CHAPTER TWO

"Hey, Jared!" Tali called from across the school parking lot, and he turned away from his best friend's truck to look for her. "Can you pick up Kota from daycare and take him home for me please? Mom told me this morning that she's going to the store after work, so she can't get him."

"Uh, I can't." He scratched the back of his head as he glanced over his shoulder. "Paul and I have something we gotta do right now."

"Seriously?" Cat questioned as she walked over to them.

"Never mind, forget it." Tali shook her head. "I'll call Cora, let her know I'm gonna be late."

"Your nephew was asking for you last night."

"Cat—"

"He wanted to sit with you at dinner." Cat continued, and Tali sighed as she looked down. "But it's so nice that you spend all of your time with his father. Uh... Sperm donor. One of you should see him, I guess."

"Okay, thank you for that." She nodded as her best friend turned around and climbed into the driver's seat of her car. "And now she's— Nope, not arguing. I'll see you at home, Jared... Maybe." She turned and made her way over to the passenger seat.

"Tali!" Jared called after her, but she ignored him and kept walking.

"Why are you driving my car?" The brunette asked as she looked at her best friend.

"I'm dropping you off at work, then I'm going to get Kota." Cat said as she pulled out of the parking lot. "I'll stay with him at your place until one of your parents gets home. And I'll bring the car to you at the end of your shift, then you can take me home."

"I love you."

"I'm his daddy, remember?" She smirked as she glanced over at Tali. "I love you too."

Tali got changed into her work uniform in the restroom, then got to work as soon as she tied her apron around her waist. The brunette smiled as she walked over to a table with a couple of her regulars.

"Hey, sweetheart. How are you and that boy of yours doing?"

"I'm alright, and he's perfect, as always." She smiled as she looked down at him. "What can I get going for you, Waylon?"

"Oh, I think the usual will do." He said, and she nodded, having known that would be his answer.

After getting their order sent in, Tali saw her uncle making his way into the diner. He sat down in his usual corner spot near the door, and she smiled as she made her way over.

"Hi, Uncle Charlie." She greeted, and he looked up from the menu. "What are you doing?" She questioned, seeing as he basically had a schedule for what he ordered on certain days of the week.

"I was looking to see what Bella would be able to get." He told her, and she nodded.

"We have a few vegetarian options." She said. "And I can always talk to the cook, see what we can do. He likes me... And you, of course." She chuckled as he shook his head at her.

"Hey." Bella got their attention as she walked in.

"Speak of the devil." The older girl looked at her. "Your vegetarianism is stressing out your dad."

"You have veggie burgers?"

"Unfortunately." She nodded, and Bella narrowed her eyes at her as she took the seat by her dad. "You love me as I am." She spun on her heel and walked away, going to put in their order.

"She hasn't changed much, has she?" Bella asked as she looked at her dad.

Charlie took a deep breath as he turned his attention to her, away from the retreating form of his niece. "She did for a while there." He said. "Things were a struggle when she and Sam first broke up; she had a lot of adjusting to do. But she seems to be finding her way back to herself."

"It's hard to imagine Tali being anything less than... Tali." Her brow furrowed. "She's always been so put together, so in control. She's the definition of cool, calm, and collected."

"We all struggle, Bell." He said, and she nodded.

Of course she knew that was true, but she had never even seen Tali sick. Any injuries during soccer got walked off. She always had a plan. Throw her a curveball, and she'd find the solution like it was nothing. Even after she got pregnant and Sam broke up with her, she hardly seemed to falter to those who didn't know her the way her closest friends and family did.

Tallulah Cameron was always the picture of perfection.

"Okay. You can think I'm weird, if you want," Tali started as she walked over and set their food down on the table in front of them. "But did you get prettier while you were in Arizona this time? You know, neglecting your Washington friends?"

"Tali..." Bella looked down, and her dad tried not to laugh when he saw the pink tint on her face.

"What?" She stood up straight. "I think puberty did us all well."

"Are we pretending there was a time you weren't beautiful?"

She smiled. "Oh, please, inflate my ego more. I could use it." She said, and Bella laughed.

"Hey, Bella." Waylon got their attention as he walked up at Tali's side. "You remember me? I played Santa one year."

"Yeah, Waylon, she hasn't had a Christmas here since she was four." Charlie reminded him.

"I bet I made an impression though, didn't I?"

"You always do." Charlie said, and Tali nodded as she grinned at the younger girl.

"Butt-crack Santa?" Bella asked, and she started laughing.

"Hey, now." Waylon wrapped his arm around Tali, covering her mouth, and she continued to laugh as she leaned into his side. "You kids loved those little bottles though." He held his hand up, his fingers pinched out to show the size of the bottles, and Tali grabbed it.

"And now we leave them to eat." She nudged him away, and he went back to his own table. "But when you're done with the salad on a bun, I'm bringing you the berry cobbler."

"Ooh, they still have that?" Bella asked, and she smiled.

"They have to keep making it. Your dad orders it every Thursday."

"Goodbye, Tali." Charlie said, and she winked at Bella before walking away to check her other tables.

"Why do you get to talk to them and I don't?" Waylon asked when she walked over to him.

"She just spent all day at school, where I'm sure she was swarmed." Tali told him, and he nodded. "Let the girl eat in peace."

"You're a good kid, you know that?"

"Oh, I try." She smiled. "On occasion."

"How's your mama doin'?"

"She says Jared and I are the reason she found a gray hair the other day."

Waylon laughed. "Not Kota?"

"Are you kidding?" She looked at him. "My boy's an angel for Grandma."

"As it should be." He said, and she shrugged. "I'm gonna have to give your old man a call, see if I can get him to go fishing with me sometime soon."

"Oh, you should. He could probably use it. I don't think he's been out on the water in a while."

"Hey, Tali?" Cora called from behind the counter, and she turned to look at the older girl. "Can you help me with these plates?" She asked, referring to what was coming up from the kitchen.

"Yeah, coming."

A little while later, Tali grabbed a free chair and sat down with her uncle and his daughter. "I'm on break. Entertain me." She stole a fry from Charlie's plate. "How was school?"

"It was interesting." Bella nodded, and she narrowed her eyes. "Why are people so fascinated with getting a new person at school?"

She chuckled. "Because everyone around here knows everyone. We've all gone to school with the same kids our whole lives, our parents all went to school together, and their parents. You're new, it's exciting." She shook her head. "We teenagers are easily wowed. Were they weird?"

"No. Just..."

"Intense?"

"Kinda."

"Well, you're the pretty new girl. And everyone's parents were probably telling them to be nice to the chief's daughter, make her feel welcome, be her friend." She said. "Last time new students showed up, they didn't really wanna make friends with the locals. I'm sure they'll settle down."

"You mean the Cullens?" She asked, and Tali nodded. "You know 'em?"

"Eh. I more know of them." She said. "They keep to themselves, mostly. But Rosalie — I wanna steal all of her shoes."

Bella laughed as Charlie shook his head, though he was amused with her as well.

"Not that high-heels and a toddler would be a good combination, but I digress."

Tali spent the rest of her break with them before getting up for the last two hours of her shift. It wasn't too long after that that Charlie left on his own, and Bella got up to sit at the open seat at the counter.

"Thank you, Cora!" Tali called as the older girl went to clear the Swans' table of their dirty dishes.

The two women split the restaurant down the middle when it came to waiting tables, but clean up happened with the first server who was free to do it. And they split tips at the end of the night completely even, then set aside a portion from both of their totals for the kitchen staff. The girls had a system that worked well for everyone involved.

"So," The brunette glanced at Bella as she totaled out two tables at the register. "Now that the chief's gone, how was your first day of school?"

"It wasn't bad, really. But some people were a little...extra welcoming." Bella said, and her eyebrows furrowed.

"Hold that thought for a second."

Tali took the change from the two tickets she was working on and went to their respective tables to finish up with some regulars. She was back quickly enough, then she leaned on the counter in front of Bella.

"Define extra welcoming." She said, and Bella took a deep breath.

"One guy offered to be my tour guide or lunch date, I think he said something about crying on his shoulder. I had to shut down two people who wanted to write a feature about me in the school paper." She said, and Tali pursed her lips as she tried not to laugh. "One guy hovered a lot, and another one kissed my cheek during lunch to get the first guy to chase him."

"Uh-huh." She raised her eyebrows. "Too bad we go to different schools. Cat would've beat them with her textbooks."

"Wanna transfer?"

"Not even a little bit." She shook her head. "What about the girls there?"

"Angela — one of the people I had to tell no to a feature — she seems nice. Jessica's cool." Bella said, then she paused as she looked at her. "How much do you know about the Cullens?"

"Uh, not much." She shrugged. "Why? Did something happen?"

"One of the boys is my partner in Biology, and he was..." She took a deep breath, shaking her head. "Something seemed like it was bothering him the whole time, and then I overheard him trying to transfer out of the class when I went to the office to turn in my attendance slip."

"Okay, weird." Her brow furrowed as she looked at her.

"Yeah, that's because the Cullens are freaks." A boy on the other end of the counter said.

"Nobody asked you." Tali glanced his way before returning her attention to Bella. "Who was it?"

"Uh, his name's Edward." She told her.

"Hm." She shook her head. "I don't know. They've always been really nice whenever I've talked to any of them. He was probably just having a bad day."

Bella nodded as she looked down. "Yeah."

story discussion...

hey, all! i'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get chapter two out. i was really excited about this idea, so it was kinda disheartening when i didn't get the amount of feedback i was hoping for.

i really appreciate everyone who took part in the previous polls, and i hope you're still here for what's to come. it's gonna take me a minute to figure out how much time i need to leave for polls, but i'm gonna do my best to make sure i don't take so long again.

and another gap like that shouldn't happen again. i was traveling a little to be with family, and i'm trying to navigate life. but i have more stability in my day-to-day again, so... let's get back to the story!

in the last poll, the winner is that tali is friends/friendly with at least one of the cullens already. depending on who you choose, i have different ideas for how that came about, but i want some surprise for you all while you're making decisions.

so, here's your next poll ↴