Tooth and Claw

Friends Forever

It was a whole month after Charlotte's transformation before Carlisle would allow her to go back to school. And he only agreed to it, because Seth would be going to school with her.
The night before her return to school, Charlotte hunted with the rest of the Cullens, so that she was as strong as she could be and wouldn't be as tempted by blood.
During her first week back, Charlotte would only be attending classes that were before lunch. As Carlisle wanted to see how she coped with that, before sending her back into full time education.

"How do I look?" Asked Charlotte, when she arrived at Charlie's house, so that Seth could drive them both to school.
"You look great. Although I have to admit, that the contact lenses are little strange, as I'm so used to seeing you with red eyes, which is something I never thought I'd say" admitted Seth.
"So, are you two both ready?" Asked Charlie, who had followed Seth out of the house.
"Yes, Chief" answered Charlotte, as she tried to hide her nervousness.
"Well have fun. But don't push yourself too hard, as you have been ill remember"
"Thanks Chief. And don't worry about me, as Carlisle is collecting me at lunch anyway. He also said that he can come and get me early if I need him to".

After saying goodbye to Charlie and Sue, Seth and Charlotte climbed into his car, and began the short drive to the high school.
When they arrived, the parking lot was already quite full, and there were dozens of students milling about catching up with each other.
"Hey, everything is going to be fine" reassured Seth, as he took hold of Charlotte's hand and squeezed it tight, when he saw the frightened look on her face.
"What if I mess up Seth? I know that I really wanted to come back here, but now that I'm actually in front of the school, I'm not sure whether or not I can go through with it" admitted Charlotte.

"How are you feeling right now? There are loads of people outside this car, and I'm sure you can smell them all, but do you want to kill them?" Asked Seth.
Charlotte took a deep breath in, and smelled hundreds of warm blooded bodies all around her. They did smell nice and appealing, but Charlotte knew to ignore that feeling.
"No, I don't feel the urge to drink their blood right now" revealed Charlotte.
"That's good then. So let's do this, and you can introduce me to your friends" replied Seth, as he pushed open the car door and exited the veichle.

"I hadn't spoken to my friends until yesterday, and that was only by text, as Carlisle had warned me not to communicate with anyone" admitted Charlotte, once she too had exited the car.
"I expect you had like a hundred messages on your phone when Carlisle finally gave it back to you" replied Seth, as they began to make their way towards the school.
"I did have a lot. But Carlisle rang my friends parents about a week after I got turned, telling them not to contact me, until I felt ready. So I didn't have hundreds of messages and missed calls"
"That was kind of him"
"Well he thought it would be the best thing to, to stop people constantly trying to get hold of me".

"Well it was a good idea... I have to say though, despite having driven passed this school loads of times, I never really noticed how big it was, until now" admitted Seth.
"Don't tell me you're nervous as well. You're supposed to be my brave protector" teased Charlotte.
Seth puffed out his chest and placed his arm around Charlotte.
"You're right. This is just high school. I've fought vampires before, this is nothing" he said firmly.
Charlotte chuckled, "That's the voice of my brave lover".

The second Charlotte stepped into her form room, where registration took place, her best friend Saffy immediately threw herself into her arms.
Despite being around humans an awful lot, Charlotte had never been so close to one, or had one wrap her in such a tight hug.
Having Saffy so close made Charlotte start to panic, especially as she did smell rather appetising.
Seth placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it supportively, which calmed her down.
"It's good to see you too Saffy" smiled Charlotte, as she released her friend and took a step back.
"I've missed you so much!" Squealed Saffy.
Charlotte was aware that the whole class was watching her intently, so she began ushering Saffy to the back of the room.

When they reached the back of the classroom, Charlotte's other friend Kat came up and hugged her, before sitting down on top of her desk.
"It's good to see you" Kat said.
"Thanks. I'm happy to be back here with you two" replied Charlotte.
Seth cleared his throat from behind her, and Charlotte realised how rude she was being.
"Oh right, um guys, this is Seth Clearwater, and he's just moved here from his school on the reservation... He's also my boyfriend" revealed Charlotte, as she laced her arm around Seth's waist.
"Wow, you have had a busy month. You've gained a new family, and a boyfriend" commented Kat.
"Kat, you know we're not supposed to talk about things that Charlie's been up to while she was away" hissed Saffy.

"It's fine you guys. And I promise I'll answer all your questions when we're alone. But just not right now" admitted Charlotte.
"You don't have to tell us anything that you don't want to" replied Saffy.
"Although, we are your best friends, so we are owed some kind of explanation" countered Kat.
"You are my friends, which is why I am going to tell you everything. Just not while we're in class" promised Charlotte.
Seth raised and eyebrow and Charlotte grinned, as there were some things that she was definately going to be keeping from her friends.