lwk_josie
The first week in Forks had been... different. The rain hadn't surprised Charlotte-she'd grown up knowing the Pacific Northwest was infamous for it-but the quiet of Forks High was almost eerie. Students grouped up quickly, cliques forming in their small routines, and Charlotte found herself drifting toward the shadows of the cafeteria, taking everything in.
That was when she first noticed them.
The Cullens.
It was impossible not to. Even with her head bowed and her notebook open, she could feel the shift in the room the moment they walked in. They didn't sit with anyone else, didn't speak to anyone outside their circle, and yet the entire school orbited them with a strange mix of awe and unease. Most of the girls whispered about Edward or Jasper, a few about Rosalie's impossible beauty... but Charlotte's eyes went straight to him.
Emmett Cullen. Towering. Broad shouldered. A grin that looked like it could crush someone's heart or light up the darkest room.
Charlotte chewed on the inside of her cheek, feeling stupid for staring. Because of course he wasn't available. Anyone could see the way his hand found Rosalie's waist every time they passed through the cafeteria doors. The way his entire attention-when he wasn't smirking at some private Cullen joke-was directed at her. Rosalie was fire and glass all in one: untouchable, blinding, dangerous. Charlotte knew she didn't stand a chance.