sparks fly~ paul lahote

ⅰ. goodbye london, hello forks

When a shiny black jeep pulled into the Forks High parking lot, heads turned. It wasn't a familiar car, and the girl that stepped out of it wasn't familiar either. The students whispered and the gossip started up immediately, but the girl was used to this, she didn't mind anymore.

Unbeknownst to them, Diana could hear every word spoken. She ignored the humans, something that had gotten easier over the years, and made her way to the office. She had waited a few months to move to Forks, per Edward's suggestion. His reasoning was to let this Isabella girl get used to him not being there. Diana didn't tell her brother that this wasn't how heartbreak worked, but he was going through it too, she had to respect that he would do things whatever way he felt most possible.

So now, three months later, here she was. Diana walked through the halls of the high school, turning heads and raising questions as she went. This was her first day at a human high school in almost 40 years and she couldn't bring herself to smile about it. She wasn't here for her benefit and she most definitely wasn't here for touristy purposes.

But, Edward was right, she owed him this much, so she wouldn't complain. But, that didn't help the feeling of loneliness that clouded her heart as she realized she was here to protect her brother's soulmate when he didn't care to do the same. When he didn't care at all that her mate was gone- he didn't even ask about Christopher.

Diana didn't let herself think this way for long though, as she remembered her mother always said: Never do to others, what they did to you.

She let out a breath, her mother's voice still humming in her ears. The girl shook herself of the depression and decided to try for him, for her brother. And then, without more dread, she entered the front office and spoke to the lady at the desk.

"You must be new," the woman sighed. She was old and wearing a thick purple sweater, her long gray hair tied into a tight knot.

Diana hiked her crossbody bag higher on her shoulder, then she smiled a tight-lipped grin and nodded, "I'm Diana Masen, my mom called a few weeks ago. We were told there shouldn't be a problem with my enrollment," she said, running her hands through her wild, honey-like, bronze hair.

The desk lady, whose name tag read 'Lisa', nodded and handed Diana a clipboard and a small stack of slips, "Fill these forms out and return them to me for filing, then take these" she sighed, gesturing to the slips, "-and be sure to have your teachers sign them. You can return them to me at the end of the day."

Diana nodded and took a seat. Filling out the papers made her slightly anxious, she couldn't just put anything down for her parents or phone number or birthdate. She had to have a backup plan. So, she wrote her own phone number for her emergency contact; she wrote her mother and father's name, Elizabeth and Edward Masen; and for her birthdate, she simply wrote June 20th, 1990.

Not much later, Diana was on her way to biology. She bumped into a boy, named Eric, and through barely 45 seconds of conversation she found that he was... something else to say the least. She didn't mind though, his outgoing, bubbly personality made her feel like she had a friend. And the boy happily chatted Diana's ear off as he led her to the biology classroom.

"Hey! Mr. Molina! I brought you a present," he announced, gesturing to Diana. She had barely brushed through her wild, bronze hair, thrown on a sweater, skinny jeans, and a pair of ankle boots before running out of her house an hour earlier. Still, she had managed to leave looking like a goddess.

She strode over to his desk, confidently ignoring the eyes of her peers, and handed her papers to the teacher, Mr. Molina. The man smiled happily, he too, seemed to produce the upbeat energy that Eric had earlier. Diana was sure that'd become annoying fairly quickly.

"Ah, you must be Ms. Masen, welcome! I sincerely hope you enjoy it here in Forks, and if not, at least here in my classroom," he chuckled. He pulled out a pen and signed at the bottom of one of her slips, simply stating that she had indeed attended his class, then handed the paper back to her.

Diana laughed lightly, to not seem as deflated as she felt, "I'm sure I will, thank you."

Mr. Molina stood and addressed the classroom, "Class? This is our new student, Diana Masen."

"Ms. Masen, there's an open seat next to Ms. Swan, right back there." The teacher pointed her in the direction of a shy-looking brunette, the one she had happened to be looking for. Diana hesitated, then nodded her thanks, and made her way to the table.

She took a seat and instantly regretted not feeding on something a little stronger than deer. She took a deep breath and held it. Edward had been right, Bella was probably the most decadent smelling person Diana had ever met.

She clenched her fists, You can do this. She told herself, Your brother will kill you if you eat his soulmate. She tried to remind herself how in love her brother sounded, even over the phone... she could tell how much pain he was in.

So Diana swallowed, nodded to herself in determination, and turned to Bella, the girl had pained brown eyes, like there was once a spark that died out, "I'd introduce myself, but Mr. Molina helped me out there," Diana said, trying to seem easygoing.

Bella tried to force a laugh but it came out more like a cough, "I'm Bella."

Diana smiled, "Pleased to meet you, Bella."

They shook hands and Bella paused. She was shocked at how warm Diana's hand was. The girl looked cold but she wasn't. She looked pale, too, but not as pale as the vampires she had met. Still, something stirred in Bella. She felt as though, something didn't quite sit right. It was almost like her mind was familiar with this girl, subconsciously.

Diana had started removing a book and notepad from her bag, and she couldn't help but glance at the brunette, who still stared at her inquisitively. Bella looked away immediately, but Diana knew she didn't want to. So, she tried again to make easy conversation.

"I'm not a fan of this weather," she chuckled, faking a sudden shiver. Bella looked up at her, hesitation was evident on her face. She bit her lip, then she smiled slightly, "Finally, someone gets it!"

Diana laughed, "Where'd you come from then?"

"Arizona, you?" Bella asked. She had sudden determination to hold onto this new person, she wanted to be friends with her.

Diana was relieved, the conversation flowed easily from then on. The two got along magnificently, and after a few classes, Diana could see why Edward was in love.