I sat in my dingy old car in the parking lot of Forks High School. I furrowed my brow as I scanned my new schedule for the third quarter again. I was failing my Anatomy class and if I wanted to pass my science elective, I had to change it. So now I was taking a Biology class instead which would hopefully bring my grade up. However, my whole schedule had to change because of it. I grumbled as the clock on my dashboard changed to 7:30. Now I had to head into the large central building.
I shoved open the door of my Dodge Neon before slamming it shut with just as much force. Then after burrowing my hands into the pocket of my black Champion hoodie I shuffled over the wet cement. When I finally reached the tan sidewalk and the cafeteria was in sight, that's when I saw them. The Cullen family.
The five teenagers had this aura of coolness and a beauty that would make professional models jealous. And yet here they were, just five teenagers in Forks Washington.
I took a sharp intake of breath as they passed me. Edward Cullen nodded in my direction as the family passed, followed by the wispy, gray forms of each of their ghosts. Or in Jasper's case, the flurry of cement colored wind surrounding his whole body. I tried my best to make my eyes skip over the ghosts so I didn't let them know I could see them. That wasn't a hard thing to do, especially with the gorgeousness the Cullens exerted that served as a great distraction.
"How's it going Ghost Boy?" The mocking voice of Trent Donahue echoed across the campus.
He then slapped the books from my clutched arms, dampening almost every piece of paper that fell. I sighed as I bent down to gather up my things. Suddenly a second pair of hands came from out of my view. The arms in questioned gathered the last of my things I was unable to collect. When I looked up, Edward Cullen loomed above me with a smile.
My eyes widened and my breath quickened as the gorgeous young man stood before me,
"Thanks," I mumbled breathlessly.
"No problem," Edward replied with a smile.
The short, wispy form that stood behind him held a hand to her heart and that's when I made a mistake. My eyes glanced in her direction, and we locked eyes. The ghost's eyes widened and she gasped wildly while pointing in my direction.
"You can see me?!" She cried, albeit only I could hear her.
"S-Sorry, but I have to go," Edward's eyebrows twitched, but I ignored it while I pushed past him with my head down.
The first bell rang which meant I would inevitably be late, but I pushed onwards and ran to my locker, quickly twisted in the combination, tossed in my backpack, and resorted to just bringing all of my supplies to my first hour Algebra class.
Here's the thing about Forks, it was quiet. People weren't ruthlessly murdered, and people weren't ruthless murderers. So there weren't many other ghosts around Forks High School, which made the Cullens an anomaly, especially with whatever Jasper had going on. However there was the occasional dead parent or grandparent with a secret.
The rest of the day passed very slowly. The Monday seemed to drag on, and on, and on. Until eventually I reached my fourth hour, which was my new Biology class. I entered the class with seconds to spare, which result in a glare from Mr. Warner.
"Hmm," he said stroking his chin, "Cullen, he has a seat open."
My face flushed as I locked eyes with the beautiful person that sat across the Biology class. Edward waved and grinned at me. However once again my eyes were drawn to the beautiful women that sat in the seat I was assigned. I scrunched up my face as people watched me sit right next to the Cullen boy. And also right on top of the woman who was there before. The ghost dissipated but reformed right next to me.
"Young man, I'm not a fool, I know you can see me." She said sternly.
I smiled at Edward but ignored the lady as best as I could. Then she sat up on top of the tabletop looking directly at me, which I tried to avoid.
"Please, my name is Elizabeth Masen, Edward's mother," She said.
Now that sparked my interest. I knew just as well as anyone that Carlisle Cullen adopted all of his children. To know that Edward's real mother is dead, gave me about a million questions.
"I just want to give my son a message." She said again, desperately.
I grumbled in annoyance before flipping open a notebook and scribbling down:
If I do it for you, won't I have to do it for everyone else?
Elizabeth grinned at my acknowledgment,
"It's nothing bad please! I just want my son to know that I'm happy. That his father and I aren't sick anymore, and that we will wait for him as long as we need to." She said.
What do you mean sick?
I scrawled again.
"His father and I were very sick when we both died, with the Influenza-" She cut off with a gasp.
My head shot up and looked at her directly in the eyes,
THE SPANISH INFLUENZA???
I frantically scribbled down. She read over my shoulder and sighed,
"Yes, the... Spanish Influenza... In 1918." She said, which opened up a whole new can of worms for my questions.
"Astor, please, just trust me. I-It's not my secret to tell, but just know that Edward is one of the kindest, most heartfelt, most amazing boys of this time." She said, resting her cold hands on my shoulder, sending a shiver down my spine.
My breath became a shaky mess as the realization hit me that a 100 year old man sat next to me. My eyes darted around the room in fear at what Edward could be.
What about the others?
I asked her.
"They are all the same. I really shouldn't tell you." She said.
Now I was struck with a moral dilemma. I could get her to tell me, I knew I could. It was very easy for me to force a ghost's, a mother's, hand in something like this. Or should I trust her? It was simply a message, but a one hundred year old creature sitting next to me in my high school biology class? That's when I knew that my curiosity won out over morality.
I won't tell him a thing until you tell me what they are...
I hesitantly scrawled down at an angle so hopefully Edward couldn't see.
"Why are you doing this Astor? I really shouldn't..." She muttered.
I rolled my eyes and tore out the piece of paper, quietly crumbled it up and shoved it into my hoodie pocket.
"Wait!" She cried, "They're... They're vampires. The Cullens are vampires."
I blinked in surprise. Vampire was definitely a new one. Not even my grandfather has mentioned anything about vampires, and he was pretty much clinically insane. That's when I remembered something else my grandfather mentioned. Ghosts could lie, obviously, but the only reason they were still on Earth was because they had a reason. So what's the point of lying then?
That's when I was almost completely positive, that Edward Cullen was a vampire.
"Now that was just an easy review mostly because of the long Easter weekend. See you all tomorrow." Mr. Warner said and smiled before the bell rang.
Edward was out like lightning from the classroom, which meant Elizabeth went with him. Now it was time for lunch, one of the only other times I would get to see all five Cullens in a neutral setting.
