the ponder of fish / volturi kings.

chapter one.

august 18, 2004.

Forks seemed as mournful as usual. The pattering rain hitting against the roof of your attic bedroom was an old and familiar sound. When the beginning of the morning, maybe the latest of the night arrived, the sky cried with you as you awoke with gasping breaths.

Your hand raised to clutch at the pain stretched against your eye, but you thought better of it. With tense breaths you waited it out, the feeling slashing through your skull in a haunting echo. It took a few moments for the burning to slow down into a dull ache, the blurriness in your eye making your head throb.

Pushing the covers away from your legs, you leaned over and turned on the lamp next to your bed.

Unsurprisingly, you ripped open the scar again in your sleep.  Bloodstained your pillowcase and you ripped it off, relieved to see it didn't make it through to the pillow this time.

Tossing it off to the side, you took a few more deep gasps of air, wincing as an expression you made pulled on your injury.

As quietly as you can, you change your clothes and wash up in the bathroom, wandering downstairs after you hear Charlie moving around.

With slow steps, you enter the kitchen, spotting him sipping a cup of coffee at the table with the newspaper half unfolded in his hands. "Good morning." You greet, voice rough with sleep. Charlie only grunts back.

Turning to the fridge, you peer in and search for something appetizing. "Do you want anything?" You ask, reaching for the eggs and bacon.

"Eggs." he says, and you turn to him, waiting for it, "Bacon."

He never changes. You enjoy the unending consistency from him. It was nice when you spent every other day running through leaves and bugs. You pull out a pan and grab an egg, cracking it on the side of the pan.

"How's your stuff doing, kid?" He starts almost quietly, "Is it doing alright?"

You flip an egg, feigning nonchalance. "Yeah, 'course."

Charlie is silent for a moment before he sets down his cup on the table. "You sure? It's not hurting again, is it?"

Panicking, you stare at the egg with vengeance. Cook faster, cook faster. "Not any more than usual, chief." Your voice wavers and you hope he doesn't notice.

It's usually the odd month or two when he asks about it, but you must've looked rough for him to ask twice this month.

You scoop the egg off the frying pan and turn to crack another. You can see his eyebrows furrow in the corner of your eye and you let out a breath that was held tight in your chest.

"Do I need to pick up any pain meds? I can run back here before going down to the station."

"I'm alright, dad, really." You smile and hope it's convincing, splitting the food onto two plates and handing him one.  He takes it with a nod and serious eyes.

"Alright." He murmurs, and you sit in silence before he finishes and stands, rinsing his dishes in the sink. You follow suit and grab your school bag after.

"You're walking today?" Charlie calls after you as you head to your shoes at the front door. He follows you and gives you a small smile. "Gonna be alright at school?"

You grin up at him, despite how much it hurts to do so. "Yeah, you gonna be alright at the station?" Charlie glances at you with crinkled eyes as he shrugs on his coat.

"Yeah, if Dennis does his damn job." Charlie grins back at you and tugs your coat off the hanger. "Wear your coat, kid, dunno if it's gonna clear up today." You slide it on and start walking out the front door.

"See you later!" You call as you turn down the sidewalk, Charlie waving back at you as he unlocks his car.

You laugh happily as a cop car speeds past you, leaving you in the dust.

__

Your backpack hangs heavily on your shoulders as you push your way out of your final morning class. The halls are crowded, students practically yelling at each other when you successfully make it to the cafeteria. The line is long, and the bored sophomores behind you clank their trays against the wall, a loud, reverberated noise that makes your head pound.

"Eric, there's no way-"

"Shhh! Sh! Stop it, Mike!"

"-You really think Alice is-"

"I'm going to kill you."

"-Hotter than Rosalie. None." 

"You're dead Michael Newton!" 

The two boys jumped at each other in sync, the blonde boy shoving you over onto the floor, trays tumbling to the ground in chaos. 

The hit makes you yelp and the other boy, Eric, rushes to get up. "So sorry! Are you ok?" He asks, voice pitched up far too high. A small grumble leaves your mouth as you pull yourself up, Mike still grinning wildly as he fixes his spiked-up hair. 

"Yeah," you say tiredly, "I'm good." 

Tray still in hand, Eric smacks the plastic to Mike's forehead in revenge. "Say sorry." He reprimands and Mike practically wobbles to stand straight.

"I'm really sorry about that, um, wait a minute," Mike pauses as he leans in closer to your face with invasive blue eyes, and your mouth twitches into a grimace. "Aren't you that junior who fought off a bear?" 

You open your mouth to answer, but your saving grace comes around the corner, in full speed only to skid at your side. 

"Hey, Mike! What's going on?" Jessica Stanley says, brown hair bouncing in curls behind her as she takes rapid glances between the side of your face and Mike's. Her unsaid assumption that you and Mike were just flirting does not go unnoticed, so you take multiple steps back, hoping to avoid any more contact than necessary. 

"Hey Jess, nothing much, just bumped into a junior. We were talking about the Cullens." Mike says in the most inconveniently vague way possible, dropping the last part of the sentence into a whisper. Jessica takes a more pointed look at your face and makes it a couple of steps towards Mike. 

"Oh, nice to meet you!" A tiny grin makes its way onto her face. "Have you met any of the Cullens yet?" She says to you. You draw a blank and lightly shrug.

Jessica's face was shrouded in excitement at the topic. You internally groan. So much for being your 'saving grace'. You bite.

"The Cullens?"

authors note:

   is this chapter is mostly charlie appreciation? yes. yes, it is.