Shifting Moon

 When Bella noticed the boy looking at her, she dropped her eyes quickly in embarrassment. Jessica giggled and continued her speech in a low tone so only those at the table could hear her. "The big one with the girl in the lead are Emmitt and Rosalie, the little one behind them is Alice and the one that looks like he is constantly in pain is Jasper. They are both couples." She said the last with a tone of condemnation and shock I didn't understand. 

 "They live together… Like brothers and sister, all adopted by Dr. Cullen and his Wife." She stared at us as if waiting for us to be repulsed by what she said.

 "Well, they aren't blood-related and have lived together for years so no surprises down the relationship road. I would say they have a better chance of making it work than most people these days." I said, letting Bella take her time absorbing the information and sparing her from having to respond. 

 "And… And the other two?" Bella asked, with a skip in her voice.

 When I looked up again, I saw them all seated at the table I noticed earlier, the one I wanted to sit at. This must be their usual table and that would be the reason no one else dared to take it. My attention was caught by the girl sitting with her body mostly facing me. She must be right at or under 6ft tall, it was hard to tell as she was seated now. Her facial features were near perfect with the minute blemish of her lower lip being slightly too big compared to her upper, it gave her a perpetual pout. Her high cheekbones and sharp chin gave her a remarkable and fierce look. Thomas's first impression was that he didn't want her to get mad at him. 

 Her hair was almost the same as the guy Bella couldn't take her eyes off, but just a shade brighter. A more polished copper, I thought to myself. If I were to compare them to god's I would say Rosalee was Aphrodite and this bronze-haired beauty whose name I didn't know would be Athena, The goddess of Battle and Wisdom.

 "Oh, that's Edward and Edythe. They are twins, so at least they aren't together. Not that it matters as they won't even look at anyone in this small town. They are too above us townies!" Jessica said with venom in her voice. 

 I wondered how many times she got turned down before she went from infatuation to hate. Then I wondered if it was just Edward she had been infatuated with, not that I would judge. But damn that's a hot thought… That I needed to shake out of my head right now. Damn pervert, I told myself.

 "Who are the Cullen's? I don't remember hearing about them before." Bella asked.

 Jessica took a deep breath, "The Cullen's are new to town, only been here for a couple of years. Dr. Cullen is in his late 20s or early 30s I think, and he is the doctor at the clinic/hospital here. His wife is Esme Cullen, she is a stay-at-home wife who takes care of all the kids I assume. After all, it's a big family to feed and clean up after."

 "That is super cool of them to be willing to adopt older kids at such a young age. It couldn't have been easy with Dr. Cullen going through school or doing his time as an attendee. If you work out the ages, it's a lot of responsibility at a very young age. I am glad that as teens, they got someone so good as guardians. Being an orphan is no easy thing." I said, making my stance clear.

 Jessica seemed to pull back and glance around, looking at her friends. I looked back at the table to see Edward staring at Bella with a look of slight frustration on his face and then he turned his eyes to me. Suddenly he flinched and I saw his teeth clench as he broke eye contact, turning away from me and bringing his hands up to his head. A muffled groan of pain made it to my ears and if I heard it from here then at the table it must have been very loud. 

 Suddenly everyone at the Cullen table tensed up and Emmitt half rose from his seat. Edward quickly motioned with his hands and started talking to everyone there. Emmitt sat back down, and everyone else started to relax. I could see Alice lean in and speak for a few moments with Jasper adding in a word here and there. Edythe put her hand on Edwards's shoulder and glared at me for a moment. 

 Their reaction had me back on edge and I had already moved one of my legs from under the table, ready to spring into whatever action I found necessary. With everyone at my table now staring at me, I had to complete the motion of standing like it was what I intended to do from the beginning. I was mad that their reaction got to me so much that I just glared right back at Edythe as if to say ("What's your problem?"). Here I was just thinking that her being mad at me would be a bad thing. At least I had managed to finish my lunch I thought. I turned back to the table I had been sharing and grabbed my backpack with my free hand. "Well everyone, I am going to explore my new school a bit before lunch ends. Thanks for letting me sit with you. See you after school sis, I will meet you at the Main office." 

 "I can show you around!" Both Jessica and Lauren said it at the same time, and then they stared daggers at each other. 

 "No thank you, ladies, I will be moving fast to help settle my lunch before gym class. See you all around." I quickly left before anyone could say more or point out the stupidity of my comment. I separated my trash and put my tray on a pile and then moved out the door glancing around. I figured the direction didn't matter so I just moved.

-(Time/POV Shift Edythe)-

 I think my brother is right, high school is Purgatory. Being condemned to repeat it every 10-15 years or so should definitely count towards atoning for any sins we have committed. Not that I believed in God, well at least not in the one people preached about. I had always lived my life in the belief that so long as my actions didn't hurt the innocent, and I had a clear conscience then me and whoever was taking notes on my life's actions could talk it over. If they felt I did wrong, and I felt I did right, then we could agree to disagree and go from there.

 In that unlikely event, I will point out my days that seemed more impossibly monotonous than the last and say, "Time served, right." I stared at the floor as we waited for the line at the lunch counter to die down so Jasper wouldn't feel too crowded. Him being the newest vegetarian of the group, combined with his years of a grab and drink as you please diet, made him touchy around lunchtime. He was good at interacting in one-on-one but in a group, the emotions all combined along with his power, made his control spotty at best.

 As much as he could control people's emotions, they also controlled him at times. We have found that when he is fighting off the emotions, then he can lose control of the feeding instinct. Edward also suffered in crowds like you find in lunchrooms. All those thoughts hitting him at once and the effort he has to go through to narrow them down to hear specifics or even just shut them all out is beyond me. Having to take note of what questions were asked out loud and what was just in another person's mind would drive me insane. That and having to listen to every boy's fantasy about me would plant me firmly in a monastery where all the men have taken vows of celibacy, but what I know of men, even that wouldn't work.

 I am sure today's thoughts are all the same, in varying shades of the Sheriff's daughter with the flighty ex-wife has returned to forks at last. Isabella Swan, I heard was her name, and her brother/cousin/boyfriend (No one can decide yet.) Thomas Raizel. Thomas, I have overheard was a monster in size comparable to Emmitt, and the rumors running around say that he has already had a run-in with Jasper over Alice. I laughed at that thought, the idea anyone could separate those two was laughable. I will have to ask Alice about it later tonight, she is concentrating on Jasper at the moment so it's best not to bother her with the little stuff.