serein | jasper hale

01

THE INTENSE CHANGE of temperature compared to california was the first thing spencer noticed as she stepped from the plane. her 16 hour flight kept her cramped in one place, at one temperature, for too long. she loved the cool air, the light sprinkle of rain from the darkened sky.

chilly air snaked under the sleeves of her thin, zip up jacket and goosebumps rose on her arms. spencer followed her mother, laura ellison, to their ride to the new home. laura had lived in forks during her childhood, which means she knew chief swan and his daughter, who had moved to forks a couple weeks before. she also knew billy black, who had his son jacob help them home.

jacob was waiting in the airport parking lot. they said their awkward hellos and made even more small talk on the way to the house.

"so, dad said you used to live here, ms. ellison." jacob started, looking into the rearview mirror at the two in the back. harmony sat silently, her thoughts on starting an entirely new school so far into junior year. she was kind of nervous, knowing she'd be center of attention. her fingers fiddled with the hem of her t-shirt as she listened to the conversation.

"oh, please call me laura. i did used to live here, when i was young. my parents lived here before they moved two years ago, i visited every six months since i moved to california with my ex-husband. thats why i know chief swan and your father." laura explained, a smile on her face from the memories of meeting them both.

"why haven't i seen spencer around?" the girl startled at her name, and looked at the boy driving. she knew he was younger than her, but he was driving so he wasn't too young. spencer looked at her mom before she realized she was supposed to answer.

"oh, uh, i usually can only visit in the summers but i had busy summers down in california. i didn't come as often as mom." she stated, hoping they were near the house. the boy was ogling at spencer like she was the first girl he'd ever seen.

"that's a bummer. could've made another friend here and forks. there aren't a lot of people to talk to down at the rez. you could come down sometime, there's a beach, la push." jacob offered with a smile. spencer had to admit, the boy was cute, and sort of charming. but she was focused on restarting her life in forks, a quiet life. not on boys.

"ah, yeah. maybe." the brunette mumbled, turning her head to watch the rain. not long after the conversation stalled, they turned into the house's driveway. spencer internally cheered, getting out as soon as the car stopped. she grabbed her bag from the trunk and scurried away, leaving her mom to thank jacob.

the house was already furnished from shipping everything major before. laura stepped inside and took a big breath in.

"doesn't it just feel like home here, spence?" laura opened her arms with a big smile, gesturing around the room.

"i mean, this place, the people, how could you not love it?" the woman continued. spencer smiled at her mother, agreeing with her silently. she was usually more talkative, but she was taking in so much that she couldn't find anything to say. her mom sensed it and gave her some space to get fully unpacked.

once her room was as she wanted, spencer laid in her bed. she checked the time, around eight. she had a long day, airplanes and drives and unpacking, that she forgot she was already registered for forks high. she thought of eating dinner but tossed the thought, too anxious for the day ahead to eat.

the girl exited her room and hugged her mom goodnight. luckily, her mother started her new job the day after as well, a doctor in the forks hospital. she'd be working long days and that was fine with spencer. a little more time to have on her hands wasn't anything to complain about.