In All Your Vibrant Youth | Rosalie Hale

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 9 - ᴀ ɴᴇᴡ ꜱᴛᴜᴅᴇɴᴛ

Small town living did not lead to a particularly exciting life. The small town of Forks rarely saw any change. While the Cullens had moved into the area over two years ago, they were still the town's newest residents. The mystic around the family had not lessened among their classmates. They were a part of life, but they did not fit in. The Cullens preferred this. No one was close enough to notice any of the quirks that could lead to their ultimate discovery. Lily, however, knew this was unsustainable. While her siblings were content with this development, she knew that if she wanted to adjust to life without them, she needed to socialize more.

Her growing independence helped with this. The fact that she only shared three periods with either Edward or Alice helped. It forced her to look outside her family for group projects and conversations.

Her social media presence created a whole new way for her to reach out to others. While only Micheal, Amber, and Becca followed her immediately, soon most of the small high school was. Once her teammates found out about the account, she knew the rest of the school was soon to follow. She wasn't naive to think that the popularity was a reflection of her own status. Her classmates were still desperate for information about her attractive family. To this date, her most liked photos were the ones to cause the most controversy. One was of Jasper and Alice deep in the forest, too far away to capture their faces, but it was obvious who the two people were. The other was of Emmett and Lily. Emmett had thrown her over her shoulder to carry her into the house after a volleyball game. You could see his impressive figure from the back while Lily's face was visibly laughing. Esme, not one to miss a moment between her children, snapped the photo.

But the biggest help to this growing divide between the family was Lily's car. Rosalie had spent weeks working on it. Improving driving capability. Improving safety features. Finally, Lily had stepped in and asked how much work was left. Lacking a suitable response, Rosalie was forced to relinquish her hold over the vehicle. Lily immediately started driving herself to school. No longer reliant on her siblings, she was free to visit anyone and anywhere she wanted.

Which is how Lily found herself waking up early and heading out to her car almost half an hour earlier than standard. She saw her family split between the family room and kitchen.

"And where do you think you're going?" Alice's light voice asked as her sister moved over to stand next to her.

"I promised Micheal I would give him a lift this morning. His brother's car broke down, and his parents offered his. No reason for him to ride the bus."

"Really Lily. Micheal?" Rose's annoyance was not masked as well as she hoped.

Lily turned to her spot on the ledge. "Yes, Rose. Micheal. You've known him for two years. " She rolled her eyes at the vampire.

Wanting to end the conversation, she turned back towards the kitchen where Emmett, Jasper, and Esme were congregated. Lily took in Emmett's crestfallen appearance, Esme's annoyance, and Jasper smugness and concluded one thing, "So how was that fight, Jasper?"

He smirks lightly, "Easy." Lily laughs as Esme turns to look at her disappointed. She stops and looks at her largest sibling, "You know that most people would not consider a bag of eggs lunch, right? That's weird"

"All food is weird, Lil. Besides, it's easy."

"Whatever you say. I'm heading out."

"Wait, Lily," her mother's voice stops her, "I didn't expect you so soon. Let me throw something together for lunch."

"It's fine, mom. I'll just buy something at school."

"Really? Maybe I can send it with Emmett. You all still sit together, right?"