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Tony Beynette
Nate drove home under the perpetually gray Forks sky, raindrops gently tapping against the windshield as if keeping a secret rhythm. His mind silently replayed the events of his first day at school. Despite the constant weather, the soaked clothes, the smell of closed hallways, and the predictable tedium... it had been a good day. Different. Alive.
The memory of her Government class with Edward Cullen immediately floated to the surface. Edward seemed a strange figure. There was something…stiff about him as if he were wearing a mask that was too tight. As if every word he spoke was meticulously rehearsed. He seemed scared—that was the word—and at the same time intent on talking to him, as if he'd been ordered to. And yet, Edward didn't say anything out of line. He lied a few times—like everyone does—but there was something in the way he treated him that made him seem…desperate.
Which, for Nate, was already cause for suspicion.
Nate was starting to form a theory about him, something a little ridiculous, that little pause Edward had before speaking somehow alerted him, he had a hunch but he would have to be careful if he wanted to confirm it.
He also remembered the moment after school when he'd walked Bella through the door to hand in her signed schedule. Edward had looked at her with such clear intensity that, for a moment, Nate thought he was out of place in the room. Was that desire? Or something darker? For a moment, he could have sworn he saw need in his eyes. Or maybe danger?
Edward seemed to have mixed feelings about Bella. Nate barely spoke during that encounter. He just watched. And thought.
But the real blind spot of his day, the one that threw him off the most, was Alice.
The memory drew a low sigh from him. The moment he saw her, something in his brain just… shut down. Everything else went dim. As if the world had folded back and only she remained. Alice. Vibrant. Disturbing. Unreachable. Almost electric. And yet, she barely spoke to him. She answered his attempts at conversation with brief phrases and smiles that seemed more out of politeness than genuine interest. She wasn't rude. Just distant. Too distant.
That, of course, only increased his fascination.
And, on a deeper level, something inside him—that part that had lain dormant, silenced since his parents' death—seemed to ignite. He felt less dead. Less on pause. As if, for the first time in a long time, the day had offered him something other than monotony.
He turned onto the main street, close to home, and thought about the Cullens. About the aura of mystery that surrounded them. About Billy Black's tense warning: Stay away from them. What could be so serious as to justify that kind of fear?
I was close to finding out. I felt it. I just needed to push Edward a little further, to nudge him in the right direction.
And also… tomorrow. Tomorrow he'd find an excuse to talk to Rosalie. He wanted to check something out. Find out if that blinding attraction he felt for Alice was unique… or if all the Cullens shared that almost biological magnetism as if they responded to a different logic.
He arrived just as his grandmother, Margaret, opened the door with a cup of tea in her hand and a serene expression on her face.
"So? You survived?" she asked, raising an eyebrow ironically.
"It was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be," Nate smiled, hanging up his soaked jacket. "I might even say I made some friends."
"Friends or girlfriends?" Margaret replied in her usual mocking tone. "Because if you look at Charlie Swan's daughter, I'd be delighted. I always liked the man."
Nate just smiled, amused, not giving the comment any credence.
—I'm going to have dinner with him later. He invited me.
—And Bella?
—I guess so too.
Margaret nodded, as if approving of the plan without further details, and returned to her book. Nate went up to his room, changed his clothes, read a little, and waited patiently until it was time to go to the Swans' house.
When the doorbell rang, Bella opened the door with a look of mild surprise.
"Oh... right," she murmured. "You told me you were coming."
Nate smiled at her kindly. She didn't seem upset, just disoriented. She let him in, and Charlie greeted him from the kitchen with genuine enthusiasm.
—Nate! Come on, kid. I was just pouring.
Although he had initially only grown close to Charlie for more… strategic reasons, there came a point where Nate recognized that, deep down, he enjoyed spending time with him.
The dinner was casual and warm. Charlie spoke fluently, laughing at his bad jokes, asking about school, and teasing Nate as if he were his lifelong nephew. Nate responded naturally, attentive to every nuance. He noticed how Bella remained a little quieter than usual. Not uncomfortable, but… jealous?
Yes. Jealous. It was subtle, but he read her well. There was a tension in the way she looked at him, and the way Charlie laughed with him more than he seemed to with her as if she couldn't understand how her father connected so easily with someone else, while they barely exchanged words about dinner or the weather.
Charlie, for his part, noticed how well Bella behaved with Nate. It was, in fact, the first time he'd seen her actively talking to someone.
"No wonder. Nate's quite the hunk. I'm sure he's got half the school sighing," he joked with a fatherly smile.
Bella blushed immediately.
-Dad…
"I wouldn't get ahead of myself, Chief Swan," Nate said with elegant calm. "I think Bella already has her eye on someone else."
He turned his gaze slightly towards her.
—Maybe Edward Cullen.
The atmosphere changed for a moment. Charlie frowned. His smile tightened slightly.
"Edward, huh?" he repeated as if he didn't know whether to sound curious or concerned.
"It's not that big of a deal," Bella immediately chimed in. "We barely spoke..."
The conversation flowed for a while longer: school anecdotes, and local stories. Finally, Charlie said goodbye with a visibly satisfied pat on the back.
—Anytime, kid. You're welcome.
Bella walked him to the door.
"It would have been nice if you had warned us," she said, not sounding annoyed, but with that tone that leaves room for interpretation.
"You're right," Nate agreed, with his charming half-smile. "I owe you one. Can I have your number? So I can let you know next time."
Bella hesitated. There was something off about Nate. He was handsome, yes. Smart. Charming. But he wasn't like the other guys trying to impress her. He didn't seem really… interested, not like that. And yet, he wanted to be around her.
Maybe—he thought—he didn't have to understand everything. Maybe he just needed a friend in this rain-soaked town.
He smiled at her and took out his cell phone.
-Alright.
They exchanged numbers. Nate thanked her, said goodbye, and walked back through the rain to his car. His first day in Forks was over, leaving him with the strange but clear feeling that the pieces of that puzzle—Edward, Alice, the Cullens—were already in front of him.
I just had to start putting them together.