LET DOWN

four.            travis

▬ CORI SAT UP IN HER BED, pulling her covers up over her shoulders to shield her from the cold air. The heat was on but it was warmer under her blanket and she very much did not want to leave the warmth of her bed. She looked around her room and a smile pulled at her lips, she still couldn't believe her dad had turned the attic into her room. Her eyes settled on the bookshelf, it was packed full of books and she smiled as the day before replayed in her head.

Paul and Rachel laughed as she tried to climb the shelf because Paul had put a book in the wrong place but the boy stopped her before she hurt herself. The pillow fight that was more just Cori and Rachal smacking Paul with pillows because he made a comment about one of Cori's more spicy books – a book she had gotten only because Rachel told her it was a good read. And the breaks they took that consisted of loud music, dancing and snacks. It had been a great day.

She eventually rolled out of bed and grabbed her towel before making her way to the bathroom for a shower. It was her first day at Forks High School and though she didn't expect many people to notice her, she wanted to look nice. A small part of her wished she could have attended the school on the rez because she had friends there, but since Charlie lived in the Forks school district, it just wasn't possible.

After her shower, Cori made her way back to her room, her dirty pajamas clutched to her chest as she held her towel in place and made her way to her room, passing her sister on the way. She offered her a smile, which Bella returned before she made her way into the bathroom and Cori made her way up to her room.

Cori was dressed in five minutes, throwing on the warmest clothes she could find. She had an obsession with long sleeved shirts, hoodies, and fuzzy socks all of which if worn in Phoenix would boil you from the inside out. But the weather in Forks was the perfect place for her love of thick clothes. Sitting at her desk, which had a small mirror attached to it, she ran a brush through her hair and decided she'd let it dry and do what she could with it afterwards.

Thirty minutes later, with her favorite knit beanie pulled over her wild curls, Cori bounded down the stairs where Bella was waiting by the door, spinning her truck keys around her finger but she stopped when Cori stopped in front of her. "Ready to go?"

"Yea-wait!" She shouted and turned making her way into the kitchen where Charlie sat at the table, a cup of coffee in front of him as he looked over the newspaper. "Bye, daddy." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, taking him by surprise before he patted her arm.

"Have a good day." He told her as she pulled away from him and waved over her shoulder before following her sister out the door and to the truck that sat in the driveway.

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▬ SHE KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN, she knew all eyes would be on her and her sister. She knew because it always happened when there was a new student. It happened just last school year in Phoenix. Maddie had just moved to town with her family and the second her older brother dropped her off, it was like all eyes were on her. All eyes but Cori's, she was too into the book she was reading at the time but Lola had pulled her along to introduce themselves. And though Maddie and Lola seemed to become pretty decent friends, Cori always felt a little left out when it came to them mostly because all she and Lola really shared was a love of books and Maddie, though she read, wasn't obsessed like they were.

Cori swallowed hard, looking over at Bella who gave her a simple nod as she pulled into the first empty spot she saw, the truck backfiring a little before she turned it off. The sound only drew more attention to them and Cori sank in her seat a little, getting a small chuckle from Bella.

"You're gonna be okay." She placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "You're better at making friends than I am."

"Wow, Bells, thanks for setting the bar so high." She mumbled sarcastically and Bella shrugged a little.

"Let's go." She nodded her hand and Cori sighed as she heaved her door open and slid out, her muddy boots hitting the wet pavement. She pushed her door closed and met her sister near the front of the trunk, Cori wanted to shrink into nothing as a group of teenagers leaning against a blue van watched them.

"Nice ride." One of the boys nodded his head before biting into a twizzler.

"Thanks." Bella replied shortly, reaching her hand back and Cori gladly latched into it. Bella knew contact, any form really, eased the girl's nerves. "Breath, Cori."

"I am breathing." She huffed, following behind her sister, her eyes briefly scanning the parking lot and stopping only for a moment when she saw a group standing next to cars that were too fancy for Forks high school – a red convertible, a silver jeep and a shiny Volvo.

But she didn't dwell, she just followed her sister. Unbeknownst to her, two pairs of eyes rested on her back as she made her way up the stairs. She had a tight grip on her sister's hand as she watched her feet to make sure she didn't slip on the wet steps. If there was one thing she didn't want to happen on her first day it was falling and busting her head open on the stairs.

The Swan sisters stuck together, managing to find the office to get their schedules before wading back into the sea of teenagers that filled the halls of Forks High School. Cori looked over the paper in her hand, smiling a little when she saw she had an art class at the end of the day. She wasn't sure when she asked if it would actually happen, but she was glad it did. She wasn't an amazing artist or anything, she just liked to draw and paint.

Bella looked up from her paper and glanced in front of them to make sure they weren't gonna run into anyone before looking down at her sister. "Did you get the art class you wanted?"

"Yeah." Cori nodded, looking up at her as they came to a stop. "I have gym first, you?" She asked and Bella could see the hopeful glint in her eyes. She knew Cori was uncomfortable around people she didn't know. She looked at her schedule again before nodding her head, making Cori let out a relieved breath as they started walking again.

"You're Isabella and Coraline Swan." They turned to see a boy approaching them, a smile pulling at his lips. "The new girls." Cori shifted closer to Bella. "Hi, I'm Eric, the eyes and ears of this place. Um, anything you need: tour guide, lunch date, shoulder to cry on?"

"Did you just hit on both of us?" Cori asked, her eyebrows pinched in confusion and he looked down at her. She had once again latched onto her sister's hand and shifted on her feet beneath his gaze, almost regretting she had said anything at all.

"No, no." He shook his head. "No. Just offering my services."

"Services?" Cori mumbled. "Sounds sketch to me."

"Cori." Bella nudged her and Eric looked between the two, a rising panic in his eyes.

"Friendship?" He offered, sounding a little unsure.

"Um, I'm really kind of the more suffer-in-silence type." Bella told him before Cori could say anything else.

"Good headline for the feature."

"Feature?" Cori squeaked, her voice raising an octave or two.

"I'm on the paper and you two are news." He nodded, seemingly oblivious to Cori's wide eyes.

"No, we're not." Bella rushed out before stuttering, not really able to find the right words. "Please don't...

"That's a hell no." Cori told him

"Whoa, whoa, chillax. No feature." He told them.

"Okay, thanks." Bella nodded, giving the boy a grateful smile as they continued down the hall.

"Chillax?" Cori mumbled, mostly to herself. "Dude seems weird."

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▬ CORI FELT SMALL as she stood in the gym, one half set up for volleyball while the guys played basketball on the other side. She shifted on her feet, her ponytail swaying side to side as she watched the ball fly back and forth over the net. Then it came towards her and she hit it and another girl jumped, sending it over the net and to the floor.

"I was helpful." She grinned as she turned back towards her sister and Bella chuckled slightly, though it was clear she was uncomfortable on the court and just when Cori turned around the ball flew right towards Bella and she smacked it, sending it across the gym and right into the back of some dude's head. "Jeez, Bells." Cori mused but she didn't follow her as another ball was hit over the net and she jumped, spiking the ball back over. And she cheered when the other team dove for it but missed, giving her team the point. "Yes!"

"Nice spike." She turned away from the girls congratulating her, a few patting her back, to see a boy standing there. He was tall, lean but not thin and his t-shirt gave way to the muscles underneath. He held a basketball in his hands and a smirk pulled at his lips. "You new?"

"First day." She nodded, lacing her fingers together behind her back so she had something to hold onto as she shifted on her feet. She could feel eyes on her again, she wasn't sure why, but she knew everyone in the gym had stopped just to watch her. Shoes no longer squeaked, the basketballs no longer bounced and almost everyone had gone silent.

"I'm-"

"Travis!" A voice boomed and they both turned to see a big guy watching them, and though his voice sounded pissed Travis just chuckled.

"Ignore him." He turned back towards the girl and she met his eyes again, they seemed copper almost, a very unusual color, but it was nice. "I'm Travis." He held his hand out.

"Cori." She carefully took his hand and he shook it once before pulling away.

"It's nice to meet you, Cori." He leaned a little closer to her, his smile still intact. "Hope to be seeing more of you."

"Maybe." She nodded, giving him an uncertain smile before he turned and walked away, dribbling the ball he had like they hadn't just stopped the entire class. Cori blinked a few times, shaking her head as she turned, still all eyes were on her and she gave an awkward wave before moving towards her sister, wrapping her arm around her bicep. Eventually, everyone went back to what they were doing and Bella pulled Cori over to the bleachers. "People are still staring."

"No, they're not." Bella told her but when she looked around, one person was still watching them, well, watching Cori and the moment he caught Bella's gaze, he looked away.