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𝑮 𝑳 𝑰 𝑻 𝑪 𝑯
❝  𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚊 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚊  ❞

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ㅤ𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀 𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐀 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐅 as she stepped out of her car. Her arms were aching, knees shaking, and ass practically numb after the drive from Malibu to the little town of Forks, where her Aunt Vic lived.

Speaking of Aunt Vic, the second the teen pulled up to her driveway, the woman raced out of her house, arms reaching out. Maria grinned, immediately wrapping her arms around the older woman.

"I've missed you, Aunt Vic," she mumbles into the said woman's shoulder.

"I've missed you too, ladybug," Victoria grinned, hugging her tighter before letting go. "Now come on, your room's all set up, all you need to do's unpack. But I know you dad's expecting a call. So, let me help you with your bags and we can call Tony together, yes?"

"Okay." The two went and grabbed Maria's bags. Each were filled with clothes that screamed that she was from a wealthy family—as if the car wasn't enough. But she didn't worry about that, because her backstory was plain and simple: her father sent her away to live with her aunt for her protection, and had to use her mother's maiden name to maintain anonymity. The best part about it was that she wasn't even lying.

As for her aunt, Victoria Jarvis worked as a doctor in Forks Hospital, and was in a position where she could easily afford this larger than average, two-storey home, surrounded by a nice plot of land of her own, giving the two enough privacy from the rest of town.

After placing her bags in her room, she pulled out her phone. Sitting on her new bed, she scrolled through her scarce contact list before clicking on her father's contact. It only took a few rings before her father answered.

"I take it you've arrived," Tony spoke.

"Nice to hear from you too, dad," Maria sarcastically replied, a smile on her lips. "And I take it you haven't slept."

Tony chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. So, how's Forks?"

Maria took a quick look out her window—as her bedroom was on the second floor, with large windows on two walls, one that faced the front of the house—and shrugged. "Not much to be expected from a town named after a utensil. Though, I feel like my overall gloomy outlook in life makes it a suitable place for me to live in."

Her father snorted, and she could hear metals clicking in the background, and she could only assume she's combating his insomnia with suit-making. "With Forks being one of the rainiest places in the country, I don't doubt that. Anyway, you're starting school tomorrow, you excited?"

"I mean, I'm not entirely sure," Maria replied with a sigh. "It's my first time going into public school, and my first time going into an actual school. I don't think homeschooling prepared me enough for the upcoming high school teen drama that I'm about to face."

"You better wish you don't get to experience your so-called 'high school teen drama'," Tony pointed out. "It may not be as dramatic as they are in the movies, but they aren't any less amusing."

"Amusing?" She teased.

"Well, y'know, your old man has had his fair share of high school drama."

"I'm not surprised."

"Hey, don't judge," Tony tsked. "You're just as dramatic as me."

"And just as extroverted," she giggled. "Hope those things can help me tomorrow."

A piece of metal hitting the floor was heard. "Sorry," Tony quickly muttered, before continuing. "Well, I bid you good luck, my darling daughter. And remember, keep your head held high. You're a Stark."

"I won't forget, dad," Maria smiled. "Love you."

"Love you more."

And the phone call was ended, and the smile on Maria's face slowly dropped. Quite honestly, she wasn't sure what to feel. Instead of feeling nervous, afraid, or even excited, she feels indifferent. She misses her dad a lot, but she's smart enough to know that this is for her own good. And Aunt Vic was so excited to have her in Forks.

She sighed, turning to face her other window, and watched as the rain began to pour.

After she fixed up all her clothes and had them placed neatly in her closet, she came down to eat her first dinner in her new home. It was mostly just catching up with her aunt, before she went back up, set up her alarm, and slept soundly.

Waking up in the morning to the sound of her alarm without the sun blinding her was definitely something she wasn't used to. Having grown up in Malibu did that to you. Now, with green trees greeting her in every direction, she almost wanted to go back to sleep. Still, she pushed herself up and got ready for the day.

Breakfast was short, her aunt having already left for her shift at the hospital, so she had enough time to make sure she looked presentable in this weather. She decided to wear a more casual outfit, wearing a t-shirt underneath a brown sweater, which she wore with some denim dungarees. She also wore a black coat and some sneakers. She let out a deep sigh, before grabbing her backpack, keys, and dashing out the door.

(ignore the passport cover. as for the bag, you can just imagine an actual school backpack.)

Hopping into her car and starting the engine, she calmed her nerves by turning on some music, before driving away.

She quite honestly almost drove past the school if not for the groups of teens huddled randomly around the lot. She knew that she'd be the talk of the town for quite a while. Other than starting school on February, she's also a teenage girl from Malibu who drives an Audi around; she would surely cause a ruckus in the small town.

With luck on her side, she found a nice parking space just next to a silver Jeep.

Hmm, she thought to herself as she looked around, Seems as if no one even wanted to park here.

But she dismissed her thoughts as she cut off the engine. Taking a few deep breaths, she mentally prepared herself before grabbing her bag and stepping out. Almost immediately, she was met with silence. Smirking to herself a little, she sauntered towards the school's entrance as she ignored the stares, quickly finding signs that led towards the office.

Pushing open the door, she greeted the lady stood at the desk. "Hi, I'm Maria Ayutthaya. I'm new here."

"Oh, yes!" The receptionist pretty much cheered, causing a scoff to escape her. "Maria from California, here's your schedule, and a map of the school. Also, here's a slip that you have to let your teachers sign. Give this back to me at the end of the day, alright?"

Collecting all that was given to her, she gave a tight smile. "Alright, thank you."

"I hope you enjoy your time here!" Giving her one last smile, she exited the office and was immediately ambushed before she could glance at her schedule.

"You're Maria Ayutthaya, the new girl," a random dude said as he began to walk right beside her. "Hi, I'm Eric, the eyes and ears of this place," she had to hold back her grimace, "Um, anything you need? Tour guide, lunch date, shoulder to cry on?"

"Oh, um, can I just check my schedule first?" She tried to smile.

"Of course!" Eric was enthusiastic. "Heard you're from California?"

Her eyes shifted away from her AP-class filled schedule. "Yeah, born and raised in Malibu."

"Really?" With his genuine excitement over where she's from, she can only assume he's never set foot outside Washington, let alone out of Forks. "Must be different then, compared to here. Malibu's all sunshine and heat, and here it's literally the opposite."

Maria laughed genuinely at his curiosity. "Well, yeah. Definitely. But it's growing on me, to be honest."

Eric hummed. "Well, I'm on the paper, and we don't get to welcome new students often, especially from Malibu. So, you're news baby, front page."

"Oh, well, alright."

"Great!" Eric fist pumped. "Let's talk over the details later? Oh, can I see your schedule?" Maria didn't protest and handed it to him. "Wow, you're on all AP classes! You must a genius or something."

"Or something," she teased.

"Well, we have lunch and gym together so, you can sit with me and my friends." He handed her the piece of paper.

"That would honestly be great," she smiled and patted his arm, taking back her schedule. "I guess I'll see you later. Gotta look for my classes now. Talk to you later!" She gave him a wave goodbye.

Double checking her schedule again, she found that her first class was AP History. She was able to find the classroom fairly easily, and walked in. Politely smiling at her teacher, she handed him her slip as she took off her coat and placed it on a hook next to all her classmates' coats.

"Ah, the new girl, I'm Mr. Brunner," the teacher greeted. "I'll give this back to you at the end of class, okay? Now," he gestured to the class to quiet down. "Everyone, this is your new classmate." Turning back to her again, he asked, "You want to say a few words?"

Feeling all eyes on her, she faced them, hiding the fact that her heart was beating rapidly in her chest. "Hi, I'm Maria, nice to meet you. You can call me Mia, if you'd like. That's it." She let out a breathy laugh.

"Well, it's wonderful to have you here," the teacher commented. "Why don't you go sit with Mr. Hale. Mr. Hale, hand up please."

A male with honey blond hair raised his pale hand, and Maria had to hold back her frown at the sight of his golden eyes.

Odd, she thought to herself, before walking towards him and greeting him with a smile. She carefully sat down and shrugged off her bag, placing it on her lap.

"Hi, I'm Maria," she introduced to the mysterious male, who she can't lie is quite honestly one of the most attractive people she's ever met in her life.

"Jasper," he curtly replied.

"Not much of a talker, huh?" She teased. "Well I can work with that."

Her class flew by without a hitch, information going into her head with no problem. She even managed to get the boy beside her to laugh at one of her stupid jokes, which made a few people sitting close look at them in shock. Once the class ended, she greeted Jasper goodbye, grabbed her slip, and walked by.

Hours passed and she finally found herself walking into the cafeteria, almost immediately spotting Eric, who had his arm up and waving wildly at her. She let out a laugh, giving him a thumbs up. She was quick to pick up some food, before she walked over to their table.

"Guys," Eric started, pulling a seat out for her, "this is my new friend, Mia. Mia, these are my friends," he began pointing at them one by one, "Mike, Tyler, Jessica, and Angela."

"Nice to meet you all," she politely greeted.

"So, heard you were from California," Jessica was quick to interrogate her. "Where exactly?"

"Uh, Malibu."

"Wow," she sounded almost sarcastic, which Maria didn't fail to pick out. "Isn't that place just filled with like, big houses and stuff? Like, rich people live there."

"Oh, well, yeah I guess," she wasn't quite sure what to tell her.

"So you're rich?" Jessica pretty much stated, and Maria almost called her out on her rudeness when Mike cut in.

"Dude, she drives an Audi," Mike pointed out. "I saw that sweet ride of yours outside, by the way, cool car."

Maria then turned to look at the blond with a cute baby face. "Thanks."

"Speaking of," Eric then took the attention. "Angela's part of the paper too, and Angela, meet your new muse."

Angela grinned. "You're agreeing to go on the feature?"

"'Course," she shrugged. "Why not?"

"Great!" Angela gave her another grin. "Oh by the way, I heard from a few of my other friends that you made the quiet and anti-social Jasper Hale laugh at AP History earlier. Is that true?"

Jessica gasped loudly from beside her. "Wait, what?!"

"Why?" Maria was affronted as she shrugged. "It's not a big deal."

"Well--okay look," as if on cue the Cullens began walking in. "Those are the Cullens, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. They moved out here from Alaska, like, a few years ago."

"They kind of keep to themselves," Angela added.

"Yeah, 'cause they're all together. Like, together together," Jessica continued, looking as if knowing all the details about the Cullens made her a big deal. Maria honestly doesn't like people like those, having met so many when she was growing up. But she continued to listen just to be nice. "Um, the blonde girl, that's Rosalie and the big dark-haired guy, Emmett. They're like a thing. I'm not even sure that's legal."

"Jess," Angela cut in. "They're not actually related."

"Yeah, but they live together, it's weird," Maria had to agree on that one. Their family dynamics just don't make sense. "And, okay, the little dark-haired girl is Alice, she's really weird. And um, she's with Jasper, the blond one who looks like he's in pain, and also apparently your new best friend."

Maria scoffed. "I talked to him once."

"He doesn't talk to anyone," Jessica pointed it. Maria just gave her a confused look. "So, Dr. Cullen is like this foster dad-slash-matchmaker."

"Maybe he'll adopt me," Angela suddenly commented, making Maria snort. She liked Angela.

Then she spotted another Cullen, realizing now that all of them have the same pale skin, and golden eyes, despite being unrelated to each other. She squinted her eyes in thought as her mind began to go on hyperdrive. She noticed that when she did, the only single Cullen turned to look her right in the eye as he walked into the cafeteria.

"Who's he?" She asked her gossiping friend.

"That's Edward Cullen," Jessica quickly introduced, her face turning slightly pink, which amused Maria. "He's totally gorgeous, obviously. But apparently nobody here's good enough for him." Maria began to smirk. "Like I care, you know? So, yeah, seriously, like, don't waste your time."

Maria snorted, her smirk widening. "Tell me, Jessica, how many times did he reject you?"

Her words made everyone at the table erupt into laughter, causing Jessica to cringe and turn away.

"You're gonna fit right in, Malibu," Mike commented. Maria gave him a wink before turning away to finish her food.