Paul Lahote's entire life shifts at the sight at Valentina Thurston. Her warmth and kindness effectively forces him to reconsider his bad boy persona he'd put on for so long. Though, she does have her own small, ever-growing, obstacles to overcome...
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Valentina Thurston had many first days in her life. On her first day of kindergarten, she cried for two hours after her parents left. Tears streamed down her full cheeks by way of her big green eyes as she called for her mother and father. On her first day at Forks High School, the expectant teen almost considered doing the same thing. Curious eyes gave hasty, fiery looks at her tanned face, which had soon found itself in a permanent frown. The school's last new student was Bella Swan, according to a loud girl in Valentina's Spanish class named Jessica. Though, according to said loud girl, Bella's depressed mood and dull conversations made her boring to the small town teens. The Seattle native could only hope they thought the same of her, consequently leaving her alone.
When settling for seats at lunch, Valentina figured that avoiding groups of people was in her best interest. Settling for loners instead, she walked over to a table near the large windows of the cafeteria whose only occupant was a brunette with dark bags under her eyes and distance etching itself onto the lifeless features of her pale face.
"Would you mind if I sat here?" Valentina asked gently. The brunette gave a small hand gesture as a response. "Thank you." Nothing else was said after that, leaving Valentina to her lunch, which her mother packed, while the unknown girl picked at her apple and took small sips of her soda.
Just as lunch was coming to an end, Valentina thoughtlessly put her hand on her stomach, a movement which she did so often it was just muscle memory. The intimate gesture, meant to be between mother and baby, in the privacy in their home, caught the attention of the pale brunette, whose doe eyes widened at the prospect of a teen mom in the small town. Her dark eyebrows furrowed and she looked down with red cheeks.
The expectant mother looked around quickly, hoping no one saw what she thought would definitely cause her to be homeschooled. She quickly grabbed her things, dashing to wherever she thought the bathroom was. When she finally reached it, Valentina quickly checked all of the stalls, making sure no one else was in there before she let out a large breath, trying to hold in her tears. She decided enough tears had fallen after telling her parents that they would be grandparents before either turned 40.
At the moment Valentina started playing with the rips in her jeans to distract herself, her awkward lunch table partner ran in, brown hair disheveled and cheeks flushed from the physical activity of running through the halls.
The girl Valentina knew had to be a senior suddenly became awkward, playing with her fingers and avoiding eye contact. She contemplated for a second before speaking, "I won't say anything, just another secret to keep." Valentina didn't think she was meant to hear the last part, as it was mumbled to the side very quietly.
The pregnant teen nodded and thanked her before grabbing her things, predicting the loud screech of the bell was coming soon. "Bella." Valentina was confused but the brunette clarified, "My name. Bella. Bella Swan." Bella cringed at her own lack of intelligent vernacular in greeting situations.
"Oh," Valentina spoke quietly, "I'm Valentina, you can call me Val or Tina, really anything is fine." Bella smiled, though neither girl was sure if it was genuine.
Valentina's American History class was so full that she almost didn't think she would have anywhere to sit. Luckily, there was one empty seat in the very back. People in the class spoke about an Edward Cullen, whose seat was currently being occupied by the new student. Said new student didn't pay much attention to whoever had to leave for her to have a seat, she was just thankful they did.
After the awkward introduction by a much-too-chipper History teacher with a swollen abdomen much like Valentina's was sure to look like, the tanned teen sat down with a huff and pulled her cardigan further over her chest. She suddenly realized how different her olive-toned complexion was in comparison to the majority of the class population, causing her to roll her eyes, knowing it would only be another attention grabber.
When Valentina took her place in the front seat of her father's Volvo, she audibly groaned and lay her pounding head on the dashboard. He chuckled and began the route home, "Bad day?" His daughter glared slightly at him before settling into the heated seat, enjoying the warm interior.
"Why would you even suggest that?" Sarcasm flowed naturally out of the teen girl's mouth. Her father shrugged, amused by the teen's anguish, it seemed. "I just know they're gonna talk about me, I mean, they already are. What's gonna happen when they find out?" Desperation clung heavily to her words, worry invading her still-developing brain.
"I'm gonna be honest here prinses, I have no idea. Whatever happens within the next few months is gonna hurt - really bad. It's gonna feel like the end of the world and you're gonna think you're being torn apart. That's called being a parent, you face what other teens don't and it's probably gonna suck Vallie," Chris' words had always been meaningful, it was almost like his words were poetry and he spent only moments writing it before revealing his art. Though, never had his words played such a large part in Valentina's life before.
When they arrived home, white double oak doors had replaced the shabby door which had fallen off the hinges. The father and daughter looked at each other, knowing Daniela had been busy that day. She called the duo from the kitchen, which had of course also changed drastically. Edison lights hung above the large white marble island, matching the countertops which sat between light grey cabinetry. "I've been very, uh, productive today!" Hearing her mother's vibrant French accent immediately worked to brighten her dreary day.
Valentina decided not to tell her parents about Bella Swan, who was sworn to secrecy and the 16 year old knew Bella deserved the same. So when her mother decided to introduce her family to a new friend who lived on the La Push reservation, she certainly didn't expect to see pale, dark eyed Bella. She was there a friend, Jacob Black, as he introduced himself with a white smile contrasting his bronzed skin.
After watching the two communicate - and feeling like a third wheel - Valentina noticed that Bella's eyes definitely didn't seem as lackluster and her smile didn't seem as fake. Almost as if whatever pain she was going through, Jacob made better.
"I'm rebuilding motorcycles for this one, you should come hang out. Just started today so there's still a ways to go if you ever wanna stop by," Valentina seemed interested but still hesitant, so Jacob continued, "we also do homework if academics are kinda your thing. Sure could use the company." He lightly nudged her shoulder.
"That does sound like something fun," Valentina smiled, "as long as I don't have to help you rebuild those deathtraps."
