Something Sweeter - Alec Volturi

XIV. Sisters

The only good thing about going to school on Monday was that I got my own car.

Edward, Bella, and the twins had to carpool together because they were linked together in their cover story. Edward Cullen and Bella Swan were a couple, and Jane and Alec were Bella's distant cousins, making them Swans, as well. All four of them lived with Dr. Cullen and the rest of his family, at the other kids being too old for high school.

Bella and Jane must have had a special brand of hatred for each other because the cover story required quite a bit of convincing for both parties.

None of it mattered to me. I was just plain old Violet Forsythe, a regular human girl. Not only did I get the keys to a brand new black Jeep Wrangler, but I also got to start the school year without any connection to the Cullens or the Volturis. For all anyone knew, I'd never met any of them before.

I couldn't lie: the image of Edward, Bella, and the twins piling into that little silver Volvo every morning nearly sent me into hysterics.

The antics between the Cullens and the Volturis, however, did little to lift my spirits as I stood in the middle of the busy hallway before first period.

I sighed heavily as I stared into my empty locker. I knew the odds of me living long enough to see the New Year were slim, so I was essentially wasting my final months of life in high school.

It wasn't fair.

If I had any sense I would climb back into the Jeep and hit the road. I don't know where I would go; anywhere would be better than Forks. I could spend my last days downing wine coolers and dancing in rinky dink karaoke bars across the Midwest. I could speed down the golden coast, soaking up the sunshine. The world is so much larger than high school. Life had so much more to offer.

The tardy bell snapped me out of my daydreams. The halls were emptying quickly around me. I slammed my locker shut and nearly jumped out of my skin. Jane had been standing on the other side of my locker door, waiting.

"Jane! What do you want?" I snapped.

Her large red eyes looked muddy behind her brown contacts. The color change didn't make her look any less creepy, although most people tended to perceived her as adorable. She looked like a doll in her pale blue dress and white sweater. Her icy blonde hair was styled in loose waves; she looked more like a Disney princess than anything else.

"You're in a good mood today," she raised her delicate eyebrows at me.

"This is all your fault, so excuse me for not being thrilled to see you," I glared at her before stalking off.

"Is that really how you want to address your sister?" she asked with chilly humor as she followed me into the women's restroom.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, considering how attached you are to my brother..."

"I don't want your brother. Please! Keep him!"

"You're nothing more than a passing fancy," she sneered. "He'll grow tired of you soon enough."

"And then what? I already know too much."

"Yes," she grinned. "As soon as Alec is done with you, I will end you myself."

"Great," I didn't bat an eye. I expected as much.

Jane looked less than pleased by my lack of reaction.

"Oh! And, hey," I added, looking her dead in the face. "Don't forget that here at school? We don't know each other. Do me a favor and keep it that way."

I strolled out of the restroom with a snarky grin, ninety-five percent sure I wouldn't be murdered on my way out.

* * *

My first class of the day was Physics, which, by the way, should totally be illegal.

But I digress.

On the bright side, it was a vampire free class, so I could mope without being harassed for once.

My luck didn't extend to second period.

I entered the Chemistry classroom right after the tardy bell and was greeted by the sight of Alec and Jane perched side by side at a lab desk.

I shuffled to the back of the classroom and took my seat in the last available spot. My lab partner was a friendly brunette named Liam, who was actually pretty cool. I used my conversation with him to distract me from the pang of rejection I felt from seeing Alec at a different table.

Both Jane and Alec glanced at me a few times during class; Jane looked smug and Alec generally looked expressionless.

I pretended like I didn't see either of them.

Liam was a breath of fresh air, thankfully. He was funny, kind, and...normal. I felt myself relaxing more and more each time I looked into his warm brown eyes.

The rest of my day dragged on painfully. I hid in the women's restroom during my lunch period, unwilling to run into anyone I knew. I forced down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while I tried not to cry.

By the time I trudged into my sixth period English class, I quickly took a random seat closer to the middle of the classroom and pulled out my phone. I flicked through my Pinterest feed while I waited for class to start. If I kept my eyes down people would be less likely to bother me.

"Hey," a divine voice drifted into my ears.

"Alec?" I looked up quickly.

"I was starting to wonder if we had any more classes together," he smiled sweetly as he sat at the desk to my right.

"Oh, yeah?" I said lightly. I was having a difficult time finding words.

"I didn't see you at lunch," he frowned.

"Yeah. I got...lost," I said lamely.

Alec gave me a curious look.

"Violet? What are the odds!"

I looked up again; this time I was greeted by Liam.

"Hi, Liam!" I grinned.

"I'm so glad we have another class together," he said as he claimed the open desk to my left.

"You read my mind," I agreed.

"Who's this?" Alec asked, pushing into our moment.

"This is Liam. We're lab partners in Chemistry," I informed him.

"Hey! I think we're in the same class," Liam said to Alec. "I remember you sitting with that blonde girl."

"My twin, Jane," Alec gave Liam a heavenly smile. "I'm Alec."

"Nice," Liam nodded, completely unaffected by Alec's looks or charisma. "How do you know Violet?"

"We met briefly in the front office when we got our schedules," Alec explained before I could think of a significantly worse lie.

"Cool," Liam said, more to me. "If we're lucky we'll have Spanish together next period, too."

"You know what?" I said as I rummaged briefly in my backpack before extracting my battered schedule sheet. "Yeah! Spanish for seventh, last class of the day."

"Hm. Jane and I have French for seventh period," Alec said with dismay.

"Aw, that's too bad. But, hey! At least we're all here for English," Liam said optimistically to Alec.

"Yeah," I nodded. "It's not so bad."

And for one blissful moment, I actually believed it.