Veil of Desire - Jasper Hale

1.2

It was time, finally Lina's childhood best friend would return to Forks. Isabella Swan. Most people would think they met in Forks, but that couldn't be further from the truth. They'd first crossed paths in Phoenix, during Catalina's brief time living outside Forks, and had stayed closely connected ever since

The day Bella was due to arrive she was buzzing with excitement. She'd helped Charlie set up Bella's room and was eager to see her friend's reaction. The young girl skipped down the stairs happily, surprised how she managed to not fall down. She greeted both her parents with a hug before settling down for breakfast.

"Sleep well, Lina?" her mother asked with a smile to which she responded with a nod and quiet hum. "Best I've had in a while. I'm heading to Charlie later to greet Bella" she informed her parents. They nodded approvingly. "Oh and Billy's gonna pick me up, since he was heading over there with Jake anyway. Charlie bought a truck from them." she smiled softly, knowing it was for Bella and she was going to be at least a little happy.

After breakfast she went up to her room the get ready. Standing before her closet, Catalina thought carefully about her outfit. Lately, she'd started choosing clothes by asking herself, "what would Alice wear?" It was a winning strategy, judging by all the compliments.

Today didn't call for anything extravagant, so she settled on a classic look: pants with a star-stubbed belt, a simple long-sleeve top layered under a knitted sweater, and her usual Converse Sneakers.

Just as she finished getting ready, she heard a car pull up the driveway. Practically flying down the stairs, she grabbed her bag and called out, "Bye Mom! Bye Dad! Love you — see you later" before closing the door behind her and hopping into the car.

"Hey Billy, hey Jake." she greeted, and they responded, slightly amused by her excitement. The trip was quick, barely five minutes, but every second brought her closer to reuniting with Bella.

They arrived at the Swan residence shortly after, and Catalina barely waited for the car to stop before stepping out to meet Bella, who had just come out of the house. The two girls shared a brief smile before closing the distance and hugging tightly. "I missed you, Bells" Catalina said warmly.

Bella returned the smile. "I missed you too, Lina." After a quick laugh, they turned to the three men waiting nearby. Catalina gave Charlie a small smile as a greeting, which he returned, and then stepped aside to let the Blacks greet Bella.

"Bella you remember Billy Black" Charlie said, nodding toward him. Bella offered him a polite smile. "Yeah, you're looking well, Billy."

Billy grinned. "Still dancing. And I'm glad you're finally here — Charlie hasn't stopped talking about you ever since you told him you were coming." Catalina chuckled quietly and gave Bella a knowing look as she watched the two friends banter after.

Then, the younger Black stepped forward with a friendly smile. "Hi. I'm Jacob" He introduced himself. "We used to make mudpies together when we were kids."

Catalina couldn't help but laugh softly as Bella's expression lit up with recognition. "I remember... are they always like this?" she asked, gesturing toward their dads. Both Lina and Jakob started nodding enthusiastically.

When Charlie was done presenting Bella with her new truck, the group stayed outside chatting for a bit longer. Eventually, Bella offered Catalina a ride home in the truck, which she eagerly accepted. As they parked in front of the Jones house, she turned to Bella with a grin.

"So... how's the room?" She asked to which Bella gave a slightly puzzled look. "Its really nice, yeah. Why?" Lina's grin widened. "I helped decorate it, you goof."
Bella laughed, nodding in realization. "That explains a lot. It's perfect — thank you."
They shared a smile before Bella asked, "Want me to pick you up for school tomorrow?" The girl nodded gratefully. "I'd love that. Thanks Bella."

With goodbyes exchanged, Catalina headed inside, finding herself with the whole house to herself as her parents were out for the evening. She cooked herself dinner, music playing softly in the background, tackled some studying, and finally went to bed, content with how the day had unfolded.

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Okay so this was my first attempt at an actual chapter and I'm quite happy with how it turned out

Please leave recommendations for improvement

Love ya <3