[ put in your guesses now for the grade i got back on that physics test ]

☽︎

YOU'RE LIKE DAD NUMBER TWO.

"Stop — making — out!" Tyler exclaimed while throwing his drumsticks at Frankie and Emmett in his garage.

Everyone was gathered to watch the band rehearse, Emmett the only Cullen to come this time. Sometimes Edward or Alice came with him, but Edward wasn't at school that day. He was sick according to Emmett.

"You got her during lunch, Crowley," Emmett said, pulling away from Frankie's lips.

"And we have her now," Jessica said, putting her hands on her hips. "I need my other werewolf."

Frankie snorted and finally untangled herself from Emmett, getting ready to start rehearsal now that they'd all finished eating their pizzas. Bella was there as well, sitting in a lawn chair next to Angela, Eric, and Mike. Despite hating most social situations, she was excited. Bella liked almost any kind of music, always having her headphones or playing it out loud in her room.

She was surprised by how affectionate Emmett Cullen was after the horrible first meeting with his brother. He reminded her of an oversized puppy dog, just following Frankie around with stars in his eyes. It was clear his whole world revolved around her, which was a nice sentiment.

Frankie pecked Emmett's lips once more, ignoring Tyler who yelled at them, before grabbing her bass guitar. "We're gonna do a new one."

"Is it a love song about Emmett?" Mike asked in a dull tone — the last three songs they wrote were about Emmett. Sure, they were really fucking good songs and they weren't all sappy, slow ones, but Mike was a boy. So sue him for wanting some diversity.

"No," Frankie said matter-of-factly while fixing the strap on her guitar. Then she winked at Mike. "It's about you and how I'm leaving him for you."

As everyone snickered, Emmett sighed and plopped down in the chair next to Mike. "I hate when you make that joke."

"Me too," Jessica muttered under her breath so quietly that Emmett was the only one to hear.

Frankie just made a heart with her hands and aimed it at Emmett, making him grin. But it fell when she moved it over to Mike, who let out a cheer.

"No, for real, Ty wrote this one. It's really cool," Frankie said, getting ready to actually start. "And Jess sounds amazing in the bridge. Just wait."

Rehearsal went on as usual, Bella joining the several onlookers this time. It was much more calm than school and no one really looked her way, too focused on the music or the homework they were doing while nodding their heads to the beat. For the first time since moving to Forks, she found she wasn't absolutely socially exhausted by the time it was done and Frankie was waving goodbye, walking off toward home with Emmett at her side.

"Is Edward really sick?" Frankie found herself asking as they got through the tree line.

"Yeah," Emmett insisted, the rehearsed lie making his stomach twist. He hated lying to Frankie, but how was he supposed to just tell her vampires were real? "He's got a really bad migraine, Carlisle says. Throwing up and stuff. And he almost bit Rose's head off for the perfume she was spraying."

"Ew," she cringed, picturing it. "I guess that makes sense, but he'd better apologize to Bella for being so rude yesterday when he comes back to school. They don't have to be friends, but he can't just treat people like that."

Emmett moved her guitar case to his other hand so that he could grab hers and intertwine their fingers as they walked, making her smile. "He'll get over it," he assured her. "Anyway, Alice wants to know what color you're wearing to Prom so my tie can match."

Frankie scoffed in disbelief. "Well, I'm not going to the prom since no one's asked me."

"Wh - what?" Emmett said, his mouth hanging open. "But we're going together."

"You just assumed you don't have to ask me because we're dating? Wow," she laughed. "Men really are stupid, huh?"

"Well, will you go to Prom with me?" he asked her quickly.

Frankie shook her head sadly. "That was pathetic. I'm gonna need you to meet with your sisters and mother and come up with something better. Honestly, you're obsessed with me, so I know you can do better."

☽︎

It was fucking freezing on the day that Edward finally returned to school the following Monday. Frankie was pretty sure migraines didn't last for a week, but she was no doctor, so she didn't dwell on it when Emmett told her at lunch he was back. However, he opted to eat in his car to avoid the loud cafeteria.

Jessica was annoyed at Frankie because she was in a cute pair of jeans that came from Tyler's sister and a thin, white shirt while she was bundled up in an unflattering parka. But at least it had long sleeves, or her friends would've had a come apart over how hot she ran.

All day, it'd been raining mixed with a bit of sleet in the early morning, putting most everyone in a miserable mood. Frankie just wished it would snow so they could have a snowball fight. Mike and her were grumbling about it as they neared the biology classroom.

"Hey," Frankie whispered, spotting Eric talking with Bella. She had a smirk on her face. "Dude, I think he's asking her out."

"No, fucking way," Mike scoffed before speeding up.

"—and yeah, Prom Committee is a chick thing, but I gotta cover it for the paper anyway, and they need a guy to help choose the music, ao I need your playlist. Hey, listen, I was wondering, did you have a, uh, a dat—"

Before Eric could ramble out an invite, Mike ran up to them while waving his soaked baseball cap over Bella's head. "What's up, Arizona? How you likin' the rain, girl? Better get used to it, girl."

"Terrific," she muttered before heading to her seat.

Frankie noticed she stopped for a moment, spotting Edward. But then she gave her a little push, so Bella steeled herself and moved to sit next to him, careful not to trip over her own feet. And she was going to berate him, Frankie could tell from her expression, but then Edward looked at her with a smile.

"Hello. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to introduce myself last week. I'm Edward Cullen."

Oh, Frankie could see it on Bella's face as clear as day — not that the day was very clear. She was a fucking goner though, having forgotten all about his rude behavior.

Mr. Molina then began talking while passing out some lab supplies. "Onion root tip cells! That's what's on your slides. Separate and label them into the phases of mitosis. The first partners to get it right, win... the golden onion!"

When he went back to his desk and grabbed a spray-painted onion, Frankie let out a whoop, never wanting anything more in her life even though this was the first she was hearing of the golden onion.

"Mike, we need it," Frankie whispered to her partner.

He just frowned at her. "Frank, we suck at biology."

"Well, I still have faith in us."

That faith was misplaced because fifty minutes later, Mike and Frankie were still arguing about the first slide, one thinking it was anaphase and the other thinking it was interphase — it was prophase. In the end, the golden onion went to Bella and Edward, who Frankie glared at as she walked behind them down the hallway.

Edward thought her jealous inner monologue was hilarious, all over something that cost three dollars to make. Typically, Frankie didn't care for academic validation unless it was a shiny vegetable, apparently.

This time, Frankie was included in the conversation Bella was having with Edward, who was asking all kinds of questions to get to know her better and why she'd come to Forks.

"Why didn't you move with your mother and Phil?" he questioned, referring to her stepfather.

Bella took a moment to answer as Edward studied her features intently. "Well, Phil's a minor-league baseball player, and he travels a lot. My mother stayed home with me but I knew it made her unhappy. So I figured I'd stay with my dad for a while."

"But now you're unhappy," Edward noted as they stopped at the lockers.

"No," Bella denied quickly.

Frankie sucked in a breath and opened her locker, continuing to eavesdrop. Maybe Edward wouldn't completely fumble the bag so early on.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm just trying to figure you out. You're very difficult for me to read."

Frankie nodded her head while shoving her books in her locker. Edward had always been very good at guessing what someone was thinking about. She'd even joked about him joining a circus or something like that to make a living because he always seemed to know what was on her mind. She supposed Bella just didn't wear her emotions on her face like she did.

As Bella was sharing a look with Edward, she finally noticed something startling. "Did you get contacts?"

Edward frowned, unsure of why she was asking. "No."

"Your eyes were black the last time I saw you, now they're this golden brown or—"

"It's the fluorescents," he awkwardly interrupted her. Not knowing what else to say, he turned and left abruptly, confusing the girls.

"He's so awkward," Frankie muttered in amusement. "And yeah, their eyes kinda look different in different light."

"But they are all adopted, right?"

"Yeah, but Emmett, Alice, and Edward are all cousins and related to Esme distantly, I think. Then Rose and Jasper are actual siblings," she explained, believing the lie so easily that it made the Cullens feel guilty. But it wasn't her fault she was so unobservant.

"Oh," Bella said softly, still thinking it was odd that they all had the same eyes even if Frankie didn't think it was odd.

"So," Frankie said casually as they started walking outside. Thankfully, the rain let up, but now all of the puddles on the ground were freezing over from the cold. "That's, uh, a pretty sweet golden onion you got there. Be a shame if something happened to it."

Bella just laughed and handed the golden onion over. "You want it more than me."

"Fuck, yeah," she cheered, taking the prize. "Mike and I tried really hard, you know."

"Yeah, I could hear you arguing the whole time," she chuckled, spotting her truck. Frankie was going to ride to rehearsal with Emmett, who was over by his family's line of cars. "I was starting to feel bad before you called me a nerd for knowing the answers."

"Well, you cheated anyway. You said you did the lab back in Phoenix already."

"Hmm, maybe I want that onion back after all," Bella teased, making Frankie clutch the onion to her chest and step back toward the bed of Bella's truck to get away from her.

"Please, not Armando."

"You named it?" she asked in disbelief, giggling a little.

"Of course."

Bella shook her head and then looked around the parking lot before unlocking the truck. She spotted Edward and the rest of his family across the lot, and he was already watching her. Frankie followed her line of sight and spotted her boyfriend, who was waiting for her. She just waved, letting him know she'd be there in a second once Bella was gone.

"Seriously, thanks for the oni—"

A loud screeching sound cut Frankie off. It sounded like tires to her. She whirled her head around, trying to find the source as someone honked their horn.

Tyler's van was skidding on the ice, completely out of control and heading directly for the red truck as he tried to regain control. Frankie didn't even have time to react to the fact she and Bella were standing in between the two cars, about to be sandwiched.

But then suddenly, someone knocked Bella down, pinning her to the ground. She looked up and saw Edward on top of her, but a second later, he stuck out his hand and stopped the oncoming van, pushing it back with his hand.

The force had it turning at an angle and smashing into the back of the truck where Frankie still was. But cold hands were pushing her out of the way before she could even realize what happened.

Frankie's head smacked against the concrete hard as she was practically tackled, narrowly missing the van that would've killed her. Her eyes stayed closed for a moment, unable to hear anything but the pounding in her head. Then cold fingers that felt like an ice pack cradled the side of her head, making her slowly open her eyes.

Emmett was above her and saying something frantically, but she couldn't hear it. Unlike Edward, who was fleeing the scene for some reason, Emmett stayed right where he was with Frankie in his arms.

Through muffled hearing, she could hear his voice faintly asking if she was okay, but she was too dizzy to answer, seeing two of him. Frankie leaned into his touch, it feeling nice against her skin, and shut her eyes. But as soon as she did, Emmett shook her, needing her to stay awake until EMTs arrived.

That proved difficult because even with all the screaming from students and Emmett's constant attention, all Frankie wanted to do was close her eyes and sleep. She'd even blacked out for a few seconds, but Emmett and Mike both roused her.

Frankie didn't really remember the ride to the hospital, but now, she was in the emergency room and on a bed like Tyler and Bella as nurses checked them over. Not wanting to leave her side, Emmett was sitting at the head of the bed and she was leaning against his broad chest.

She didn't know why he didn't take his hand off her throbbing head but she didn't complain, it feeling just as good as an ice pack from his lack of circulation.

"Tyler," Frankie murmured, seeing her friend with a bloody forehead. "What happened to your head?"

"He was in the car crash, remember?" Emmett reminded her in a soft tone, knowing she'd be having some memory issues from the concussion she no doubt had.

"Oh, God," Tyler groaned, feeling horrible about her condition.

Suddenly, the doors of the ER flew open and Charlie stormed in, looking more worried than he'd been in years. "Bella, Frankie. You okay?" Then when he passed Tyler, he pointed to him. "You and I are gonna talk," he threatened before reaching the girls. "You both alright?"

"I'm fine, Dad. Calm down," Bella pleaded, not wanting him to make a scene.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I tried to stop," Tyler apologized. "Frankie, I'm sorry."

"I forgive you," Frankie said with a small, dazed smile. "I'd never be mad at you, Ty."

"We know. It's okay, Tyler," Bella told him.

"No. It sure as hell is not okay," Charlie said sharply.

"Dad, it's not his fault—"

Charlie cut her off in a stern tone. "You coulda been killed, you understand that?"

"Yes, but I wasn't," she insisted. "Frankie is worse off, okay. Worry about her."

He sighed and looked to the other girl, who barely seemed to know what they were talking about. "Frank, your dad is on the way. I was just closer."

"That's okay. You're like Dad Number Two," she joked before groaning.

"What?" Emmett asked, beginning to worry even more.

Frankie frowned deeply and shut her eyes. "I don't think I'm going to throw up, but I might."

Hearing that, one of the nurses brought over a pan meant to catch throw-up, which rested on Frankie's lap. Emmett, as gently as he could, began to braid her hair back on the off chance that she did get sick.

Charlie looked from her to glare at Tyler, holding him responsible. "You can kiss your license goodbye."

"Wasn't his fault," Frankie mumbled. "Was the ice."

"I heard the Chief's daughter was here."

All of them turned to see Carlisle entering the ER, a charming smile on his perfect face. Charlie was relieved, knowing he was the best doctor in the state. He hated that none of the parents at the reservation let their kids come to see him. Raylan would probably be mad that the ambulance brought Frankie here too — once he calmed down and realized she'd be okay, of course.

"Good, Dr. Cullen," Charlie muttered.

"I've got this one, Jackie," Carlisle told the nurse who was checking on both the girls. Jackie handed over their charts and went to look at Tyler. "Isabella."

"Bella," she corrected gently.

"Well, Bella, looks like you took quite a spill. How do you feel?" he asked her.

"Good," she said, looking pointedly at her father to calm him down.

"Look here," Carlisle said while holding up a light to check her eyes. "You might experience some post-traumatic stress or disorientation. But your vitals look good and no signs of any head trauma. I think you'll be just fine."

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I'm really—"

Charlie cut off Tyler by abruptly pulling the curtain between them closed, making Frankie giggle. And that noise drew Carlisle's attention. He smiled softly at her before looking at her chart.

"Hi, Carlisle," she said, leaning back against Emmett's chest.

"Hi, honey," he greeted, knowing she was a bit worse off than Bella. "We're gonna set up at CT scan for you."

"She's definitely got a concussion," Emmett said, frowning.

"You know, it would have been a lot worse if Edward and Emmett weren't there and hadn't knocked us out of the way," Bella suddenly said, looking between Carlisle and Emmett for any kind of reaction. Frankie was too out of it to notice how her boyfriend tensed up.

"Edward? Your boy?" Charlie asked, already familiar with Emmett.

Carlisle quickly looked back at Frankie's chart, but Bella's intuition picked up on his behavior, realizing he knew something. So, she had to press even more. "It was amazing. I mean, he got to me so fast. He was nowhere near me."

"Sounds like you were very lucky," Carlisle said with a tense smile.

"Edward is super fast. Faster than Em," Frankie informed Bella. "Which should embarrass him because Eddie is so skinny and scrawny."

Emmett snickered behind her, his chest rumbling against her back. Then Carlisle set her chart to the side and came to check on her. He removed Emmett's hand and felt the swollen part of her head for himself, hearing her sigh in relief when his hands were just as cold.

"How are you feeling?" Carlisle asked her, concerned about her.

"Good," she said with a dazed smile. "A little dizzy."

"She's nauseous and was passing out in the ambulance ride," Emmett told his adoptive father. "And she can't really remember what happened well."

Carlisle nodded and pulled out his little light to check her pupils. But as soon as he shined it in her eyes, she cringed and looked away. He gave her a second before gently guiding her chin to look at him so that he could look again, not having to take too long with his quick vision.

"You're definitely concussed," he said, frowning. "We'll need to check for anything more serious with the scans. But you need lots of rest for the next few weeks. Your memory should improve in the next few days as well. No strenuous activities like soccer and no band rehearsal."

Frankie's eyes went wide. "No band?" she asked, sounding like he'd told her he had to cut off a limb. "You can't prescribe no band!"

"Yes, I can," he said, a little amused. "Frankie, I know you've had head injuries from soccer before. You know how this goes."

"But my head is fine," she insisted. But then a wave of pain hit her, proving her wrong as she hid her face in Emmett's chest. "Can I go to sleep?"

"Not yet, baby," Emmett told her.

"Frankie!" Raylan shouted as he entered the room just as suddenly as Charlie had.

"Over here, Ray," Charlie said, waving him over.

When Raylan saw Frankie, he let out a sigh of relief, not even caring about the two vampires in the room. "What happened?"

"Little fender bender in the parking lot," Bella said, downplaying it. "She hit her head on the concrete."

"That boyfriend of hers saved her," Charlie told him. "Wait til you see the dent in the back of the truck. That was where they said Frankie was standing."

Raylan blinked a few times at Emmett, who was staring him down. This was the first time he was meeting Frankie's father, and the situation was less than ideal. After a moment, he sent him a small nod of thanks, which Emmett returned, both understanding that Frankie's safety was most important.

"Frank, how are you feeling?" Raylan asked while coming to stand next to her. He gently cupped her cheek and studied the bruised side of her head.

"Can I go home now?" she just asked, feeling more tired.

"Right after that CT scan," Carlisle assured her. Then he looked to Raylan. "If that comes out clear, I'll send her home this afternoon with some medicine for pain and nausea. Will you be able to stay home and watch over her for the rest of the day?"

"Of course," he nodded. "...Thank you, Dr. Cullen."

☽︎

Frankie didn't dream of her mother that night, or the one after. Because of that, it was probably some of the best sleep she'd had in weeks even though she woke up still tired because of her head injury.

The day that Bella got to return to school was the day of a biology field trip, and Frankie was upset she was missing it. But Emmett skipped school to stay with her and take care of her while her father went to work. Of course, Raylan didn't know the vampire was in his home, but still.

"Babe, it's a greenhouse," Emmett said when she complained about wanting to be at school. "And you hate bio."

"But there are gonna be worms," she whined, staring at her ceiling. They were in her bed with Emmett leaning against the wall and her head on his legs. "Eric loves worms."

"Do you want me to go out and find you a worm?" he questioned.

"Maybe," she mumbled before looking at him. "You know, I'd still love you even if you were a worm."

Emmett's expression softened. "You love me?"

"Of course, silly," she laughed. No way would Frankie be admitting to all that if she was in her right state of mind. "I've loved you for a while now, I think."

"Well, that's good."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "'Cause I've been in love with you since I met you."

"Really?" she asked, beaming. "Why didn't you say so?"

"I didn't know if you wanted me to. I've never really been in a relationship, and I know you haven't either. I didn't want to scare you off."

"You couldn't scare me off," she said softly while holding his hand.

He smiled and gently kissed her forehead, knowing she didn't feel well enough for anything more. But then it faded, Emmett wondering if that was really true. What were the odds she'd be scared off when she inevitably found out he was a bloodsucking monster?

Emmett was terrified that the odds weren't in his favor.

☽︎

For the first time, Emmett was eating lunch at the same table as Frankie and her human friends. He didn't want to leave her alone for even a second on her first day back at school. She was squished between him and Mike, silently listening to the plans her friends were making for the weekend. Since they were going to the reservation, Frankie didn't bother to invite Emmett, knowing he didn't go on reservation land. Even if the prejudices against the Cullens because of the legends were ridiculous, Emmett and his family still respected them, which Frankie appreciated.

Emmett didn't love it when Frankie spent time on the reservation, but that was her tribe, so he knew he had no right to ask her not to go. He just had to stay home and worry about her, knowing that he'd cross the border in a second for her if she were in danger. At least he knew she wouldn't be surfing due to her concussion, so he didn't have to worry about the waves taking her out.

"You guys are insane for going out. It's supposed to be freezing tomorrow," Emmett told the humans. He hadn't felt the cold since he was human but he remembered being sick for a week after getting caught in the rain and having to walk home in the cold.

"Like your girlfriend isn't our personal space heater," Eric said, shaking his head.

"I'm just hotter than you, E," Frankie said, smirking at him, which made Jessica and Angela giggle.

Then Bella joined them, and Eric perked up. "Hey! La Push, baby. You in?" he asked.

"Should I know what that means?" she questioned while dropping her backpack down.

"La Push beach, down on the Quileute rez. We're all going tomorrow," Mike explained.

"Yeah. There's a big swell coming in," Jessica added even though they knew Bella wouldn't dare to get on a surfboard.

"And I don't just surf the internet!" Eric said dramatically.

Mike matched his energy and hopped up on his chair, pretending to be surfing as he bobbed and weaved. Frankie just laughed at him before Tyler rolled his eyes and pulled him back down into his seat.

"Eric, you stood up once. And it was a foam board," Jessica said, calling him out for his lies.

"But there's whale watching, too," Angela told Bella. "Come with us."

"La Push, baby," Eric told her with a casual shrug. "It's La Push."

Bella smiled at him and nodded. "Okay, I'll go if you stop saying that."

"Seriously, dude, it's creepy," Mike agreed as Bella headed to the salad bar line.

"La Push," Frankie whispered to herself, smiling slyly.

"La Push," Eric repeated, matching her smile.

"La Push."

"La Push."

"Jesus, you're giving me a concussion," Tyler complained.

"Which how do you not have one too?" Frankie asked, looking at his bandaged head. He'd cut it on his broken window in the crash.

"I'm just more durable than you," he declared.

"Dude, she'd so break your legs if you met her on the soccer field," Jessica told him, shaking her head.

"Hey, Cullen," Mike suddenly said, "what's your brother doing?"

Emmett turned his to see Edward at the salad bar and talking closely with Bella, keeping his voice down. With his hearing, he knew that Bella was beginning to guess at what was so unnatural about them, which wasn't great. But she was going to find out eventually, they all knew. She wasn't like Frankie, who just ignored the odd things about them, not feeling a need to judge them for it all.

"Uh, talking," Emmett said like Mike was fucking stupid, which made the other boys laugh. "We do that sometimes."

"No, you don't," Tyler said bluntly.

Frankie nodded and looked up at Emmett. "He's got you there, Cullen."

"Shut up, Roman," he said, rolling his eyes playfully.

Frankie kissed his cheek before doing just that. She chose to watch Bella, unable to tell if she was happy Edward was talking to her or mad. Maybe it was a bit of both, honestly.

When Edward looked at their table over his shoulder, sensing their nosey gazes, everyone quickly looked away, pretending like they didn't care. And Frankie focused back on the trip plans.

"I mean, if they're small waves, I bet I could—"

"No, way," Emmett cut her off. "Carlisle's orders." Then he looked at Mike. "Do not let her surf."

Mike saluted him jokingly. "Sir, yes, sir! She will have no fun the whole day. Scout's honor."

"I hate both of you," Frankie grumbled while pushing the food on her plate around with her fork.

"No, you don't," Angela said with a smile on her face. "Mike's your favorite person at this table."

"Hey!" Emmett whined, wrapping his arms around Frankie.

Mike grinned at him. "Suck it, Cullen."

"You're a close, close second, babe."

Now it was Jessica's turn to whine. "Hey!"