CHAPTER TWO
NEW FACES

MONDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER 2005

"Morning, gorgeous."

Ruby's glossed lips curved into a warm smile as she locked eyes with her boyfriend of three years. Dean Jordan was leaning against the side of his car, his arms folded across his chest. The white t-shirt and leather jacket combo was doing wonders for him, and if she didn't have English as her first period, she would have skipped class to spend the morning with him without a seconds hesitation.

Once she reached him, Dean caught her in a loving kiss, with Ruby naturally rising onto her toes to meet his familiar lips. His gaze lingered on hers as they pulled away, a hand resting on her waist.

"Wanna skip first period?"

"I thought the same thing, but I have English," Ruby told him. Dean's hand lowered back down to his side in defeat, though he couldn't help but chuckle at her response. The world could be ending and Ruby would still refuse to miss English class. "Besides, you have gym first, and I know it's your favourite."

The left side of his mouth tugged into a faint smirk. "Yeah, but I'd miss it for you."

"It's incredibly unfortunate that I can't reciprocate that energy," Ruby replied, taking his hand as they made their way into the school building.

"Actually, I happen to think it's very sexy that you won't give up doing the things you enjoy for a man," Dean said. He pushed open the door and stepped to the side, allowing her to go in ahead of him.

Ruby couldn't help but smile as they headed into the busy corridor. "You're so cute."

Dean flashed her a grin as she rejoined his side. "I know."

They came to a stop once they reached Ruby's locker. Dean nonchalantly leaned his arm against the one beside hers, watching her turn the lock with ease, opening the door. Polaroid pictures, taken with their friends, covered the inside, and Dean couldn't help but smile fondly at the sight of them. He watched her contently as she reached inside, switching some of the books in her handbag for those in her locker. Eventually, she closed the door shut, cradling her precious purple English folder close to her chest.

"Ready to go?" She asked, turning around to face him with a smile. Dean hesitated, his eyes drifting over their surroundings. Ruby noticed that he appeared to be thinking about something. "What's up?"

"Nothing," he answered quickly. Too quickly.

Ruby arched her eyebrows as she looked up at him. "It amazes me that you would try and lie, especially when you know how good my bullshit detector is."

Dean exhaled heavily through his nose. "Is Lexie coming in today?"

"She should be," Ruby replied, brows furrowing. "Why? What's going on?"

"I wanted to wait to tell you, because I know it's going to bother you all day," Dean told her.

"But now you've started so–"

"I have to come out and say it," Dean finished with a sigh. "I know."

Ruby watched him expectantly. "So?"

Dean spared a quick glance around them, taking a step closer towards her. He lowered his voice, making sure nobody else could hear. "Nate cheated on Lexie at the party on Friday."

"Son of a bitch!" Ruby exclaimed. She shoved her folder into Dean's chest, pushing past him. "Where the hell is he?!"

"No, no, no." Dean quickly grabbed his angry girlfriend's arm, tugging her backwards. The people around them began to stare. "Rubes, no. That's exactly what we're not gonna do."

"I either have to kill him or tell her, and I know which one I'd rather do!"

"Okay, just– just calm down. We're gonna tell her," Dean assured, placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Just...not right now. Not in public. Definitely not at school."

"Then I have to kill him–"

Dean quickly stepped in front of her, blocking her way past. "Ruby, no."

Ruby folded her arms across her chest impatiently. "You're not the boss of me, Dean!"

"You are so right, baby, but I also really don't want you to get expelled the second week of senior year–"

"Just get of my way!"

"Nope"

"Dean!"

"Ruby."

"Are you two arguing about Desperate Housewives again?"

Lexie's voice had interrupted them both. Ruby's mouth clamped shut instantly. She slowly turned to face her best friend, whose attention had shifted, mindlessly rifling through the items in her locker, humming a song under her breath.

God, she was so adorable and oblivious. Ruby was going to break her poor best friend's heart with this information. Not that Nate cheating was necessarily anything new.

Fucking hell, Lexie deserved better. Ruby would give her the world if she could.

"Hey, Lexie," Ruby greeted cheerfully, plastering on a fake smile, one that physically pained her insides. How Dean expected her to last the whole day at school without saying anything, she truly couldn't comprehend.

Lexie peered round the locker door, her accusing eyes drifting between the couple. Ruby winced, swallowing thickly. Lexie had caught them out straight away. "What's going on with you two?"

"What? Nothing!" Ruby exclaimed unconvincingly, obviously flustered. Lexie shifted her weight onto one side, giving her best friend a pointed look. "I mean, um, we were just...we..."

"Were totally arguing about the latest episode of Desperate Housewives," Dean finished quickly. Ruby raised her eyebrows at him.

"Okay, well, don't spoil anything, I haven't caught up yet," Lexie told them, turning back to her locker. Ruby gave Dean an annoyed look and he held his hands out exasperatedly. "Hey, how come you're not in English yet, Rubes? You're usually, like, an hour early to that class."

"Shit!" Ruby cursed. "I promised Mrs Parker I'd be there ten minutes early to go over my essay!"

Hurriedly, Ruby grabbed her folder back from Dean, forgetting herself completely. Suddenly remembering the more important issue at hand, she glanced worriedly at her boyfriend. Dean met her eyes reassuringly, conveying that he would handle Lexie. Ruby knew they both had gym first period, so he'd look out for her.

"Okay, I'll, um, I'll see you guys at lunch," Ruby said, turning to head in the opposite direction.

Her mind was whirling at a million miles an hour. Should she be leaving? Should she just tell Lexie everything? Will she be mad at her for waiting? Jesus Christ, Nate had fucking cheated on Lexie again! That was the worst thing, it wasn't even the first time. God, Ruby could actually kill him! Maybe she could dig out that old spell book of her mother's from the attic? Ruby remembered making Megan Thompson's chocolate milkshake explode in her face when she called Lexie a slut in freshman year. She could do that again, except definitely much worse, to Nate. But, after the incident they no longer speak about, she promised her father she wouldn't practice magic anymore. Then again, he was never around, so fuck him.

"Miss Dupres!"

Ruby's heart practically leaped out of her chest. She looked up with wide eyes, and a startled expression, though her jaw soon unclenches as she met Mrs Parker's warm gaze.

The woman practically radiated calmness. She was young, in her early thirties, a pretty blonde with impeccable fashion taste. Ruby got on with Mrs Parker incredibly well. In fact, Ruby sometimes felt she got along with adults much better than people her own age.

She stood behind her desk, a bright smile spreading across her face. Beside her, was a brunette girl that Ruby didn't recognise.

"Um, hi."

"Ruby, I want to introduce you to someone. This is Malia, she just transferred here from La Push high," Mrs Parker said, gesturing towards the unfamiliar student. The girl's hardened resting expression changed into a hint of a greeting smile. "Malia, this is Ruby. I'm sure she'd be happy to show you around today."

"Oh, um, yeah, sure, absolutely," Ruby said, holding out a hand for Malia to shake. "Hey! Welcome to Forks High!"

Ruby was trying her best not to feel intimidated by the new girl. Malia was at least a foot taller than her – though that wasn't an entirely rare occurrence for Ruby, but it wasn't very fun. Her dark hair was short, cropped to fit around her face, an electric blue streak running through it on the left side. She wore a Nirvana t-shirt and ripped blue jeans, pulling off the effortless daytime look that so many people, including Ruby, simply couldn't.

She was cool, probably much cooler than Ruby.

The girl shook her hand. "I'm Malia."

"I like your hair," Ruby blurted, her hand falling back to her side. She cleared her throat nervously. "The blue streak, it's awesome."

"Oh, thanks, I had it done last week," Malia said, tucking a strand of it behind her ear.

Ruby nodded. "It looks really great."

Mrs Parker clapped her hands together in satisfaction, smiling as she looked between the two of them. "I knew you two would get along." Ruby and Malia shared a small smile. "Now, to find a spare seat..." The woman trailed, searching for the seating plan under the piles of paper on her desk.

Ruby loved that about Mrs Parker. Her desk was an absolute mess. It wasn't that she was unorganised. In fact, the woman often referred to it as an organised mess, since she usually knew where everything was. Simply, Mrs Parker was chill as fuck, and that was why she spent her free time doing things she enjoyed, like reading or writing, or getting to know her students better, rather than wasting time organising a desk that was probably going to get messy again.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Newton won't mind if she sits next to me," Ruby said, looking towards Malia for confirmation. "That's if you want to."

"It beats having to make conversation with another stranger."

The corners of Ruby's lips tugged.

"Well..." Mrs Parker started to respond, but soon cut herself off as she watched the two girls wordlessly head towards their desks.

"So why'd you switch schools for senior year?" Ruby asked as they sat down, making polite conversation.

"I got kicked out."

Ruby's eyebrows arched, her interests peaking. "Damn. What did you do?"

A slightly smug smile crossed Malia's lips as she seemed to recall the incident in her mind. Ruby's first impression had been right, this girl was cool. "Punched a guy in the face. He had it coming."

"Nice," Ruby commented. "They seriously expelled you over that though? That happens, like, every day here."

"There were a few other things too," Malia smirked. "Like, I graffitiing my principal's car."

Ruby chuckled. "Well, I think you'll fit right in here," she said, straightening her folder out on the desk. "Are you gonna miss your old school?"

Malia shrugged. "Probably not. I'll miss my best friend though."

Ruby nodded in understanding. "Oh–" she spoke hurriedly, recalling information. "You're in the same year is Embry, right?"

"Embry Call?" Malia double checked. "Yeah, I know him and his friends."

"Jacob and Quil," Ruby nodded in affirmation.

"You guys know each other then?" Malia asked, eyeing her curiously. Ruby could tell that Malia probably couldn't imagine someone like her being friends with three guys from La Push.

"We go back, yeah," Ruby replied. "Embry's mom, Tiffany, used to be best friends with my mom."

"Ah, Tiffany," Malia couldn't help but smile. "Makes the best cookies in all of La Push."

"Right?! She really does," Ruby agreed enthusiastically.

"So what happened?" Malia asked. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking. Did they lose touch?"

Ruby swallowed heavily, her eyes averting to the front of the classroom. A familiar ache spread across her chest. It always happened when people asked her about the subject. She wished it wouldn't. After almost five years, she thought it would have gotten easier. "Um, my mom died."

Malia bit her lip, eyes apologetic. "I'm so sorry, I–"

"It's fine," Ruby assured, waving her off. "It was a while ago, but yeah. I guess after that we just grew apart from the whole La Push scene."

"That sucks," Malia said, leaning back in her chair. "So, do your siblings go here?"

"Oh," Ruby blinked in surprise, wondering how Malia knew she had sisters. Had she mentioned it? She couldn't remember. Ruby did occasionally suffer from word vomit, especially when she was nervous, so maybe she had.

"Sorry, you said 'we' so I just assumed..."

"Oh," Ruby chuckled in understanding. "I actually meant my best friend, Lexie, and her brother. Our mom's were best friends with Tiffany, we all kinda grew up over there."

"Ohhh."

"I do have sisters, though," Ruby added. "Half sisters, um, from my dad's second marriage. Peach isn't really around Forks much and Liv goes to boarding school." Malia nodded along, listening intently. "Do you have siblings?"

"Three," Malia answered, rolling her eyes. "Older brother, older sister and younger brother."

"Your house must have been busy growing up," Ruby said.

"It was," Malia agreed. "Luckily, Finn and Diana have moved out."

Whilst they had been talking, the classroom had been filling up, students taking their usual seats. When Mike Newton walked inside, his eyebrows pinched into a frown, spotting Malia sat in his seat. Ruby caught sight of this, and an amused grin began to form on her lips as she watched him sigh heavily, searching for another seat, knowing not to bother questioning it, or arguing.

"Who was that?" Malia inquired.

"The guy that usually sits next to me," Ruby replied, turning to face her with a smile. "You've done me a huge favour, by the way. He drives me crazy."

Malia laughed lightly. "That's good. As long as I'm not taking up anyone important's seat."

Ruby shook her head. "Nope. But I did notice on your schedule that you have biology fifth period with me. In which case, you should probably sit on my other side. Lexie doesn't take well to people switching seats."

"When you say Lexie," Malia started, hesitating for a moment. "Are you talking about Lexie Diaz?"

Ruby chewed on her bottom lip. Her best friend's name, and reputation, was well known in Forks, and she imagined that also extended to La Push, especially since she spent time there when they were younger. It tended to be make or break whenever Ruby mentioned that she was friends with the Lexie Diaz, so she struggled immensely with the unreadable expression on Malia's face, wondering how she was going to react.

"Yeah, that's my Lexie," Ruby confirmed. "Do you know her?"

"Everyone knows Lexie Diaz," Malia laughed. "In La Push, we mostly know her because of the time Quil famously asked her out, and she shot him down."

"Oh, does he still get teased by that?" Ruby asked, feeling a little guilty about the incident, since it was over four years ago. Admittedly, it was very funny, though.

Malia grinned. "Absolutely." Ruby winced a little. "It's kind of his legacy now, though. In fairness to him, he has been the only guy from there to ever even attempt asking her out."

"Yeah, it was pretty bold, I have to admit," Ruby giggled. "So, do you know anyone else here?"

Malia shook her head. At the reminder of being a new student in an unfamiliar school, the confidence seemed to slip from her expression. "No, you're the first person I've met, actually."

"Well, I'd definitely be happy to show you around," Ruby smiled, wanting to reassure her. "And you can sit with us at lunch too."

"You won't mind?"

"Not at all," Ruby answered honestly. "I think my friends are really gonna like you."

At this, the two girls shared a genuine smile. Ruby could already feel a new friendship forming.

A/N

Honestly, I wasn't even planning to introduce Malia this early but it kinda happened and I love her so much.

Hopefully, you guys felt like you learned a little more about Ruby in this chapter?? Specifically the magic thing 👀 I drew inspiration from The Order (which is where half the face claims in this book come from lmao), so if you've seen it you'll probably notice some similarities. If you haven't though that's totally fine, more will be explored and revealed, including what the 'incident' was.

Also, I forgot to mention that I aged Embry, Paul, Jared, Quil, Jake up about a year to 17-18, just because it's easier. So they're all in senior year, the same as Ruby.

Double also, you are 100% allowed to ship Ruby and Dean because they are adorable!!

The next chapter will be from Lexie's POV in Nightmare, so look out for it sometime in the week ✌️