PROLOGUE:
WELCOME TO LA PUSH

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THE EVENING THAT THE Cooper-Song family arrived in Forks, the tiny town named after a kitchen utensil was doused in a downpour of heavy rain. Four out of the five family members had spent almost six hours cooped up in James Cooper's 1990 Toyota Corolla, travelling from their old home in Portland to the new one that James and Kira had newly purchased on the outskirts of La Push. 

Maeve — the eldest daughter in the car by six months — couldn't wait to arrive purely so she could get out and stretch her legs. The family had been driving for hours, with her dad and her step-mum sharing the time on the road between them. While this meant many rest breaks, the rain had started half-way into their trip, leaving Mae with no choice but to wait in the car as her parents switched seats every hour or so. Because of this, Mae's legs were cramping in the confine of the back seat, pressing against the back of Kira Song's seat every time she tried to ease the ache. 

"Mae, would you sit still?" Mae's step-sister, Lina, hissed as the girl in question shifted in her seat again, shoving the corner of a cardboard box into Lina's side in a vain attempt to try and give herself more room in the back of the car.

"I'm trying," Mae hissed at the younger girl, who narrowed her eyes in frustration before turning to look out the window, something she'd been doing since the start of their trip.

"Not too long now, girls," James said from his spot behind the wheel, sensing the tension between Mae and Lina and knowing that, while they were close, they could fight over the smallest of things. He wasn't in the mood to settle an argument after such a long day.

Lina huffed at him in disbelief. "You said that ages ago, James."

"Well, I mean it now," he chuckled, waving away his wife when she turned in her seat to scold her daughter. "Our house is just up the road."

At this, Mae shifted in her seat again, this time to press her face closer to her window. She heard Lina grunt as the corner of the box pressed into her side once more, but she bit back a smart remark as she also peered through the window, excited to see their new home. Despite the drops of rain that coated the glass, they could see a line of nice houses decorating the street, bordering onto an endless plain of trees. While Lina sighed in displeasure at the sight, Mae gasped in excitement. She was already planning out the hiking trips that she'd drag Lina along to.

"And we're here!" Kira cheered in both delight and relief as they turned into the driveway of a modest home at the very end of the street. It was dark outside but in the brief flash of light provided by the headlights of their car, Mae could make out a one-storey home made of red brick with a wooden wrap-around porch that matched the colour of the roof.

"We don't have to unpack tonight, do we?" Lina asked Kira and James as their journey finally came to an end. Much like Mae, she was eager to stretch her legs before heading off to sleep.

"We have all day tomorrow to unpack," Kira assured her daughter and Mae, who both shared a relieved smile, forgetting their disagreement from only moments before.

The girls followed Kira out of the vehicle as she rushed up to the front porch, rain pouring down on their new home. While Kira and Lina sprinted for cover, Mae lingered out in the rain for an instant, grinning as she threw her head back to feel the water on her face. It was only when Kira called out her name that she turned to follow them, winking at her dad as he watched her through the car window with amusement. 

Mae welcomed the warmth of her new home with a sigh, grateful for the bright lights that illuminated the large open space that was their kitchen, dining room and living room. Mae followed Lina as she looked around the rest of the house. Kira stayed behind to unlock the garage for James. 

The first room the girls came across was a bedroom. It was the only bedroom in the house with a bathroom of its own, meaning that James and Kira would get the room over them. After a quick glance around, they continued down the hallway, finding two other bedrooms that were located across from each other. The one closest to the bathroom was smaller than the other, which overlooked the backyard and the forest. 

"I call dibs on this one," Mae announced as she raced through the door of the bigger room, blocking Lina out with her arms.

"No fair," Lina whined, trying her best to push past Mae before eventually giving in.

"Uh, it's so fair," Mae scoffed at her in disbelief. "I'm the oldest, meaning I get the bigger room."

"Technically, Allison is the oldest," Lina pouted at her, though she knew she wouldn't win since Allison was away at college and had already said she'd be fine sleeping in the study whenever she came to stay with them.

"No fighting, girls!" Kira huffed as she and James joined their kids in the hallway. 

"Yes, mum," Lina sighed, cheeks tinting pink as their parents left them to check out their own room.

"Yes, mum!" Mae put on a high-pitched voice to mock her younger sister, smirking when Lina smacked her arm in retaliation. Mae simply chuckled at her, slowly retreating back into her new room as she announced, "Nighty night, Lee!"

Lina rolled her eyes at Mae's rare nickname for her, though she wore a fond smile on her face as she turned to her own room. "Good night, Mae."

Mae's room was already full of boxes from when her dad and Allison first came to check out the house, so Mae dug through her things for a moment before finding a pair of shorts and an oversized sweater to change into. Once she was dressed, she collapsed onto her unmade bed with a sigh, deciding to properly put her sheets and blankets on in the morning. Instead, she drew the bedspread up to her neck as she kicked the rest of the blankets to the end of the bed.

"Welcome to La Push, Mae!" she sang under her breath as lightning cracked outside her window, lighting up her room for a moment before the space was shrouded in shadows again.

With that, she turned on her side so that her back was facing the window and closed her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

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A/N: Welcome to the prologue of Pretty Ordinary! I know not much has happened and we didn't get to see Embry, but I wanted to introduce Maeve Cooper and a part of her family dynamic before throwing Mae into the plot of Eclipse. The next chapter should take place on her first day of school (where we'll hopefully be seeing Embry and the pack) so keep an eye out for that since I hope to have it up soon! Feel free to let me know what you think of the prologue and of Mae/any other characters I've introduced so far! I'm excited to share the rest of her story with you guys. I hope you end up loving her just as much as I do!