DOWN FOR THE RIDE [TWILIGHT]

4 | SELF-AWARE

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MEETING THE REST OF THE CULLEN SIBLINGS FELT LIKE A STRANGE, OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCE. It was one thing to see them from afar, or individually— but sitting at their lunch table with them really showed Thea that, physically, none of them had flaws. They were all impossibly beautiful and, fuck, Thea was really resisting the urge to ask them what kind of moisturizer they used. (She wasn't entirely sure that was the kind of question you randomly ask people that you just met, after all.) She was also a bit concerned that little Alice Cullen might be anemic, or maybe she was getting sick— the cheerful girl had wrapped Thea up in a hug when she introduced herself, and Thea had actually shivered due to how cold the girl was.

"Alice, would you like to use my sweater?" Edward asked his sister suddenly. "You seem a bit cold." He tilted his head toward Thea slightly, and Alice understood what he was getting at.

"Thanks, but it doesn't match my outfit," she responded matter-of-factly.

"Alice would rather freeze than compromise her fashion sense," Emmett explained to Thea, who was looking at the brunette in surprise. Thea appreciated a decent fashion sense herself, but she would wear a brown potato sack if she needed to— so long as it meant she wasn't freezing.

Before Thea could respond to Emmett, Alice turned toward the girl with a grin. "How are you liking Forks, Thea?"

She shrugged. "It's not so bad."

Rosalie snorted. "Please. It's terrible here," she disagreed. "It rains constantly, and everyone always looks so depressed."

"Yeah, but my family didn't move here for the weather or the town's mental health." Thea fiddled with the wrapping on her bottled water as she glanced at the clock; Cameron should have been finishing up with his appointment with Dr. Cullen around then. She wondered how it had gone, but wouldn't know until she got home. Thea didn't want to text her brother and bug him, since she knew he hadn't felt very well that morning. And, well— she also didn't want to text her mother, who was always a hundred times more overbearing on Cameron's appointment days.

"Right, Cameron mentioned he's actually a new patient of Carlisle's," Alice said with a nod. At Thea's confused expression, she added, "Dr. Cullen is our adoptive father, but we call him Carlisle. Anyway— Rose and I have seventh period Economics with Cameron, he mentioned it to us a few days ago."

"Oh." Thea hadn't even known he had another period with Rosalie, or that Alice was in it too. Then again, she hadn't asked. As much as she didn't like to pry, Cameron didn't like to share. Most of the time, it was just because he didn't have the energy for unnecessary conversations.