𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠¹| 𝙏𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 ✓

II.II

A/N: Before this chapter begins, I just want to say, thank you so much for 1k views!! It gives me more motivation to keep writing this book and see it flourish. I hope you guys are enjoying it so far and feel free to leave your thoughts and predictions in the comments. ;))   -HS.*

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Alice surprised Bella with a dress this morning, of course, she's gonna love it but Alice told her not to open it till tonight so now Lucine was sitting in math class thinking about how she was going to deal with Bella's depressive episode that was going to happen soon.

She let out a sigh as she rubbed her temples at the headache it was causing her. Emmett, who now sat next to her, nudged her slightly to get her attention. "You okay?" He whispered, not wanting to get the teacher's attention. Thankfully they sat near the back of the classroom. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just these damn equations." She chuckled at her attempt at a lie. He knew it was a lie too but just let it slide knowing she wouldn't want to open up about it so, he went along with it and chuckled too.

It wasn't just the depressive episode that she was worried about, Bella was going to the Cullen's home again tonight to have dinner. Lucine knew that this was going to lead to it all. She'd wished to go but she knew that this had to be between Bella and them. Of course, Jasper invited her but she knew better. She didn't want to feel like an intruder.

Class ended which meant it was time for P.E. to 'interrogate' her sister on how she felt about tonight. Emmett walked her to the locker room since his class was near it anyways. Some students still stared as they walked by for multiple reasons. The two most popular ones though were, one: Emmett was a big guy, impressively big, and two, the Cullen's didn't hang out with anybody that wasn't each other. In some twisted way, it made the sisters feel somewhat special.

As they walked down the hall, Emmett spoke, "Hey, you should probably give Jasper a call or something sometime, he's been kind of worried about you since the whole James incident." She flinched slightly at the mention of his name but thankfully it went unnoticed. "I know, I've been meaning to talk to him but we've all just been busy with things." He nodded understanding.

It took, what felt like, forever for her to heal and her dad practically forbade her from leaving the house throughout almost the entire healing process.

"If anything, you're welcome to come to dinner tonight with Bella, you're part of the family now since you and Rosalie are practically inseparable." They laughed lightly.

During her healing process, Rosalie visited the Swan residency often to the point that Charlie wouldn't even flinch when she passed him on the stairs.

"I know that and I appreciate the invite but I think tonight should really be about you guys getting to know Bella and understanding just how much Edward cares about her."

"Well, if she's anything like you then I bet we're all gonna love her." Lucine chuckled as they reached the locker rooms. "She's great, I promise. Just a little shy and awkward sometimes." He nodded making a mental note for tonight. They said their goodbyes and proceeded to their respective classes.

***

"So," She started as she tossed the ball to Bella. They were playing basketball this week. "Are you excited for tonight?" Bella looked at her sister for a second before tossing the ball to someone else.

"I'm more nervous than excited if that's what you mean." Lucine chuckled. The P.E. teacher blew their whistle signaling that they could take a quick break. They took a seat on the bleachers. "Why are you nervous? They're really nice." She said, hoping that it would settle some of her sister's worries.

Bella ran a hand through her hair as she sighed. "I know they are but what if they don't like me? I know I've already met them a few times but this time we won't be running away from something. We're gonna be seated together practically forced to talk about myself." Her leg started bouncing up and down rapidly as she started thinking of all the possibilities.

Lucine put her hand on her knee to try and stop it from bouncing. "Bells, trust me when I tell you that they'll love you. Esme and Carlisle already like you. You and Alice are practically best friends at this point," Bella laughed a bit at this knowing that she's spent quite a bit of time with her these past few months. "And Jasper and Emmett like you too." She looked at her sister with a reassuring smile as she held her hands.

"You'll be okay Bells. Tonight with be okay. So, just breathe and I'll help you get ready tonight." She laughed as Lucine gave her a thumbs up and a wide smile. "Okay okay." She said as she stood with the blowing of the P.E. teacher's whistle.

***

Music played in the background as Lucine did Bella's hair. She didn't curl it as much as she did for prom.

Bella loved the green dress just like Alice predicted. She passed her a hair band to add to the whole look.

"You look great." Lucine stood behind her in the mirror as she laid her chin on her shoulder, smiling at her as Bella caressed her arm trying to soothe her nerves. "Of course, I was dressed and styled by stylist extraordinaire, Lucine Swan." She did a small bow making Bella laugh.

Bella took a seat on the edge of her bed as she let out a shaky breath. Lucine sat next to her as Bella leaned her head against her shoulder. "I know you said everything is going to be okay but I can't help to be nervous." Lucine smiled even though she couldn't see it.

"It's normal to be nervous. I mean, you are going into a house full of vampires." They laughed, which helped Bella's nervous calm down a bit. They heard the front door open and Charlie talking to Edward downstairs. They stood up and hugged before going downstairs.

"Have fun and don't forget to tell me how it went when you get home." Bella chuckled as she left with Edward.

Charlie looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Why didn't you go with them? I thought you were close with the Cullen kids?" She shrugged as she went to the kitchen to get some water, Charlie following. "I just thought it'd be better if she went alone, that way they could get to know her better." He nodded not pushing the subject.

Lucine settled into bed that night with her journal, writing everything down that would happen in the following months.