juliet swan could barely recall a day in her life where she wasn't connected to the hip of her best friend, leah clearwater. life was simple, repetitive, and quiet-just the way juliet liked it.
when her distant twin sister bella moves to forks at th...
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"How often do you think about dying?" The question made Leah look up. Juliet was on her left, stretched out on Leah's bed with her head resting on a pillow in Leah's open window. The rain beat hard and heavy on La Push, the drops being so big that it was hard to see much of anything. Juliet freed her arm from under her blanket, resting it on the windowsill and let the rain beat on her hand.
"Not a lot." Leah said. "Why?"
"Dunno." Juliet rolled over, now staring up at the ceiling. "I was thinking about that poem I gave you, Annabel Lee."
"My teacher was honestly kinda impressed I'd picked such a 'rare poem'." Leah snorted. "So thanks for that. But what about it?"
"I was reading it this morning at work..." Juliet frowned. "I was reading a lot of Poe, actually. And I realized that all of his works were about death."
"Well yeah, isn't that why everyone thinks he's so creepy?" Leah raised her eyebrows.
"I guess, but I'd never really thought about it." Juliet sat up, her arm now pulled inside. "I just...you have to wonder, you know? About someone like that. Someone who could have that much darkness inside, and channel it into such beautifully grim art. It's interesting, I guess, and it kinda lends some credence to the idea that you have to be tortured to be an artist."
"Just because one guy wrote about death all the time doesn't mean you have to be in pain to make art." They sat in silence for a moment, before Juliet nodded.
"You're probably right." She laid back down, head on the windowsill and arm out the window.
"What's got you so morbid today?" Leah frowned. "You're usually so excited when it rains."
"I dunno, I guess I'm just having a down day." Juliet shrugged. "I can't put my finger on it, though. Something just feels so...off."
"What do you mean?" Leah was beginning to worry if she was actually okay or not.
"Don't worry about it." Julie brushed it off. "Come on, read me your essay. I wanna hear it." The smile had returned to Juliet's face as she looked back at Leah.
"Fine."
———
"Hey, can I talk to you?" Juliet looked up from her homework, seeing Bella standing in her doorway.
"Yeah, sure." Bella stepped inside, shutting the door and sitting on the edge of Juliet's bed. "What's up?"
"So I just...I can't really talk to Charlie about this, and I don't think Renee'll get it." Bella shrugged. "I think I'm dating Edward Cullen."
"You think?" Juliet raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, he didn't ask me out-but you know...he kind of just like, implied we already were." Bella rambled. "And I really, really like him. No, more like love him. And I need to know if I'm being crazy or not for thinking that." Juliet thought for a moment.
"I mean, haven't you been into him for a while, anyway?" Juliet asked, though she already knew the answer. Juliet and Bella's conversations were usually limited to meal times, though every few weeks, Bella would come to Juliet-usually talking about Edward. Bella nodded quickly. "Well, then I don't think so. I mean, love at first sight and all that, right? Besides, I think everyone's relationships develop differently. Just...maybe don't tell him that you love him just yet. It might freak him out."
"Course." Juliet smiled, turning back to her homework. Bella had made it as far as the door before she realized that she only ever talked to Juliet when she had a problem, so she turned back around.
"Hey, uh, you're friends with Jacob Black right?" Juliet looked up, nodding. "I met him, at the beach on Saturday. He seems pretty cool."
"I'm sure to an outsider, he does." Juliet laughed. "Jake's a nerd, I hope he didn't say anything weird to you."
"No, no." Bella shook her head. "I mean, he did tell me those Quileute legends. The ones about the wolves and the cold ones."
"Those?" Juliet snorted lightly. "He was just trying to freak you out, Bella, don't let him get to you. It'll make him far to happy." Bella laughed lightly.
"So..." Bella trailed off. "Do you have a boyfriend? Or like, are you interested in anyone? The boys Jacob was with were pretty attractive."
"Ha, good joke Bella." Juliet laughed lightly, shaking her head. "Nope. Sorry to report that I've got nothin'."
"Keep me updated?" Bella asked, and Juliet nodded.
"Sure." She half turned back to her work as Bella put her hand on the doorknob. "Don't hold your breath." Bella let out a small laugh before slipping out of the room.
———
"Jake, Billy!" Juliet smiled, shrugging off her wet jacket. The Mariners game was playing, with Billy, Jake, Charlie and, very surprisingly, Bella all sitting around the living room with their eyes glued to the tv. "It's nice to see you two, finally. Been a while since you came up."
"It's good to see you again, Juliet." Billy greeted. "I was starting to wonder if you were avoiding us."
"Between school and work, I'm sure my dad feels the same." She chuckled. "Thanks for letting me use your garage for my project, by the way. Saved me a lot of clean up here."
"Anytime." Billy nodded. The commercials ended, and his focus returned to the game. She watched for a few minutes before wandering into the kitchen, Jake following a few seconds later.
"Hey man." She said as they fist bumped. "So, stuck with chauffeur duties for the evening?"
"When am I not?" Jake said, leaning again the counter as she dug through the cupboards. "How was work?"
"So slow." She groaned. "Honestly, I could've slept all day and it barely would've made a difference."
"Ah, if only I'd known. I would've come to entertain you." He joked.
"If only." She nodded, settling on a bowl of cereal as a snack. "Want any?" Jake nodded, quickly reaching over her to grab a bowl. "I could've done that."
"And I'm taller, it took less time." He said, moving past her to grab the milk from the fridge. She punched his arm as she took the milk from his hands, causing him to groan-more so in annoyance than pain. "Hey, Quil and Embry wanna ditch on Wednesday and go to First after lunch." Jake had dropped his voice to just louder than a whisper. "It's supposed to be super sunny."
"Well, if it is, count me in." She nodded. "And if it isn't, still count me in. Wednesday is environmental science day, and if I miss the test I get to retake it whenever I want-I need another week or two to study."
"Sweet." Jake smiled. "I think Quil mentioned building a fort out of driftwood and rocks."
