"Morning mom."

Raymond awoke, sensing the women's hand running through his hair as his eyes adjusted to the gloomy day. His bed was creaky, not the usual plush mattress he had become accustomed to overtime but instead the old one his father had kept for him since he'd been five and traded in the car bed for the mattress.

Maria gave her son a soft smile, plopping down on the bed beside him as he adjusted and pushed upwards. He sat upright, sucking in a huge breath.

"I don't want to do this." Ray muttered under his voice. "I don't want to continue pretending I'm okay."

"Oh baby..." Maria cooed to her son, bringing his head into her lap as she continued to run her hands through his hair. His mother smelled different, not the usual amount of lilacs and hairspray she would rush around with in their old apartment, now there was an overwhelming sense of cold. "You have too."

"Why?" He murmured, eyes shutting as he let sleep once more cloud his mind. He needed to sleep, to get away from his problems.

Maria watched her son, small dimples relaxing as his eyes shut. She leaned down, pressing a kiss to his temple softly. Her lips were ice cold, something that made Ray twitch but never completely bothered him. In his mothers arms he felt safe, there was no history and no future it was just what he wanted.

Maria's lips moved to his ear, "because I'm dead."

Raymond's eyes blew wide open the same moment his father burst through the door to his bedroom, the man was dressed in his uniform, buttons to his shirt still undone as he brought light into the room. There was a toothbrush hanging from his mouth, as he began to speak, "Raymond, son it's time to get up Bella's done in the shower and she offered to help me with the pancakes, get your lazy ass up though you know she hates waiting."

Raymond lifted his head, finding that his head was no longer on his mothers lap but instead cradling a plush pillow and there was not even the scent of her left but he was used too this. His mother was dead, and only in his dream did he ever get to witness her. This was the reason he never cried, the very reason he was so sane considering the situations presented at him.

He might have been slightly crazy but it was okay, he was fine with it.

|•|•|•|•|

Raymond came downstairs in his jean jacket, the inside was a very thick zip up jacket and underneath that all he still had a flannel. His boots were loud against the steps alerting his father who looked up from the newspaper.

"Morning." Marcus and Charlie smiled at their son, sipping the steaming coffee from their cups slowly. The couple were sitting at the dinner table, one watching the news from the tv angled perfectly towards the table and the other reading the newspaper, they would eventually trade off however.

"Morning, what's for breakfast?" Raymond walked into the kitchen, following the trail of a delicious scent. He found Bella serving herself juice , a pile of bacon hefty on her tray along with two pancakes doused in syrup already halfway demolished even before she'd reached the table. She smiled at him, the girl had never really been much of a talker before breakfast so he didn't bother to say anything.

"Figured we should welcome you the right way, Charlie here tried to help but burned the eggs. Luckily Bells didn't inherit that from her father. " Marcus stated, winking at the brunette female who sat down next to him with a warm smile. If there was one thing Marcus was good at besides being a cop it was cooking, he was rather good at the craft and when his son came to visit every year he had someone else besides Charlie to feed. Bella had taken a liking towards the hobby as well, often calling him up to ask just how something was made. "Pancakes bacon, and sausage although you might have hustle since you decided to take a long time in the shower."

"I do not take forever." Raymond deadpanned.

"And I am not a horrible chef." Charlie scoffed right after, "occasionally I can make a mean lasagna."

In response both Bella and Marcus looked at one another with raised eyebrows, completely disagreeing with the two men in their life.

Ray looked at the clock on the stove, finding he had less then five minutes to finish his breakfast. Bella was already halfway done, finishing the last of her bacon. He groaned and grasped one of the pancakes, biting into half of it before heading towards the mug of coffee. His fingers were as cold as the steel cup he picked it up and chugged half of it. "You're right, tomorrow I'll remember to actually set my alarm."

His father laughed lightly, nodding his head. "Yeah, well your car will be here soon enough and that way you can leave whenever you want."

"I wouldn't leave Bella to be all by herself in the morning," he joked, watching as the brunette turned to him with a mouthful of food.

She swallowed, lifting her empty plate and cup before deadpanning, "if I waited for you then I would always be late, there's only room for one prodigy child. I'll see you in the car, bye dads."

"Bye!" Both fathers responded to their daughter and stepdaughter and she pulled the thick jacket over her long sleeve and then backpack. She was out of the door with a wave of her hand.

Ray scoffed at her assumption but decided not to push it because she was right. His black impala would be here soon but even that felt like a long way to go, still it was better then selling it back in New York though.

"Thanks again, you didn't have to pay for the shipping," he kindly said before finishing off the last of his pancake.

Marcus waved him off, squeezing Charlie's hand and wagging with his brows in the man's direction. The Swan man was distracted with his paper as his husband stated, "Charlie made the arrangements."

"Well thank you to both of you." Raymond nodded with gratitude as he stood, grabbing a handful of bacon and quickly refilling his cup for the road. He slung his backpack over his shoulders and patted his pockets to make sure both wallet and house keys were present. "Right, see you later then."

"Keep your sister safe," Charlie signaled to his stepson. "Don't let her fall into anything."

"Have fun at school!" Marcus yelled to him as he walked out.

"Will do!" Ray said as he walked out the open door and just before the door completely shut he managed to yell. "Not likely!"

Ray carefully maneuvered his way down the stairs of his front door, making sure not to fall right on his ass and give Bella sometime to tease him about the whole day. When he managed to not slip or fall and make it to Bella's truck he opened the thick, squeaking door and sat down. The cab was warm, it smelled faintly of nicotine and not exactly the ideal choice for a 17 year old girl but for Bella there was nothing better. While he had been taking a long shower Billy Black and his son Jacob had shown up, they were family friends of both Marcus and Charlie, their children having grown up the first few years together. Jacob was a tad younger then them but from Bella had said he didn't appear it.

Raymond smiled at his best friend, dimples deepening as adjusted. "Goose."

He lifted his hand filled with bacon towards her, offering a piece as the girl smiled his way. "giraffe. I see we decided to keep the good morning going."

"Where there is bacon there is no wrong." He muttered, she shrugged her shoulders in response and chose to grab two strands. "Is Charlie serious with this thing though? I know you're a huge klutz but this is like placing you in bubble wrap."

Bella scoffed, driving off with one hand while the other bit into her bacon. "Hey, I actually like it. You can't really talk though, how old is your car again?"

"It's a classic though."

"So is mine." She retorted.

Raymond laughed at her slightly offended demeanor before dropping the subject. "All right fine, so how are you feeling about today."

"Nervous." She muttered. "I hate starting over, at least you might recognize some people. I'm just Bella Swan, the Chief's long lost daughter."

"I meant the weather but I guess not." Raymond tried to joke but when he got a very annoyed side eye he grew serious and downed the rest of his coffee. "Look, it's probably not gonna be that bad okay. Plus, you're not exactly doing this all alone. I would rather be that any day then the kid who's mom died and was forced here."

Bella sighed, barely bothered by the mention of his mother as she knew Raymond didn't mean for it to get awkward but to confront her. "Like I said, you still win considering you might know some of these people."

"Either way it's not like I'm gonna just go off and hang with them, I'd take my golden goose over some barely recognizable kids any day." Raymond nudged her shoulder, reminding the brunette that he would not be leaving her side no matter what circumstances. "By the way it's the next exit."

Bella nodded, getting off the highway and following the school sign into the lot. Raymond had only remembered ever seeing the actual FORKS HIGH SCHOOL sign but never the actual building and they were underwhelming when their eyes finally met, it was simply a collection of small buildings all old and worn down by the endless rain. He grunted at the same time as Bella's disappointed sigh. "We have to get our schedules from the office right?"

He nodded, setting down the coffee mug in the cup holder and nodding his head, "yup that means office building first."

Bella drove around, both glancing at the clouds above their heads. There was no doubt it was gonna rain later on in the day they both just hoped it would be before they found their classrooms. The brunette finally parked her truck in one of the empty teacher lots seeing as how it was too early and there wasn't many cars just yet. Raymond got out of the warm cab, rounding the car and catching up with Bella, the cold air attacked his hands and face, forcing the boy to grit his teeth in annoyance, there was just something about the weather in Washington that made it unbearable. They quickly walked into the building, Raymond making sure Bella didn't trip or fall on the ice.

The office blasted them with warmth as they stepped in, both shivering slightly from the extreme temperatures inside as the door shut behind them.

"You two must be Charlie and Marcus children." A women greeted them, standing from her post and walking over towards the table separating them.

"Yes." Both teenagers answered in unison, stepping up.

"I'm Ellen, and your fathers called ahead. Your schedules are ready and prepped to go." She kindly answered, opening the folder already prepped. She pulled out two separate stacks of papers. "Isabella and Raymond."

"Bella," the shorter brunette corrected her. Ray softly laughed, he knew very well how his best friend was with her full name.

The women smiled, handing over the stacks to the appropriate person, "well, here's your class schedules and a map. There's also some other information for you to look over when you get home, you'll have many of the same classes seeing as this is a small school. I hope you both have a great first day!"

They waved goodbye to her, both looking over the schedules, there was only two classes they had separately and unfortunately one of them was study hall. Ray groaned in annoyance as they jumped back into the car.

"Why the long face?" Bella questioned as she started up the car, it's loud rumble was something Raymond would never get used too as h slightly jumped.

"Who am I gonna copy from now during study hall?"

Bella laughed, her hand smacking his shoulder, "certainly not me."

"Yeah well, we will see about that. After all I'm gonna be your bodyguard right? Who else is gonna keep the boys at bay." He muttered, using Charlie's words from when they were little.

Bella let out a loud giggle, joining the heavy flow of traffic, "I highly doubt that."

"Come on Bella, you should have seen how the guys were looking at you in New York. You're beautiful dumbass, don't you ever let anyone tell you otherwise." The words might have sounded like a declaration of love from anyone else but Raymond. He loved Bella, their bond went deeper then simply best friends but he had never actually seen her in a different light. Bella Swan was beautiful, he always knew that but it never went beyond friendship... much to their parents dismay.

Bella's cheeks grew to a rosy complexion as she concentrated on parking and turning the car off, her eyebrow lifted in his direction as she took off her seatbelt. "You know, I wouldn't be too worried about me. New York boxer... the girls are gonna go crazy."

Ray laughed as he got out of the car, suddenly becoming very aware of the many eyes trained on them. He assumed it was because of the trucks loud engine and not because they were the new kids but of course that wasn't the case.

Raymond huffed in annoyance, meeting Bella at the front. He could tell the petite girl was becoming increasingly nervous as the eyes did not waver and the whispers were loud. "Jesus, do they not have exams to study for or something."

Bella stayed silent, keeping her eyes down and staying near Ray as they walked away. They passed a group surrounding an old van, one of the teenagers staring them down and muttering. "Nice ride."

Raymond suddenly flared with a bit of anger, he knew Bella was ecstatic about her car and even though it might not have been the newest in the lot it was still a ride. He scoffed, "better then a minivan."

They walked away before the kid could say another word but Bella silently looked up with a grateful smile.

Before either could say another word a bright flash blinded them both for a moment and stalled their feet. The boy dropped the camera, a bright grin on his face directed straight at Bella. "You're Isabella Swan, the new girl. Hi. I'm Eric. The eyes and ears of this place. Anything you need. Tour guide, lunch date, shoulder to cry on."

Bella's blank stare drops to one of straight confusion as her brown eyes flickers towards Ray whose eyebrows are raised and he bites his bottom lip to prevent from laughing. The kid looks innocent, slightly aggressive approach but still nothing he had to worry about... plus looking at Bella trying to turn down the guy was hilarious.

"Uhh... I'm more of a suffer in silence type and it's Bella." She mumbled, walking faster as to get away from the boy. "Plus, I've already kind of got a shoulder."

Eric pulled the hair away from his face, so his eyes could get a good look at the tall guy Bella was pointing towards. His eyes grew wider, "uhh sorry I didn't know you had a boyfriend."

Ray snorted, shaking his head, "more like brother who's shoulder will be too busy kicking ass."

Bella laughed, slightly shoving the taller boy who barely wavered. "You're infuriating."

Eric's eyes seemed to have went from confusion at the tone of brother despite the obvious skin different to brightening at the prospect of the new girl being single. "Alright well at the very least let me show you to your class then. Bella?"

Before either Bella or Raymond could protest she was being pushed off in a different direction.

|•|•|•|•|

So far it seemed like Raymond was widely recognized, then again it seemed like new faces around this place were rare so they took whatever they could get. He didn't really know how to act or feel around all these people who stared wide eyed at him with endless questions over what it was like to live in the city that never sleeps— for once he might have felt as awkward as Bella did.

"So you still into boxing?" Mike, a boy he'd once spend summers going on adventure into the forests had made it his mission to show Raymond around since sitting next to one another in fourth period. The curly haired male wasn't exactly ecstatic over his old friend considering the blue eyed boy had an endless supply of question, many of which surrounded Bella.

Ray nodded, flexing his wrist at the mention of his beloved sports, "yeah... kind of had to give it up though."

Mike made a slightly frown, keeping up with the much taller boy as they made their way towards lunch. "Well if you're looking for any other sport the football team is always looking for receivers... our basketball team sucks but I'm sure you'd by the star player."

"Those are more of the sports I prefer to watch if I'm being honest." Ray retorted, the mention of boxing had made an itch of need grow in his heart. He yearned for his old life more then ever, especially for his stress reliever of a sport.

"Right right." Mike drifted off, staying silent for less then twenty seconds. "Well, the nearest gym isn't until Port Angels but if you're in the market for equipment I know my parents can get you a deal at our sports store."

Raymond nodded, not bothering to respond as he walked into the cafeteria and immediately used his height to find Bella. All juniors had the same lunch meaning she would already be in here considering they were slightly behind everyone else.

Raymond felt his body shrug in disappointment when he found Bella sitting amongst Eric and a group of girls. Bella appeared to be as fed up with the group of them as he was.

"Jessica must have asked Bella to sit at our table." Mike's smile meant he was delighted to know the pretty brunette was already at his table. "Come on."

They walked over, just as Bella's eyes looked up and brightened to find Raymond's. Her relieved smile and his less then amused one was their way of communication.

Neither was happy with their seating arrangement.

"Look it's Mike and he's brought Ray!" A bubbly blonde sitting next to Bella cheered, her eyes lingered on Ray for a second longer.

Ray nodded, turning in Bella's direction and sitting in the empty chair she had previously occupied with her chair. "Bells, how's your day."

Bella swallowed, inching closer to him and away from the talkative group. "About as promising as yours."

They stared at one another for a second longer, Ray flicking her nose as they tried to hold back their laughter.

The blonde beside Bella suddenly broke up their little exchange as she inched closer and directed her question towards Ray. "Bella tells me you are siblings?"

Ray took a second to fully take her in, she was cute, a little too direct for him but pretty enough. So he licked his lips and nodded, "yeah, our dads got together, she's my best friend, since we were in diapers. You're?"

"Jessica." Her cheeks tinted as she answered.

Bella cleared her throat and inching closer to the table so their eye contact broke. "Ray, i don't think you've met Angela and Tyler."

He turned towards the people Bella had pointed towards, finding a pretty shy girl with glasses and a camera around her neck waving and the kid next to her nodding his head. He waved at them, gathering that Angela was apart of the newspaper. "Angela, you're the school reporter huh? Are we front headline like Eric said or did my best friend here convince him otherwise."

Angela's shy smile slowly relaxed, "Eric killed it, I guess I'll just do another editorial on Teen Drinking."

"Sorry." Bella apologized. "There's always eating disorders, or Speedo padding on the swim team."

"Wait, that's a good one.." Angela nodded, leaning into the table.

"Kyle right? We are talking Olympic sized." Jessica commented and they went on talking.

Bella flicked Ray in the arm, gaining his attention. He furrowed his brows and awaited to hear what she would say. Her eyes flashed to Jessica who was practically across the table speaking to Angela and then back to him, mouthing a don't even think about it to his amused grin. He winked at her, knowing she didn't exactly approve of him messing around with Jessica.

Bella's eyes rolled in annoyance before drifting away, brown eyes widening as the cold draft hit them.

Raymond followed her line of vision, watching as yet another group of students walked in but these were different. They weren't just socially different to everyone's else but physically as well, like the air around them was an altered state.

"Who are they?" Bella asks to no one in particular, speaking before Ray could say the exact same words.

Angela looks back, turning with a small smirk as she simply answers, "The Cullens."

Ray lifts an eyebrow in confusion, looking towards Jessica who was practically bursting with the details. "Doctor and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. They all moved down here from Alaska two years ago."

"They kinda keep to themselves." Angela added in a much softer tone as they walked across the cafeteria in their direction. She spoke so low, almost like they would be able to hear her.

"Because they're all together. Like, together together... well at least I think. The blonde girl, Rosalie, and the big dark-haired guy, Emmett they might be a thing although I'm not sure. No ones actually ever seen them kiss or hold hands but they're always by each other's side." Jessica explained, pointing to the two in the front who kept their eyes forward and away from anyone. Raymond took both of them in, lingering on the blonde.

She was taller then most girls, about as tall as a model but comparison to the so called Emmett and him she looked tiny. Her hair was a golden blonde, long tendrils flowing down to the middle of her light grey jacket and long scarf. Her skin was a creamy white like the rest of her families but her lips were a ruby pink, a striking contrast. Rosalie walked with an air of confidence, like she knew that nobody was to her stature and for some reason he took that as a challenge. She was definitely one of the most, if the  most beautiful person he'd ever laid his eyes on.

Beside her the guy smiled, saying something into her ears to which she rolled her eyes and scoffed, an amusing smile upon her lips. He knew that eye roll very well, it was the same one Bella sent to him on countless occasions. They're were definitely friends which made him internally happy... almost relieved. He let out a low breath and suddenly her honey eyes were on him.

Raymond looked away quickly, grateful that Jessica suddenly cleared her throat, he blinked repeatedly not understanding just why he had found the blonde so captivating.

"And then the little dark haired girl, Alice, she's really weird." Jessica moves on, pointing towards the short girl who was practically dancing into the cafeteria. Her smile was playful, holding hands with a blonde male who was much more serious yet kept his eyes trained on her moves. "  ... she's with Jasper, the blonde who looks like he's in pain. Dr. Cullens like some foster parents slash matchmaker."

"Maybe he'll adopt me." Angela added in, forcing a laugh from the group as Raymond kept his eyes anywhere but the blonde.

There was one last person trailing them and judging by the way all the others stared he seemed apart of the group, alone, but definitely apart of them. This finally got a reaction out of Bella, and Ray did not miss it.

Her breath cut short, posture slightly stiffened like she mesmerized and Ray couldn't exactly judge her considering his past few minutes.

"Who's he?" Bella breathed out, shy as ever although her eyes not once strayed from the male. Her best friend suddenly realized something, this was the first time he'd actually seen Bella this struck by a guy. Not once had he ever heard her ask or speak about another male that she wasn't either related too or just him but her invested in this guy was different.

"That's Edward Cullen." Jessica spoke with a slight distaste in her voice even though her eyes were also concentrated on the light haired male. " He's totally gorgeous, obviously. But apparently, no one here is good
enough for him. Like I care. Anyways, don't waste your time."

Edward suddenly looked their way like he could hear them speaking about him, his lips turned up in a slight smile. Bella practically snapped her neck looking away, her cheeks tinted pink.

Ray watched him walk towards the table with the rest of his family before he dipped his head and whispered, "coasts clear. You're safe."

Bella looked up, pushing hair out of her way as casually as possible, she noticed Raymond's amused gaze. "What?"

"You've got a thing for him. Edward." He spoke low as to not alert anyone else at the table and popped a chip into his mouth.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Bella scoffed.

"Wow, Bella Swan actually has a crush on someone and here I thought you were gonna be the family member with all the dogs." He teased.

"I saw you eyeing Rosalie too," Bella deflected.

"Yeah well what's new there? You on the other hand, actually acting like a teenagers... I like it. Seems like you might actually have a chance too." He hummed, sipping from the coke.

"What? Why do you say that?"

"Cause he's been staring at you since he sat down."

Bella's eyes widened, looking back to see him actually looking her way along with the rest of the family. She only glanced long enough to confirm before turning back. "What the hell."

Raymond hummed in agreement, sensing the eyes burning holes into his back.

|•|•|•|•|

Honestly I love Raymond and Bella's relationship so much.