Luna Cullen's sigh echoed through her room as she wrestled with the zipper of her bag. It was heavy with the carried—books, notebooks, and the other trappings of academia that she reluctantly carried. Ugh, school. The most useless thing to ever be invented, in her opinion.

The bag, now securely closed, hung heavily on Luna's shoulders, a physical manifestation of the burden she was about to carry all year long - at least, for the next one hundred and eighty days. For the next four years, which was ridiculous. Each item inside her bag was just another reminder of useless deadlines, pop quizzes, and the mundane routine that awaited her. She didn't want to be so arrogant about it, about the fact she was different - but she was different. That was a fact she had come to terms with since she was a child, and all of this felt unnecessary.

But she had to learn how to be part of the human world, according to her family. Still, while she knew they were right, she couldn't shake the sinking feeling that she was trudging into a realm of monotony that she had hoped to avoid indefinitely. And yet, here she was, subjected to the torture of high school as if she were just some commoner.

The memory of the school shopping trip from a week ago lingered in her mind like an unwelcome guest. The fluorescent lights of the store, the cacophony of back-to-school advertisements, and the endless rows of school supplies—these images played in her mind like a montage of impending doom. She recalled the reluctant acceptance of the inevitable as she filled her cart with notebooks, pens, and other "essentials." The day had finally arrived, and the reality of her situation bore down on her like the weight of her overstuffed backpack.

God, she already hated this shit.

Truth be told, she didn't understand why they even had to go. On one hand, they could do whatever they wanted, which was the mindset she wanted to have, but apparently that was frowned upon. The Cullens had a peculiar way of doing things, and if she wanted to stay part of the family, she knew she had to follow along. She was eighteen now, so technically she could leave whenever she wanted, but despite everything, she liked it there. This was her home, and they were her family. She would just have to get used to doing what was expected of her, whether she'd like it or not.

The only comfort she felt was the fact they were all in this together. Being trapped in immortal bodies, they were perpetually forced to reinvent themselves, posing as teenagers whenever they needed to establish roots in a new location. Luna grappled with the bizarre logic that starting high school at a younger age would buy them more time before the inevitable need to relocate. She had already learned so much from them home-schooling her from ages six to eighteen, and now she had to go pretend like she was average starting over as a freshman. It made no sense to her.

It was weird enough that she was going to have to act like she was in the same class as her adopted parents, Rosalie and Emmett, who were forever stuck in the facade of eternal youth. They knew how this worked like seasoned professionals. They had undergone the high school experience multiple times, and here they were, ready to endure it once more, but the weird part was that it seemed like they enjoyed it. Maybe they got some sort of romantic element out of it, and Luna didn't want to think about that in anymore detail than necessary. The thought alone made it her cringe.

It wasn't just that - Luna couldn't fathom the idea of repeating high school, let alone the bizarre cycle her family found themselves in, but the knowledge that they would face this ordeal together provided a semblance of solidarity amidst the weirdness of it all. She would be posing as Luna Hale, a homage to her mother's human surname ; but in this case, Rosalie wasn't going to be her mother, she was more than thrilled to be posing as her older sister.

To be completely honest, Luna wasn't sure how she felt about that yet. Rosalie, however, was thrilled. Through the whole ordeal of preparing, Rose had exhibited an enthusiasm that bordered on delight at the prospect of being perceived as Luna's sister. Her excitement resonated in the subtle glint of her golden eyes and the curve of her perfect smile, a vibrant contrast to Luna's own reservations. The thought of addressing her mother as a sibling and her father as a brother carried an undeniable strangeness. She thought she'd been through it all by now, but apparently not.

Carlisle and Esme, who were technically her grandparents, would be playing the role of her parents. Basically, Luna realized she would have to think extra hard about what the fuck was going on, and that required more brain cells than she was able to produce.

She couldn't help but think this could have all been avoided if she had just been able to apply to a college like she wanted to originally, but that wasn't part of the plan. Her family wanted to stay in Forks, so they had to pose as a family being younger than they really were.

Luna hated that she was torn between the realms of adulthood and perpetual youth, a mirror of the incongruities of her unique existence. Physically mature and mentally ready to be a college student, she stood at the crossroads of opportunity. There was so much she was ready to see and do, and that she could definitely do on her own if she tried.

But she was loyal to her family, and she wasn't ready to live on her own quite yet. She was comfortable with them, and she didn't want to sacrifice her comfort when there was a world of unknown dangers out there.

Thankfully, despite her advanced physical age, Luna's youthful demeanor and appearance aligned seamlessly with the vampire family she belonged to. In the intricate masquerade that was their everyday life, Luna was required to suppress the truth about her age and academic qualifications. It was part of the fun of being a Cullen.

The curious irony lingered—the very characteristic that granted her immortality also mandated the perpetual role-playing of someone younger than she truly was. It was a sacrifice they all made, a pact to blend seamlessly into the human world, to evade suspicion, and to prolong their residence in a place they had come to call home. As Luna contemplated the necessity of maintaining this facade, she grappled with the duality of her existence, knowing that the eternal youthfulness she cherished also demanded a perpetual charade, a dance between truth and fiction that defined her unique and surreal life in Forks.

Forks, nestled in the gloomy embrace of the Pacific Northwest, held a peculiar charm for Luna and her vampire family, although not one born out of excitement. The town itself didn't boast the allure of bustling metropolises or the glamour of sun-drenched locales like California, which is somewhere she'd much rather be if she could. Anywhere warm and lively, really.

Luna often found herself daydreaming about the vibrant beaches and lively cities that seemed forever out of reach for her immortal family. The dream of residing in a place that exuded energy and diversity, like California, was an unattainable fantasy. The sun-drenched landscapes, though enticing, were a luxury their vampiric physiology simply couldn't afford.

The peculiar irony of their condition manifested in their sensitivity to sunlight. The radiant ball of fire in the sky, capable of bestowing life to many, became an adversary to Luna and her kind, in that they could burn if they were in it long enough.

The others in her vampire family had, over the centuries, developed a degree of resistance to the sun's harsh rays, but it was far from a comfortable experience. Luna was fortunate in that her skin was a little more durable, which she suspected that her werewolf genes played a role in this tolerance. Yet, being a redhead presented its own challenge, as her skin was doubly susceptible to sunburn. So the sun wasn't a friend of hers, and she had learned to accept this sad fact.

Boring places like Forks became their refuge, where the sun's intrusion was tempered by the perpetual overcast sky. It was one of the few places they could settle down in and claim as their home.

And now, as she got ready for the morning ahead, Luna couldn't help but think back on what had led to this point, and she realized that she was only doing this because of her parents. She only did what they asked because she loved them, and she wanted to make them happy. She knew as long as she pretended to do well, then maybe it would satisfy their desire for her to experience a more conventional social life. It wasn't something she had particularly wanted on her own, but they insisted it was normal and healthy and a natural part of her development. Right.

She didn't have the heart to argue with them any further. She had a sinking suspicion that this was only going to make her more lonely and isolated. How was she meant to make friends when she was forced to keep her life a secret?

Edward and Emily were the only two people she needed, and she was okay with that. She trusted them, and their presence alone seemed to fulfill her need for companionship more authentically than any superficial friendships school might offer.

The prospect of making friends at school felt like a paradox; how could she foster genuine connections when she could never really tell anyone the truth about her existence? The very act of socializing seemed to threaten the authenticity she cherished, as any bond forged would inevitably be constrained by the boundaries of concealment. Basically, they were bound to be fake friends, and she was already dreading the energy it would take to put up with that. Either way, Luna realized she was just going to have to endure. Four years shouldn't be that bad, right?

Oh, how wrong she would be.