something about you needing to grow a vagin* and tit* before she’d be interested, but I think yours are bigger than hers,” David said with a wink.

Alex actually blushed at his comment. David couldn’t help but think the other looked adorable with the pink hueing his cheeks. “If she told you about her sexuality, did she…?”

“She also told me about yours, yes. I’m afraid I’ll have some strong competition for the boys around here,” David quipped. He felt bad for Alex to have had his sexuality leaked, clearly not fully with his consent; so he decided to at least share his own.

“You’re also…?” David just nodded which got a smile out of the blonde. He was clearly placed at ease with the knowledge that David wouldn’t hold it against him or tease him maliciously about it.

By Friday, Emmett and the other Cullens were still absent. David was seriously getting worried about the whole situation. The others could clearly tell he was glancing too often to their table during lunch. Mirta commented on it.

“I know you’re not used to them yet, but trust me. It’s usual for them to be absent every once in a while. They probably just took the week off, they’ll be back on Monday. Don’t worry by the way.”

“About what?”

“You’re not the first one to get a crush on one of the Cullens. They’re all supermodels. If they weren’t adopted, I would say it’s superior genetics since their parents are hella fine too. I personally crushed on Rosalie for a while.”

“Who’s Rosalie?”

“She’s the blonde one. She’s pretty close with Emmett so some people think they’re a couple, but I just don’t see it.” Upon saying that, David knew who she was talking about.

“But… they’re siblings?” David asked confused.

“Not by blood. I know it’s weird, but it’s not too far-fetched. Alice and Jasper are definitely dating. She drops a kiss on his cheek from time to time, but doesn’t do more than that. After all, the school has a rule against public display of affection.”

“Which isn’t a bad thing,” Alex cut in.

“True.” Mirta nodded. “You have no idea how horrible school would be otherwise. Imagine everything sticking their tongues down each other’s throat. No thank you, school’s already bad enough as it is. Anyways, we’re leaving at 5 tonight. Alex is driving, saves us some gas, be at his place by then. Wait, I’ll send you his address.” She grabbed her phone from the table and shot him a message.

“Thanks, Mirta. I couldn’t have done that myself,” Alex said. He then focused on David. “You cool with me driving?”

“No problem. We’re grabbing a bite to eat then before or after the movie?”

“Movie starts at 6, so we were thinking afterwards. I’m definitely planning to buy some snacks,” Alex said.

“Good call! I’m definitely getting some popcorn,” David returned.

“No, not another one!” Mirta cried out. Alex saw David’s bewildered look and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“She somehow hates popcorn, she always gets herself some candy instead.”

The three of them then had some playful banter around preference is snacks. Though David found himself multiple times on the same time, he couldn’t agree with him on one thing. Somehow Alex claimed that licorice was the best type of candy, while it should be a known fact that sour candies were superior. One in particular.

“I’ll order some Napoleon candies online for you guys. It’s only sold in 3 European countries. A friend of mine from New York was originally from there. I swear it’s the best candy I ever had!”

The afternoon classes passed by quickly enough with the excitement of the movies in the back of his head. Even Physics, where he still sat alone, was over before he knew it. He rushed back home where he was enthusiastically greeted by Chip.

“I’m sorry buddy, it’s just going to be a short walk. We’ll take a longer hike this weekend, okay?”

David leashed him for the first part, but then let the dog free. He knew that Chip listened more than good enough and had never been aggressive to people. They were doing their usual round, a tour he’d found near his house, when Chip suddenly started growling and barking, a bit ahead on the road.

“Chip? Calm buddy!” David yelled out before rushing over. When he found the dog however, there was nothing.

“What are you barking at? There’s nothing here.”

He was surprised to find Chip turning around and running towards him. When the dog was near him, he jumped for the leash that was loosely hanging from his hand, still at the ready should he ever need it. Chip bit the leash and then started tugging on it, pulling Charlie away from the way they were going.

“Something wrong buddy? You want to go back?”

David was honestly a bit worried. Since Chip kept pulling on the leash, he decided to trust the dog. Sure, he didn’t see anything himself, but he knew better than to trust dull human senses over a dog’s. Whatever Chip’s instincts had picked up on, it was clear that there was only one appropriate response; RUN.

Thus he found himself five minutes later back at home, trying to calm down Chip. The dog was still filled with adrenaline and not ready to ease it up. David sat himself down with Chip in the couch and focused on petting the dog. He made sure to shower the dog with compliments and thank him profusely. Even though he still had no idea what had happened, he was sure the dog had detected something. Whatever it was, they’d gotten away from it. When he looked at the time, he saw he had to hurry up if he wanted to get to Alex’ place in time.

David rushed, but still ended up arriving five minutes later. He jumped out his car and ran to the door of Alex’ house. At the porch he noticed the bell wasn’t an electric one, so he had to clung it manually. David couldn’t deny it had a nice touch to it. Alex opened the door, a confused look on his face when he saw David.

“Sorry I’m late!”

“Uhm… You still want to go?”

“What do you mean? Why not?” David was confused.

“Oh, you didn’t see. Mirta’s mother grounded her for something stupid, happens from time to time sadly enough. You didn’t react to my texts so I wasn’t sure if you still wanted to go.”

David picked his phone out his pocket and noticed he did have some missed messages.

“Sorry I didn’t see, crazy story. Anyways, I still want to go if you’re down. We’ll do something else with Mirta another time, no?”

“Give me two minutes, you can come in if you want. No one’s home, so no need to be scared my parents are going to bombard you with awkward questions or anything,” Alex called out, already halfway up the stairs.

David came inside and was standing around for a bit when he heard Alex call from upstairs. “You can come up if you don’t judge my room. It’s not trashed, but not completely clean either.”

David went along and walked inside the room Alex’ voice was coming from. He was a bit surprised to find the other standing in just his briefs. His impressive physique was a funny contrast to the pink briefs with pineapples Alex was wearing.

“I don’t think they’ll let you in the cinema like that.”

“Gimme a second, I wanted to show you something.” Alex turned around and was looking in one of closets. David couldn’t help but have his eyes drawn to the lower buns that were on display with only one pink layer of fabric over them.

“You certainly showed something,” David joked.

Alex had apparently found what he was looking for and turned around. He pushed a book in David’s hands before he started dressing himself. David looked at it and noticed it was the fourth book of the series they had talked about the day before. “Oh, I stopped reading this one mid-way. I never picked it up after that. You have the whole series?”

“Yeah, I loved them. You can borrow it if you’re interested?” Alex was halfway dressed now, though he quickly stopped to spray on some deodorant. The smell filled the room and David found himself liking the smell.

“That’d be great, though I can’t promise I’ll get through it. I really hit a hard patch when the characters split up, it felt like too much work after that.”

“Yeah, there’s a few chapters that are less interesting, but it gets even better after that. It’s a bit like they have individual training arcs, but in an actual story form without them actually having to train. Anyways, I’m ready. Let’s get going, we might be pushing it as it is. But hey, they usually play tons of commercials first anyhow.”

“I guess that’s my bad,” David said while they were rushing down the stairs and to the car.

“A bit, but that’s okay. Were you busy with anything?” Alex asked once they were seated and buckled up.

“sh*t! Yes, that reminds me. I was walking in the woods with Chip, my dog. We did our usual on a small hiking path near my house. Out of nowhere he goes completely ballistic, barking and yelping. Usually he doesn’t make a sound, so I was confused. He listens incredibly well, so I don’t always have him on a leash. Anyways, so I go to check it out what happened and he comes storming back towards me, grabs the leash with his teeth and starts dragging me back. Do you reckon it was a wolf or bear or something?”

“I honestly have no clue. It sounds like there was at least something there. Did you let Officer Swan know?”

“Oh sh*t, I completely forgot about Charlie. I should probably call him and let him know I’m back.”

Alex gave him a confused look, so David explained. “Harry, my uncle, was really good friends with him until they apparently got in a scuffle last year. Anyways, I was rather close with Charlie when I was young too.”

David searched the police station’s number online and found it quickly. He dialed it and sure enough it was picked up after only two rings.

“Chief of Police Swan, how can I help you?”

“Hey Charlie, it’s David. Miller.”

“Are you finally thinking about me? I had to hear about your return from Susan at the Lodge.”

“I’m so sorry, I completely forgot. I’ve been really busy. I’m sure you also heard about my parents and sister passing away? If not, I’m afraid they’re not coming back.”

“Yeah, I heard. My condolences. I’m sorry I have to ask this, but do I hear a car driving? I sure as hell hope you’re not calling me from behind the wheel?”

“No worries. Alexander Wilson is driving, we’re going to the movies in Port Angeles. You don’t have enough faith in me. I’m no longer the dumb little kid you used to know.”

“That’s reassuring to hear. Listen, David, it’s great to hear from you, don’t get me wrong, but this line has to be open for people who need to reach the police. We should definitely catch up some time soon though. If you’re free on a Thursday, you can find me in the Lodge.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. But I do have something to tell to an officer too. I was walking my dog this afternoon after class, an hour ago or something. He was off the leash and out of nowhere he starts barking and yelping, completely losing his sh*t. Chip hurried back to me, took my leash and started pulling me back. I trusted his instincts so I didn’t see anything myself, but thought I’d best mention it. It was just five minutes of the hiking path near my house. I thought I’d let you know, because if it was a wolf or bear or something, it felt a bit close to town.”

“Chip? That little black pup grew up to a strong Labrador I assume?” David hummed in confirmation. “We’ll check it out. Chances are small we’ll find anything, but if there’s a bear with cubs it could be a problem. Thanks for letting me know, David. Can you put me on speaker for a bit? I need to say something to Wilson.”

David was a bit curious and whispered to Alex that Charlie wanted to say something to him. He then put the phone on speaker and let Charlie know it was on. Suddenly Charlie blared through the phone.

“Alexander Wilson, if anything happens to David tonight, I hope you don’t run into me when I’m off duty. You also better not try to drink and drive, not that you should drink in the first place. If I catch yo-”

“Charlie, stop. You made your message clear, see ya!” David cut in and hung up. He then looked apologetically to Alex. “I’m so sorry about that. He’s always been a bit protective. Especially after his daughter moved to live with her mom when they divorced.”

“Don’t worry, it was cute to hear him like that. I had no idea our chief of police was such a worrywart, protective too.”

“You have no idea. Anyhow, now that that’s taken care of, we can freely enjoy our night.”

The rest of the night was rather amazing. They arrived just in time to get a bucket of popcorn; and when they entered the movie itself, it was just about to start. The two of them just skipped the fifteen minutes of commercials you usually had to watch. The movie itself was scarily good. At one point David was really on edge and he reached out a hand to Alex. Without any prompting, Alex understood and held his hand comfortingly. He even rubbed his finger reassuringly over the back of David’s hand.

After the movie they went to a restaurant, though they were lucky to catch a booth. David had dreaded having to sit across of Alex. It would add too much date-vibes to an outing of friends, especially after having seen Alex half naked at the start of it all. The two of them talked about the movie, Alex slightly teasing David with the parts that had scared David the most. David was just happy that the clown classic of horrors was one he could put out of his head after seeing a movie.

On their drive home, they chatted comfortably for a while longer until the conversation died out a bit. That’s when Alex turned on his radio, after looking for a while they found some good music. The both of them turned the car into a karaoke bar then. David’s singing wasn’t the best, but Alex’ voice was worse. Neither of them cared however, it was all about the spirit and not about the vocal technique. It was 11 p.m. and deeply dark when they arrived back in Forks. They were almost back at Alex’ place when he suddenly stopped the car at the side of the road. David gave him a curious look. Alex took a deep breath and started talking.

“I really enjoyed tonight. You’re funny, smart, handsome and you’re a great karaoke partner… We’re both attracted to guys, which doesn’t happen a lot in small towns like Forks. I’m just going to say it, I’d like to do this again sometime, but as a date instead of as friends.”

After that the car stayed silent for a while. David was processing the information. It wasn’t exactly like it came out of nowhere, but David didn’t know how to react. Alex interpreted the silence as a negative reaction, which it was. He let out a sigh and then forced a smile on his face. Alex started the car again and was driving the last part to his house.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything, I think I know what your answer is.”

“sh*t, no. Alex, I don’t know how to react. Obviously I enjoy your company too and you’re definitely my type… But I really can’t say yes to dating at the moment. I only just arrived in Forks again, I’m still settling in and dating on top of all of that feels too much. I still need to look for a part-time job, I’m a bit of a household on my own, which I’m still getting used to, like the actual practical side of it all. Dating on top of all that, let alone being in a relationship… It’s too much for me.”

“Hmm, I understand. Makes sense, really,” Alex said, with a small smile on his face. It was clear he’d interpreted it as a positive reaction, which David guessed it was. After all, he’d basically told Alex he definitely had a shot. They had arrived at Alex’ house and stepped out of the car. “I’ll ask you again in the future then.”

“That’d be great. For now we’re just going to stick to gay best friends, okay?”

“More than okay. Friendly goodbye hug?” Alex asked with a greedy smile.

David opened his arms and the other slammed in. The hug definitely lasted longer than a hug usually does with just a friend, but David found he didn’t mind. Alex’ muscular build allowed him to really melt into the hug. David then patted his hand on the other’s back to signal the end of the hug.

“I’ll see you Monday.”

“See you Monday, enjoy your weekend. Good luck with your family dinner tomorrow, I’m sure they’ll grill you for all the details of your first week back to school,” Alex said.

“You have no idea,” David chuckled as he climbed in his own car.

Notes:

Anyone a guess as to what Chip smelled in the woods?
Also: hehe, enter jealous Emmett when Alex starts teasing David in class

Chapter 6: Getting A Job

Summary:

I hate to spoil this, but David gets a job.

Notes:

Hiya, it's been a while. No great dramatic reveals (uncommon for AO3 writers, I know), just been busy with personal life.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

David slept in on Saturday. After having gone out the day before, he needed some extra sleep. Without an alarm set, he woke up naturally at 11 p.m. He was greeted by Chip, who desperately wanted to sleep with him last night. As David felt a bit guilty for how little time he’d had for the dog this week, he’d allowed it. Especially after his eventful afternoon the day before, Chip had deserved some extra attention.

Since he didn’t have a ton of time left, David quickly jumped in the shower. He got the accumulated grease out of his brown hair, scratching his scalp thoroughly to make sure his hair looked flawless. After all, after his lunch at the Clearwater’s he had an interview planned at the local hospital. He was hoping to get a student job there. It would look good on his college application to have a medical oriented job on his curriculum vitae. He made sure to dress up a bit, a little more than he usually would for a family lunch.

“I’m sorry buddy, I’m afraid I have to leave. I promise I’ll make it up to you tomorrow. We’ll take a hike that’ll have you exhausted for days. I’ve gotta go, see ya later buddy.”

When he arrived at the Clearwater’s house, he noticed another extra car parked in the front. David guessed they’d invited someone extra to the family lunch. That means it could only be Billy Black. Rachel and Rebecca had probably already moved out by now, they were quite a few years older. But Jake was probably still around and was most likely forced into joining the lunch. He ran up the porch and knocked the door. Sure enough, it was a boy a few years younger than David that opened the door. His memories from all the way back then were vague and it’s not like Jacob would look anything like he did at 7 years old anyways.

“Jake?” David asked.

“The one and only, welcome back David,” Jacob greeted him and gave him a quick bro hug.

“It’s a pleasure to be back. I’m guessing you brought Billy with you?” David asked with a grin.

Sure enough, an older man on wheels arrived a minute later at the entrance. “Hey there David. Come in, come in. Already two weeks in Forks and still no visit to Uncle Billy?”

“I’m sorry, Billy. I was rather busy with moving back in and all that. I haven’t visited Charlie yet either. Though I did call him yesterday. Did you guys hear anything about a bear or wolf near the city? I was walking outside near my house with Chip when he suddenly started barking and yelping. I didn’t see what he saw or smelled or anything, but he went completely insane. He grabbed his leash and physically pulled me back to the house. I let our chief know and he said he’d check it out.”

Only after he said it all, he realized that Leah told him they had a bit of a fall-out with Charlie. Oh well, not his problem. He wasn’t exactly supposed to know either way. They were adults for god’s sake, they should be able to handle this much. David saw both Billy’s face and Harry’s, who had by now also arrived at the entrance, slightly frowning upon hearing the name.

“Ah, that’s good that he’ll check it out. I didn’t hear anything about a wolf or bear. I could check in with Sam, if you want? Though he won’t know about the city, but he’ll definitely know if it passed into the Quileute reservation.”

David nodded contently, though he knew he couldn’t let their earlier slip-up pass by. It’d be weird if he didn’t comment on the both of them making a face at the mention of Charlie.

“Great, also… What was that? Both of you grimaced when I mentioned Charlie? Isn’t he coming? He usually came to these things, no?” David asked.

Aunt Sue finally arrived, running at him and giving him a big hug. “They had a fight, stupid men acting like children. Harry and Billy aren’t fond of the Cullens. Their father, Carlisle, started working at the hospital. Some Quileute teenagers tried to sabotage the clinic, manifesting and protesting outside. Charlie had to step in as chief of the police and they blame him for picking the Cullen’s side even though he was just doing his job.”

It was very clear what Sue’s thoughts about the whole situation were. After stating her opinion on the matter, she moved on and started asking the teenagers questions about high school. They were seated at the table and enjoying the great meal Sue had prepared when Harry asked whether he’d gotten to know any people yet. He shortly made eye contact with Leah and decided to avoid mentioning Emmett. After all, he hadn’t seen him since Monday anyways.

“Yeah, Mirta Garcia and Alexander Wilson. I mean, some others on the side too, but they’re definitely the two I’m becoming friends with.”

“Isn’t that Wilson kid… you know?” Billy asked.

David knew his family wasn’t the most progressive. He was pretty sure they weren’t hom*ophobic though, just awkward surrounding the topic.

“Yes, he is a great gymnast. I swear, the ease with which he was swinging himself around at PE was insane. I think he has a match in a few weeks, I was thinking of going to support him. You’re definitely welcome to join.”

“No, I meant… doesn’t he… swing for the same team?”

“Ugh, yes Billy,” David said with a sigh. “He’s gay, so am I. And no, just because we’re both gay does not mean we’re dating.”

He should’ve expected that to get a lot of reaction. Though almost all of it was positive. Sue and Leah gave him a broad smile, telling him it was great that he was comfortable sharing it. Jacob and Seth were completely neutral, which was fine too. After all, it wasn’t supposed to change anything. Harry and Billy took a second to recuperate, but then also gave their support, with Harry saying, “Whether you’re interested in boys or girls, you’re still my son.”

David was happy to see they all accepted it. After that, the conversation less tense over time, especially after Sue manifested the dessert on table. Nothing better than a homemade pie to get everyone sweet. It was great to spend time with family. Jacob and Seth had quite some stories to share about their high school on the reservation. Jacob also let him know that if his car ever had any issues, he’d look after it. Apparently he was really into mechanics and was already capable of fixing up a pick-up truck or some motorcycles.

“You planning to go into mechanics later?”

“Definitely, nothing better than tinkering with cars or bikes all day. Getting paid for it would be even better. What are you planning after school? You’re smart, I bet you’re going to be a fancy lawyer or something.”

“Actually planning on getting into medical school. As a matter of fact, I have to leave because of it. I applied for a student job at the clinic, I got an interview at four,” David replied, looking at his watch and seeing it was already 3.30 p.m.

“David!” Harry called out to him at that. “Good thing of getting your resume looking better. But try to stay clear of Dr Cullen, okay?”

“Why?” David asked. He had heard it from Leah, but he wanted them to give him the answer themselves.

“He’s bad news. All of the Cullens. Stay clear of them at school, okay?”

“Harry, I love you, but I can’t avoid people just because you tell me to. If you want me to understand, you need to explain it to me.”

Harry and Billy exchanged looks. Harry’s face looked painfully pleading, but Billy firmly shook his head in the negative. David had a bit of compassion. Maybe there was something more going on than just a story, though he couldn’t be sure. David decided to lightly give in.

“Fine, I won’t purposefully seek them out. But I won’t avoid them. If my job requires me to talk with Dr Cullen then I will do so. Besides, it isn’t the biggest hospital, but there’s more than one doctor. I doubt I’ll see him that often anyways. Sounds agreeable?”

Harry gave him a nod. With that and a hug to both Sue and Leah, he left the Clearwater’s. He made sure to thank Sue for the amazing food and the guarantee that he’d be back next Saturday. Before he got out, she tried to hand him some left-overs, but he had to politely decline since he wasn’t going home. Instead he drove straight to the clinic.

David arrived at the clinic with ten minutes to spare. He figured there wouldn’t be any harm in showing up early, so he went up to the registration counter where he gave his name and told the woman behind the counter he was there for an interview regarding a student job. The woman luckily knew what he was talking about.

“You’re in luck. We saw your application and noticed your interest in going to medical school eventually. A lot of people just do logistics jobs, like replacing the sheets, perhaps giving patients some meals every now and then, but you got lucky. We have an opening for a medical scribe.”

David wasn’t exactly sure what that included. The receptionist noticed and gave him a comforting smile. “Don’t worry, it’s normal you don’t know how everything works in the hospital yet. That’s why you’re here in the first place, right?” David gave her a relieved smile and a nod.

“Anyways, as medical scribe, you’ll work directly with physicians and doctors to transcribe information during clinical visits in real time to electronic health records. You’ll also work directly with patients to document and record information from their charts during a clinical visit. It’s more or less the best way to get acquainted with the medical field, especially as a student. On top of that, it’ll look good on your application to whatever university you pick.”

“That sounds amazing. More than amazing, perfect.”

“Great, you’ll work as you requested. It’ll be on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. till 9 p.m. Any questions so far?”

“No, it sounds incredible,” David said, which it did. It completely followed the days he’d applied for. It allowed him to quickly go on a walk with Chip between school and his job. He just had to make sure he did all of his homework in the weekend so he only had to do smaller tasks regarding schoolwork during the week.

“Great. Since you’ll be following a fixed doctor. We don’t expect any difficulties, but only sign the contract after a trial period of two hours. This is just to see whether there’s any huge difficulties with working together, though we haven’t had that happen before. We had hoped to do that today, but if that doesn’t work, it’s possible to do it on Monday too. Obviously those two hours will also be paid, regardless of it working out between you and the doctor.”

“Now works, I hadn’t planned for it to take two hours, but I did schedule some time free in case this should take longer than expected.”

“Great planning is a strong quality. If you could follow me, I’ll show you to the changing rooms.”

They chatted amicably for the short walk it was to the changing rooms. The woman picked him out a medium sized T-shirt and told him to change. Since it was just a black T-shirt with written ‘medical scribe’ in white on top of it, it didn’t take long for him to change.

“You’ll have two of those. Just drop the one you wore in the laundry bin after you’re done with your shift. It’ll almost always be clean the next day, but with two you’re always safe. It’s your only attire requirement you get from us. Other than that we expect long pants and closed shoes, even on the few days Forks gets nice weather. Any more questions?”

“Nope, I think I understand everything.”

“Great, wait here for a few more seconds. You were a bit early, Dr Cullen will be here shortly.”

With that, the receptionist was gone. David was a bit stressed out. On one hand he’d promised Harry to avoid Carlisle if possible. On the other hand, he’d told him that if his job required him to interact with Dr Cullen, he’d do it. This wasn’t an opportunity he wanted to miss just because the Quileute tribe had some fantasy stories about pale looking people. He was a bit lost in thought when he heard a voice call out to him.

“Hi there, you must be David Miller, right?” David looked up and gave him a nod. “The name is Carlisle, though I’d prefer it if you call me Dr Cullen while we’re on the job.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr Cullen.”

“Right, you met Emmett on your first day. He’ll be back on Monday, in case you were worried. Now, on to the practical aspect. I only have two rules and I expect you to follow them. Rule number one is to never question me in front of patients. If you have questions, you ask them afterwards. It’s not that I don’t believe in answering questions, I do. It’s just that your questions, for example ‘why don’t you think it’s broken?’ could add a lot of unnecessary stress to the patients. It gives me a lot of extra work, which is the exact opposite of the purpose of your job. Capice?”

“I understand, no questions in front of patients. What is rule number two?”

“To try your best and ask enough questions. Especially in the beginning you’ll struggle with where to place things or how to write certain symptoms or diseases. You’ll also have to get used to abbreviations I and the rest of the medical community use.”

“Thank you for being so understanding, Dr Cullen.”

“Not a problem. Now, let’s go do some rounds. We’re going to do some post-operative checks on patients. I had a few forms printed off. You won’t always use them, but it helps in the beginning with noticing which things you should or shouldn’t write down. I’m used to doing this part of the job as well, but I usually do it afterwards. You’re supposed to save me time doing that, but we’ll go over it so you can ask me questions and I can fill in the gaps you missed. Over time you’ll miss less and less.”

Soon after that, they did indeed start rounds. Dr Cullen was clearly loved by his patients, which made sense. David found he liked the man and thought he was a good doctor. He was aware that he couldn’t judge the man’s medical knowledge, but he could judge his attitude towards the patients. His charming smile and genuinely concerned attitude gave David the feeling the man was perfectly fit for the job.

After a few patients, the both of them retreated to Dr Cullen’s office where they went over the patients. David didn’t have a lot of medical questions, except for how to write certain things. He knew he had to first be able to make sure he did his job right, before he focused on gaining some medical insight.

Dr Cullen was patient and laughed together with David over how you had to write some words. He had to hear the doctor say the word ‘uvulopalatopharyngoplasty’ three times before he managed to write it down and only because the doctor split it up in four parts and helped him with the spelling. The two hours actually flied by and before he knew it Dr Cullen said he was done for the day.

“I definitely enjoyed your company and see us working together. I don’t want you to feel forced to say yes, so I’ll let the front desk know and then you can decide whether you want to do so too.”

“I want to. You’re a great doctor, patient,” David had to chuckle briefly when he heard himself say it. It got a small grin out of the doctor too, “and kind too. I’ll definitely sign the contract and I’ll be back on Monday.”

“That’s great to hear. See you then, David.”

Notes:

What are the odds that David's job is connected to the Cullens somehow? It's almost as if someone's twisting the plot so it makes sense x

Chapter 7: Venison Steak

Notes:

A bit of a longer chapter to change it up. Enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

On Sunday, David took the time to look up a hike a while out of Forks. He packed some lunch and went out into the woods. After five hours of hiking, even Chip was tired. When they came back, they just fell flat on the couch and rested for a while. After napping for a bit David got into his homework. It wasn’t a lot, but when he was finished it was time for dinner. Add watching a movie afterwards to that and it was already time for bed.

David must’ve been really exhausted from the hiking since he overslept the next day. After a quick shower he made it to school. Sadly enough, he had to drop by the reception to get a late note. Not that it would matter a ton. After all, it wasn’t like they’d contact his parents if he was late too often. Mr. Varner luckily wasn’t mad over only ten minutes late. David swiftly sat himself down next to Mirta.

“Hey, you missed out on Friday. Good movie!”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Wanna guess what I got grounded for?” Mirta asked.

“Alex said your mom likes to ground you for stupid reasons… not doing your chores?” David guessed.

“Worse. I got a B in Spanish. Apparently that isn’t allowed because I’m Latina. Like, how is it my fault that Mrs. Goff doesn’t approve correct words? It just said ‘fill in the sentence correctly’, which I did. Just not with the words we learned during that class. How is that my fault?”

David was stunned. That was truly ridiculous. “I mean, I understand your mom placing value on Spanish. But that’s horrendously stupid.”

“Mr. Miller, if you’re going to be late, you could at least be so kind to pay attention. You can talk with Ms. Garcia outside of class. It’s even possible to talk before class if you arrive on time.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Varner. It won’t happen again.”

It didn’t, well… not that class. They both focused on the lecture without saying another word. Sadly enough, that aspect didn’t change when David went into Biochemistry. Thanks to their horrible teacher there, the only thing that he knew about his neighbour there was her name, Ella. Nothing more since they hadn’t exchanged a single word yet, talking was strictly not allowed. Without having to pass her back her graded task, he wouldn’t have even figured that out yet.

Ms. Smith from Biochemistry had ruined his demeanour to the point where he actually forgot about the big change to his Psychology class. Luckily, the big change called out to him when he entered the room.

“David, here!”

“Emmett, you’re finally back I see? Planning to do more than just Monday this week?” David quipped after walking over to Emmett and his girlfriend. No matter what Mirta said about Emmett and Rosalie not being a couple, David was convinced of it. Sure, it was a bit weird since they were siblings, but they weren’t blood-related so it was probably fine.

He didn’t sit down at the three-seat with the couple though, instead opting to keep standing while chatting. After all, he’d more or less gotten used to sitting next to Alex. This was the only class they had together too. Emmett grinned at his question.

“Yeah, I should be fine. Venus is no longer rising, so all water signs should be safe for now.”

While Emmett said that, Mr. Allen entered. David did not want to antagonize the man if possible, so he figured he should make his way to his seat.

“That’s reassuring to hear. I’ll talk to you in English, okay?”

He then hurried over to Alex and when the boy held his fist up, he gave him a fist bump. It was definitely not something they usually did, but David loved the randomness of it. Throughout his Psychology class he kept chatting with Alex.

After all, they were seated rather far in the back. Not only that, but Mr. Allen was after four weeks into the semester still busy with the introduction chapter. Talking about ethical research was often boring. You just needed to have a basic level of insight to understand which things you should take into account when you’re researching it. Dragging it out over multiple classes was simply unnecessary.

“So, what’d you do over the weekend?” David whispered to Alex.

“Dreamt about my missed opportunity to kiss you,” Alex whispered back, though low enough to make sure no one else heard them.

A loud snap broke off David’s rebuttal to the cheesy line. Everyone looked to where the sound came from. David wasn’t sure but thought it came from Emmett’s direction. His thoughts were confirmed when Mr. Allen looked in surprise at the boy. “Everything okay, Mr. Cullen?”

“Yes, sir. I accidentally broke my pencil.”

Mr. Allen’s raised eyebrows betrayed his surprise, even if his voice managed to hide it quite well. “Please try to not take out any frustrations on your writing utensils. Now, as I was saying, it’s important to guarantee that the participants in your study are aware of which risks they are running if there are any…”

When class was once again going, Alex opened the conversation. “By the way, what’d you do to befriend the Breaker of Pencils?”

“Hah, nice one. What do you mean though? I just sat next to him and chatted.”

“The Cullens are usually really reserved. They never interact with people who aren’t Cullens, but Emmett even called out to you.”

“I don’t think I did anything special. Though I am working with his dad now.” Alex’ single raised eyebrow was demanding an explanation. “I got a student job at the clinic,” David added. “I’m Dr Cullen’s medical scribe on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s quite possibly the best student job I could have gotten to raise my chances on getting into medical school.”

“That’s great! If even Mirta’s mom is a fan of his, you know he’s a good one. Though his good looks definitely don’t harm his prospects. Crazy to have family where every individual won the genetic lottery.”

“Is that envy I hear?” David teased.

“No way, you haven’t seen my parents. I love them, but with their combined gene pool… I definitely hit the jack pot as well,” Alex said with a goofy grin.

“Now I’m curious what your parents look like.”

“I could introduce you to them if you want,” Alex said with his brows hopping up and down. The unspoken ‘as my boyfriend’ didn’t go unnoticed.

“Alright, buddy. Let’s lower the amount of cheesy lines, you’re going to make me lactose intolerant.”

“Sorry, I’m just too hyped.”

“No problem, I just really need some time to adjust to everything. You can win your date afterwards,” David said with a smile that painted one on Alex’ face as well. “And with that, we had enough romantic tension for the week.”

With that, the romantic innuendos stopped. They did continue chatting though. When the bell rang, David was surprised to find Emmett waiting at his desk while he was still packing his stuff.

“Want to walk to English class together?”

“Sure!” He turned to Alex before he left. “See you at lunch!”

While they were walking to English class, he felt a lot of people staring at them in the hallways. To the point he actually felt a bit uncomfortable. David decided to distract himself by talking with Emmett.

“I’m glad you’re back. Mr. Mason was an absolute menace when you were gone. Since you gave me the credits with your answer for Shakespeare last week, he kept focusing on me. He definitely knew it was your answer and not mine. Saying things like “you seem to have lost any capability of insight in Shakespeare’s texts once Mr. Cullen left” and stuff like that. I don’t think he likes me a lot.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m back to cover you if you get called on again.”

“True, uhm… I don’t know if I should ask. You’re definitely free to not give me an answer, but… Is your family situation okay now?”

By now they had arrived in Mr. Mason’s classroom. The man didn’t look to happy to see Emmett back, though he did greet him and pointedly ignored David. Not that David cared either way, but it was quite rude. “Completely fine.”

David saw it as the rejection to dive deeper in on the question, so he moved on. Mr. Mason did start his class, though he soon enough allowed them to read a text and solve some questions in pairs.

“Oh, by the way, I still wanted to apologize,” David whispered.

“What for?”

“I talked with my sister about you and she had explained why you aren’t fond of the Quileute people.”

Emmett froze up completely. He probably feared that David had adopted the Quileute’s thoughts about them. “Don’t worry, I don’t believe in their fairytales. I’m really sorry for being so harsh on you the first day. Obviously you have your reason for not liking the Quileute tribe. I’m also really sorry they tried to sabotage your dad getting hired at the clinic. He’s a great doctor.”

“You… don’t believe them?” Emmett said, almost as if he couldn’t believe his own ears.

“No, should I? Do you eat children and drink their blood?” David asked with a huff of laughter. He got a stern look from Mr. Mason though, so he suddenly made sure to pretend he was very busy with the assignment they had gotten. Studiously faking to read the text in front of him, David even moved his eyes from left to right though he wasn’t reading any words on the page.

“No, I don’t,” Emmet answered, a bit too late and way too serious. David had almost forgotten what question he’d asked.

“That’s what I figured,” David chuckled. “So, since I wasn’t aware of how the Quileute tribe treated you and your family when you arrived here, I just assumed you were a racist. Or at least had an unjustified bias against them. I want to apologize, both for how they treated you and for how I did.”

“It’s fine, please. Don’t apologize, it’s water under the bridge. I know you didn’t mean anything with it. Also, if you had something against me or my family, I doubt you’d have done such a great job with Carlisle on Saturday.”

“He said I did good?” David perked up.

“Yup, he likes you. Which isn’t too difficult to be honest. There’s little people that Carlisle doesn’t like. But you had a good attitude towards your job, he said. You have your first real day today, right?”

“Yes, though it should be just like Saturday but longer.”

“Going to look good on your college application!” Emmett said with a thumbs up.

They didn’t continue their talk since Mr. Mason told them the time to read their text was up. David had not read one letter of the text, not at all interested in this period. It was the only one he’d hadn’t been able to fill with a science subject. The only thing that interested him in this class sat next to him. Emmett managed to save him when Mr. Mason picked him to answer one of his questions. When the bell rang, David thanked Emmett for his assistance.

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you in Physics?”

David agreed and they split up when they entered the cafeteria. Emmett on his way to sit with his siblings and David on his way to Mirta. After all, Alex was usually late on Mondays and today was no different. David almost felt bad for Alex’ teacher for having a student purposefully making your life more difficult just for the jest of it.

“You’re winning,” Mirta said out of nowhere. David had no clue what she was talking about.

“Sorry, what?”

“You’re the first to get this close to a Cullen. Even walking with him after class. How’s your crush treating you?”

“I don’t have a crush!” David said and he looked around in a slight paranoid frenzy.

During his quick inspection he saw that no one was near enough to hear them. Though he did spot the Cullen table where three of the five were coincidentally looking in his direction. One of them Rosalie, who was giving him a stern glare. David gulped and mentally prayed for the girl to never find out about his NOT-crush on Emmett. She looked like she’d rip out his throat if he tried to steal away Emmett from her. David gave a polite awkward smile and looked back at Mirta.

“That sounded surprisingly defensive for not having a crush,” his friend teased.

“I really don’t though. I mean, he’s obviously attractive, but that’s just my gay eyes appreciating a pretty picture. I like him, but just as a friend. Also, he’s straight and in a relationship. On top of that, I’m not even looking to date anyone at the moment. My life’s too hectic, I’m still settling in,” David rambled.

“I heard…” Mirta said, trailing off. It sounded like she knew more, which could only mean one thing.

“Alex told you?”

“I mean… we are quite close friends. After he shot his shot with you, he called me. You, on the other hand, didn’t tell me anything,” she said in a condemning tone.

“I… I didn’t know. I guess I just assumed it was private information. Also, in a way I didn’t want you to know. Now you’ll see remarks we make more quickly as romantically teasing, while I like to do that with just friends too. The whole reason I said ‘no’ was to prevent it from taking over my personal life, I’m busy enough as it is. Especially with my new job.”

“You got a job?” Alex asked from behind him, having finally arrived.

“Yup, medical scribe at the clinic.”

“Putting together a strong college application, smart!” Mirta commented.

“I mean, it’s already October. Early applications are in November,” David said.

“Where are you applying?” Mirta asked.

“I’ve set my sights on Seattle, but I’m going to apply to a lot of places.”

“Is that the best one for you or just close to home?”

“Close to home. I only just arrived here, I want to be able to visit frequently. It’s also ‘just’ my undergraduate. Where do you guys think of applying?”

“I’m considering Seattle right now,” Alex joked. David rolled his eyes and turned the question to Mirta, who would hopefully reply with an actual answer.

“It’s stressful, so I don’t like to talk about it too much. But I’m planning on a physics major, which obviously means I’m also planning on applying to MIT. I know I won’t make it, but I can’t not apply. I’m going to send as much applications to as much colleges as possible. We’ll see what happens,” Mirta said. When the bell rang, she stood up. “Time for some biology, let’s get to it.”

On the way to their class, David couldn’t help but ask Mirta why she didn’t have Physics with him then.

“I already took it last year, sadly enough. I miss it. If you ever have some questions or need notes, let me know.”

As was getting usual, his biology class was a pleasure to be in. Chatting was allowed as long as they got their work done and didn’t disturb their neighbours. Mr. Banner was the true hero this school needed. By times he was a bit too enthusiastic while explaining less interesting things, but it certainly topped Ms. Smith’s classes. Though he enjoyed his time with Mirta, he was happy when he could head towards Physics. What he hadn’t expected was for Emmett to wait for him outside his Biology classroom.

“Uhm, hi?” David said bewildered. Wasn’t waiting for him outside his classroom a bit odd? How did he even know he had Biology now?

“Oh, good to see you. If you wait a second, we can go to Physics together. I need a second with Edward, there he is!” Emmett responded.

That made a lot more sense, David realized. He waited while Emmett and Edward whispered a few short things to each other, with Emmett seemingly trying to get Edward to spill something he knew. Clearly Edward refused and went on with his day. Emmett came with a slightly dejected face walking towards David.

Notes:

I did say their relationship would go about as smooth as possible for human-vampire relationships. That doesn't mean there can't be a small hurdle at the beginning. Was David dramatic? Undoubtedly. Could some normal communication have solved this issue? Undoubtedly. Is David still a teenager? Unfortunately.
Poor Emmett :'(

Chapter 8: Single

Notes:

I swear I had the title of this chapter in my head before I knew I was going to have it ready on Valentine's Day!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

When David walked into Psychology class that Tuesday morning, he made a point of ignoring Emmett’s greeting. He was still disappointed in him and was not ready to talk with him again. In time, he would, he just needed some time and an apology from Emmett. David did make sure he smiled in Rosalie’s direction though when he passed their bench. Alex noticed apparently, since he made a comment on his behavior when he sat down.

“You and Pencilbreaker got beef?”

David couldn’t help but feel Alex sounded a bit excited about that prospect. “Don’t want to talk about it,” he muttered.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“No idea, you pick something.”

“Alright, since we’re getting good weather this week-end, what do you say about going surfing? We could invite Mirta too. It’s probably one of the last times we can this year, at least comfortably,” Alex suggested.

David mulled it over for a second. Even though it was something where your body was a bit on display through the wetsuits, it wasn’t something with an explicit date-vibe, so it was fine in that aspect. He was a bit hesitant on doing it with just the three of them. If Mirta got grounded for a ridiculous way once more, it would feel a lot like a date.

“Want to do it at La Push? I can ask my brother and sister to join us then. Seth will be stoked, he loves surfing.”

Alex happily agreed to it. They settled on doing it Friday afternoon, directly after school. During that same class he texted Leah – who immediately confirmed – and Seth. It surprised him to feel his phone vibrate during his next period with a positive response from Seth as well. David grinned and shot a text back.

‘Seth, tsk tsk. No phones in school!’

‘“You’re black,” said the pot to the kettle’, was the immediate response he got.

‘Haha, fair point’

“Something funny?” Emmett asked.

“My brother,” David said in a monotone tone before putting his phone back in his pocket and focusing his attention back to the mind numbing text they were reading for his English class.

“Look, I’m sorry. Whatever I did, I apologize, okay? Can’t we go back to being friends?” Emmett asked. It pained David’s heart a bit to hear the other clearly affected by their strained relationship. However, it wouldn’t change his stance on cheating and those who did or even attempted it.

“You not realizing what you did wrong, makes it worse. Also, if you’re going to apologize, do it to the right person.”

Emmett still pushed back a bit, but David was done. He wasn’t interested in talking about it. Rosalie deserved apologies way more than he. In fact, David was considering telling her himself, but he knew he couldn’t. It was Emmett’s task and responsibility to admit his mistake, it was the only way to salvage their relationship: being honest.

Every now and then, Emmett tried to make a funny comment. It got a laugh or smile out of David a few times, but he refused to go back to being amicable. Not until Emmett saw the severity of his actions and regretted them. David hoped Emmett would soon realize his mistake and apologize to Rosalie, because not being friends with someone usually as spontaneously happy as Emmett was difficult. David wanted to just brush over it, but he knew he couldn’t; it would only make everything worse since it would reinforce Emmett’s behavior.

Both Alex and Mirta noticed his change in demeanor when he arrived at lunch. Luckily enough, they were kind enough to brush over it. They instead talked about other stuff, including their trip to La Push for Friday. During Biology David opened up to Mirta about what happened last night at the clinic. After ranting for the whole period, he ran into Emmett again when he walked out of Biology. Just like the day before, Emmett was trying to get Edward to tell him something; today seemingly even more desperately so than yesterday. This time David wasn’t going to wait until Emmett was ready though, and he instead started walking to Physics by himself. He could barely believe his ears when he heard Emmett say something to Edward.

“Come on, Edward. You’re my brother, aren’t you?”

“It’s not my business, Emmett. You decided to do this, I didn’t. Do it by yourself,” Edward said. David had no idea what they were talking about, but could tell it was something Emmett had initiated.

“Ugh, you’re officially the worst brother,” Emmett said.

David’s heart stopped beating. He wanted to kick Emmett. At first it was him trying to coerce his brother into doing something Edward didn’t want to. Then he insulted his brother in a way that was unacceptable. He knew it was less bad than he saw it, but he couldn’t handle it.

It probably had something to do with losing his own sister, especially because of their last interaction before she went on vacation. Just before they left, they had had a fight, which was normal for siblings. But having his last words to Lily been ugly ones had hurt; Lily the moment he spoke them and himself when she unexpectedly died. Not ever was he going to be able to make up with her. He could only learn to live with it. When Emmett said something to him during Physics, David just straight up ignored him. He kept up the same attitude for the next couple of days.

By Friday’s English class Emmett seemed miserable. David was starting to feel sorry for the boy, but couldn’t budge on the principle. He hated adultery more than anything else and Emmett still hadn’t realized his mistake.

“Could you at least tell me who I should apologize to?” Emmett begged him for the thousandth time.

“Rosalie, you idiot,” David hissed, finally having had enough of his antics. Maybe Emmett would finally realize his mistake.

“Thank you,” Emmett said, sounding honestly grateful for David to tell him he had to apologize to his girlfriend. Well, at least he finally knows. David could only hope – for Emmett’s sake – that Rosalie would be forgiving, though he wouldn’t blame her if she wasn’t. When the bell rang for lunch, Emmett was the first one out of the classroom.

David was chatting with Mirta and Alex during lunch when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and was surprised to find Rosalie standing there. A smile breached his face, the girl was probably here to thank him for teaching her boyfriend some manners. However, her face didn’t seem particularly grateful.

“Could I talk with you for a minute?” Rosalie asked politely, though her voice sounded strangely strained.

“Oh, sure. I’ll see you at Biology, Mirta,” David said, giving a wave to Mirta before following the blonde supermodel outside. Once they were standing in a patch of grass a bit off the lunch building, she opened her mouth.

“I have no idea what exactly is going on between you and Emmett, but you’re destroying him. Over the last few days I heard him apologize to Carlisle, for over at least two hundred times. Not just him however, he apologized to all of us. Apparently you told him you weren’t the right person to apologize for doing something wrong. He has no idea what he did wrong and you’re not even willing to explain to him what it was. Just now he apparently heard from you that it was me he had to apologize to. I don’t wish to ever see by brother acting like he’d drop on his knees and beg for my forgiveness. I have zero reasons for being angry with him, but maybe that too is something you know better than me?” Rosalie asked in a venomous tone.

David was surprised to hear a lot of the things she said, but more than that he was stunned by how pissed off Rosalie sounded. He sighed, frustrated at Emmett’s persistence of not just being honest with his girlfriend. David figured he would have to tell her herself if Emmett wasn’t going to.

“Okay, I’ll tell you, but try to hear me out before you get angry. On Monday evening Emmett brought me dinner and we were talking when he suddenly asks whether I’m his type. I was a bit confused, since I first thought that he might mean to ask regarding my sexuality. That would still be a bit off, but I’d understand it. However, I asked for clarification and he really seemed to want to know whether I was interested in him,” David said. He let out a sigh of relief, having it finally off of his chest. Hopefully this beautiful girl wouldn’t be too upset with him.

“And? What has that to do with me? Why does that mean he has to apologize to me?” Rosalie asked in confusion.

“Well, uhm… I mean, I guess he doesn’t, then? I didn’t know you guys had an open relationship or something, sh*t, sorry?”

“Relationship? Oh my f*cking god! You’re kidding me!” Rosalie groaned angrily. “You thought Emmett and I were together, then?” she sighed, to which David nodded hesitantly. “I had no idea that dumb rumor was still doing the rounds. We’re not together, just close sibling-wise, but nothing romantic or sexual, ew. That’s just Jasper and Alice. Hold on,” Rosalie said, taking her phone out of her pocket. It rang just a single time before it was picked up.

“Emmett, could you come outside please? Near the green bench, south side,” Rosalie said.

David could barely hear what Rosalie was saying. There was only one thing that went through his mind and it wasn’t positive. He’d made a crucial mistake. For the last few days he’d been rude towards Emmett for no reason at all. Ignoring him during classes and having him almost groveling for forgiveness when he hadn’t done anything wrong in the first place.

It was as if his heart froze over, the cold realization of what he’d done setting in. The unjustifiable angry words he’d spoken to Emmett repeating themselves in his mind. He wanted to cry out of regret over his actions, but knew he had no right to that. Nauseating guilt was settling in his stomach and David thought he was about to puke when he saw Emmett jogging towards them.

“Alright, you two got to talk this out between the two of you yourself. Emmett, David thought we were together, romantically, and he saw your question regarding you being his type as an attempt at getting with him while in a relationship with me. If you’re going to pursue someone, you could at least make it clear to them that you’re single, you big idiot,” Rosalie compactly explained before walking off.

“You’re… single?” David asked.

It still hadn’t fully clicked in his mind. Had David really blamed this single guy over checking whether he was someone’s type? Had his disgust for unloyalty truly pushed him so far that he’d shut out a friend completely without giving them a chance to explain themselves? Was he truly still so blinded by hate over the concept of cheating? David thought he’d worked through his issues related to the subject during his therapy sessions last year?

“You thought I wasn’t?” Emmett answered by asking his own question.

“sh*t, Emmett, I’m so sorry,” David could feel his eyes starting to get wet. He’d made his friend feel horrible for days on end without a good reason. Why was he such a failure? Even simple friendships were too difficult for him to handle, he should just-

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re not mad at me anymore.”

Emmett’s voice got him out of his own head, cutting his self-deprecating thoughts short. Suddenly he felt his head being lifted by ice cold fingers. When he looked up he saw that Emmett’s face didn’t seem to hold any grudge. In fact, his smile seemed to be genuine. There wasn’t a single trace left of the miserable look he’d worn for days.

“I’m so sorry, I really am. I thought you were trying to hit on me whil-”

“Shush, I told you: it’s okay, I understand why you did it. It’s quite adorable that you were so stern to me because of that, now that I think about it,” Emmett said in a teasing tone.

As strange as it was, the dimples in his smile seemed to agree with what he was saying. It was as if he wasn’t just saying it to ease David’s worries. The shock of the realization that Emmett wasn’t holding any of this against him, helped David shaking off some of negative emotions.

“It was most definitely not adorable,” David huffed out. “I… I feel horrible, how can I make it up to you?”

“You don’t have to, but if you want to… I can think of one thing.”

“What is it?” David asked, a bit unsure about the out-of-place expression Emmett was sporting.

“Answer this for me: am I your type?” Emmett asked with a careful grin on his face. David couldn’t help but smile in return to the stupid question. As if there were people who would consider Emmett NOT their type!

“Yes, frustratingly so. I swear, having supermodel friends is a curse,” David muttered. “Like, sure, it’s eye candy, but it makes your standards too high for other people to meet.”

“Definitely not a supermodel, but if you insist… This supermodel is incredibly attracted to you,” Emmett said confidently.

David blanked upon hearing that. Was Emmett pranking him? Was this a practical joke? There was no way a guy like Emmett would fall for someone like him, right? Not that David thought himself ugly, he was ordinarily attractive and was aware of his blue eyes’ distinct appeal. However, someone like Emmett could most likely get anyone in the world. Especially with an endearing beautiful inside and a good sense of humor like his. David did a quick check around him.

“There aren’t any hidden cameras right? Or revenge for me being a dick? This is real?”

Right at the moment Emmett was about to react, the school bell rang, announcing the end of their lunch break. Emmett looked furiously in the direction of the sound, which made David chuckle.

“I guess our time is up,” David said with a sigh.

“Unless you’re open to skipping class?” Emmett suggested. “I could take you to some place nice, go on a date? Or drive you home and go for a walk with Chip? Though I have to warn you, dogs don’t usually like me. I can prove to you that it’s real, no revenge and no hidden cameras.”

“I… I can’t, I’m sorry. I recently declined a date with Alex because I didn’t feel ready to date yet. I’d feel bad for him if I went on a date with you that same week.”

“So, what I’m hearing is: next week we can go on a date. Sounds great, which day did you have in mind? Friday, Saturday or Sunday? I mean, I could do any day of the week, but I figured you’d be too busy during the week with your job and all.”

Emmett was clearly not in the least discouraged by David’s rejection, obviously aware it was merely a temporary refusal. The boy was grinning broadly, a complete opposite from the cloudy weather. As cliché as it sounds, in the moment he looked like a personal sun.

This was all way too much to process for David though. Five minutes ago, he’d thought Emmett to be a cheating bastard and now the boy was all but professing his love for David. The most conflicting thing of all however was David’s own guilt still trying to eat away at him, even if the victim standing in front of him had swiftly forgiven him.

“Maybe you were right, I should probably skip class.” Emmett looked way too happy when he said that. “But not with you. I agreed to go surfing at La Push with my siblings and close friends. I’d invite you but Leah said something about you guys not allowed in the reservation.”

“You know about that? I thought they only told… you know, real Quileute. As in, by blood.” Emmett clearly struggled to wring his sentence in a way that it couldn’t possibly offend David.

“As a matter of fact, I am Quileute by blood. My mom’s mother was fullblood, God that sounds weird. Either way, she fell in love with a white man. Because of that, she wasn’t fully accepted into the tribe, nor was my mom. She only had a close connection with her cousin, Sue Clearwater. Now, if that’s enough proof of my Quileute lineage,” David made sure to stress this as a funny quip without any bite in, “I think I’m going to skip class… though I left my stuff in the cafeteria. You think I could slip in, get my stuff and manage to get out again afterwards?” David asked hopefully, though he knew he wouldn’t. He’d most likely run into someone.

“I’ll go pick them up. I’ve skipped classes before, I mastered the art of slipping in and out unnoticed. You make sure you’re ready at the parking lot, I’ll be there in five with your stuff.”

“Emmett, that’s kind of you, but I can’t let you get caught for my sake. Also, you should really get to class yourself, you’re late already.”

“You underestimate me. Don’t worry, just get yourself to your car,” Emmett ordered, already walking back to the cafeteria.

Emmett also pointedly put his hands over his ears so he wouldn’t be able to hear any objection David would make. The childish behavior brought a smile on David’s face. Once Emmett was out of range, he took out his cell phone. After quickly shooting Mirta an apology text for leaving her alone during Biology, he called his personal hotline for messes like these.

“You’re calling? Did your crush finally apologize for hitting on you?” Leah opened the conversation smoothly with teasing.

“Hello to you too. I’m guessing this means you’re okay for me to drop by?” David asked.

“Skipping school, hmm, must be big news! What, he confessed to you? Yeah, Sam still keeping me locked up at the reception. At least it’s a Friday, I had some people drop by and ask for hiking routes. I even counted them, two. The bare minimum to speak about people instead of person.”

“Actually, yes. He did. I have no idea what to do.”

“Alrighty, get over here and we’ll talk about. The surfing is still on, right?”

“Yup, no worries.”

David had in the meanwhile arrived at his car. It took surprisingly little time for Emmett to arrive, with a familiar bag in his hand. As usual – if David didn’t ruin his demeanor – Emmett arrived with a broad smile that showed off his perfect teeth.

“Would you mind giving me a ride? You’re probably picking up Chip before you go to the reservation, right? Your house is close enough to mine, I’ll walk from there.”

“I wasn’t planning to pick up Chip, he’s not allowed into the reservation, sadly enough. But I can drop you off at your house, if you want to?” David offered.

After all, Emmett was now – partly because of David – skipping class too. On top of that, David still felt like he owed the guy quite a bit. Somehow his dog comment was apparently hilarious since Emmett’s bouldering laugh filled the parking lot. To the point where David was worried he’d make their presence known to a roaming teacher.

“What’s so funny?” David asked, half-laughing himself. He couldn’t help it, Emmett’s deep-belly laughter was contagious.

“Sorry, there’s something hilarious about dogs not being allowed in the reservation,” Emmett said, still laughing. Then he suddenly switched his tone to a lower one that stirred something in David’s lower regions. “I’d love a ride, if you’re offering.”

David felt the heat taking over his cheeks. With Emmett whispering those words in his ears, his ever overactive imagination couldn’t help but give him a conjured image of what that’d look like; mouth-watering was not a strong enough word. He shook the thoughts out of his head and looked back to Emmett.

“I wish I had a comeback for that,” David admitted. With a deep breath, he opened the door to the driver’s seat and climbed inside. “Let’s just get you home. I feel like you could use a cold shower.”

“I’d jump in that shower if you jumped in with me,” Emmett immediately quipped, swiftly following into the passenger seat.

“You’re not going to stop doing that, are you?” David asked with a sigh. With a roar, the car engine came to life. Not long after that, they were off the school grounds.

“Definitely not. I can tell you like it too.”

“Just, not constantly, okay? Talk about something else. What is something I should know about you should I decide on dating you?”

“Isn’t that part of the fun of dating though? Getting to know the other person? Do I really want to share everything already?” Emmett danced around the question.

David gave him an annoyed glance with a raised eyebrow. “Really?”

“Alright, alright. But I’m keeping some secrets, okay? Hmm, what do you want to know?”

“Likes, dislikes, hobbies, future plans, red flags I should be aware of, whatever you want to share.”

“Alright, let’s see. Likes are definitely cars, hunting, most physical activities, long hikes, … oh, my family for sure. Big family man. Dislikes, I’m afraid I don’t like the smell of wet dogs, but I should be able to handle Chip. Other than that, I hate bears, with a passion. I was attacked by a black bear some time ago.”

“You were attacked by a bear?!” David interrupted. He was so shocked by what he heard, it took him focus to keep his eyes on the road.

“Haha, yeah. I know, crazy. But Rosalie and Carlisle saved me. Rosalie killed it and Carlisle treated my wounds.”

“Wow, well. That explains both the family love and the bear hate, I guess,” David laughed.

“Yes, definitely. To the right at the intersection, by the way. We live just outside of town,” Emmett directed.

“Any red flags? Future plans?”

“Possible red flag is that I’m a bit rash, I rush in without too much thinking. Other than that, I don’t think so? I’ve never been in a relationship before though. My future plan is you, the rest isn’t important at the moment,” Emmett said. This time it didn’t feel as much as teasing as it felt like it was an honest truth.

“Isn’t that a bit intense for someone you’ve only known for two weeks? Of which we only truly talked about three days, this one included,” David pointed out.

Though somehow he felt the same. There was a small piece inside of him telling him to trust Emmett, that he was the one. David was aware that those were called butterflies though. He was too rational to just go ahead and follow his hormones when they screamed at him to bang the hottest guy in their school, preferably for life. David was fully aware that if someone less attractive had said the same things, he would have been creeped out. Pretty privilege in live action!

“If you think it’s too intense, I’ll try to lower it a bit. Even if I don’t feel like it’s too passionate, we belong together. Also, it’s a dirt road on your left soon. There!” Emmett pointed.

Once on the dirt road, it was still half a minute driving through thick forestry before they arrived at the house. Though maybe mansion was a better fitting word for the place. A large, graceful home, rectangular and well-proportioned, painted in a faded white. Tons of windows to provide plenty of sunlight on the inside, guaranteeing that you were able to enjoy the imagery of the surrounding woods. There was a stunning woman with brown hair with caramel hints awaiting them at the entrance of the house.

“Another one of your stunning sisters?” David asked.

“Nope, my mom.”

“… you’re kidding me? She doesn’t look a day over twenty five. Though I guess Carlisle doesn’t really either. They’re what, thirty at most? Not weird to have parents so close to you in age?” David wondered aloud.

“Nah, it always feels like they’re ages older,” Emmett grinned. “I’ll introduce you, get out the car.”

David followed the other’s instructions. He was only just outside the car or Emmett’s mom called out to him.

“You must be David. Emmett has not been able to shut up about you. I’m glad you boys made up, though I hope Emmett isn’t making you skip school,” she said, sounding a bit worried. She turned to Emmett. “If you’re hoping to make a good impression on the Clearwaters, the least you could do is not being a bad influence on him.”

“Ah yes, I’m sure it’ll be my school attendance that’ll make them not like me,” Emmett mumbled.

David couldn’t help but let a giggle slip out at the adorable display of family love. This was very clearly Emmett’s mother, David could tell from Emmett’s petulant attitude. “Not to worry, Mrs. Cullen. I’m afraid I decided to skip school all on my own. I swear I did try to make Emmett stay, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”

“None of that ‘Mrs. Cullen’ politeness is necessary. Please, call me Esmée. Would you like to come inside for a second?” Mrs. Cu- Esmée asked him.

“Oh, no I really shouldn’t, I-”

“Please, just for a second. You still have a lot of time!” Emmett begged.

David didn’t know how it was possible. Somehow his golden eyes had transformed into those of a puppy. With an additional pout on top of it, it was impossible to refuse. “Fine, but not too long. I did tell Leah I’d be coming her way before we’re going surfing.”

Following the two Cullens inside, he was surprised by the seemingly very expensive paintings hanging up on the white walls. Impressive was too little to describe the house, it was overwhelming. The great staircase leading upstairs was made out of elegant brown parquet.

“You have a lovely house, Mrs. – uhm – Esmée,” David corrected himself.

“Thank you, David. Now I’ll make myself scarce before Emmett accuses me of being a helicopter parent. Enjoy yourselves,” Esmée said, before disappearing upstairs.

“So, what do you want to do? I can show you my room, play some games in the living room or show you the garage? I told you I like cars, we got some real fancy ones. I do most of their maintenance, though Rose – that’s what I call Rosalie – does her own.”

“Do you… all have your own car?” Emmett nodded. “Emmett, you’re way stacked.”

“You won’t have to work a day in your life if you don’t want to. Marry rich,” Emmett winked.

“Watch out or you might come across as arrogant,” David joked with a wink. “I guess I could destroy you in some games to humble you a bit.”

Sure enough, David won the first round of Mario Kart. He couldn’t help but gloat about it and tease the himbo seated next to him. When he won the second round as well and teased Emmett about it, the other seemed to turn on his competitive mode. Emmett jumped up, took off the sweater he’d been wearing and was left in just a wife beater.

“Time to get serious,” he said, focusing on the screen.

“You need to take your sweater off to get serious? Or just trying to distract me?” David asked. Not that he minded the sight, he was very much enjoying the muscular feast in front of him.

“Is it working?”

When Emmett turned to him, he didn’t just grin. His man titt*es were bouncing up, alternatingly left and right. David wasn’t proud of it, but he completely forgot about the Mario Kart music playing in the background. The only thing on his mind was Emmett’s muscular build. The sweaters he usually wore did him no justice. Everything about the man’s physique guaranteed protection. Safety was right within those arms. What finally got David to snap out of it was the sound of his phone ringing. He grabbed for it, still a bit hazy.

“Yes?” David answered.

“You okay? I’d figure you’d be here by now. Got lost?” Leah’s voice managed to blow away the last pink cloud’s his dirty mind had been on.

“Oh sh*t, I’m sorry. Uh, a bit of a delay. I’m coming your way, be there in ten.”

With that he hung up the phone. He made eye contact with Emmett, though the other also knew he had to leave. They both stood up and started walking towards the front door. Once he stood there, he was a bit unsure.

“Can you thank Esmée for having me over? I don’t want to go without leaving goodbye, but I also don’t want to disturb her with whatever she’s doing.”

“I’ll be sure to tell her that, have fun surfing. I’m taking you surfing outside the reservation soon enough, so get some practice,” Emmett said in a teasing manner, with a wink to make clear he was joking.

“Thanks. Hug goodbye?” David asked, a bit hesitantly. He was curious as to how a hug from Emmett would feel.

“Yes, though don’t be surprised. I run cold, with or without sweater.”

Emmett then made himself a tiny bit smaller and came in for a hug. David loved the way the strong arms came around him, though he was shocked when his bare skin touched Emmett’s. The other was as cold as a marble floor and his skin felt as hard as marble too. It was a bit of a weird feeling, for a hug to not be warm. When David backed out of the hug, he couldn’t help but have shiver run from the top of neck to his tailbone.

“You didn’t lie, you’re freezing. Sure the sweater wouldn’t help?” David asked, a bit concerned the other was running so cold.

“One hundred percent, but you’ll get used to the cold if we do it often enough,” Emmett teased.

It was only slightly, but David could hear it in the other’s voice. Emmett was insecure, which seemed off on the muscular boy. He always came across as confident – well, unless David was angry at him without reason – but this was apparently a sore point. Obviously his temperature was something he was self-conscious about. It broke something inside David to see that look of uncertainty in his eyes. He felt his body move before he knew it. Once again he was stuck to the other man’s skin. This time his head in between the man’s big pecs.

“I’m sure I will. These two seem a perfect place to make home,” David joked. Emmett’s arms once again tied themselves around his body, one hand pressing his head between his now flexed chest.

“You’re adorable, you know that?” Emmett asked softly.

“You should see me when I’m actually trying to,” David whispered back.

He pulled himself back from the embrace, but stayed close to the other man’s body. Then he stood up on his toes and quickly pushed a peck to the curly-haired boy’s cold cheek. David had no idea what had possessed him to do that.

After that he hurried out the door with a soft blush tainting his cheeks, giving the stunned Emmett a wave goodbye. By the time he was driving off the driveway, Emmett got out of his frozen state. The loveable idiot was jumping up and down, enthusiastically waving him goodbye with a goofy grin stuck on his face with one hand still stuck on the cheek David pecked.

Notes:

Even if it's something as small as a peck on the cheek, I was thrilled to finally be able to write it! Finally got that stupid miscommunication out of the way (I hated myself a little for writing it).

Chapter 9: Secrets

Summary:

People decide to just say what they think (free life hack: that saves time)

Notes:

A bit longer than usual, enjoy :)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

When David arrived at Leah’s work place, it was once again empty. Just like last time he strolled up to the counter and politely asked Leah if she had any time for some questions in a customer voice. She gave him an eyeroll before she started laughing.

“Your sense of humor really didn’t grow up with the rest of you, huh?”

“Never change what works!” David countered.

“I do hope for Emmett’s sake that you think differently about the type of relationship you have with him,” Leah countered. David gave his sister an annoyed glare, which made her chuckle. “Or did you already do that? Is that why you’re late? Busy making out with a Cullen?”

“I did not,” David stated, more defensively than was necessary. Leah was a tad taken aback, but then gave an intriguing gaze.

“What DID you do?” she asked, fishing for details.

“Well, he was skipping too. So I dropped him off, methismomandthenhuggedhimgoodbye.”

David was not ready to mention the peck on the other’s cheek just yet. Leah whistled loudly, before speaking in a teasing tone. “So… you met both parents already and it’s starting to get physical. Poor Alex never stood a chance.”

“That’s not- I was genuinely interested in him,” David sputtered. To calm his mind and mouth, he took a deep breath. “It’s just that… I can’t explain it… something about Emmett pulls me in. I know I sound like your typical girl when she has her first crush, but damn it. It feels like we belong together. His presence puts me at ease. He’s drop dead gorgeous, obviously, but that aside, he’s caring, he’s funny and he makes me feel like I’m the only one in the world that matters.”

“In other words, you’re lovesick. I’d say: go for it. What’s holding you back? It better not be dad’s crazy vampire stories.”

“No, I just… Alex asked me out and I answered that I wasn’t ready to date anyone. I still think my life isn’t perfect, but… I really want to say yes to Emmett,” David said, unsure of what to do.

“Ah, you honestly meant that. Okay, let teacher Leah explain you how it works. When people say ‘I don’t want to date at the moment, I’m not ready’, for whatever reason… they’re not necessarily lying, but they’re often mistaken. That person is simply not ready to date YOU. It’s a bit like eating. You had your fill of it and someone offers you some vegetables. You say you’re not hungry yet, even though it’s a healthy choice and you’d usually pick it. But if you were offered one of mom’s homemade pies at that moment, you’d probably have a piece.”

“What you’re saying is that I should just dive in? Go ahead and feast on Emmett? Have a piece of his cake?”

“Exactly!” Leah laughed. “Just keep him a secret from dad for a while. Until it’s gotten more serious.”

Both of them gasped in surprise when a door slamming open interrupted their conversation. Just like the previous time David visited his sister at his job, it seemed her boss was coincidentally checking in on her when David was there.

“Were eavesdropping again?” David asked Sam in a pissed off tone.

“Doesn’t count as eavesdropping if you’re basically declaring to the world you’re going to date a Cullen. I wonder what Harry will think of that. You have no idea what you’re risking by…” Sam stopped talking. He sniffed his nose and a switch flipped. “You have their stank on you?! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!” Sam yelled.

David had no idea what happened, but the man wasn’t talking down on him anymore. He started screeching, raging and threatening to put him outside himself if David wasn’t fast enough. Leah got up from out of the counter and started talking back to Sam, but Sam cut her off.

“Shut up! You have no idea what’s going on. Sit back down!” Sam barked at Leah.

Before David knew it, the other had rushed over to him and grabbed him. As if David weighed only a few pounds, the man threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and started marching outside. Too baffled by what was happening, he only started slamming his fists on Sam’s back when they were almost outside. His punches did not seem to faze Sam as he just continued to walk. Once outside, Sam put him down.

“You’re going to listen to me and you’re going to do it well. I know you have Quileute blood, so stay away from the Cullens as much as you can. This is in your own interest. I promise you that you don’t want to deal with the consequences of your own actions.”

“And what would those be? Being loved for who I am?”

“Oh my god, stop being such a whiny baby. I couldn’t care less about your sexuality. You can suck off all the men in the state, for all I care. I’ll talk to Harry and see if we can tell you the stories of our tribe. It’s not just my decision to make, sadly enough. I know you don’t believe things without seeing them, so I plan on showing it to you. Could you PLEASE stay away from the Cullens till then?” Sam asked, with a surprising pleading tone.

David had to admit he was a bit thrown off by how worried the boy seemed to be about him. He was about to react when Leah came storming outside.

“Sam, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“You shut up and get inside. I’m calling Harry and then we can see what he says, okay? Both of you agree with that?” Sam tried to compromise, surprisingly mature and calm.

David had no clue what was going on. It seemed all way too intense to just be about their tribe stories about pale white people drinking the blood of children. Sure, maybe the older generation could get caught up in those, but surely not Sam, right? Unless there was some cult-type things going on?

“Harry? Yes, I just caught David reeking of Cullen at my job. He seems intent on wanting to date one of them…”

Sam continued talking, but it only now downed on David. What did Sam mean that he reeked of Cullen? Sure, he’d hugged Emmett, but there’s no way Sam could smell that difference, right? Emmett didn’t even wear any strong perfume, he just smelled a bit sweet naturally. It was alluring, made David want to lick the sweat off of his skin. Not that Emmett was likely to sweat, with how cold the boy was. Leah boldly ignored Sam’s instructions to go inside by standing next to David. Sam noticed and freaked out once again.

“Leah, I promise you that nothing good is going to happen to you if you stay next to him. David, please, for Leah’s health… hold your distance for a while.”

David had no idea what was going on, but Sam’s entire honest attitude made him somehow believe him. It sounded completely bogus, but the boy seemed truly concerned. Even if he couldn’t comprehend it, David wasn’t one to place his sister’s health in danger. If Sam turned out to be lying or a straight up lunatic, then that was that. However, if – as odd as it may be – Sam was right, he was currently risking Leah’s health.

Thus, David took a few steps back until he was next to his car and Leah still on the porch of the tourist center. Sam was calling with Harry after all, surely his uncle would explain everything soon? Sam thanked the both of them as he continued talking to Harry. After a few minutes, Sam walked over to David and passed him the phone.

“Hello? Harry, what’s going on?” David asked.

“I can’t explain fully. I need you to stay out of the Quileute reservation for today. Go back home, take a shower and get the Cullen scent off of you. I’ll call you this evening. I’m trying to get a council meeting together where I want you in attendance to explain everything. I know this is frustrating, but I can’t explain it more currently. Please trust me and stay out of the reservation and away from Seth and Leah for the moment. Currently your presence could harm the both of them without you intending to. Please, please trust me.”

David was not following; at all. However, Harry had never before betrayed his trust and the man did sound honest. David was starting to think that the vampire story might just be a cover for something else more seriously. Even if it wasn’t, even if it were just old guys being judgmental and prejudiced, David could at least hear them out, right? Harry sounded sincere, and David trusted him. He let out a sigh.

“I don’t understand, but I do trust you. I just want to get an explanation for all of this, okay?”

“I’m trying to, I promise.”

“It’s okay. I’ll hear from you tonight then, I guess?”

After that, he passed the phone back to Sam who briefly said something into the phone before he hung up. David was feeling lost as he stepped in his car. He did briefly call out to Leah, telling her he’d see her soon, once this oddity was settled. That same lost feeling haunted him on his way home. It was honestly a good thing the schools weren’t out yet, since David was definitely not paying enough attention to the weather. In a way he was lucky there wasn’t enough police in a small town like this… Police. Something police… Charlie! David pulled over on the side of the road and called the man, on his personal number this time.

“Charlie Swan speaking, who is this?”

“Charlie, it’s me! David. Are you at work?”

“I’m surprisingly enough off-duty this afternoon. You need something? Also, shouldn’t you still be in school? Don’t tell me you’re skipping already.”

“Yes, I’m skipping. Too much happening for my teenage brain. I could really use someone to talk to,” David said, asking the question without doing so.

“You’re more than welcome to talk to this old man, as long as you don’t expect me to understand all the youngster stuff.”

“I don’t, I just need someone to talk to. It helps me clear my own thoughts out, you won’t even have to say anything if you don’t want to,” David said jokingly, though it was truthful.

After he hung up, he made sure to text his friends the bad news. After all, Charlie had just reminded him of school, which made him realize they were almost done and would be coming to La Push. He texted the both of them that he and his siblings had been grounded, which wasn’t exactly right but delivered the message. David made sure to add at the end of his text that they could call him for more information.

When he arrived at Charlie’s place, the man welcomed him with open arms. Even though his parents had been closer to the Clearwaters, his family had visited the Swans a ton of times too. Charlie felt a bit like a lost uncle. Sure, David hadn’t seen him for eight years, so it were a lot of distant memories. But the feeling of Charlie being family had persisted. Once they were inside, David started explaining the situation, without mentioning the smell and stories of the Quileute, since they felt as a secret. After all, Harry and Sam had mentioned the tribe.

“So they’re still holding a grudge against the Cullens. Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on with them. When they arrived, both Harry and Billy started coming around less. It eventually broke off our friendship when I had to stop some Quileute boys from trying to sabotage the clinic because they had hired Carlisle. I don’t understand it, he’s an amazing doctor. We’re lucky he chose to settle down here, he could easily be working at one of the best hospitals in the country and earn a lot more money.”

It wasn’t difficult to tell that Charlie had been heavily affected by the loss of his friendships. A few years before David and his family had left, he had gotten divorced and his daughter, Bella, had gone off with her mother to Florida. Charlie seemed rather lonely, which was heartbreaking to see. The man had always been so social in his memories. There was barely a shadow left of the jovial man David used to know.

“I’m guessing that means you and Harry don’t go fishing on Sundays anymore?”

Charlie’s sad smile was enough for an answer. That was no good. David picked his phone out of his pocket and dialed Harry. The man must’ve still had his phone nearby, since he picked up after only two rings.

“Harry, you’re going to go fishing with Charlie this Sunday, okay?”

“What? Are you at Charlie’s place?”

“Yup and he told me how you guys stopped fishing. Sounds like a tragic loss to the fishing community to me. So I decided you guys are going to revive that tradition. After all, I think you were trying to convince me of the importance of traditions and family, were you not?” David asked.

He made sure to phrase it in such a way that Charlie had no idea what he was talking about. Harry however, should realize that he was striking a deal. He was willing to hear our the tribe’s stories about the Cullens if Harry went fishing again with Charlie. A chuckle came from the other side of the line.

“Will do, son. I’ll call him too figure out the details. Try to stay out of trouble,” Harry said, before he hung up.

“Well, now that I fixed your childish disputes, you two can play again this Sunday. Harry’s going to call you to plan your playdate,” David said in a teasing tone to Charlie, as if they were two children who had a fight.

“Thanks,” Charlie chuckled. “It’s good to have you back.”

After that, they said their goodbyes. David couldn’t help but go in for a hug, that was tightly returned. He didn’t leave without promising Charlie to have dinner together at The Lodge sometime soon. He did stress that it’d have to be at a Wednesday, since his other weekdays were occupied by his job as a medical scribe. Charlie made sure to tell him he could call him anytime if he had an issue, police matters or not.

“Will do, chief!” David saluted the man before he jumped in his car.

The talk with Charlie had given him time to straighten his thoughts out a bit. It made him realize he needed answers. While Harry had promised to give him some, David knew of other people who could most likely answer his questions; one in particular. Though he didn’t have his number, he knew where this person lived. He started driving over and when he arrived on the same dirt road as last time, he got out of the car and started walking over to the modern mansion. David was about to ring the bell when the door was opened by Esmée.

“Welcome. We weren’t expecting you, but I’m sure Emmett is going to be thrilled you came over,” Esmée Cullen greeted him.

“Thank you, Esmée.”

“Do you want to come inside?” she asked.

“Ah, no. I wanted to take him for a drive, if that’s okay.”

By the end of his sentence, Emmett appeared in the hallway. As usual he was accompanied by a broad smile that made David feel special; it was as if he was the single reason for his happiness. He jogged over and opened his arms for an embrace. With Sam’s words ringing in his ears however, he stepped back and declined the hug. Hurt flashed through Emmett’s eyes, but he recuperated quickly and he maintained his smile.

“What are you doing here so soon? Weren’t you going to La Push to surf? Did you realize you rather spend time with me?” Emmett’s teasing tone proved he had recovered from the declined hug.

“I’ve been temporarily banned from Quileute grounds. Which is why I’d like to talk to you, in private if possible.”

Esmée could apparently tell it was a serious conversation, since she left the room herself. That way he was standing in the hallway with only Emmett. David wasn’t sure how exactly to phrase his question, since it was an odd one. Figuring there was no best way to go about he, he decided to just shoot his shot.

“I gave you a hug and when I went to the reservation I was told I smelled like Cullen. What does that mean?”

It was a weird question, but Emmett’s reaction to the question should tell him whether he knew something about the whole situation. Sure enough, Emmett gasped lightly before he managed to get his face under control again. The beefy boy hesitated a second too long before he replied.

“I don’t know, that sounds weird. I don’t really use any deodorant since I don’t sweat a lot. Never paid attention to it, but maybe we coincidentally use the same shampoo? Whoever smelled that must have a very strong nose if they could pick that out though.”

Emmett’s bullsh*t was cut short by David’s phone ringing. He picked it out of his pocket and saw it was Alex. Before he picked up, he was very clear to Emmett. “If you’re going to lie, at least try to do a better job at it. I’d rather have you tell me you can’t tell me for whatever reason than you lying to me.”

David then turned around and started walking back to his car, answering the phone.

“Hey Alex, what’s up?”

“Just wondering how you got grounded since you’re living alone,” Alex replied. Which was a fair question.

“Not exactly grounded, but uhm… How do I put it?”

David was thinking about it as he opened the door to his car and got in. He set everything up so he could call hands-free and then left. Not giving Emmett a real goodbye. Clearly the guy knew something about the whole spiel, but he wouldn’t tell him. Why did nobody just tell him what was going on? How was he supposed to understand if everyone just gave vague explanations? He sure hoped tomorrow would be different.

“How do you put it?” Alex repeated, reminding him that he was still on the phone.

“Woops, forgot you haha. I was hanging out with Emmett. Turns out my family doesn’t like the Cullens. So Harry told me I couldn’t go surfing and should head home.”

“I thought you had beef with Pencilbreaker? Did you guys make up?” Alex asked, a daft of worry present in his voice. David had to struggle to not let a chuckle escape. It was cute that he was so concerned about his competition. Though his concerns weren’t strange either, considering that David was definitely leaning more towards Emmett than towards Alex on a romantic level.

“We did, or so I thought. I honestly don’t know anymore. It’s neutral, I’d say. How are you doing?”

“A bit disappointed that you’re not going to get to witness my amazing surfing skills. Wait, you just can’t go surfing at La Push or not at all? Because we could totally just pick out a different beach and go surfing there. Or do a movie party at your house? That way you’d still be home like Harry told you.”

“… That’s genius, Alex! Could you pick up Mirta when you come over? I’ll go buy us some snacks.” David looked quickly to the clock in his car. “You guys at my place around four? We could order some pizza too, if you want to stay late. Hell, I have enough space. You guys can stay over for the night if you want.”

When he hung up, he took off to the store. David made sure to buy everything he could possibly need: potato chips, oven snacks, popcorn and even ice cream in case it got late. Obviously he remembered to buy some extra breakfast should either of them decide to stay the night. After noticing he spent a bit too long in the store, he rushed home. Once there, he jumped in the shower to get the Cullen smell off of him, whatever that may be.

David was fresh out the shower when the doorbell rang. After quickly throwing on some clothes, he ran downstairs to open the door with his brown hair still drenched. His expected guests had arrived timely. David let the both of them in and gave them a short tour around the house, without showing the second floor. They didn’t need to see his bedroom, nor Lily’s room. He still hadn’t found a use for it and it felt special to him. The last thing he wanted to do right now, was thinking of his dead family.

“I’m glad you too get grounded from time to time. Makes me feel less alone with that crazy mother of mine,” Mirta joked.

“Yeah, you have no idea how crazy mine is. I’m still readjusting to them. Alex, you got any crazy at home?” David asked.

Suddenly the atmosphere was way tenser than David had expected. He looked at the both of them, curious as to what crazy thing Alex had going on at home that made it so tense. It took a few seconds, but Alex did break out in a lopsided smile.

“My dad’s pretty hom*ophobic. So, when I came out to them last year, he got mad. He hasn’t been physical since then though, convinced that it’s a phase now.”

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry. That’s horrible,” David said since he didn’t know how else to react. His friend just admitted that his dad had beaten him. How did you react to that?

“It’s whatever. I’m not planning to stay close to home. As much as I’d like to go to Seattle with the both of you, I need to get out of this horrible town; preferably the east coast,” Alex said.

David processed the new information and came to a realization. He was a bit hesitant to ask it with Mirta present, but decided to go for it anyways. Mirta and Alex were close enough to not make this awkward; or should be.

“So you were just asking me out to date for a while? Not anything long-term?”

“Yeah, I mean I’m interested in you. Also, never say never for anything long-term. But I would just like to date someone. If you’re open to friends with benefits, that works too,” Alex said, suddenly incredibly casual. David had to admit he was a bit surprised by how laid-back the guy was about the whole thing.

“So you wouldn’t feel bad if I’d go out with someone else?” David asked, trying to phrase it casually. Of course, he should know they would notice it.

“Emmett asked you out, didn’t he?” Mirta asked.

Alex gasped when Mirta asked her question and turned to David for an answer. David was a bit hesitant, but did nod.

“Emmett asked you out? I thought he was together with his sister, that Rosalie girl?” Alex asked, clearly louder because of his surprise.

“That’s what I thought too. That’s why I was angry with him this week. He’d hit on me and I thought he was in a relationship, so I was disappointed in him as a friend. We cleared up the misunderstanding this afternoon.”

“Hah, told you they weren’t together,” Mirta cheered to herself.

“You should go for it!” Alex said enthusiastically. “Dating a Cullen is a once in a lifetime opportunity, take it!”

“You wouldn’t mind?” David asked, a bit hesitant. After all, Alex had asked him out first.

“Hell no. You like him more than me either way, I can tell. Wait, you didn’t decline him because I asked you out first or something stupid like that, right?” David face must’ve showed his answer, since Alex gasped. “You’re too cute,” he cooed. “But go ahead, call him. Tell him you’ll go on a date, but only if he makes it a fancy one!”

David was confused by how this night was evolving. It was definitely not how he’d imagined it going. He didn’t even mention the fact that he didn’t have Emmett’s phone number either way. David didn’t want to think about it. “Hell no! I thought we were here to watch some movies, so let’s get that under way,” David said.

Luckily enough, his friends let it go. Soon thereafter that they were watching Captain America: Civil War. David had already seen it a whole while ago, but apparently Mirta and Alex hadn’t. It was a good enough movie to rewatch. With plenty of snacks and pauses to stop and chat about other things, the evening went by smoothly. Before any of them realized it, they had watched another Marvel movie – Iron Man 2 – and it was eleven p.m.

“Alright, guys. I’ve got to go. Since my mom is who she is, she didn’t want me to stay over. Even if it’s with two gay boys, she’s probably afraid I’m going to get pregnant somehow,” Mirta said.

“She must have been talking to my dad. Convinced each other of my straight sexuality,” Alex joked. David couldn’t help but laugh at that, even if he felt a bit uncomfortable at the reminder that his friend had to go back to his abusive home. Even if his dad hadn’t beaten him since last year, was it really okay for Alex to live in a house like that?

“Mirta, you want me to drop you off quickly? I know it’s close by, but I’m still worried about whatever Chip smelled last week. Charlie said they didn’t find any signs of bears or wolves, but can’t be too careful right?” David said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll drop her off on my way home,” Alex said.

“You’re not staying over?” David asked, a bit confused. He’d been convinced the blond was going to stay over.

“Nah, I wouldn’t want to intrude. It took a bit of time and quite some favors, but I fixed you some replacement company,” Alex said. Just as he’d finished his sentence, the bell rang. “Ah, there they are already.”

David threw Alex a weird look, but the blond didn’t answer his unspoken question. Quickly rushing over to the door, he opened it and was surprised to find a familiar tall dark-haired handsome man standing at his door.

“Emmett?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Woops, friends passing through,” Alex said as Mirta and he stormed past the door to his car. “Emmett, you better appreciate me throwing in the towel. If you hurt him, I’ll beat your ass though!” Alex yelled. The intimidating message wasn’t fully conveyed as he quickly slamming his car door closed.

“I won’t beat your ass, but I’ll send my mom at you. You’d prefer I’d unleash hellhounds at you instead of my mom after I told her you made me get a C in Spanish!” Mirta yelled out, before slamming the passenger door shut.

“Well, aren’t they’re protective?” Emmett chuckled. David’s heart warmed, both at his friends’ passionate declarations as well as at the deep sound of Emmett’s chuckle.

“They are amazing. Why don’t you come inside, you’ll freeze your ass off. Especially with how cold you are norma-”

Angry dog noises cut off the invitation. David turned around and found Chip growling and barking at Emmett. He was surprised, the dog had barely reacted to Mirta and Alex. Except for begging for their attention, of course.

“Hey, shhtt. It’s okay, it’s just Emmett,” David told Chip. Chip didn’t stop growling at Emmett though. When Emmett took a step in Chip’s direction, the dog jumped backwards and kept growling.

“I told you, dogs aren’t fond of me.”

“Yeah, I guess. Weird, he usually has no problem with new people. I swear he was an angel with Alex and Mirta.”

“I believe you,” Emmett chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m not offended.”

“Come inside, sit yourself down. Can I get you anything?” David asked, his hospitality manners kicking in.

“No, thank you. I just need to talk with you. It’s a bit heavy material, so I think you better sit down too.”

Following Emmett’s instructions, David found himself seated across from Emmett. Chip was still growling softly, but had settled himself in David’s lap. It wasn’t easy to have a Labrador in your lap, but Chip had jumped on and was not budging. For whatever reason, Chip didn’t trust Emmett and had thus placed him in a position where he could defend David from. David made sure to pet him consistently in an attempt to calm him down. When his phone suddenly rang, he was planning to decline it until he saw who it was. David put his finger up to his lips, a universal signal to stay quiet and picked up his phone.

“Hi Harry, you’re finally calling?”

“You’re invited to the tribe meeting. You better be on your best behavior tomorrow. Be at my place at 7 p.m. and don’t you dare be late,” Harry simply said.

Emmett leaned a bit forward, not for any apparent reason; just moving like everyone does. Chip however, saw that as an apparent threat. Once more, he went ballistic and started growling and barking. Instinctively, David started shushing the agitated dog.

“Shht, it’s nothing. He’s a friend, it’s okay.”

“What’s going on?” Harry asked. “Who’s there with you?”

David hesitated just a second, before he came up with a quick lie. “Uhm, Alex!”

“Hmm, why don’t you pass the phone to Alex? I feel like I should introduce myself.”

“Oh no, that’s not necessary. He says hi!”

Harry wasn’t buying it apparently, listening straight through his lies. “David, give me the Cullen boy. Now!” Harry ordered.

David was stunned. Something in Harry’s tone was dangerous. It was a bit paralyzing, but he did hold his phone out in Emmett’s direction. “Uhm… Harry wants to talk to you?”

Emmett took the phone from him, giving David a reassuring smile and a short pat on the head. As stupid as the pat may sound, it did actually help David in relaxing. Chip on the other hand, saw it as an attempt to decapitate David since he tried to bite Emmett’s fingers off. Luckily, Emmett had quick reactions and dodged the dog. David wasn’t pleased and started reprimanding his dog as Emmett started talking to Harry.

“Yes. I was planning to. Because he deserves to know. I’m aware. Yes. He’s worth the risk.”

Emmett was walking around, resulting in an ascending and descending volume of Chip’s growling. David was trying to figure out what Emmett and Harry were talking about by only hearing Emmett’s replies. It seemed that whatever Emmett was going to tell him was something Harry knew about. The fact that it would be a risk however, made him more curious and a bit hesitant too. Which things you tell people involve a risk? Unless he wanted to tell some bad things he’d done? Maybe Emmett had killed someone before? Or his family did money laundering or something… That would explain the gigantic house they owned.

“David?” Emmett caught his attention. “Harry wants a word with you.”

Emmett could tell David was worried since he also give him a thumbs up with a calm smile. ‘Everything would be fine’ radiated from that smile.

“Hi?”

“Emmett’s going to tell you a secret. You’re obliged to keep it. When you come here tomorrow, we will put the information he shares with you in perspective. He only tells you his side from the story, remember that. Also, since he’s in your house now apparently, for some reason. Make sure to take at least two showers and use enough soap. Get his smell off of you before you come here. I love you, be safe! Don’t accidentally cut yourself, don’t trust him or any of the others.”

“Uhm, I’m not sure I’m following, but okay?”

“He’ll explain it to you. Or so he claimed at least, you can never know with them. See ya tomorrow, son.”

“See ya, Harry!” David said back before hanging up.

His mind was buzzing with tons of questions, to the point where David was actually growing nauseous. His brains couldn’t take it anymore

“Tell me, please. I’m bursting from curiosity,” David pleaded, almost in a begging tone.

Emmett chuckled, before walking back to his seat. Obviously this couldn’t go without another increase in growling from Chip. David tried to calm the dog down, but it didn’t seem to work.

“So, this is a big one. Could you promise to hear me out? I promise you don’t have to worry about anything, no matter how scary it may seem.”

“I promise. Please, just tell me!”

“Okay, uhm… How do I begin this? Ah yes, you know how you noticed I’m cold? No, never mind. Ah, yes about the smell. Ugh, no that doesn’t work either. Maybe it’s easier to just show you…”

Emmett was muttering to himself and David had no idea what to think. Whatever it was, had to do with Emmett being cold? And the Cullen smell? David had already filed the former away as a disease, something related to an extremer version of Raynaud’s disease or something. Emmett stood up – accompanied by another bark – and bent through his knees. David was confused, because a second later, Emmett was carrying the entire sofa above his head. Not just that, it didn’t seem to cost him any effort at all.

“I’m a vampire. I’m cold, possess super strength, super speed, all my senses are enhanced basically. Ugh, what else? I was born in 1915 in Tennessee. I ‘died’-” Emmett used quotation marks, only after effortlessly switching to hold the couch in one hand-“in 1935 and have been 20 ever since. Oh, my skin glows in the sun. That’s why we live in Forks, it’s almost always clouded here. It’s also why we go ‘camping’ on the few sunny days a year. Uhm, yeah. Any questions?” Emmett asked.

David was paralyzed. Sure, Emmett was crazy strong, he could see that. But a vampire? Really? Like, from the tribe stories Leah told, about eating babies? He stood there in silence for about a minute before he spoke up.

“Are you, like, messing with me?”

“I wish. No, I’m not kidding. Oh, you can also smell it. Because I’m a vampire, I smell really good to humans. It’s why you probably like my smell. But the Quileute can smell it and don’t like it. That’s probably why you came asking about my scent? Someone must’ve said you smelled like us? Quileute have good noses, just like dogs. I was a bit afraid you’d inherited that, but since you don’t seem to even slightly dislike my smell, you’re probably fine. Oh, that’s also the real reason why we have a pact with them. They don’t want vampires on their territory.”

Suddenly it all downed on David. As realization set in, his heartbeat started slowing down, completely paralyzing in fear. “That’s why Harry warned me to stay away from you… And why Chip doesn’t like you? … But Harry didn’t say anything, so… you’re not going to, like, e-eat me or anything, are you?” David stuttered as his voice broke. A part of him knew Emmett wouldn’t, but his rational side was jumping up and down on his amygdala. Its only command was to run, as fast as possible, to his car and get out of here.

“No, of course not. I don’t drink human blood, nor does my family. We call ourselves vegetarian, we only drink animal blood. That’s also the only reason the Quileute allowed us in Forks. They won’t tell the ‘white folks’ what we truly are as long as we don’t hurt anyone. Not that I would ever hurt you, I like you. I know you probably might not want to anymore, but I really would like to go on a date with you.”

“You… you don’t kill people?”

“No. But I have to be honest. I have killed people in the past.”

David’s heart stopped once again, icy fear filling his veins. “You have?”

“Yes. I was turned into a vampire in 1935. You remember me telling about me hating bears? The bear attack almost killed me, but Carlisle turned me into a vampire before I died to my wounds. Anyways, I had difficulty adjusting to… well, not eating humans. Human blood has a really strong pull on vampires. When you smell it, it’s almost impossible to resist. I killed a few people while adjusting to my… vegetarian diet. I haven’t killed anyone since 1937 though!” Emmett was quick to add the last part, pretty upbeat.

“Since 1937? That’s like over fifty years before I was born! You’ve been alive for all that time? I, wait no. Sorry, can we get back to the vampire thing?” David cut off his train of thought and wanted to get back to the core.

“Sure, whatever questions you have, I’ll answer them.”

“Do you want to… drink my blood?” David asked, struggling a bit to get the question out.

“Surprisingly enough, no. I mean, obviously I wouldn’t do it, because I don’t do that anymore and I wouldn’t ever want to harm you. But… it’s weird, your smell isn’t as appealing to me as others. You smell good, don’t get me wrong, but more like the forest instead of something sweet to eat. You have a really unique smell.”

David wasn’t sure how to react to that, though it was a bit reassuring to hear that Emmett didn’t want to drink his blood. Or at least as much as he would like to drink others’. “How many people did you kill?”

“Twenty three,” Emmett immediately answered, with a pained face.

“Were any of them Quileute?” David asked.

It was a stupid and useless question, he knew that. It didn’t matter that much who specifically Emmett killed in 1937, it was horrible nonetheless. Emmett was a murderer, as simple as that. However, something in him would feel it was worse if Emmett had killed and drank the blood of one of his ancestors. He would love to ask the other side of his family too, but he didn’t know their ancestry like he knew the Quileute’s.

“No.”

David had no idea why or how, but his fear was already ebbing away. Somehow, his fear-frozen heart was already thawing, aware of the killer in front of him, but unbothered by it. His questions had been answered. Not all of them, but Emmett was being incredibly honest. It meant a lot, especially after lying to his face earlier that day. On top of that, it was obviously a dangerous secret to share with someone. Emmett willing to share it with him was an incredible gesture of faith. A stupid idea entered his mind. It was stupid, he knew it was. Harry had warned him, but he couldn’t stop the pull he felt. Maybe it was just the lure of a vampire to get a prey to come towards them, but David couldn’t resist it.

“Can you stay still for a second? I want to test something.”

Emmett nodded his head and froze where he stood. David walked up to him, very slowly, under two golden eyes tracking his every move. When he had reached Emmett’s personal bubble, he took a whiff. Sure enough, a sugary scent filled his nose. A soft moan escaped his mouth, before he slammed his hands in front of his mouth to muffle the sound.

When David looked up however, he saw that Emmett was grinning at his expense. David didn’t think twice about, but hit the other on his chest. Sure enough, his hand hurt a bit afterwards and Emmett hadn’t even budged an inch. Apparently, thick skin must come with the vampire deal. The pull kept edging him closer until David’s face was resting on Emmett’s chest. With their bodies touching each other, David felt his fears completely leaving his body. For some reason, as much as he knew he should be scared, he wasn’t.

“Hug me,” David ordered Emmett.

“Are you…-”

“Yes, I’m sure. Hug me!”

With Chip’s insistent growling on the background, Emmett’s muscular arms embraced him. With both of them wearing all their clothes, the other’s cold skin didn’t touch him. As the beefy body intertwined itself with David’s leaner own, warmth filled him. As confusing as the last few minutes had been, everything felt okay like this. Like he belonged there.

“Thank you for trusting me with this.”

“I wanted to tell you everything way earlier,” Emmet whispered.

“Oh?” David muttered, a bit curious. This was sensitive information you wouldn’t share readily.

“After the first day. Well, at Physics specifically. When you mentioned your family being from the Quileute reservation during English, I was disgruntled. I thought it’d mean I would never be able to pursue you. But when you hinted at thinking badly of me, I broke. I know it sounds intense, but I somehow couldn’t handle the rejection. I wanted to explain everything to you in an attempt to fix everything.”

“Emmett, this isn’t something you can just tell to just anyone. I don’t think you want this information to get out. I mean, surely people wouldn’t just believe it. But if you guys don’t show in the sun after a story gets out, then people would get suspicious.”

“Haha, you sound a lot like my family. I know they’re right, but that’s the difference. You’re not just anyone. I have never felt anything like this and I’ve been around for a long while. I just need to be with you. You’re my one and only love, I know it.”

Emmett suddenly stopped and started scratching his hands in his hair. “Aarrgh, that’s way too intense right? I’m sorry, I… I hate the dilly dallying around in the first stages of dating. That’s not who I am. But I’ll take it slower, I promise! We can go at whatever speed you feel comfortable going at!”

David knew Emmett was right. This was all going way too fast. It had only been two weeks since they knew each other; of which they hadn’t spoken most of the time because of silly disputes. On top of that, David now already knew about Emmett’s – to phrase it politely – morally gray past. However, he couldn’t deny the feeling he got from being around the himbo.

“It’s surprisingly enough not too intense to me. I also feel like I can depend on you way more than I should, logically. However, I can’t return your feelings just yet. I will need a little bit more time,” David admitted.

It was weird how it almost hurt him to say that. But he had to stay rational about the situation. In front of him was a monster that could kill him with a flick of his fingers if he wanted to. David knew Emmett didn’t want to, but… he could. At the same time Chip was still whining, by now softly biting in his pants and pulling him back from Emmett.

“I… I understand. Can I give you my phone number? You can ask me anything you want to know. I… I just want to stress that you have to keep this information a secret,” Emmett said.

David was a bit surprised. He knew he had to keep it a secret, that wasn’t the issue. It was Emmett’s venomous tone in the last word: secret. It made an icy chill run from his tailbone to the top of his neck. Emmett noticed David’s reaction to what he said.

“Oh sh*t, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just like, don’t talk about it online or something. Uhm, how do I explain it?” Emmett pondered aloud. “Uhm, the vampire community has a sort of police too? They act to guarantee that the existence of vampires is kept a secret. Unlike my family, they aren’t vegetarian,” Emmett explained.

“So… be quiet or get eaten?” David gulped.

His voice trembled heavily, it was suddenly starting to get too much. Earlier he’d somehow felt at peace with the situation. It had just been Emmett then, David knew in his heart that he could trust the boy. A secret vampire police community, however? The butterflies that had kept his panic at bay with their flapping wings were now frozen over by fear. A chill ran down his back. Multiple emotions were at war, clashing for domination of his body. The victor of his personal blitzkrieg of emotions was clear. Fear stood at the top, now fully in control. The rest of his body was starting to shake too and only stopped when he felt stone cold hands on both his shoulders.

“David? DAVID! Oh, finally.” Emmett let go off him. Clearly David had been stuck in his own head. “Are you okay?” he asked, a worried look on his face.

“I… I don’t think so. I n-need some time.”

“Of course, no problem. I’ll leave my number and then I’ll leave. Take your time, I know this is a lot,” Emmett whispered reassuringly.

David was frozen where he stood. Completely paralyzed be fear. While his romantical side tried to tell him Emmett wouldn’t hurt him, his fear no longer let him believe his heart. The fact that Emmett was attentive enough to move at human speed while writing his phone number was slightly soothing, but it didn’t prevent David from flinching when the other spoke up.

“I’ll see you on Monday, then? If you need more time, let me know. I can ditch school so you don’t have to feel uncomfortable by sitting next to me or something. And I can also let dad know for your job. Whatever you need,” Emmett said as he was leaving.

It took all the energy David could muster to nod his paralyzed body at that. Once Emmett was out of the door, David’s body collapsed on his couch. Two seconds afterwards Chip was on top of him, still softly whimpering. The wet, warm licks on his chin were comforting, slowly washing away the cold anxiety running through his body. Still stiff from the fear, it both did and didn’t take long for David to fall asleep. It felt like an eternity before the adrenaline started to leave his body, but once it did, it rushed out. The extreme drop tired David so rapidly that he didn’t bother moving, instead opting to sleep on his couch with Chip as blanket.

Notes:

Honestly, I wasn't completely sure how David would react. If someone tells you they're a vampire (and they prove it) and they say they murdered some twenty people before your grandparents were born... you focus on the vampire bit and not the murder bit, right?
Protective Sam is a bit of a jerk, but hey, he's right! Get that Cullen stank off his property!
Also, to all who are desperately waiting for the 'eventual smut' to show up: I had no idea my build-up was going to take this long. After this 'secret' is finished and fully discussed (Quileute side still to go), some spicy stuff will be showing up! (bit by bit though, as I promised: figuring out the sexual aspect is a more challenging task.)

Chapter 10: Stalker in the Woods

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

When David woke up the next morning, it was to a phone filled with numerous unread text messages. While quickly scrolling through his messages app, he could see that most of them were from his sister, though he had some of his friends too. David’s heart skipped when he saw he had some from Emmett as well. After mentally apologizing to the others, David opened the vampire’s texts first. It was still a bit weird to think of the boy like that, but David supposed he should get used to that.

23:32 Emmett: If you have any questions, shoot them!

02:14 Emmett: I’m really sorry for scaring Chip. Animals detect our scent and recognize it as a predator, so they get scared.

04:56 Emmett: I really mean any question. There’s no question too personal!

05:23 Emmett: I hope I didn’t scare you too much by talking about the Volturi, but they’re really powerful and I don’t want anything to happen to you.

05:24 Emmett: Those are the vampire police I mentioned.

05:29 Emmett: Rose says I should tell you that our phones are safe. No worries about anyone reading this, vampire stuff is cool to talk about. Just no posting on online forums and stuff.

05:36 Emmett: Jasper reminded me that you’re probably still asleep and I shouldn’t be spamming you with texts or I might wake you. I really hope I didn’t. Sleep tight!

As David read the text wall Emmett had sent him, he couldn’t help but smile at how goofy and concerned Emmett came across. Besides that however, there was one more thing he realized.

9:32 David: Let me guess: vampires don’t sleep?

Not three seconds later, he had a response.

9:32 Emmett: No, don’t need to and can’t.

9:33 David: “Can’t” sounds pretty awful, ngl. Don’t nights get boring then?

David hoped his question wasn’t seen as offensive or too intrusive. Never having to sleep sounded great, never being able to sleep was something else entirely. What would you even fill your nights with after a while? Especially if you’re immortal, since there’s no rush to anything. Well, if Emmett was immortal, maybe those were just fairy tales? But he was born in 1915 and has been a vampire since 1935? Maybe they just get really old?

9:34 David: Are you immortal? Or is that just vampire stories?

After asking that question, David switched to check out his other messages. Both Mirta and Alex had sent him multiple teasing questions about how it went with Emmett, with Alex even asking whether David was pregnant yet. David replied with a written gasp, he forgot to take his anticonception pill! A new notification caught his attention.

9:36 Emmett: Yes and no. We can live forever, but can be killed. (I’ll tell you how in person)

9:37 David: I don’t need to know ;) If I were to hunt vampires, it wouldn’t be to kill them. Sidenote: are all vampires so attractive or is your family an exception?

To be sure he complied with Harry’s wishes, David headed to the shower and drowned himself in shampoo, soap and body wash for half an hour before he got out. There was no way he’d smell like anything vampire now!

When he arrived downstairs again, he gave Chip a few comforting pets before opening the windows to let everything air out. If Emmett’s vampire story was true, then Harry’s warnings about the smells being dangerous for Leah and Sett were probably correct too. Thus, for his sibling’s safety, he went to the extreme and let in the cold morning air.

He whipped himself up some chocolate chip pancakes and enjoyed himself a luxurious breakfast as he watched a bit of youtube videos. Since Chip had been through enough the night before, he gave the dog some wet food instead of his standard dry food. Food alone wouldn’t get Chip the reward the good boy deserved, however. After all, even if Emmett might not have had bad intentions, Chip’s actions still counted as having protected his owner from a vampire.

Thus, the good boy had more than deserved the stroll David took him on. Chip was once again running wild, not needing a leash, chasing after small animals he ran into. The forest was a bit too silent to David’s liking. An unsettling feeling nestled in his heart and before David knew it, he decided to listen to his instincts. He was about to whistle on his fingers to call Chip back when they dog started barking and growling. Two memories returned to David’s mind simultaneously: the last time he went on a stroll and had suspected a bear’s presence, and last night. As stupid as it may be, when Chip ran back and started tugging on the leash to drag David back with him, David couldn’t help but call out to the forest as he ran along with Chip back homewards.

“Emmett?!”

A gush of wind passed by him and the boy stood in front of him with a set of white teeth smiling back at David.

“You called?”

Chip tried tugging David in a different direction, but when he noticed his owner not following, he let go of the leash and instead ran towards Emmett to start barking at the muscular guy.

“You must’ve smelled me again, huh?” Emmett asked the dog. His smile showed off cute dimples that David tried to ignore as he felt his anger start simmering.

“It was you!”

“It was me,” Emmett admitted, giving David a shy smile. At least he was aware that it wasn’t the best spot to get caught in.

David adored the sight, but he couldn’t budge on this principle. This boy had not been accidentally around, he’d been hanging around in the trees outside his house! As much as his heart claimed it to be romantic, David was aware that it wasn’t. He would have to define his boundaries here or this vampire would be spying on him 24/7. A shudder ran down his back at the thought. Had Emmett been staring through his windows all this time? Vampires didn’t sleep, but… surely Emmett didn’t spend the night staring at his sleeping body?

“Emmett… this is creepy. You can’t be living outside of my house. What is next? Watching me sleep? This… this is non-negotiable. I know you’re…” David looked around himself to check whether anyone was nearby and figured he shouldn’t take the risk either way, even if he saw no one. “… you. But whatever weird values you have, this clashes with mine. Please try to view this from my standpoint. Imagine how scary it was for me, how stressed out I was. I thought Chip barely escaped a bear attack last time, but instead it was I who dodged a supernatural stalker.”

David knew he phrased it harshly, but he felt like he was justified in doing so. Borderline stalking behavior should be addressed, reprimanded and afterwards corrected, not romanticized. Emmett luckily didn’t react aggressively – not that David had expected him to – in the way other stalkers would have. He looked properly shamed and embarrassed.

“I’m so sorry! At first I just wanted to come over to check you out. But then I just… I liked watching you. I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable, I won’t do it again! I promise!” Emmett solemnly swore. “And I’ll buy Chip some cool dog toys to apologize!”

The boy truly did seem like he regretted it. Funny enough, it seemed as if Chip had somehow understood since the growling in the background suddenly stopped. Both David and Emmett looked at the dog, only to find Chip staring at Emmett with evaluating eyes.

“He seems to be considering your offer,” David guffawed.

“Oh, or even better!” Emmett gasped. “How about I bring you some leftover deer bones from my next hunt, Chip? And a good, fat piece of meat along with it!”

Chip let out a single bark, confirming the trade offer.

“It seems an accord has been reached,” David faked a heavy, diplomatic tone. “As long as my stipulations aren’t forgotten, the Chip Party considers the Cullen Party forgiven.”

“I really am sorry!” Emmett pressed, reminded of his own faults.

David knew he likely should’ve been angrier. It wasn’t normal for someone to hang around your house – likely at night – even if they were in love with you, as Emmett had claimed. However, even if they had reconciled yesterday, David still hadn’t forgiven himself for his own mistake. How he had blown up a simple ‘Am I your type?’ to a week no contact was utter insanity. All that, without even confirming Emmett’s relationship status. Since Emmett had forgiven his mistake without even glancing over it, surely David could forgive one of Emmett’s errors?

“It’s fine. We’re even now. I shouldn’t have made a mountain out of a molehill this entire week either. Everyone makes mistakes, we just need to learn from them!”

The bright smile that lighted up Emmett’s face told David that he’d made the right decision. His fearful instincts from the day before had left his body, leaving only the desire to be preyed upon. If it was Emmett, David would accept defeat. He shuffled towards the boy, needing the comfort his thick arms brought when they embraced him. Everything about him was pulling David in: the dimples in his cheeks, the lustful black eyes, the deep chuckle, … even his sweet smell was begging David to submit to his desires. The moment he thought it, he stopped. His smell! David jumped back.

“sh*t, I forgot about your smell,” David apologized. “I’m going to the tribe meeting and apparently I can NOT smell like vampire.”

Emmett’s smile faltered, but he did nod in understanding. Then it looked as if he was about to say something, but stopped himself. David was not having that! They had had enough secrets between the two of them and it always ended up a disaster. He’d had about enough of silly disputes, fully aware that he was responsible for some of them.

“Please, just tell me. You don’t have to, but… secrets haven’t really been beneficial to us,” David explained his dismay.

“If I wasn’t more or less contractually obliged to not tell you anything, I’d tell you most of what you’d hear tonight,” Emmett grumbled. “I… I know they’re your family and all, but I also know they’re going to paint me – well, vampires as a whole – in a bad light. Not that they’re necessarily wrong, but… we’re not like most vampires. We don’t drink human blood. I’m nowhere near as Carlisle’s level of control, but he’s a doctor for God’s sake! I promise I won’t hurt you so…”

David couldn’t take it anymore; the amount of hurt and fear in Emmett’s voice upset him. Emmett was a boisterous, cheerful guy and seeing the opposite of that in the boy felt off. It tugged on his heartstrings and before David could stop himself, he’d flung himself at the other, throwing his arms around the big frame of muscles in a hug.

“I know, Emmett,” David said. He looked up into the beautiful black eyes that were passionately staring back at him. “I trust you.”

He started blushing at the confession, but that was nothing compared to how red he got when Emmett leaned in. Only after Emmett retracted and a cold impression of lips registered on his forehead did David realize what had happened. His brain experiencing a short-circuit, only stuttering sounds left his throat. Emmett had kissed him! Not on his lips, but it very much still counted!

“I know it’s too early for you to return the words, so don’t feel forced to, but… I love you, David. Whatever happens tonight, just remember that,” Emmett whispered.

Another hug followed were David’s head was forced to make a nest between Emmett’s pecs as the boy laid his own head on top of David’s. Even knowing he’d have to take another shower, David couldn’t help but close his eyes and let the warm feelings take control of his body. They stood there like that for a while until Chip barked, reminding the two humans of his presence.

“I promise you’ll be getting some fresh game soon enough!” Emmett vowed to the dog, before turning to David. “And I hope to see you soon enough, but only after getting permission to do so.”

Emmett gave another short wave before a gush of wind passed by and David found himself alone in the woods. He stood there for a little while longer, bringing his shirt to his nose and enjoying the remains of the sweet smell before the fresh forest air could sweep it away. This was the first time David had been angry at the unpolluted air in Forks.

“Well, time to take another shower then, Chip.”

David skipped instead of walked back homewards, his brain rhythmically pumping out dopamine. Once in the shower, his thoughts went back to the tribe meeting he’d be attending that night. Emmett seemed perfect, David couldn’t see himself being dissuaded from pursuing his Cullen boy.

Notes:

Stalking is not cute, but goddamnit, Emmett is!
Bit stuck/struggling with next chapter, so I hope the Inspiration Fae hits me with some motivation cuz I'm a bit stuck. On top of that, IRL got a bit busier, so next chapter might be a bit of a longer wait (but I'll try my best to get it to you soon enough). Thanks for reading ^-^

Chapter 11: Quileute Legends

Summary:

Sharing scary stories around the campfire. Don't forget to bring your marshmallows!
(I secretly don't like them, but hey, who am I?)

Notes:

Sorry for the wait, blame my internship-supervisors for making me work INSANE hours. Trying to cram in some words each day on the train to/from work, but it's not easy.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Without having to knock, the familiar door opened up to reveal Aunt Sue smiling at his arrival. A sweet smell of homemade apple pie in the oven joined her. Before David was able to politely greet the host, however, she pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. She tried to guide him into the house, but a strong hand stopped her from doing so.

“Let me test him,” Sam said. He then leaned in and took a deep sniff. “Alright, you’re clean. Come in.”

“Geez, thanks. Good to see you, Aunt Sue,” David greeted.

“You caused quite the ruckus I heard,” she smiled, no malintent behind it.

“In my defense, no one told me anything. Well, nothing that didn’t sound completely bogus. How was I supposed to deduce “the Cullens are real, actual vampires” from “some people claim they eat babies”?”

“Nobody said you could have, but you could at least stay away from people who have eaten babies according to rumors,” Sam grumbled.

“Fair enough,” David chuckled, before adding a comeback. “So what you’re saying is I should be listening to some of the racist folks that claim the Natives are the cancer of America?”

“That’s different, we’re family,” Harry said, joining the conversation.

“I had no idea family lied to each other,” David said, finding the argument of ‘trust family’ wholly empty when they didn’t tell him the truth.

“Careful with that one, David,” Billy warned as he wheeled into the room. “After all, you didn’t know we were lying and hung out with the Cullen boy either way. Clearly family bonds didn’t prevent you from doing the things you thought were right either.”

“Fair point. Let’s call what I did giving strangers the benefit of the doubt,” David smiled, showing he was fine with calling that one even.

“Enough chitchat, let’s get to it,” another man that David had never seen before interrupted.

It must’ve been obvious from the look on his face that David had no idea who that was since Sam whispered an introduction to him while they walked out into the backyard. Apparently his real name was Quil Ateara III but everyone called him Old Quil. The nickname was pretty self-explanatory since he was at least twenty years older than both Harry and Bill, who weren’t the youngest themselves.

David had to admit he was a bit surprised that the circle around the campfire was so small. It was just Billy, Harry, Old Quil, Sam and an unknown boy around Sett’s age. Weren’t these type of things usually larger? He was convinced that when Sett and Leah recounted these type of tribe meetings, that they were almost with the entire reserve.

“Name’s Jared, Cameron,” the boy introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you, Jared. I’m David, Miller.”

“So you’re the one who wants to bang a vampire, huh?” Jared grinned.

“Jared,” Sam’s deep voice reprimanded the boy. Clearly teasing wasn’t the way they wanted this tribe meeting to go down. David had to admit he regretted that decision, he had liked Jared’s bluntness.

“So, David. Tell us, what did you learn yesterday?” Billy asked.

“That Emmett’s a vampire,” he shrugged as he picked out a stick and a marshmallow from the bag Sue had handed him. If he was going to sit around a fire, he had to have some mallows!

“I can see that didn’t exactly scare you off,” Billy assumed.

“He hasn’t killed any people since… I forgot. Like over fifty years before I was born. I’d say he has it under control, no?”

“Under control? UNDER CONTROL?!” Old Quil shouted. “Do you have any idea how stupid you sound, boy? Vampires have NO control. They can act as sweet as they want and pretend to be friends with the prey they want to suck their fangs in, but don’t let that fool you. Once a vampire smells blood, it loses all sense of reason.”

“He’s right, David,” Harry said. “But to fully grasp the gravity of our feud with vampires, you need context. How much do you know about the Quileute legends, son?”

“You mean the ones were white people ate babies?” David asked hesitantly.

“No,” Billy sighed, “not those. “He means stories about the Quileute, our origins. Surely your mother told you some bits?”

“Mom never told me anything. Why would she? You all threw her out the second she fell in love with dad. You think we wanted our mom to talk about stuff that made her cry?”

“We’re not our parents, David,” Billy answered. “My nephew is currently in a non-Quileute relationship and I don’t bat an eye at it. I do regret how your mom was treated, even if I had no hand in the decisions taken back then.”

“Can we get back to business already?” Quil grumped.

It didn’t take a genius to realize that Old Quil wasn’t as ready to approve non-Quileute relationships, even if he could no longer express that opinion publicly. Maybe times were really changing for the better. David could admit to himself that this change took away the tiniest bit of spite he held for the Quileute as a whole. Improving over time was all humanity could do.

“We have magic in our blood, son. Tons of generations ago, there was once a famous chief in Quileute history. He was the first to possess this magic. Over time, we lost the ability to use this magic freely. Nowadays, it only activates when near vampires.”

“You skipped the whole part of how that magic came to be!” Old Quil reproached Harry. “We’ve lived in these lands for centuries, boy. Vampires aren’t the first threat we’ve come across. Once, when an invading tribe came for our lands, the tribe fled to the sea with our expertly built ships. Once there, the chief and some others of the tribe made use of astral projection.”

By now it was no secret that David didn’t have the best poker face. Luckily enough, they weren’t playing poker currently. Instead, it helped him by having Billy chime in for a bit to help clear things up a bit.

“It’s a way to leave your own body. The warriors’ spirits moved back across the sea while their women took care of their bodies. As spirits they tried to chase off the invading tribe. However, there is only so much a spirit can do by itself: cause winds to blow, at times a scary noise or rustling of leaves. Luckily enough, animals can help spirits if they allow them to. The invading tribe had gigantically large canines at their side. They allowed the warriors’ spirits to enter their body and forged a bond with them. Together, they successfully chased the tribe out.”

“However, it seemed that the bond that had been forged was more permanent than anyone had expected,” Harry took over from Billy. “When the spirits returned, they took with them a part of their gigantic dog, basically a large wolf, soul with them. The warriors found that they had lost their ability to astrally project their souls. Instead, they discovered that they could change into wolves.”

“That’s why it’s still illegal to kill a wolf to this day,” Sam said, speaking up for the first time. “We are wolf brothers.”

“These wolf warriors protected our lands from all threats coming for the Quileute throughout the ages. However, one day, they ran into a threat that was larger than any other they had faced before. A creature with human appearance, a skin as white as marble and an unending thirst for human blood. You can already guess what that was by now, can’t you, David?” Billy asked him.

“A vampire.”

All five other man gave a short nod at that, though Old Quil’s was the most noticeable. A ton of hate flashed through his eyes at the mention of the word vampire. David wasn’t sure he wanted to find out the reason for that hate.

“It took tons of warrior’s lives, but eventually we managed to find out how to kill the immortal bastards,” Old Quil said. “Rip off their necks and burn the corpse. Otherwise it can reattach itself, given enough time.”

“I’m sure you’re wondering how exactly this story is supposed to convince you of the Cullen’s danger,” Harry hummed. David honestly hadn’t been thinking about that, but now that Harry said it… yeah, he did think that.

“When the vampire’s partner returned for vengeance, our tribe was almost slaughtered and our bloodline was close to finished,” Old Quil said. “A lot of warriors had died in the clash with the first vampire, while others had been wounded. They stood no chance when the other came back to finish the job. The warriors tried, but were all killed mercilessly. All but one, heavily wounded.”

“Don’t get us wrong, we understand why she would want to kill us. We did kill her husband, after all, even if he was a monster,” Billy commented. “However, the creature’s bloodlust couldn’t be satisfied. Day after day she returned to feast upon the tribe. We tried to flee, but couldn’t. Others tried to reawaken their astral projection they had heard about, but to no avail.”

“When the vampire came back the next day, it went for the chief first, since he was the last remaining wolf warrior, even if wounded. He stood no chance against the vampire and was soon on his last legs,” Sam said. “This was what the vampire had wanted: revenge for her partner, a guaranteed way to slaughter our entire tribe. No longer would anyone be able to stand in her way.”

Sam then gave a soft shove to Jared, indicating that he could finish the story. Jared looked thrilled to be given permission and gave a broad smile before he reshaped his face to a more serious look.

“She was about to drive her hand into the chief’s chest when she suddenly smelled something: human blood. The chief’s wife stood there with a knife in her hand, having cut herself. It was but a single drop, but it was enough. The vampire dropped the chief and ran over to the chief’s wife. Her bloodlust didn’t allow her to ignore the bleeding prey in front of her. Her revenge for her loved one forgotten, only spilt human blood dictating her actions.”

“The chief took that chance to kill the vampire, even if it was too late to save his wife. It was her life and bravery that saved our tribe that day,” Old Quil said, now with his eyes damp. David was starting to get the feeling Old Quil was related to the woman. It would explain a few oddities of the evening.

“It’s like Jared said,” Sam added in conclusion. “Everything that matters to them will eventually be sacrificed for their thirst for blood.”

David wished he could refute their argument, point out the flaw in their argument. It was possible that it was just that single vampire that couldn’t refuse the call of human blood. However, even Emmett himself had admitted how difficult he’d had it with not killing people. And that was without any people losing blood in his vicinity.

“Don’t think we’re being unreasonable here either,” Billy said. “We know the Cullens are different from other vampires. Hell, they’ve stayed here before. Obviously they had to move a few years later since they don’t age and people would get suspicious. They didn’t kill anyone or we’d call off our pact. However, it’s a different matter of trying to eventually live with one of them.”

“What if you cut yourself during cooking, son? What if Emmett is thirsty when you get in a car accident?” Harry asked.

“Plus, vampires are strong. He might accidentally rip your arm off while you’re making out or squeeze your dick flat when you’re inside of him. Though honestly, I feel like he’d be the to-”

“Shut up, Jared, please,” Harry interrupted with a disgusted look on his face.

If it weren’t for the fact that David could tell his uncle was uncomfortable with discussing his almost-son’s sex life, it might’ve mistakenly been interpreted as hom*ophobia. He couldn’t help but laugh at the picture though, even if he did squeeze his legs together instinctively, as if to protect his dick just hearing the scenario.

“What do you think, son? Ready to leave him and the other Cullens alone? To stay clear of them?”

“I… I don’t know. I don’t think Emmett would ever want to hurt me.”

“He likely doesn’t,” Harry acknowledged. “I doubt he’s stupid enough to willingly risk getting wolves sent after him. However, you can’t trust him. It’s simple, David. He’s a vampire and you can’t trust vampires because they can’t trust themselves.”

“Also, as much as it pains me to admit,” Sam intervened, “I doubt we could handle the Cullens in a fight as we are. It’s just me and Jared, we’d be lucky if we could handle Emmett by himself.”

It was only now that all the information shared before was starting to dawn on David. The whole wolf thing. He had obviously heard the story the others had told, but the meaning hadn’t been fully registered. The Quileute were able to shift into wolves and nowadays it was the presence of vampires that drew out that power.

“The smell!” David gasped in realization. “That’s why you wanted me to shower so thoroughly! If people from the tribe smell it, they turn into wolves!”

“We don’t know all the details,” Billy explained. “Both Sam and Jared turned without running into any Cullens. We think they turned because miniscule scent particles were brought over to the reserve by the wind. We can’t do much about that, but we like to avoid the scent to be thrown around here, yes.”

“Also, a small correction,” Jared said. “We don’t turn into wolves when we smell vampires. However, proximity awakens the magic in our blood. We get ill with a very fever for a few days before we change for the first time. After that, we can change into human or wolf form whenever we want.”

“However,” Sam explained further, “because while it’s not necessarily a net negative, it is an impactful event to be changed. Your life will never be fully the same once you are part of the pack. It is not a decision we want to force onto others. If it happens, it happens. But if we can avoid people from changing by having you practice some personal hygiene after interacting with vampires, we would like to do so. Ideally, we’d have you avoid contact though.”

“We have had people before who hated their wolf self,” Billy admitted. “As wolf, you share a sort of shared mind, being able to link your thoughts with others of the pack. But, you can’t turn it off. Evidently, some people treasure their privacy.”

sh*t! Had David really risked forcing Leah and Sett to live a life like that? Would hanging out with Emmett and the other Cullens continue doing so?

“Consider how it would impact Leah, son,” Harry said with a broken voice. “She would have to share her thoughts with Sam. Is that something you would want to be responsible for?”

Something deep inside his throat constricted at those words, limiting the amount of fresh oxygen entering his lungs. One look at Sam’s guilty face and around the circle made it clear that everyone knew just how much that would destroy Leah’s life. She was already at her limit having to work with Sam. She would not be able to handle sharing her thoughts with the man that dumped her only to instantly propose to another girl.

“I want to stress that I never meant to hurt Leah,” Sam said. “I met my soul mate, which some wolves can find after they changed.”

Soul mate? David was starting to get dizzy with the amount of supernatural information that had been crammed into his skull these last twenty four hours. First it were vampires, now it were werewolves with soulmates. Next thing he knew, Mirta or Alex would be popping up to say they were ghosts or zombies.

“Anyhow, that was more than intense enough for one evening,” Harry concluded. “Everyone ready to head back to my place to eat some of Sue’s pie?”

The idea of those mouthwatering pies made his stomach growl loudly, as if staking a claim on his fair share of pie.

“Not yet,” Sam said. “He still needs to see me and Jared transform. That way, if he ever runs into us, he knows who we are. We’re usually aware enough to go back human, but if he’s caught up in vampire business, that might not be possible.”

Thus, that was how David witnessed both boys stripping down till nudity before shifting into a gigantic black wolf with a slightly smaller spotted brown one at his side. At that point, it almost came as a surprise to not find a full moon when he looked up at the night sky. Both of the creatures in front of them were terrifying however, more so than Emmett.

While the wolves’ behavior seemed human enough, Jared dilly dallying around like an overenthusiastic pup, their appearances were everything but. As if polar opposites of vampires with their human appearance, but inhumane thirst for blood. Suddenly David could believe that these wolves were able to hunt vampires. However strong Emmett had seemed, David doubted whether his marble skin could withstand those daggers of teeth.

After Sam dashed into the woods, Jared transformed back into his human form, dressing him in the clothes he’d previously carefully dropped into a folded pile. Jared knew to tell David that Sam wished to display a fraction of his strength. A small ten minutes later he did so by returning with a freshly killed stag in his mouth.

“Unfortunately, hunting vampires isn’t so easy,” Sam knew to mutter to him before they returned towards Harry and Sue’s house for some homemade pie.

Leah and Sett kept urging him to spill what had happened at the tribe meeting. They had temporarily been sent to Jake’s place, so they knew something had happened; just not what. David was aware enough to realize that he couldn’t share all that had transpired there, so he kept it to telling some tribe stories about white people. He hoped Harry and the others would forgive him for making them seem silly, but figured it was to prefer compared to his siblings finding out the tribe secrets.

Throughout the evening, every laugh out of Leah’s mouth was a reminder of what was at stake if he continued hanging out with Emmett. She too would transform into a wolf, forced to share her thoughts with Sam. Even if Leah would probably be able to forgive him for cursing her with such fate, David knew he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

Notes:

Slight alteration to the story, felt like it wouldn't make sense for the Quileute woman to stab herself in the stomach. She did still die, but due to the female vampire, not her own wound.
Also, other sidenote: I felt like the movies (and books too) wholly underrepresented Leah's struggles, but also Sam's difficulties. Having to share a mind with a perfectly happy ex sounds awful, but Sam's situation is somehow more tragic. He likely never meant to hurt Leah like that, but he had no other choice. Meyer's representation of soulmates feels like something that transcends humanity's freedom of choice. It's a bit of a scary concept, really.

Falling For A Vampire Should Be Scarier - BrightBlackOut - Twilight Series (2024)

Chapter 1: Moving Back To Forks

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Chapter 2: First Day of School Part I

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Chapter 3: First Day of School Part II

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Chapter 4: Adjusting to Forks

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Chapter 5: Port Angeles

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Chapter 6: Getting A Job

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Chapter 7: Venison Steak

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Chapter 8: Single

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Chapter 9: Secrets

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Chapter 10: Stalker in the Woods

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Chapter 11: Quileute Legends

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