Forks

one

The warning bell rang.

Preparing myself for my squeaking walk of shame, I took a breath and grabbed the car handle. I caught a blur of something in my peripheral vision just as my car hood thumped and a body slid over the side. The passenger door swung open and a boy climbed in.

Quick, give me your jacket. He shoved his hand across the car.

I gave him my staple you’re freaking crazy look, but he kept his hand out.

Sorry. His brows rose expectantly. "I need a place to hide out. Give me your jacket. Please." His eyes flashed.

There was urgency about his manner, so I took off my jacket and handed it to him.

Thanks. He flashed pearly whites at me and grabbed my jacket. Slumping down in the seat, he covered his body with my slicker. Just act nonchalantly, he instructed before ducking under my coat.

Excuse me? I glared down at the mound under my coat.

Stop talking to me, he warned. They will hear you. He shifted further under my jacket.

I looked out the windshield; I didn’t see anyone. No one is… Just then, a large group of kids strode by. Each one stopped and turned, their pale eyes riveted on me. Gooseflesh rose on my arms. I pulled down my visor to block them, like I was checking my face in the mirror. They started laughing, gliding past, and vanished into the fog.

Letting out a pent-up breath, I turned in my seat. They’re gone.

You sure about that? His voice came out muffled.

Um, yeah, I deadpanned. I’m sure. I lifted my visor back up.

Ah…

One of them was standing directly in front of my car, his unusually light gray eyes staring right at me. He didn’t look happy. His black hair shifted in the wind. A shiver raced down my spine. My newfound car-buddy started to move. I threw my body on top of his, acting like I was grabbing my messenger bag off the floor.

Don’t move, I whispered and sat back up. I lifted my bag and gave my audience of one a small smile. He stared me down and then made a grunting noise almost like a laugh. Turning abruptly, his long coat swirled outward like a giant wing and then he too disappeared into the ever-encroaching fog.

My skin prickled.

I think you’re safe now.

Slowly, a head emerged from under my coat. He raked a hand through his dark blonde hair. Thanks, he said, flashing his bright smile again. A dimple appeared in his left cheek. Reaching around, he dug into his pockets and pulled something out. Here, you need these.

I gaped in shock, staring down at the box of cinnamon candy. My breath doesn’t stink. I blew on my hand to check.

He laughed. Sorry, they aren’t for your breath, well they could be… he trailed off, his green eyes flicking over me in amusement. He tossed the box up on my dash.

What? I stared him down, clenching my hands too tightly on the steering wheel.

You’re a feisty one. He shook his head, lifting my coat off his body. Thanks for letting me hide out. He grabbed the door handle and turned. I’m not kidding when I say you will need them, and they aren’t for your breath. I was kidding about that part. He gave me another look, like… I know something you don’t know.

What do I need them for, if not my breath?

"They are fun to eat. Reaching into this pocket, he pulled out another box. Dumping a few out, he popped them in his mouth. See." He grinned.

So, besides being fun to eat, what is so great about Red Hots? I asked, glancing up at the box.

It’s not the candy exactly, but the cinnamon, he said. It repels and masks your scent.

What are you even talking about? Here I thought my mom was the only fruitcake in town, but apparently, she had plenty of company.

Giving me a look like I was slow on the uptake, he sighed. The freaks that were just here, that’s who, he said as though that explained everything.

I guess they aren’t friends of yours?

Ah, no…not friends, he scoffed and shook his head like he thought I was an idiot.

He was wearing a black and neon green Superman t-shirt with blue jeans and was sporting a pair of blue Vans. Where’s your cape?

Cute. He cut me a sidelong look. Maybe you aren’t that slow.

I’m not slow. I glared at him.

His lip curled up on one side, making his dimple appear again. I think the jury is still out on that one.

His vivid green eyes locked on mine and I instantly lost my train of thought. Ah…

Yeah… He adjusted his body in the small space. You should steer clear of them. He looked off into the fog bank.

Why’s that? The bell rang out in the distance. Another warning, this one for first period, which meant I only had five minutes to make my way through the fog to get to homeroom.

I gotta go, but eat the candy and you should be safe enough… for now. He pulled on the handle. Oh, and thanks for letting me hide out…

Anytime, I deadpanned.

I’m Van by the way…

Like the sneaker? I asked being smart, pulling back on my slicker.

No. He gave me a strange look. As in Vampire Hunter, he added, and then jumped out of the car.

Oh, I get it, I called out, leaning forward.

He popped his head back in the car. His face was so close I could see the flecks of gold in his eyes. I doubt that, he said, giving me another sweep with his eyes and grabbed the box of candy off the dash and tossed it on my lap. Eat the candy anyway. He ducked back out and slammed the door.

Hey… I grabbed the candy and opened my door. Struggling, I got out with my bag. Once outside, thick fog closed in on me and I couldn’t see him.

He was gone.

"Weirdo."

In the distance, I could swear I heard laughter.

two

What side are you on?

Huh? The light reflected in different colors off her face. She was another "Sparkler." That was the name I dubbed the overtly pretty girls and boys in school. I had seen five already and only made it halfway down the hall before this one blocked my path.

Well? She crossed her arms, tapping the toe of her boot.

Me? I poked my chest.

Yeah you, she snarled, her gray eyes flashed angrily.

Ah…me no speaka de Englash, I spit out, just for something to say. Somehow, I knew none of my answers would be acceptable.

You just did. She gave me a death stare.

I wanted to turn around and run back outside to my car.

Who do we have here? Another Sparkler said, sidling up to the statuesque girl with long black hair; the bottom dyed a dark purple. This one had red-cropped hair and looked just as sparkly but her eyes were grayer, reminding me of a cloudless day. They were so wearing contacts.

I bet she’s trying to be a Bella, scathed the second one, adding a nasty glare for good measure.

What is wrong with these people? No se, I said shaking my head. Trying to use my small amount of Spanish I’d taken as a cover.

What. Is. Your. Name? asked the first girl, enunciating each word.

A bit of spit hit me in the face. I lifted my hand and wiped it off. Gross. My slicker squeaked as I took a deliberate step away from the girls. No se, I mumbled and gave a sheepish half smile, tugging my messenger bag back on my shoulder.

Forget her, the one with red hair said, "she doesn’t know anything, obviously." She made a face and rolled her eyes.

I want to make sure he doesn’t get a whiff of the newbie, snarled the first one.

What difference does that make?

Ja-sus, Cressida, you know how he gets.

Viola, she doesn’t even speak English. She leaned forward and sniffed me.

I suddenly wished I could fart on cue.

Come on, we can’t be late again. Cressida lifted her hand, making her stacks of bracelets jingle. Snapping her fingers, the blood red color on her nails caught my eye.

Fine, exhaled Viola. I’m going to be watching you. She lifted two fingers, pointing at her eyes and then pointed them at me.

I scrunched up my face, shrugging. My jacket squeaked like a wet sneaker.

Viola, let’s go.

Yeah okay, she said, and with one last angry glare, they both turned and glided down the hall.

More fruitcakes… just what I need. I headed toward my first class.

The rest of the day, I kept my head down and threw out my own version of Spanish when anyone tried to talk to me, which sounded lame, but it kept most of the people away. I hadn’t seen Van again, which kind of made me…I don’t know…feel gloomy. He was like the only normal person I had seen… well that was using the word normal pretty loosely but it was better than nothing. I even resorted to eating the candy he gave me, not because of what he said but because I was hungry. My lunch sucked.

The bell rang and I squeezed my way through a throng of people out of class. Once I made it through the cluster, I stopped and looked to my right, then my left, trying to figure out what direction to go in.

Hey… Switzerland…

I turned to see the guy that was in front of my car earlier, leaning against a locker. My name is Amber! I snapped before remembering I was supposed to be an import from another country.

His eyes crinkled at the corners and he laughed. I knew you could speak English. He unhitched himself from the locker and stepped in front of me.

Yeah, great, you figured out my big secret. I tried to shove past him. Sorry, I am all out of Bozo buttons.

You being smart with me…Switz…I mean, Amber?

No. I widened my eyes. Why would I do that? I poured on the sarcasm.

I don’t know. He shrugged. I guess you got a death wish... His eyes glittered strangely.

Freak! I stomped past.

A hand grabbed hold of my arm and flung me backward. My breath rushed from my lungs. It felt like I hit a brick wall.

I didn’t say you could leave. His warm breath hissed in my ear.

Irritation flared in me, overriding my common sense. Last time I checked, I didn’t need permission to go to class. Jerking my arm away, I stumbled forward over my feet. Especially by someone like you, I snapped. He looked surprised by my snappy retort. Honestly so was I. When did I get a set? I had to wonder.

Yeah, well … He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking unsure suddenly.

Well what? I glared at him. Actually, my heart was beating out of my chest and I felt like I was going to be sick. Someone stepped in my line of vision. All I saw was a neon green Superman logo.

Leave, he snarled…Now!

Before I could even look up, I was shoved down the hall. My body lifted off the floor and I was airborne before my feet came crashing back down. I didn’t even bother turning around. Keeping up my momentum, I ran all the way to class and only slowed long enough to get through the door. Once inside I came to a screeching halt. Everyone was staring at me, including the two sparklers, Viola and Cressida that had blocked my way earlier. Perfect.

They gave me a nasty glare as I made my way to the back of the room.

The teachers nasally voice rang out, Ms. Davis, how nice of you to join us.

I cringed. Now everyone would know I wasn’t a foreign import. Dropping my bag on the floor, I sat down and pressed my hand to my head like a visor to shield against the angry glares I was getting from just about every female in the class. As far as I could tell, they were all sparklers, except for two.

You’re a newbie, huh? asked a small blonde girl with a cherubic face sitting in the row of chairs beside me. She pursed her bow shaped lips and gave me the once over. Her face wasn’t the least bit sparkly but she was pretty pale, ghostly almost.

Guilty as charged, I said, and leaned down to pick up my notebook and pen from my bag along with the candy the guy had given me earlier.

Her cherubic face brightened and she laughed making her china blue eyes glitter. I’m Glinda.

I lifted my brows. Glinda?

Yeah, like Wizard of Oz.

Like the good witch. I opened up my notebook.

"Maaybee, she singsonged and traced a black bird tattoo on the inside of her left wrist. Don’t mind them, they’re just jealous."

I looked at the girls, all of whom looked like Victoria secret angel models. Of me? I dumped out a piece of candy and popped it in my mouth. Not likely.

Oh but they are. She shook her head adamantly, making her light blonde curls float around her face. "You smell… ripe."

My face flamed—I took ripe to mean (as in B.O.) Dipping my head, I sniffed my armpit—nope, just cheap deodorant…

She laughed again. Not that kind of ripe silly. You smell fresh, like …. She inhaled deeply and frowned. "What is that?" Her nose wrinkled.

What is what? I popped another Red Hot in my mouth. The faint smell of cinnamon filled the air.

She put her hand over her nose. Never mind, she mumbled and turned back around.

And that was the end of that.

I tossed three more Red Hots in my mouth—the kids here are whacked.

three

After school ended—this wasn’t soon enough for me. I pulled into a parking lot at the local Thriftway. There wasn’t much to choose from in town. The shops were lined up on either side of the main road. A Dazzled by Twilight shop took up most of the corner. I hadn’t actually been inside yet but could guess what was inside. Vampire teeth, garlic bulb necklaces that looked like they should be hanging from a kid’s window, like in the movie Salem’s Lot.

Last time I checked, Vampires weren’t supposed to sparkle. I mean, come on. They drank blood and the sun should kill them or at least hinder them. Bram Stoker had it right, or at the very least, Anne Rice. I hadn’t even read the Twilight books but I had heard enough about them to get the gist of what every girl was gobbing about. It was like Romeo and Juliet on a toothache-worthy sugar- high.

Grabbing hold of Peggy Sue’s handle, I climbed out into another downpour. Pulling my little kid slicker over my head, I ran through large puddles to the store.

Piled outside were stacks of carts. Grabbing one, I pushed it through the sliding doors. Once inside, the fresh smell of seafood and baked goods accosted me. It smelled pretty good since I was only burning Red Hots on an otherwise empty stomach. I filled up the cart with all the staples we needed from the refrigerator section and then headed on over to the canned isle. Loading up on Chunks-Sirloin-Burger-soup and Home-style-Chicken-Noodle, and I then moved over to the paper isle and got the much needed jumbo pack of toilet paper.

I figured since I was here I better stock up, that way my mom wouldn’t have an excuse to go out to the store and get lost for like, ever. The Wanderer by Dion, warbled out of the overhead speakers. I felt like I should say a doo whop or something. Still, it was a catchy tune and I beat my hands on the little plastic strip on the cart in time to the song, squeaking down another isle. This one had coffee and cereal. I grabbed some Captain Crunch and a box of breakfast bars.

A small blonde haired boy flew past and grabbed hold of a box of Cookie Crisp and then took off.

A frazzled looking woman, with a hat smashed over her short blonde hair tore after him. Harold, put that back!

Excuse me, She elbowed her way past me.

Run, Harold, I muttered.

Harold turned and looked right at me, like he heard me. Then he smiled. His eyes glinted strangely under the fluorescent lights, and he took off around the corner.

A shiver ran up my spine. I quickly pushed my over-full cart up to the front checkout stand. Unloading, I put everything on the black conveyer belt and then dug out my wallet from my backpack.

What, no Red Hots? A deep voice whispered from behind.

Two boxes of Red Hots landed on the conveyer belt.

I froze.

Ring those up too, would you, Sandy?

Sure, Vincent. She smiled, and slid her hand over the front of her apron.

Those aren’t… Sandy rang them up and dumped them in the bag before I could even finish. Turning around I looked right into the smiling green eyes of my car buddy. I thought your name was Van?

I lied. His eyes glittered. Instead of an uneasy feeling, my stomach flipped. He raked his hand through his wet hair, spattering water everywhere. Long time no see. He grinned wider.

Not long enough, I muttered and pulled out my credit card.

Wow. Still feisty I see.

Whatever. I ignored him or tried to—he was kind-of hard to ignore. He was standing really close. If I moved back just an inch, my back would be pressed up against his Superman logo. Once my groceries were in the cart, I paid and grabbed the handle, pushing it out of the store.

Hey, wait up.

I pushed the cart faster. The wheel kept spinning around, making it impossible to move fast.

When I got outside it was raining even harder. Heavy sheets of freezing rain sliced against me, slowing my progress.

Hey, what’s your hurry? he asked, walking backward into the parking lot.

Watch out! I yelled.

A huge black SUV barreled past. Vincent or Van jumped out of the way just in time as water splashed over us both.

"Donkeyhole!" I yelled after the retreating vehicle.

Calm down tiger. He laughed. It’s only water. He pressed his hands to the front of my cart, stopping my escape.

"What is wrong with you? I shoved my cart again. He didn’t budge. I’m getting soaked."

You may be sweet but I doubt you’ll melt. His lip curled up into a slow smile. Rivulets of water slid down his face and his hair hung limply above his broad shoulders.

Yeah, but I don’t want to catch pneumonia standing out in the middle of it, either.

Yeah, I guess that is a good point.

Gee thanks. He gave me a strange look and my belly did another funky flip thing. Can you move so I can get my groceries in my car?

He turned and looked at my car. What a piece of…

I glared at him, daring him to say more. It was hard though with a deluge of rain pelting me in my face.

Let me help. He stepped forward and opened my trunk.

I can manage. I lifted a bag and dropped it into the trunk. The cans of soup rolled across the bottom.

He put his hand on mine. A spark shot up my arm. I jerked it away. My thoughts jumbled. Not able to argue, let alone think straight, I let him help me unload the groceries into my car. Slamming my trunk down, I pushed past my cart, unlocked the door, and climbed in. The passenger side of my car opened and he slid inside.

What are you doing?

He slammed the door shut, turned toward me, and raked his hand through his hair. I … His eyes locked on mine. With the rain falling heavily, closing us safely inside the car, it felt like we were in our own little world. It felt a bit unreal.

Let me guess. I held up my hand when he tried to speak. You need a place to hide out from the aliens that are descending on us.

Funny. He smirked at me. I wanted to talk to you.

Have you heard of a phone?

He shrugged. I don’t know your number.

And that’s the way it will stay.

Such hostility, and here I thought we were becoming friends.

"Really, and do you often stalk your friends in the grocery store and throw them down the hallway.

Oh, so you saw me?

Yes.

How? he asked.

Your t-shirt is kind of hard to miss.

Oh right. He shook his head. It glows in the dark too.

Wow…really? I feigned interest.

Yeah, it does. He smoothed his hand over his chest. It unleashes my super powers when I wear it.

My eyes boggled.

You aren’t the only smartass. His lips twitched.

I don’t care. Even as I said it, I smiled back at him. It was kind-of hard not to. He was pretty cute.

So are you going to give me a ride home?

No.

You wound me with your cold words. He pressed his hand to his chest theatrically.

What are you, Shakespeare?

Parting from you will be such sweet sorrow, he said.

Oh stop! I laughed.

She laughs. He lifted his brow.

Yes, she does when something is funny.

Come on, can’t you give me a ride? He lowered his lashes and my stomach swirled.

How’d you get here?

I caught a ride.

Where did your ride go?

Back to hell, I guess. He winked at me.

A shiver of unease slid up my back.

His lips curled into a slow smile. Have you heard of a joke?

Yes.

Then why aren’t you laughing?

Someone needs to say something funny in order for me to do that.

That hurts. He gave me a wounded look.

I think you’ll survive.

He grinned. I like you.

That took me off guard. Um…thanks…I guess. I frowned out my window.

Leaning forward, he placed his finger under my chin and turned my face towards his. Have I rendered you speechless with my breathy proclamations? His gaze settled on my lips, his fingers gently stroked my jaw.

Holding my breath, I stared at his full lips—my heart suddenly pounding. Was he going to kiss me? My mind reeled. I’d never been kissed… well, not a real kiss. I was dared to kiss Timothy Durant in middle school but that didn’t count. It was a dare, after all and it was not memorable either. He inhaled my face.

A loud crash sounded and my car vibrated.

I jumped in the seat and held my hand to my raging heart. What was that?

Stay here! He jumped out of the car and slammed the door.

The rain was coming down so heavily it was a blurry curtain on my windshield, making it impossible to see outside. Part of me wanted to turn on the car and put the pedal to the medal and get the heck outta dodge but another part was worried about Van or Vincent—I wasn’t sure what his real name was. Reaching forward, I opened up my glove box and pulled out my little Taser. I held it up, prepared to zap the crap out of someone. My passenger door swung open…

Whoa! He held up his hands.

I blinked stupidly, my heart raging.

It was just your cart…the wind, he explained hastily.

Oh. Feeling stupid, I lowered the Taser.

What were you going to do with that? He eyed my Taser.

I don’t know…help you. I shrugged.

I knew it. He grinned.

What?

You do like me.

My heart skipped a beat. "Puhleeze."

His eyes glittered. Where were we?

You were going to get out of my car and go home.

"So I guess you’re not giving me a ride then and here I was going to