❝After a series of tragic deaths in Shadow Swan's family, the young ginger finds herself being shipped off to Forks, Washington. A town that Shadow hasn't stepped foot in years. Here she finds the prospects of a fresh start awaiting her and the chan...
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"YOUR PERMISSION SLIP, MISS SWAN?"
Shadow handed over the piece of paper with a half-hearted smile. "It wouldn't hurt you to look a little more enthused, Shadow." Mr. Molina said, followed by a grin.
She hummed as she pretended to ponder her teacher's words. "Enthusiasm?" Shadow promptly shook her head, "It's just not me, sorry."
The Swan girl heard Mr. Molina laugh as she entered the crowded school bus. Shadow hesitated in middle of the isle, searching for an empty seat among the students. Her lips were pursed as she pretended not to notice the way every face turned to look her way.
Shadow didn't know if her lack of attention-to-detail were to blame, but she was sure that there hadn't been this many kids in her Biology class. She had the distinct impression that there were too many eyes. She brushed the observation aside as she began to search for a familiar face among her classmates.
"I heard her and that Jasper kid are a thing."
Shadow inhaled sharply, but kept her eyes averted from the shameless girls at her right. Clearly subtlety didn't occupy their vocabulary. That or they simply didn't care.
Either way, Shadow didn't miss the heat behind their voice. The ginger forced herself to continue on. But, even then, she couldn't shake the glimpses or the barely-hushed voices that followed her. It was more irritating than unsettling.
Shadow huffed. She had almost forgotten how much she hated high school. Almost.
The Swan girl's eyes quickly found Jasper's head of blond hair among the crowd. Though, she found herself hesitating before she could make the instinctive decision to join him. Shadow wanted to curse herself for letting petty words get to her, but she couldn't shake the question herself.
What was her relationship with Jasper?
She couldn't call him a friend— not when their first meeting had been spent at each other's throats. Never-mind the fact that Shadow's friends didn't usually make her swoon. He was definitely an annoyance, but he wasn't (im)mortal enemy number one either. Edward currently occupied that spot.
Still, Shadow trusted Jasper like she trusted no one else, and it was only at his side that the world seemed to finally balance itself out.
What did you call someone like that?
The Swan girl felt her heart stutter as she recalled the press of his lips against her knuckles. Some part of her knew what it was that made her ribs feel like a cage for a flighty bird. She just wasn't ready to say it.
