Kal arrived at Forks High early for the first time since his enrollment. The sky was still slate gray, mist hanging low over the pine-lined parking lot like a breath held too long.
He had decided the night before to follow a strategy of observation. Until he could ascertain the true nature of the Cullens — the vampires — he could not afford to place his trust in them.
His problem, however, was he didn't actually know who the Cullens were. He had only spent a cumulative four days at Forks High so far. Not to mention that for ninety percent of that time he was in a generated trial mindscape.
He had always been the last person to arrive in the mornings — slipping in just as the shrill rings of the bell began — and the first to leave at the end of the day, unwilling to 'waste' time at the high school, when he could be doing better things. Learning from Jor-El, flying to Seattle for the night.
He'd never even visited the cafeteria until the day before, for God's sake. In fact, until yesterday, the only person Kal would've remembered off the top of his head was Jessica Stanley.
Kal regretted not 'wasting' his time now. He should've listened to Jessica's ramblings, and sat with her in the cafeteria, letting her tell him vital information.
Because now? Now, Kal was blind to who could potentially be his enemies.
'Thank God it's not too late though.' he assured himself, 'They don't suspect me — they can't — I've yet to do anything that would raise suspicion. I can still learn about them before they learn about me.'
Kal had come early for one reason: to finally observe the Cullens. All he'd managed until now was Edward. The rest of the family were unknowns— never having crossed his path directly. It had been a mistake not paying attention.
'That ends today.'
But this—this was not what he'd anticipated.
"Mr. Kent," came a voice behind him, warm and a little surprised.
Kal turned to see a man in his late thirties with soft, slightly disheveled features, peacoat dusted with rain. Mr. Molina, his biology teacher. He gave him that pitious look that Kal had grown too used to seeing, and placed a hand gently on Kal's shoulder. The kind of gesture people used when they thought you were made of glass.
"I'm glad you could join us," Molina said. "You're just in time."
Kal blinked. "Join you for what?"
Molina smiled, already pulling a stapled packet from his satchel. "Field trip. All four Junior biology classes are heading to a greenhouse about an hour North. Just outside Port Angeles. Composting, detritivores, all that messy stuff. It's hands-on. You'll love it."
He handed Kal the workbook, the cover stamped with the district seal and smudged with damp fingerprints.
"I... see," Kal said. He hadn't planned for this. But if the Cullens were here today, then this trip gave him a better opportunity than a day of awkward hallway tailing ever could. He scanned the buses.
That's when he saw them.
Five students, standing apart from the rest—almost statuesque in their stillness. A tall, reddish-brown-haired boy with features fitting a model — Edward. Next to him, a statuesque blonde with an effortless braid, elegant and aloof. Another girl beside her, brunette with a dark ponytail, arms crossed as she surveyed the crowd with cool precision. Two boys, equally pale, equally graceful. One huge, like a towering bear, the other smaller — still tall — but lithe, like a panther.
They weren't speaking. They weren't fidgeting. They didn't shift weight or yawn or blink in sync with anyone else.
Kal focused.
No heartbeats.
No blood rushing beneath skin.
Just the occasional quiet breath.
Vampires. All of them.
The last doubts were gone.
The confirmation settled in his gut like lead. They were vampires. The entire family. All of them.
Kal's jaw tensed, but he relaxed his stance. No sense making a scene. No sense showing his hand. He needed to observe. Not confront.
He watched a moment longer, then turned toward a different bus, the one furthest from the Cullens. He didn't need to be seen staring. Not yet. He had no intention of drawing their attention unless he had to.
Getting too close might spook them — or worse, reveal him. Besides, he didn't need line of sight to keep tabs on them. His senses could track their voices, their movements, their stillness. Distance would only help his cover.
He saw Jessica heading in his direction, hand raised, ready to wave him over.
"Hey, Kal! You should sit with—"
"I need a little space today, Jess," he said gently, giving her an apologetic look. "Hope that's okay."
He couldn't afford to be distracted today.
She looked confused, a little hurt, but nodded.
"Uh… yeah. Sure."
Kal climbed aboard without looking back.
From the edge of the crowd, a girl stepped forward, her eyes focussed on Kal's back.
Short — not even five foot — with dark, choppy hair that framed her sharp features like cut obsidian. Not quite a bob, not quite a pixie cut. Her coat was buttoned high, oversized and elegant.
She walked with purpose, silent and confident, a small smile playing on her lips.
She climbed onto the same bus, slipping gracefully through closing doors.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kal moved down the narrow aisle of the bus, his steps quiet, steady. He found an unoccupied seat near the back—ideal—and slid into it without hesitation. With a smooth motion, he placed his backpack on the seat beside him, a silent deterrent to any would-be chatterboxes. Not that anyone was likely to ask; students were too busy clustering with their own little groups, gravitating toward friends, comfortable rhythms. There were more than enough empty seats. He would be left alone.
Good.
He leaned his head against the cool window, gazing out at the other buses lined up like grazing animals beneath the gray Washington sky. His eyes found the one the Cullens had boarded. From the outside, there was nothing to mark it as different—just another yellow husk filled with teenage hormones and restless energy.
But Kal wasn't looking for normal.
He closed his eyes and reached outward—not for the noise, but for the absence of it. In the sea of pounding hearts, shuffling limbs, rustling clothes, and nervous laughter… there were pockets of silence. That was where he found them.
No heartbeats.
No warmth.
Just cold, still voids in the ambient hum of life.
Every now and then the faintest rush of air as they breathed.
'Gotcha.'
The faintest flicker of satisfaction touched his lips. He'd confirmed it again. All five were together. Quiet. Unmoving. Predators in sheep's clothing.
Suddenly—
"Can I sit here?"
Kal didn't bother opening his eyes at first. His response was already forming — a polite but firm decline. He wasn't in the mood. He wasn't here to make friends. Not today.
But then he opened his eyes—
The world tilted.
She was short. Incredibly so. Her hair was a dark, choppy halo that looked as though a storm had kissed it into place — wild and perfect all at once. Her features were delicate, her lips soft and full, her skin so pale it was almost translucent, luminous.
But it was her eyes that unmade him.
Wide. Gentle. So open it hurt to look at them. A quiet joy shimmered just beneath the surface, like sunlight beneath a lake. Innocence and mischief and something that made his heart skip in a way it never had before.
Kal's jaw parted slightly.
She was beautiful. Not like the movie stars or the perfect symmetry of the most famous super-models. No — she was ethereal. Like a fairy stepping out of some forgotten dream. Like something not quite real.
His dumbstruck gaze seemed to please her somewhat. She tilted her head and chuckled, a dainty hand rising to cover her mouth. The sound was musical, effortless.
"Well?" she asked, smiling like she already knew the answer.
Kal realised, distantly, that he hadn't spoken.
"S-sure," he stammered, quickly — clumsily — grabbing his bag from the seat and shoving it down by his feet.
She sat beside him with the kind of grace that made him suddenly very aware of how much space he was taking up. Her movements were light, fluid, like she floated rather than walked. She turned to him, those mesmerising eyes meeting his.
"Hi," she said, voice soft and cheerful. "I'm Alice."
Kal stared.
"You're the new kid, right?"
Her voice pulled him from the silent spiral of his thoughts. Gentle. Curious. Inviting.
Kal blinked, caught off guard again. His throat worked, and he managed a stiff nod.
Alice smiled like that was all the answer she needed, and just kept going.
"What's your name?"
"Kal."
"Kal…" She tested it like a song on her tongue. "I like it. Strong. Dark and mysterious. Just like you."
He laughed — more like a breath catching in his throat — and ducked his head to hide the way his lips curled. She noticed anyway. Of course she did.
"Where are you from?" she continued, unfazed.
Kal hesitated. "A… long way away."
"That sounds dramatic," she said, eyes twinkling. "You're not gonna tell me, are you?"
He gave a half-smile, shrugging. "Maybe after a few more bus rides."
That earned him a soft laugh, and somehow, things got easier after that.
She asked question after question — not in the prying way some people did, but with genuine interest, like every answer was something precious. About his hobbies, his favorite books, the music he liked, what made him come to Forks of all places. At first, Kal could barely get a sentence out without second-guessing himself. He wasn't used to this. He didn't trust it.
But Alice was disarming in the strangest way — playful, quick-witted, a whirlwind of energy in such a small frame. And slowly, like frost melting under the sun, Kal found his voice.
He talked about how he liked the quiet. How nature made more sense than cities. He told her he liked physics, even if he didn't understand all of it yet, and how stargazing made him feel like the universe was trying to talk to him.
When he asked her a question in return — what she liked — her eyes lit up like he'd handed her a gift.
"Dancing," she said without hesitation. "And clothes. And seeing things before they happen."
Kal tilted his head. "Like… intuition?"
"Something like that," she said, smiling like it was an inside joke.
He chuckled. "Do you ever see yourself tripping over a backpack in the hallway?"
"Only when I do it on purpose."
Kal blinked, then snorted. "So, you're trouble."
Alice raised her eyebrows. "What gave me away?"
It felt easy. Natural. Like they'd known each other longer than the length of a bus ride. And as they talked, Kal realised something strange — he liked this. Not just the conversation, but the way he could feel his heartbeat racing when she smiled. The way she seemed to brighten everything around her.
He had no idea how long they'd been talking until—
Hisss.
The brakes sighed and the bus lurched slightly, pulling into the school lot.
Kal blinked toward the window, momentarily disoriented. An hour. He'd spent the entire ride lost in conversation. And not once had he checked on the Cullens.
His eyes flicked toward the bus they'd been on, but it was too late — they were already gone.
Damn it.
Still, as Alice rose beside him, graceful as ever, and gave him a warm little smile before stepping off the bus…
Kal wasn't sure he regretted it.
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"Eggshells, carrot tops, compost is cool." said Mr Molina from the front of the greenhouse excitedly, "Now stuff that in there Eric."
"Yes sir. Yes sir." Eric replied enthusiastically, shoving waste matter into a compost bin with gusto, followed by mixing it's contents with a long wooden stick.
"Very good, very good."
Bella couldn't help but crack a grin at their antics.
Stooping over to a tap on the side of the bin, Mr Molina continued,
"Now I am going to make a steaming cup… of compost tea."
He raised the mug filled with muddy-brown liquid to chest height, presenting it to the juniors with both hands as if it were an incredibly precious item.
Tyler took it from his hands somewhat carelessly. Mr Molina looked somewhat pained to see it go. Bella had to admit, he truly was passionate about biology.
"Hey, be careful with that." he called after him, then turning to the class, "This is organic recycling in its most basic form guys."
Tyler raised the cup almost to his lips.
"Hey, don't drink that! It's for the plants." he called, chasing after him.
As she walked further into the greenhouse, a voice called from nearby. Edward's form appeared at her side.
"What's in Jacksonville?"
Bella was confused for a second. Jacksonville? Then she remembered. Some half-excuse she had given to Mike when he had asked her to prom. She had told him she was in Jacksonville that weekend. And then promptly redirected him to Jessica.
But Edward hadn't been there.
"How did you know about that?" she questioned.
"I— Uh— You didn't answer my question." he redirected her after a stutter.
"Well — you don't answer any of mine, so…" A pause. "I mean, you don't even say hi to me."
"Hi."
His tone was sarcastic. Dry.
She let out an annoyed breath of air.
"Are you gonna tell me how you got to me so fast?"
"Yeah. I had an adrenaline rush." His tone was as if stating the obvious, "It's very common. You can Google it."
Bella paused.
"Floridians. That's what's in Jacksonville."
She suddenly tripped — her foot caught on tone of the many hoses and tubes criss-crossing the greenhouse floor.
Edward caught her arm, preventing her from losing balance, but his face was dark. Annoyed.
"Can you at least watch where you walk?"
His tone was rude. Condescending. Frustrated.
She turned and walked away from him with a huff.
Edward let her. For all of half-a-second.
He called to her from behind — apologising.
"Look, I'm sorry I'm being rude all the time. I just think it's the best way."
Before Bella could even question what that meant, Jessica ran up to her.
"Bella!" she called, "Guess who just asked me to prom."
Edward, seeing the interruption, huffed and walked away. Jessica stared at him as he pushed past her, surprise evident in her gaze.
"Who?"
That drew Jessica's attention back. "Oh. Yeah. I actually totally thought that Mike was gonna ask you." she said.
Then, "It's not gonna be weird though, right?"
"No." Bella replied blankly, mind elsewhere, "Zero weirdness, you guys are great together."
"I know right?"
The rest of the field trip passed by in a blur of plants, worms and soil. She hadn't been able to focus properly since her conversation with Edward. His words kept repeating over and over, like a symphony in her head.
By the time they left the greenhouse, once again under the ever-grey sky that seemed to haunt the Pacific Northwest, Bella was tired, hungry and frustrated.
'What did he mean? The best way for what?'
She barely even blinked when Eric held a worm on a stick in front of her face.
"Look Bella," he guffawed, waving the twig in front of her, "It's a worm."
She just slightly tilted her head to avoid it, striding purposefully towards the yellow buses, eager to sit down as fast as possible.
"Bella."
A voice from behind her, as Edward Cullen marched up beside her, catching up to her by the side of one of the buses.
"Bella, we— we shouldn't be friends."
Her heart dropped for a second. Then anger took its place in her chest.
She let out two incredulous huffs.
"You really should've figured that out a little earlier, don't you think?"
"I mean, it sounds like you wish that van had crushed me." she accused, "Maybe if you hadn't appeared, and if I hadn't been pulled out of the way, you would have saved yourself all this regret."
Edward paused for a moment, surprised by what she had said.
"What, you think I regret grabbing you? Trying to save you?"
"I can see that you do," she challenged, "I just… I don't know why."
His eyes narrowed.
"You don't know anything." his tone was derisive again.
Then — from the side:
"Hi." a pleasant, gentle voice interjected.
Bella looked over. It was the short, fairy-like Cullen. Alice. What surprised Bella was who was with her — Kal.
Alice turned to her.
"Are you gonna be riding with us?"
Bella thought she saw an abrupt movement at Alice's words — Kal, suddenly jerking. But now he seemed frozen. Before she could say anything, Edward intervened.
"No." he said, giving her a hard stare. "Our bus is full."
Then he turned and stormed through the doors.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kal laughed quietly at the front of the class as Mr. Molina made a ceremony of compost tea.
"Eggshells, carrot tops, compost is cool," the teacher said, full of uncontainable joy.
"Now stuff that in there, Eric."
"Yes sir," the boy replied, poking at the bin's insides like he'd found treasure.
Kal elbowed Alice gently. "Is he always like this?"
"Even more so in spring," she replied with a mock whisper. "You should see him talk to mushrooms. I think he thinks they talk back."
Kal chuckled, and she smiled again — open, unbothered, like the world had never given her a reason not to.
He dipped his hands into the dirt as they moved to the planting portion of the practical, the smell of soil and compost in the air, and Alice was right beside him, already wrist-deep in the mulch. She wasn't squeamish. She wasn't prim. She was right there, fingers brushing his as they sorted seedlings.
"You're not afraid to get your hands dirty," he noted, surprised and impressed.
She wiggled her dirt-covered fingers at him playfully. "Some of the best things in life require a little mess."
He raised a brow, but before he could say something equally playful in return, she added, "Besides, I like it. Feels like life. Real life."
Kal paused at that. "I haven't… had a lot of that lately."
Her gaze softened. "Maybe it's time you did."
He didn't know how to respond to that. So he just smiled. And let the silence speak.
Time passed like that. Warm. Easy. Dangerous in how natural it all felt.
Kal didn't forget to keep tabs on the Cullens. Every now and then, while working beside Alice, he let his gaze flicker toward them.
Nothing abnormal. They stayed in their cluster, speaking in low voices, occasionally laughing among themselves as they completed the practicals like everyone else.
Except Edward.
He hadn't even noticed Edward and Bella slipping away — not until Alice's gaze flicked toward them. Kal followed her gaze just briefly — saw Edward's face twisted in some frustration, Bella walking away. He frowned, but didn't linger.
'If anyone here is safe, it's her.' he thought unworried, 'This is her love story.'
Kal's eyes flicked back to Alice. Maybe he had his own love story too.
Alice turned back to him, some unspoken emotion flashing across her face for a moment too quick to read. Then she grinned again.
"Let's ride together again on the way back," she said. "We still haven't talked about your favorite color."
Kal blinked. "I thought you already guessed it."
"I did," she said smugly. "But I want you to say it."
He laughed. "Deal."
They cleaned up, filed out with the rest of the class. Kal felt good. Really good. Like… this world wasn't such a burden. Maybe, just maybe, it was giving something back to him.
Then—
"Hi," Alice said suddenly, her voice smooth and clear as she stepped forward. Kal was a few steps behind her as she approached the other girl.
"Are you gonna be riding with us?"
Kal's smile faltered.
'Us?'
He looked between them. Then at Alice. Then to the boy now standing just behind Bella — Edward Cullen.
And he froze.
Edward's eyes flicked to Kal once, barely a glance, then back to Bella. Alice, oblivious to his reaction, kept smiling.
Then Edward replied, "No. Our bus is full."
His voice was sharp. Dismissive.
Kal barely registered the way he brushed past them and stormed onto the bus.
Because all his focus was on one thing.
'"Our" bus?'
Kal turned to Alice, confusion curling like a knot in his gut. "Do you know him?" he asked quietly, nodding toward Edward.
Alice gave him a look, like he'd just asked if the sky was blue. "Well, yeah… he's my brother."
The world tilted.
Her brother.
Kal's breath caught. His blood ran cold.
That would make her…
'No.' He refused to let the thought fully form.
But he had to know.
He focused, gently, subtly. Tuned in to the sound he should have been able to hear by now. Her heartbeat.
Nothing.
No rhythm. No pulse. Just silence.
A vampire.
Alice — the girl that he had thought so full of life… was dead.
And Kal?
Kal felt like he might shatter.