Claircognizance / / J. Hale

{14 A Long Month}

Bella Swan 

Bella Swan had never found herself to have been so enamoured with a single individual. 

Edward Cullen had sauntered into her life like no other boy ever could, his ever-mysterious aura and brooding attitude drew in the pale brunette like a moth to the flame. His molten gold orbs had seared themselves into her very subconscious, looming, glowering into her inner psyche every time she closed her eyes and Bella was finding it harder and harder to stay away. 

But ever since the day she and Evelyn were almost hit by Tyler's van, Bella had barely seen the bronze-haired boy. After the week-long hiatus that Edward seemed to take from Forks high school, Bella had thought that she had made pretty good progress in speaking to him. His charmingly 'crooked' smirk, as Bella would personally define it, seemed to make up for his behaviour on her first day of school every time he flashed it her way.  No matter how brief their conversations may have been in biology Bella found herself hanging off every word that flowed from his lips.

But all it took was one stupid van to ruin her life. 

Now she was met with clear avoidance from Edward, every time he so much as caught a glance of her in the hallways he would swiftly turn the other way. Even as he sat directly next to her in biology he found a way to completely ignore her existence for the entire period, and Bella was becoming sick of it. 

Furthermore, the ever-growing suspicion that Edward and his family were beyond human was itching under her skin. She had sworn that she had seen her truck's bodywork crumple under Jasper's fingertips as he dove in between Tyler's van and Evelyn. Bella could have sworn that the blonde boy had been standing on the other side of the car park. But Evelyn wouldn't budge. 

Bella knew that Evelyn knew something. But she just wouldn't tell. 

Bella was aware that Evelyn knew more than she let on, she had their whole life. While the adults in their lives would often brush off Evelyn's behaviour as classic twin telepathy Bella knew better. She never knew things about her sister that she seemed to know about herself, and for just once in her life Bella wished that she could be privy to whatever secret that Evelyn has managed to uncover about the elusive Cullen family. 

For the first time in a very long time at Forks high school Jasper could be seen without a pained expression on his face, his once strained eyes were now relaxed and filled with a never before seen warmth in his golden irises. His pale lips now longer restrained and frowning, instead finding themselves being replaced with a content smile. Bella knew that Evelyn was the cause of the change in Japser's behaviour and some deep, almost selfish part of her wished that she could do that to Edward. 

Bella Swan had never found herself to have been so enamoured with a single individual.

But maybe if Bella had been paying more attention she would have noticed the seething glare of Rosalie Hale, or the nervous flattering of Alice Cullen every time the girls saw the brunette staring at their adopted brother from across the cafeteria. If Bella had been paying more attention then maybe she would have noticed that whenever Jasper's attention wasn't on her sister, it was cemented on her, defensive and watchful as his arm found further around her waist. As if they could see through her obsessive gaze. 

But Bella was far too caught up in her vision of Edward Cullen, recalling every moment with him. 

Bella could almost feel the burning venom that Edward's glare seemed to pierce into her very bones upon their first meeting. The crippling loneliness that crept in that following week of his absence seemed to be returning tenfold even though she could still find his presence at school. Bella had heard the whispers that followed her sister, mere days after their first appearance in Forks. How could one outsider make her way so seamlessly into the exclusive Cullen clique after others had failed for two years, and Bella would never admit it to herself but there was an ever-so-small ball of flaring jealousy that began to settle in her gut. 

Bella, after her precarious encounter with Edward, held out some hope that she too could break down the ice-cold walls that Edward Cullen had built around himself. Bella wanted to be the one who would finally cause the bronze-haired beauty to smile in the presence of others. Bella wanted to throw the words 'nobody here is good enough for them' back into Jessica's face as she finally got close enough to Edward. 

But he had been avoiding her. 

The days turned to weeks and eventually, Edward had spent a month ignoring Bella after the dreaded accident. Bella found that internal itch to get closer finally reach a boiling point as she firmly made up her mind.

Bella Swan was going to confront Edward Cullen again. But this time she was going to uncover their secret. 

Bella Swan had never found herself to have been so enamoured with a single individual.

Thank you for reading~