The house was quiet when they got home.
Rain tapped steadily against the windows, the sound soft enough to blend into the background but constant enough that it filled the silence between movements.
Bella set her bag down beside the couch and pulled off her jacket.
Charlie had already disappeared into the kitchen, the clink of dishes and the low hum of the refrigerator marking his presence without requiring conversation.
Mame dropped onto the couch like someone who had survived a long day of social interaction and intended to recover from it immediately.
Bella noticed.
"You look tired," she said.
Mame leaned his head back against the cushion. "People are exhausting."
Bella smiled faintly.
"First day usually is."
She hesitated for a second, then sat down on the other end of the couch.
There was a pause.
Bella looked toward the kitchen, making sure Charlie was still occupied, then leaned slightly closer.
"So," she said.
Mame opened one eye.
"So," he echoed.
Bella hesitated again.
"You sat with them."
Mame blinked.
"With who?"
Bella stared at him.
"The Cullens."
"Oh," Mame said.
He closed his eye again like the topic required energy he wasn't sure he wanted to spend.
Bella nudged his arm.
"Mame."
"What?"
"You know what."
He sighed quietly and sat up a little.
"They're nice."
Bella frowned immediately.
"That's it?"
"That's the short version."
Bella crossed her arms. "Everyone at school says they're strange."
"Everyone at school says a lot of things," Mame replied calmly.
She studied him for a moment.
"You talked to them."
"Yes."
"And?"
Mame considered how to explain it.
"They're… different," he said finally.
Bella nodded slowly.
"Different how?"
Mame shrugged.
"They move like they're always aware of everything around them."
Bella blinked.
"That sounds creepy."
"Not creepy," Mame said. "Just… focused."
Bella leaned back against the couch cushion, thinking.
"What about Alice?"
Mame smiled faintly.
"You'll like her."
Bella raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Yeah," Mame said easily. "She's friendly. Energetic. Talks fast. You'll probably get along with her immediately."
Bella seemed relieved by that.
"And Rosalie?"
Mame paused.
"Rosalie might take time."
Bella tilted her head.
"Time?"
"She's protective," Mame explained. "Not rude. Just… careful about who she trusts."
Bella nodded slowly.
That sounded reasonable.
"What about the others?" she asked.
Mame leaned back again, staring at the ceiling.
"Emmett seems fun."
Bella waited.
"And?"
"And Jasper is quiet."
Bella narrowed her eyes.
"You skipped someone."
Mame blinked.
"Did I?"
"Edward," Bella said.
Mame sat up again.
"Oh. Right."
Bella leaned forward slightly.
"Well?"
Mame scratched the back of his neck.
"He's weird."
Bella blinked.
"Weird?"
"Yeah."
Bella waited for more.
Mame sighed.
"He kept staring at me."
Bella frowned. "Staring?"
"Like really staring," Mame said. "Like he was trying to read a book written on my forehead."
Bella looked confused.
"Why would he do that?"
"No idea," Mame said honestly.
Bella waited.
"And?" she asked.
"And eventually it got uncomfortable."
Bella leaned forward.
"What happened?"
Mame shrugged casually.
"I told him I like women."
Bella froze.
"You what?"
Mame nodded seriously.
"I figured if he was staring that hard, it was best to clarify."
Bella stared at him.
"You told him that?"
"Yes."
Bella pressed her fingers to her forehead.
"Mame…"
"What?"
"You cannot say things like that to people."
"I can if they're staring at me like that."
Bella looked like she wanted to argue.
Then she imagined the situation.
Edward staring.
Mame saying that.
Her shoulders shook slightly.
She tried to hold it in.
Failed.
A laugh escaped before she could stop it.
"Mame."
"What?"
"You are unbelievable."
"Effective though," he said.
Bella shook her head, still smiling.
"Edward Cullen probably thinks you're insane."
"Most people do," Mame replied calmly.
Bella leaned back again, the tension from earlier easing just a little.
For a moment they both listened to the rain against the windows.
Then Bella spoke again.
"You really think I'd get along with Alice?"
"Definitely."
"And Rosalie… eventually?"
"Maybe," Mame said.
Bella nodded slowly.
Then she glanced at him sideways.
"You didn't embarrass me today."
Mame smiled faintly.
"I promised."
Bella hesitated.
Then she said quietly,
"Thanks."
Mame shrugged.
"That's what older brothers are for."
Bella rolled her eyes.
"You said strange cousin."
"Promotion."
Bella laughed again.
And for the first time since arriving in Forks, the house felt a little less quiet.
Outside, the rain continued to fall.
And tomorrow would bring another day at Forks High School, where things were already beginning to change.
The smell of food drifted out from the kitchen a few minutes later.
Charlie's cooking always announced itself before he did.
Something warm. Something simple. Something that had clearly been cooked by a man who believed food's main job was to exist and be edible.
Mame sat up and sniffed the air.
"Burgers," he said.
Bella looked at him. "How can you tell?"
"Experience."
Charlie stepped into the doorway a moment later, wiping his hands on a dish towel.
"Dinner's ready."
Bella stood and stretched slightly.
Mame followed her into the kitchen, grabbing plates without being asked. It had already become routine—Charlie cooking, Mame setting the table, Bella filling the quiet spaces in between.
They sat down.
For a moment the only sounds were forks and the soft tapping of rain against the windows.
Charlie was the first to speak.
"So."
Bella looked up.
"So," she echoed.
Charlie pointed his fork at both of them. "First day."
Bella nodded slowly. "It was… okay."
Charlie looked relieved.
"No disasters?"
Bella shook her head. "No disasters."
Charlie turned to Mame.
"And you?"
Mame took a bite of food, chewed thoughtfully, then shrugged.
"Good."
Charlie narrowed his eyes slightly.
"That's it?"
"Mostly."
Bella glanced between them.
"Mame made a scene at lunch," she said.
Mame looked offended. "I did not."
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Define scene."
Bella tried to sound serious.
"He defended one of the Cullen girls."
Charlie blinked.
"The Cullens?"
Mame nodded calmly.
"Yeah."
Charlie stared at him for a moment.
"You… talked to them?"
"Yes."
"And?"
Mame shrugged.
"They're nice."
Charlie leaned back in his chair slightly.
That answer clearly wasn't what he expected.
Bella added, "He sat with them."
Charlie's fork paused halfway to his mouth.
"You sat with them."
"Yes."
Charlie looked genuinely surprised now.
"People don't usually do that."
Mame frowned slightly.
"Why?"
Charlie hesitated.
"Well… they mostly keep to themselves."
Bella nodded. "That's what everyone says."
Mame took another bite of his burger.
"They seemed fine."
Charlie studied him carefully.
"And they just… talked to you?"
"Yeah."
Bella couldn't resist adding, "Mame also told Edward he likes women."
Charlie choked.
Actually choked.
He coughed, grabbing his drink while Bella tried very hard not to laugh.
Mame blinked.
"What?"
Charlie wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"You told a Cullen that?"
"He was staring at me," Mame said reasonably.
Charlie stared at him.
"That doesn't mean—"
"It was getting uncomfortable," Mame continued. "I clarified."
Bella buried her face in her hands.
Charlie leaned back again, shaking his head slowly.
"I swear," he muttered, "you two are going to get me in trouble somehow."
Bella peeked through her fingers.
"We didn't do anything."
Charlie pointed his fork again.
"You talked to the most mysterious family in Forks and somehow made it weird on the first day."
Mame considered that.
"That's fair."
Bella laughed.
Charlie sighed, but there was the faintest hint of amusement in his expression.
"Just… try not to start anything."
"We didn't start anything," Bella said.
Mame nodded.
"If anything, we ended things."
Charlie gave him a long look.
"I'm not even going to ask what that means."
They returned to eating.
The conversation shifted to safer things—Bella's classes, the teachers she met, the layout of the school.
Mame filled in details where Bella left gaps, mostly explaining where classrooms were and which hallways got crowded between periods.
Charlie listened quietly, the tension from earlier fading as the rhythm of normal conversation settled in.
Eventually Bella leaned back in her chair.
"It wasn't as bad as I thought."
Charlie nodded.
"Forks High usually isn't."
Mame finished his food and set his fork down.
"You survived day one."
Bella rolled her eyes.
"It's not a battlefield."
Mame tilted his head.
"You say that now."
Bella shook her head, smiling despite herself.
Outside, the rain continued to fall softly against the windows.
Inside, the Swan house felt warm and steady.
And for the first time since the school year had begun, dinner felt less like three strangers sharing a table—
and more like something that might slowly become a family.
Dinner ended the way most dinners did in the Swan house.
Quietly.
Not awkward, not tense—just calm. Plates slowly emptied. Rain tapping softly against the windows. The steady rhythm of forks and small conversation filling the room.
Charlie pushed his chair back first.
"Alright," he said, standing. "I'll get the dishes."
Mame was already reaching for them.
"I've got it."
Charlie frowned. "You cooked last night."
"And you worked all day," Mame replied easily, stacking plates.
Bella stood as well, picking up the glasses before Charlie could argue.
Charlie watched the two of them move around the kitchen like they had been doing this for years.
He shook his head slightly.
"You two are making me look bad."
Bella shrugged.
"We're just efficient."
Mame nodded. "Team effort."
Charlie muttered something about teenagers and retreated to the living room.
The kitchen filled with the quiet sounds of cleaning—water running, dishes clinking softly, cabinets opening and closing.
Bella rinsed the last plate and set it in the rack.
"That wasn't bad," she said.
Mame glanced at her.
"Dinner?"
"The day," Bella clarified.
He nodded.
"First days usually feel worse than they are."
Bella dried her hands with a towel.
"Tomorrow will probably be harder."
"Probably," Mame agreed.
She looked at him for a second.
"You really weren't bothered by everyone staring?"
Mame shrugged.
"I'm used to it."
Bella blinked.
"Why?"
He thought about that for a moment.
"Training gyms," he said. "Small towns. New places."
Bella nodded slowly.
That made sense.
They finished cleaning in silence after that.
Upstairs, the house settled into its nighttime rhythm.
Charlie had the television on low in the living room, some old police show murmuring quietly in the background.
Bella spread her books out on her desk.
Mame did the same in his room down the hall.
Homework in Forks was exactly what he expected.
Reading.
Notes.
A few written questions.
Nothing difficult.
Just work.
He finished his assignments methodically, writing carefully and keeping everything organized. His training schedule had already taught him discipline. Schoolwork just followed the same pattern.
Read.
Understand.
Complete.
Down the hall, Bella was doing the same.
Every now and then the floor creaked as someone shifted in their chair.
The small sounds were comforting.
The house wasn't silent anymore.
It was lived in.
An hour later, Mame closed his notebook and stretched slightly.
Done.
He stood and stepped into the hallway.
Bella's door was open.
She sat at her desk, pencil tapping lightly against the page as she finished writing.
"Homework?" he asked.
She glanced over.
"Almost."
"Good."
Bella leaned back in her chair.
"You finished already?"
"Yeah."
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"You're one of those students, aren't you?"
Mame blinked.
"Responsible?"
"Annoying," Bella corrected.
He smiled faintly.
"I prefer efficient."
Bella shook her head and went back to her notebook.
A few minutes later she set the pencil down.
"Done."
Mame nodded.
"Then welcome to the evening."
Bella stood and stretched.
"I think I'm going to sleep."
"Good idea."
She walked to the door, pausing before closing it.
"Mame?"
He looked up.
"Yeah?"
Bella hesitated for a second.
"Thanks. For today."
He shrugged lightly.
"That's what older brothers are for."
Bella rolled her eyes.
"You promoted yourself again."
"Naturally."
She smiled faintly.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Bells."
She closed the door.
The hallway grew quiet again.
Mame turned off the hallway light and stepped into his room.
Outside, rain continued to fall over Forks.
Inside, the Swan house settled slowly into sleep.
Downstairs the television clicked off as Charlie headed to bed.
Upstairs two bedroom lights faded one after the other.
And the first day of school ended the same way most days did in Forks—
quietly.
Tomorrow would come soon enough.
The Swan house fell quiet not long after the lights went out.
Rain softened outside, fading into a steady whisper against the roof. Forks never truly slept in silence. The forest breathed. The wind moved through branches. Water found every surface it could touch.
Inside, the house settled.
Charlie's door closed downstairs.
Bella's room went dark across the hall.
Mame lay on his back staring at the ceiling, the faint glow from the streetlight slipping through the curtains in thin gray lines.
For a while, nothing happened.
Then sleep came.
Not gently.
The forest was wrong.
Too quiet.
Moonlight filtered through tall trees, turning the ground silver and black. The air smelled like damp earth and something sharp underneath.
Running.
Someone was running.
Branches snapped under desperate footsteps.
A girl.
Dark hair.
Fear.
Bella.
Mame tried to move toward her but his body wouldn't respond. The forest shifted around him like he was standing still while the world moved.
Then something else appeared.
Pale skin.
Golden eyes.
A blur of motion faster than thought.
Edward.
The image fractured.
The forest disappeared.
Stone.
Cold stone towers rising against a black sky.
A city that felt ancient and endless.
Figures in dark cloaks standing in silent rows.
Red eyes.
Watching.
Waiting.
A throne of pale marble.
Three figures seated together.
Still.
Patient.
Dangerous.
The word formed somewhere deep in his mind.
Volturi.
The image shattered again.
Snow exploded upward.
Massive wolves ran across a frozen clearing, bodies powerful and fast, fur rippling with every stride.
They weren't animals.
Not really.
One of them turned its head.
Amber eyes.
Watching.
Guarding.
Protecting.
Another flash.
A baseball field.
Thunder cracking through the sky.
Vampires moving faster than lightning.
Laughter.
Then—
A scent.
Blood.
Everything shifted again.
Running.
The forest again.
Bella fleeing.
A different vampire now.
Red eyes.
A smile too wide.
The feeling of a hunt.
Of something relentless closing in.
James.
The chase.
Mame jerked awake.
The room was dark.
His chest rose sharply as he pulled in air, the echo of the dream still clinging to him like cold water.
Then the pain hit.
It slammed into his skull without warning.
Sharp.
Heavy.
Like pressure behind his eyes and a spike driving through the center of his head at the same time.
He grabbed the side of the bed instinctively, teeth clenching as the pain spread outward.
Cluster headache.
Migraine.
Both.
His vision blurred.
For a moment the room tilted slightly.
Fragments of the dream flickered through his mind again.
Stone towers.
Red eyes.
Bella running.
Wolves in the snow.
Too much information all at once.
His breathing slowed deliberately.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
The pain stayed for several long seconds, pressing against the inside of his skull like something trying to force its way out.
Then—
A chill.
Cool.
Sharp.
Like cold air sliding across the inside of his head.
The pain vanished instantly.
Gone.
Not fading.
Just… gone.
Mame sat there for a moment, breathing slowly, waiting for it to return.
It didn't.
The room was quiet again.
The rain continued outside.
Nothing else had changed.
He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to sort through the fragments that remained.
Images.
Pieces of something that felt important.
But none of them made sense together.
A stone city.
Red eyes.
Wolves.
Someone chasing Bella through the forest.
Mame frowned slightly.
"...What was that?"
The memories slipped away the harder he tried to hold them.
Like trying to remember a dream after waking.
Important.
But unreachable.
Eventually he lay back down again, staring at the ceiling.
His head felt normal.
No pain.
No pressure.
Just the faint lingering chill where the headache had been.
After a few minutes his eyes slowly closed again.
Across the hall, Bella slept peacefully.
Downstairs, Charlie snored quietly in his room.
Outside, the forest waited.
And somewhere in the distance, the future moved closer with every passing night.