It's been a year since Tatum and her family moved to Forks and the only way to celebrate it is with a whole bunch of unneeded drama. But then again, who doesn't like a little bit of drama?
An unknown stalker, reunited best friend, a loving nephew...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Walking into school, Tatum was ready to seize the day. But, Alice had ruined her chances of going to the library before the bell rang. The pixie vampire had grabbed Tatum by the flannel sleeve and dragged her over to the silver Volvo. Right to Edward and Bella, where they were canoodling.
"Save me, they've been at it since he picked her up," Alice mutters, earning a glare from the heightened-hearing Edward. "I know you heard me, Ed, I just don't care."
Tatum chuckles, walking side by side with Alice the rest of the way to the car. She internally hesitates when Bella turns to look at Tatum. But she retracts when the look on the brunette's face was one of sorrow and sadness.
"Tatum, uh, I want to apologize for the way I reacted back at my house," Bella says, pityingly. She wasn't pitying herself, she was pitying the way she had treated Tatum. "Also, your self-worth talk was really helpful."
"Yeah, she even snapped at me when we argued the other day," Edward butts in with a smirk. He leans against his car. "Also, I'm sorry for dragging you into all of this by not thinking anything through. It wasn't the best way to do things."
"Oh no, what you did was downright stupid," Tatum says, nodding her head while putting on a serious face. She turns to Alice and Bella, "We can all agree that Edward was being stupid, right?"
"I thought we already clarified that?" Alice roasts, slyly winking at her brother.
"Hey, I came here for useless education. Not to be attacked," Edward says, defending himself.
"It was nice talking to you losers, but I have a library book that I need to return and a middle-aged Chinese man that's about to chew my head off," Tatum says, waving goodbye as she walks to the school. "Now, I just have to make sure I make it to first period alive."
●○●
As Tatum walked into the cafeteria, she noticed that she was being flagged down by Bella and Alice. The two, plus Edward, were sitting at a table with Jess, Angela, Lauren, Mike, Eric, and Tyler. Tatum was incredibly thankful in that moment that Uriah Call had graduated the previous year. She heaves a joking sigh, making Alice giggle before joining the at the table. She had a seat saved between Angela and Alice.
"Okay you guys, there's, like, a month before we all graduate and I am not ready to make the valedictorian speech," Jess says, overdramatically of course. "Like, Principal Meyers never gave me something to just go off of!"
"I just based mine off of the 'welcoming arms of FHS' and how 'the teachers have taught me things about life that I will never forget'." Tatum uses air quotations sarcastically before dropping them once she sees the shocked look on Jess's face.
"You're the other valedictorian?!" she asks in a slightly shrill voice. She wasn't upset, more confused.
"Uh, yeah. There're four of us, Stanley. We all have to give speeches," Tatum breaks the news to the girl. "But, hey, now we can group up and check our speeches together."
"Yeah, I guess so," Jess says, defeated but also hopeful. She wasn't the most special, but she wasn't totally clueless now. "Okay, who are the three others?"
"Uh, Damon Iquan, Oliver Webber, and Jason Cooper," Tatum says, relaxing in the chair. She was happy no one had asked about Jasper.
"I'm sorry, but I gotta ask," She had spoken too soon when Mike speaks. "Wh...what's going on with you and Hale?"
"Uh, Rosalie and I are still friends, anyways-"
"No, uh, the male twin. J-Jasper? And what happened between you and Keith Wendall?" Mike asks again. Edward was trying to hide his smirk and Alice had become tense.
"Oh, Keith and I are no longer friends. Jasper and I are going steady-"
"Are you two officially dating?" Eric steps in. His behavior turns from curious to apologetic quickly. "I'm sorry if that's pushy. Don't answer it."
"Thanks-" the image of Eric's mom's grave flashes in her mind, making Edward look at her in shock. The family didn't know she knew. "Thank you for not being insensitive, Eric."
"Mike, man, she called you out," Tyler hints to the insensitive, horny teenage boy. "Badass."
Tatum simply smiles at the compliment and looks to Alice. The latter had that look in her eyes. It was a vision. Tatum thinks of what to do and sticks to just mentally yelling at Edward to look at his sister. Apparently, mentally shouting 'butthole' can make Edward flinch.
Alice reaches for Tatum's hand with a soft smile. "You've got a rough patch before the best part."
