Bella was lost in her thoughts, staring down at her lunch tray. I slowly pushed a piece of food from one side of my plate to the other with my fork, not really eating.
Why had Edward looked at me like that earlier?
The look on his face had been… strange. Not angry, and not curious either. He had looked almost puzzled, like he was trying to figure something out and couldn't. His eyes had stayed on me for a moment, his expression tight, like something wasn't working the way he expected. It had only lasted a second, but it kept replaying in my mind over and over.
Around me, the cafeteria was loud again. When the Cullens had first walked in earlier, the whole room had gone quiet for a moment. It had been weird, like someone had suddenly turned down the volume on the entire room. People had stopped talking. A few students had even stopped eating just to stare.
But the silence hadn't lasted long.
Teenagers weren't good at being quiet. Soon, the noise had come back, filling the room with voices, laughter, and the sound of trays and chairs moving across the floor. Conversations picked up again like nothing unusual had happened.
I tried to ignore the loud hum of voices. I almost succeeded, until the noise suddenly faded again.
Beside me, Jessica let out a long, dramatic sigh.
I looked up.
Almost everyone at our table had turned their heads in the same direction. Curious, I followed their gaze toward the inner entrance of the cafeteria.
Two boys had just walked in.
But it was obvious that only one of them had caused the sudden silence.
He was tall, really tall, with broad shoulders. His face was striking. Handsome, yes, but not in a soft way. His features were sharp and very masculine, almost a little harsh, like they had been carved out of stone.
His hair was light blond, so pale it almost looked white under the cafeteria lights. It was thick and bright, catching the light in a way that made it stand out. Altogether, he looked almost too perfect, like someone had designed him and then gone a little too far.
Beside him stood the second boy.
He had tanned skin, brown hair, and dark-brown eyes. His build was average for a teenager, maybe a little taller than most. Nothing about him was especially handsome, but nothing about him was unpleasant either. He looked normal. Completely normal.
What surprised me more was how comfortable he seemed standing next to the blond giant.
Since they had arrived a little later than most students, the food line was short, and the two boys calmly joined it.
Even from across the cafeteria, I could see that the brown-haired boy was talking almost nonstop. His mouth kept moving as he threw comment after comment toward the tall boy beside him.
Of course, I couldn't hear anything from this distance, but the pattern was easy to notice. Most of his comments met a wall of calm on the blond boy's face. He barely reacted.
But every now and then, a small smile curved his lips.
It was quick, almost reluctant, but it was there.
They looked like they came from completely different worlds, yet somehow their friendship seemed … natural.
I realised I had been staring when Mike suddenly spoke.
"Wait, what?" he said, sounding confused. "How did that loser manage to befriend him?"
"I had first period with them," Eric said. "Peter was talking with him the whole time."
"You're kidding," Tyler said.
"Nope," Eric replied.
Mike kept watching the tall blond boy in the line.
"I was actually thinking about going to talk to the new guy," he said.
Jessica immediately turned to him. "Why?"
Mike shrugged. "I could ask him to join the basketball team." He glanced back toward the line again. "I mean… look at him. He's taller than everyone on the team."
Tyler snorted.
Eric didn't look as sure.
"I don't know," he muttered. "That guy kinda scares me."
Tyler laughed. "Scares you?"
Eric nodded seriously. "Yeah. He just looks… intimidating."
He pointed toward Peter, who was still happily talking in the food line.
"I don't get how Peter can just stand there joking with him like that."
I leaned a little closer to Angela.
"Do you know who he is?" I asked quietly.
Angela shook her head. "We saw him this morning in the parking lot. Apparently, he's a new student too."
"Another one?" I said.
She smiled softly. "Yeah. It seems today is his first day too. Just like yours."
I glanced back at the tall boy again.
"And the other one?"
Angela followed my gaze. "That's Peter. He's been here a while."
Jessica made a face. "Unfortunately."
Angela sighed but still looked thoughtful. "He's not that bad. He just… might have been a little too persistent with Jessica."
"Like what?" I asked.
"He embarrassed me for a whole semester," Jessica said, clearly still annoyed.
"He's not bad," Angela added with a small sigh. "Just a little too bull-headed. That earned him quite a reputation."
But Jessica seemed to forget about Peter quickly enough. She leaned forward and whispered loudly, even though everyone at the table could hear her.
"He is so hot, isn't he?"
Angela sighed again.
I kept my mouth shut.
Jessica immediately turned to Mike.
"You should invite them to sit here."
Mike blinked. "What?"
"You said you wanted him to join the team," Jessica said. "That's your chance."
Mike narrowed his eyes at her. "I feel like I'm being manipulated somehow."
"Just go," she insisted.
Mike hesitated.
Meanwhile, the boys had reached the food counter and were piling food onto their trays.
When the tall blond boy finished, Tyler gave a low whistle.
"Whoa."
I looked again and almost laughed.
The amount of food on his tray looked like it could easily feed three people.
"Winter just finished," Eric whispered. "What is he preparing for?"
"Maybe he's a bodybuilder," Tyler said quietly. "Bulking season."
Mike sighed and pushed his chair back.
"Fine," he muttered. "I'll go."
I watched him walk across the cafeteria just as the two boys stepped away from the counter, looking around the room for somewhere to sit.
Most of the tables were already full.
Peter pointed toward one of the least crowded tables, but then he noticed Mike walking toward them.
Peter turned with a surprised expression. The tall blond boy behind him looked calm, almost indifferent.
"Hey, Peter," Mike said awkwardly.
"Uh… hey," Peter replied.
Even from here, I could tell they weren't exactly friends.
They exchanged a few quick words. The kind of small talk people make when they don't really know each other.
Then Mike gestured toward our table.
"We've got some space over there," he said. "You guys can sit with us if you want."
Peter looked confused at first.
But then he turned his head and glanced at the tall blond boy beside him, and the reason for the invitation seemed to click into place.
The blond boy didn't react at all. No interest, no surprise, he just stood there calmly, as if the invitation didn't matter one way or the other.
Peter turned back to Mike.
"Yeah," he said. "Sounds great."
Mike looked relieved.
"Cool," he said.
Mike looked relieved.
"Cool," he said.
The three of them started walking toward our table.
When they reached it and sat down, the space suddenly felt… smaller.
I wasn't even sure how that was possible. The table had felt perfectly normal five seconds ago. But now it seemed cramped, as if someone had quietly shrunk the space around us.
And it wasn't just because the blond boy was big.
There was something else about him. Some strange presence that made everything around him feel smaller. Less important. Almost like the air itself had stepped aside to give him room.
Peter dropped into the empty chair with the easy energy of someone who didn't notice any of that.
"Hi, everyone," he said cheerfully.
A few people answered.
"Hey."
"Hi."
"Yeah… hi."
It sounded polite, but not exactly warm. More like everyone felt they should greet him, not that they really wanted to.
Peter didn't seem to care.
"And this," he said, gesturing to the blond boy beside him, "is our new star - Samael."
Samael didn't say anything. He only gave a small, polite nod.
Jessica immediately straightened in her seat like a talk-show host who had just spotted a celebrity.
"Well," she said brightly, "I guess we should introduce ourselves."
She started first.
"I'm Jessica," she said, smiling a little too widely.
From where I was sitting, it felt like every word she said to Samael carried a clear flirtatious tone. Not subtle at all.
Samael listened politely.
For a brief moment, I thought I saw a small flicker of something on Peter's face when Jessica spoke to Samael like that. But whatever it was disappeared quickly.
Samael's reaction had been the same calm wall that had met most of Peter's jokes earlier in the food line.
He nodded once.
That was it.
One by one, everyone at the table introduced themselves. Samael looked at each person while they spoke.
When it was my turn, his gaze settled on me.
"I'm Bella," I said briefly.
He looked at me a little longer than he had looked at the others.
But strangely, it didn't feel uncomfortable. There was none of that strange intensity I had sometimes noticed in Edward's stare. The feeling behind it was different.
It felt more like he was quickly assessing me.
Just a short, thoughtful look.
Then it was gone.
"So, Samael," Jessica said brightly, "are you new in Forks?"
"Yes."
His voice caught many a little off guard. It was smooth and calm, but there was a quiet strength behind it. Not loud, not deep in an exaggerated way, just steady and confident. Jessica seemed a little taken aback too, blinking once before continuing.
"Where did you move from?"
"Washington, D.C."
Jessica's eyes widened a little. "Wow. That's… a big change from Forks."
She leaned forward slightly, clearly interested.
"So what about school?" she asked. "Were you in a regular school there?"
"I studied with private teachers for the first part of this year," Samael said calmly. "Eventually, I grew tired of it and decided to join a regular high school."
Mike frowned slightly.
"If you were in Washington, why move all the way out here?" he asked. "Forks is kind of… far from everything."
Samael didn't seem bothered by the question.
"I got tired of big cities," he said simply.
Jessica nodded quickly, clearly happy to keep the conversation going.
"Forks is definitely quiet," she said with a small laugh. "Not much happens here."
She paused, then added casually,
"I saw your car this morning. It's… really nice."
"Thanks," Samael replied.
A few people at the table shifted slightly.
Jessica tried to sound casual, but the curiosity in her voice was obvious.
"So… private teachers and a car like that?" she said with a small laugh. "Should we assume you come from some ridiculously rich family?"
Samael looked at her.
"No," he said simply. "My family wasn't rich."
Jessica blinked, a little surprised by the answer.
"Oh," she said quickly, then tried again. "So… where are they now? Did they stay in Washington?"
For the first time, Samael's gaze lingered on someone longer than usual.
He looked directly at Jessica.
Not angry. Not offended.
Just… very still.
"They're gone," he said calmly.
And with that, he lowered his gaze back to his tray and began eating.
Jessica had officially hit a wall.
A very solid wall.
The table went completely silent.
No one seemed to know what to say next.
Even Peter, who had been leaning toward Angela earlier and attempting what looked suspiciously like flirting, had gone quiet and focused on his food.
For a couple of minutes, the only sounds at the table were forks touching plates.
Then Samael lifted his head.
His eyes slowly moved across the cafeteria, as if he was observing the room.
After a moment, his gaze stopped.
On the Cullens' table.