Disclaimer

Twilight and all affiliated characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any of the aforementioned characters except Beth and the plot of this story (that is, should it stray from the original Twilight). This story is for entertainment only and is not part of the official storyline. I am not in any way, shape, or form benefiting financially from the publishing of this story on this site and am very grateful for Mrs. Meyer's creation. Besides, if I did own Twilight, I'd have met Kristen Stewart today at Starbucks for a frappuccino.

                            The sound of her sibling's groan drew Beth's attention from her book, catching sight of the tiny white flakes slowly falling from the ever gloomy sky, just outside the cool glass of the window. Beth snickered at her sister's pain.

"Joy," she smiled sarcastically, gently placing her self-made bookmark in the folds of her book, marking her spot for later when she would inevitably get bored of her peer's conversations at lunch.

Bella shot her a glare as they both hopped from the big red monster, slinging her backpack around her small frame, "I hate you."

Beth's eyebrows shot up along with her hands, the bookmark flashing in the cool air with her book, its cover finally being uncovered, "I didn't do anything!"

Rolling her brown eyes, Isabella grabbed her sister's forearm to keep steady on the ice that had formed overnight on the school's tarmac. Students passed by, rushing to get inside so that they weren't considered late, which Beth knew they would be. It would be a while before they got inside anyways, with how slowly and unsteady Bella's steps were. Smiling in amusement, Beth kept her gaze downward, content with being her sister's guide from the truck to the school doors, and avoiding the ice patches and puddles alike as they went.

                 _________________________________________________________________

"Eric!" Beth exclaimed in bemusement, as the young boy proceeded to shake his umbrella on her. She ran into class, book clutched protectively to her chest to save it from the moisture. He laughed, following her while shaking his umbrella threateningly. She hissed and bristled much like a feline, before hastily shedding her jacket and hanging it up on the hook.

"Don't you dare-!" Her finger wagged in his face, eyes stern but still lighthearted. The snow had everyone in a good mood, Beth understood, and while she tolerated the teen's shenanigans, there was a time and place for everything and she also had her limits. They had just about been reached after the impromptu snowball fight that happened just after lunch. Even now, her hair and shirt had wet spots from where clumps of snow had long since melted from her body's natural heat. Poor Bella had to use her purple binder that Beth had sneakily deposited embarrassing Dora stickers on, to cover her head from the attacks that seemingly came from all angles. That was also not to say that Beth herself also hadn't been used as a human shield to prevent the cold, wet substance from catching her at all. Likewise, Angela, Ben and Jessica had also suffered from being used as shields too.

Eric chuckled and gave in,  umbrella falling into the bin that Mr. Molina kept by the doors for such an occasion (read every day). In his other hand, he held Beth's books that he had graciously offered to carry after their fight.

"Alright, Alright. I'll stop."

"Thank you," She smiled courteously, before turning to face the man that had quickly become one of her favorite teachers.

"Good afternoon," She nodded to him, catching his greeting nod as the corners of his lips tilted at the sight of the two. As she turned to direct Eric where her seat was, she had little to no control of how her body reacted to the image of another individual seated in her seat. A very familiar person. Penny boy.

"Shit," Beth mumbled as one of her feet caught onto a stool that had been carelessly left in the middle of the aisle, a normal feature- granted as the chaos of the biology lab allowed, and she would have fallen down completely if it weren't for Eric's hand catching her elbow just in the nick of time. Her feet righted themselves beneath her, ears deaf to the low chuckles of her classmates as they caught sight of what had happened.

"You okay?" Eric inquired when she righted herself, her eyes not having strayed from the copper-haired, yellow-eyed teenager that had plagued her mind's eye for little more than three days last week. And he too stared until she turned to assure Eric that yes, she was in fact, okay.

When the two finally made it to her desk, Beth's untimely blush still hadn't faded from her cheeks. She nodded again in thanks when Eric quickly deposited her books on the cool tabletop before making a hasty retreat just as the warning bell went off.

Hesitantly, she took her seat, bag falling to the floor beside her and hand helping anchor herself so she didn't have an embarrassing repeat of what had just occurred. That had been enough for the day, thank you. Just as the second bell went off for class, Mr. Molina's groan sounded from his desk, before he regrettably announced,

"Sorry guys, I left my laptop charger in the teacher's lounge. I'll be back in a few." At this, the class bubbled excitedly, each student turning to their friends/friend groups as their teacher left the classroom.

Mike took that as his chance to bounce down to her, shaking his head slightly, to deposit a few droplets of water on the desk and her belongings. Beth frowned and threw a playful punch that still held some power on his arm,

"Ow! How are you likin' the snow, Arizona?" Mike rubbed his shoulder, mock wincing as though it had actually hurt him.

"It's just what I expected it to be." She shrugged, still tense from the unexpected presence of her lab partner beside her. Even now, she could feel the burning gaze of his strangely colored irises on the back of her head.

Unaffected or oblivious to her discomfort, Mike carried on, "Bella seems to be managing pretty well." It was said quite doubtfully, as though expecting an explanation on the matter. Beth would definitely oblige.

At this Beth couldn't hold back a snort, "Snow isn't for the uncoordinated, Mike." He laughed, taking it as a joke before he bravely placed his too-warm hand on her upper arm. Beth flickered a glance at the offending appendage before focusing on his face as a slight red hue formed on his cheeks,

"Listen, I was wondering if you'd be open to going to Port Angeles for a movie this Saturday..?" He trailed off nervously, his ever-present smile dimming just slightly as her expression didn't change the more he went on.

Beth pursed her lips in thought, how best could she explain that she wasn't interested in him or anyone in this place or age without outright offending him? By the time she had opened her mouth to respond, Mike's hand had gone slack before falling off of hers completely, fingers drumming against the black table out of sheer nervousness.

"Uh," She began, straightening in her seat. "Mike, I'm not really into guys that are in high school," she explained gently.

"What, like college guys?" He let out a slight disbelieving question, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Beth's head was shaking before she could stop herself, "Uh, no. Not exactly." Shit. That made it sound way worse than she had intended. Wincing, she tried to rectify the situation, "Try guys that aren't in school?" She wanted to facepalm. Seeing the slight horror on his face, she cringed further. She was 124 years old, for god sake! She wasn't about to tell him that she couldn't be interested in men for as long as they were not in their late 90's. At least then, it would be seen as acceptable. If she had dated anyone any younger, Charlie (who thankfully had no idea that one of his children was three times his age) should very well put her behind bars for even thinking of such a thing. It would be like seeing Aunt Helen in all her grey-haired glory lusting after a poor, unsuspecting Eric Yorkie. No, she shook herself mentally, she wouldn't rob any cradles, reincarnation or not.

Mike, bless him, recovered far more quickly than she would have expected, "So you're absolutely sure that you don't wanna go?" His face was crestfallen now, a shred of hope still lingering in his baby blue eyes. Beth softened, there wasn't anything wrong with Mike at all. In her past life, had she been his age, he would have been someone that she could see herself being interested in. But life in all its twisted, cruel glory wasn't like that and didn't allow them to meet back then. And so, for the very same reason, in this life and with her situation, she wouldn't dare say yes. At the shake of her head, Mike's lips thinned in disappointment just as Mr. Molina came walking back in, charger in hand.

"Got it." And with that, Mike had walked back to his seat, with a dejected air around his usually bubbly personality. Wincing, Beth hated to think about what Jessica would say once she found out that Mike had asked her, of all people, out on a date. Hopefully, no one had heard the exchange.

The stool beside her creaked as the person shifted and she tensed all over again, finally remembering that she wasn't alone this lesson and if anyone had heard what had happened, it most likely would have been Edward fucking Cullen. Great. With one unwilling glance towards his figure, she could see very clearly that he was still watching her but this time with varying degrees of confusion, frustration, and curiosity. Turning to face the board, Beth huffed, he had most assuredly heard her awkward attempt to turn the Newton boy down.

Great. But still, he said nothing. And for the next thirty minutes, the bliss of silence was something she grew accustomed to, along with his presence. And, might she add, so did the cold, prickling feeling that traveled down her spine which reminded her of his stare. The silence was only broken when Beth had finished her work for the session, having done such a lab back in Phoenix and once, if she remembered correctly, in college as Gen. Her beaded bookmark, tied together with a length of purple embroidery thread clattered to the ground as it slipped from the book she tried and failed to stealthily open. Wincing for the thousandth time, she made to bend down and get it when the thing appeared right in front of her eyes clasped between the pale fingers of the owner of the honey-colored eyes....Hadn't they have been lighter just before class? Shaking her head of such thoughts, she carefully took her keepsake back from him, avoiding touching his skin.

"Thank you," she mumbled, not giving herself a chance to catch sight of him again, before opening the book and focusing on trying to absorb the material presented before her eyes.

It had been a minute, just one, of her thoughts slowly melting back into the scenery that the author was trying to paint before a voice like no other she had heard before, broke her focus,

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen," Penny introduced himself, "you must be Beth Swan?"

Beth bit her lip, eyeing him in her peripheral for as long as she could without making it look weird, "mhmm." Was all she allowed to slip out before she forced herself to focus once again. Maybe if she didn't entertain his attempt at conversing with her, he'd leave her alone?

No such chance.

"How are you and your sister enjoying Forks, so far?" Beth's eyes closed and her shoulders sagged as she accepted defeat. She would not be able to finish the chapter by the end of the session, as she'd hoped. Edward would not allow it, it was obvious.

"It's a change, that's for sure," Beth entertained him, fingering her bookmark before regretfully placing it back inside the book. "More rain, obviously. I like it, Bella doesn't."

She flickered her eyes up to his, body turning more openly to engage him, even in this brief encounter.

"So why did you guys move if it was such a controversial decision?" His voice was probing, his dark eyelashes brushing against his pale cheekbones that were marred with deep, purple bags under his eyes. An indication of lost sleep, if she didn't know any better. But then again, they all lacked sleep, they were in their second to last year of high school. Shit was just starting to pick up.

"Family issues," was all she offered as an explanation, before seeing his irritatingly perfect eyebrow arch in response. She breathed in deep, before expanding on her statement, "My mom remarried. Decided it would be best to stay with our dad for a while."

"You didn't like the guy?"

Her eyebrows furrowed, she could see how that could have been assumed, "No, he's okay, I guess. They wanted to be more mobile, we wanted to finish high school. My dad was able to take us in and that was decidedly the better option by all accounts." Yes, Phil was great;a perfect match for Renee in all her eccentricity. And very unlike her dad too..though because Phil was such an opposite, he fit the criteria that Renee had needed in her life and so, it had worked out fine. It also helped that he got along with the girls pretty well, despite the close age gap.

Edward nodded and made a noise in the back of his throat, quiet for now as Mr. Molina dragged the class's attention back to him to make final comments on the assignment before it was due. It was silent for the next five minutes, Beth knowing that Edward definitely had something more to say or ask and not giving her any chance to finish her chapter. Her fingered probed the pages longingly, nails hooking onto the cover and tracing the words.

"Do you read much of Austen?" Beth nearly jumped, head tilting to shoot another glance at him, once again taken aback by his paleness. His finger was outstretched on the table, pointing to the book she was being so careful with.

"It's my sister's," She explained, "I guess I'm enjoying it so far." Yes, Sense and Sensibility was becoming a favorite of hers. She'd never gotten a chance to read many of the classics before, always more outdoorsy if she wasn't reading an article or a snippet of a random novel that was targeted for an age group way younger than hers. Back as Gen anyways, in this life, Bella had all but shoved them down her throat as she got older and this was increased tenfold when they got to Forks where Bella kept her stash of Jane Austen. Without the advancements she was used to, it was really one of the few things to do in Forks that she actually tolerated. Plus, the idea of snuggling up to a fireplace beside a window as it rained/snowed didn't sound too bad when you added a book and a quilt.

"It's a good book," Edward assured, "Mr. Willough-"

"Don't spoil it!" Beth frantically interrupted, horrified once she recognized the name. Beside her, Edward smirked and Beth could have sworn she saw the devil looking at her in his eyes. That feeling she got was back, the prickles. She didn't really like the look on his face then. It unnerved her.

"I won't." That was the only thing he said before he got up suddenly, lab paper in hand as Mr. Molina stood up to begin asking for the papers. And just as quickly as he deposited his papers on the teacher's desk, he was out the door, leaving behind Beth who was still quite horrified and tense from the encounter.

                     ____________________________________________________________

"Edward Cullen spoke to me today." Beth confided sometime later, from her position at the foot of Bella's bed.

"He did?" Bella asked distractedly, pen scratching away at her homework, sitting up against the headboard.

"Yeah," the other "teen" replied, the smell of the pages greeted her as her book fell gently onto her face. "He's kind of weird, just like Jessica said. He gave me a funny feeling." Clearing her throat, Elizabeth sighed and took her book back up to continue reading, storing all thoughts of the encounter in a chest she kept under lock and key. So while Penny boy hadn't yelled and screamed at the top of his lungs like how she'd imagined, he'd done something that not a lot of people had managed to do in both her lives. He put her on edge. And with the track record, those kinds of people had in her life, that feeling was never good.