𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄;
ODE TO NORMALCY

UPDATED 3/10/21

— REESE DIDN'T KNOW HOW to feel the next morning; after everything that had gone down with Elizabeth dropping the bomb that their family was cursed so that any guy who fell in love with a Piedmont woman would die tragically, she felt different. Off balance almost; as if the sun rose in the west and set in the east. She felt wrong. It could have something do to with the guilt that was slowly eating away at her, if she hadn't stuck her nose where it didn't belong and simply let her trip down memory lane remain buried like her mom had wanted, Reese could have continued being oblivious to the curse that liked to watch happiness burn — pun not intended, but whatever.

Elizabeth had spent hours explaining their history; how Morgana had cast the spell out of hate but another witch had created a loophole in an attempt to save them. Apparently, every generation a firstborn daughter from the Piedmont line was chosen to break the curse somehow — but none of them succeeded, and now it was Reese's turn to give it a wack. Reese's head was spinning from the information, and when she'd finally found sleep her dreams had been nothing but nightmares of unfamiliar men falling prey to the curse. She woke up in a cold sweat at four in the morning, and had been awake since. There was a lot of emotions coursing through her veins; anger at Morgana for being so cruel as to do something like that to her family and angry at Mallory for being stupid enough to think that blocking Reese's magic would protect her. She was especially guilty for forcing Elizabeth to break her promise to her sister and sorry that the twins would eventually find out, because if anything ran in their bloodline it was curiosity; and curiosity killed the cat. The cat, in this case, was their future lovers.

Reese sat on her windowsill, cigarette in one hand and a picture of her parents in the other. She took a deep breath, inhaling the nicotine and letting the drug relax her. It had been a while since she'd smoked, trying to keep her promise to Annmarie but given the pressure she was under at that given point in time, she figured it was okay to cheat. The sun was slowly rising up above the mountains and into the clouds that never seemed to break, and time seemed to move like molasses. Reese debated calling Emmett to tell him not to bother picking her up, but she didn't want him to be worried, especially after what happened with those freaks the night before.

So, when seven o'clock rolled around she took one last drag of the cigarette before rubbing the glowing embers into the cup she used as an ashtray and brushing her teeth thoroughly in her bathroom. Reese sluggishly roamed around her room, pulling on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. She tugged her jacket over her arms and slung her backpack over her shoulder just as Emmett's Jeep turned into the driveway. Reese saw him easily step out of the vehicle and jog up to the front door. Reese rushed out of her room, whispering a goodbye to the sleepy twins and snatched an apple from the fruit bowl as she tore through the kitchen, not bothering to look at Elizabeth — she couldn't stand the way she looked at her now — and pulled open the front door just as Emmett was reaching to knock.

"Hey," he seemed surprised that she was there that quickly. "Sorry I'm early, my sister needed to get there early. Something about wanting to make sure homecoming was perfect."

"It's fine," she tried her best to seem normal. "I woke up early, anyway."

Emmett walked her down to his Jeep, and Reese knew that he was saying something but her brain couldn't process any of it. The only thing she could hear was ticking, like that figurative clock was mocking her. Making a joke out of the fact that if she couldn't break this curse then anyone in her bloodline would fall in love and then watch their lover die. It made her want to bash her head into the hood of the car, but she refrained from acting that out figuring it would alarm Emmett.

Emmett tossed Reese's bag into the trunk and lent her a hand as she stepped into the passengers seat. Reese pulled her seat belt over her chest and clicked it into place, Emmett jumped in on his side and turned the key in the ignition, letting the engine roar to life. Reese leaned back against the leather material and began skimming through the CD collection Emmett had in a case resting on the center console, and let out a shriek of surprise when a head popped between the seats. A pretty girl with golden eyes and a pixie hair cut smiled at her.

"Hi!" She was cheery, and it bugged Reese that someone could be that happy but she kept her lips in a set line. "I'm Alice. You must be Reese, Emmett's talked about you quite a lot."

Reese glanced over at him, and swore she saw his cheeks flush as he reprimanded his sister. "Don't mind Alice," he told her. "She doesn't know what she's talking about."

Alice simply winked and returned to the backseat. Reese felt a little guilty that she was getting the front seat, while Emmett's sister was forced into the back. "You could have sat here, you know," Reese told her and Alice laughed.

"I wanted to give you and Em some time to talk," Alice smirked mischievously. "Just pretend I'm not even here."

"It's hard to do that when you keep talking," Emmett joked.

Alice returned a witty remark, but Reese tuned them out. She continued to flick through the number of albums, picking out a few that she liked and stuck Elvis into the player. When Viva Las Vegas began to play over the speakers, Emmett turned to her with a charming smile.

"You like Elvis?"

Reese glanced up at him with her pretty green eyes that would have made his heart skip a beat. "Yeah, my mom loved his music. She would play it every time we cleaned the house."

"What's your favorite song of his?" Emmett asked, staring at her with that charming smile that could put her in a daze (stop it Reese! her brain shouted at her, remember the curse).

She cleared her throat and then replied. "In the ghetto."

"Really?" Emmett seemed surprised. "I would have thought it's be something typical like Can't Help Falling in Love or Jailhouse Rock."

Reese snorted. "No, nothing like that. I mean, those are great songs, don't get me wrong, but In the Ghetto is beautiful. The words are powerful," her gaze grew distant as she recalled a repressed memory. "When I was little, my parents lived in a really shitty part of town. My dad had just turned eighteen and they didn't have a lot of money, and my grandparents didn't really help out. So we had this two bedroom apartment that had chipped paint and rusty pipes and heat that didn't work, and every night there would be loud bangs and sirens so my mom would tell me that we wouldn't stay there forever, that we would get out. But, ya know, some people don't. I don't know, the meaning just really resonated with me."

Emmett stared at her as if she was walking on sunshine. "Wow, Reese-"

"I know, I know, sorry to get so deep," she brushed her past off quickly, not wanting him to think less of her or something (not that it bothered her, because it didn't!).

"No, what you just said was beautiful," Emmett sounded starstruck. "I, um, I didn't live in a great spot either." Reese remembered that he was also a foster child, and immediately felt guilty for dropping her baggage on his lap. She went to apologize, but he continued. "My dad died when I was a kid, and my mom worked two jobs. I helped out where I could, but it was never enough. Never enough food. Heat always being shut off. When I moved in with Carlisle and Esme, it was strange having those things for a while."

Reese let his words sink in and realized he understood. He knew what it was like to have no parents and to be thrust into another family and try to replace the old one with it, because you were expected to. He knew what it was like to spend a portion of his childhood cold and scared; Reese decided then and there that even though they couldn't ever be together (what with her being cursed and all), they could at least be friends. Because even though Flynn could understand the losing a parents aspect, Emmett could reach her on a whole other level — and that was something that Reese so desperately needed.

As they continued to talk, reminiscing on their childhoods, the two of them quickly forgot all about Alice who was sitting in the back with misty eyes, watching images of a happy couple who had seen a lot in their lives float across her vision. She smiled, and leaned her head back against the seat letting them have their moment.

□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

— WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT school, Reese was glad that there was only a few students milling around. They all stared and whispered — not quietly either, Reese heard every word that passed through their loose lips — about how the new girl had caught the attention of Emmett Cullen and how he had never paid any of them any mind before. Reese rolled her eyes and chose to ignore their snide comments. She had bigger fish to fry at that moment, and teenage girl drama wasn't on the menu. Learning how she was going to undo the work of some curse-happy witch being one of the more important things.

Emmett easily jumped out of the Jeep and moved to help her out — like he did every time she ended up in his car — his own gaze finding the pointed fingers. This is how the witches must have felt when they were being accused Reese mused to herself. Emmett scoffed, and turned away from them. "Don't worry about it, Reese," he grabbed her bag from the backseat and let Alice slide out gracefully.

He leaned up against his car, holding her backpack as if the four text books in there weighed nothing. Reese sent him an amused stare. "Yeah, what's to worry about? It's not like I'll be hearing all about this interaction all day, with a few added details, of course."

"Did you add a second scoop of sarcasm to your Wheaties this morning?"

Reese rolled her eyes, watching as more cars rolled into their designated spots as bleary eyed and pillow mark faced students slouched to their first classes. Reese and Emmett followed behind, ignoring the odd looks that were cast their way. Reese made eye contact with Lauren Mallory, the girl's lips curled back in an unattractive snarl as she watched them walk past her. Reese's eyebrows pulled down as her face shifted into a scowl as she glared in Lauren's direction, wanting her to say something; practically wishing Lauren would bring up Paul and Mallory and how Emmett only pitied Reese. She'd been a weak target that Lauren had abused before, but it wouldn't happen a second time — and if it did, Reese's fist would become acquainted with Lauren's dainty features.

Noticing the rigidness of her body, Emmett directed Reese away from the bully. He led her across the far side of the parking lot, taking the longer way to their shared math class. Reese's aggression slowly fled her body, letting her shoulders relax. She muttered a quiet thanks, but Reese knew that he had heard her. 

"I hate her," Reese explained, agitation clear in her tone. "I've never actively held so much anger for one person in my life."

"Just try to ignore her," Emmett replied. "She's not worth your time."

"She brought up my parents," Reese informed him, swallowing down the bubble of emotion that was threatening to burst. "Barely a week after I lost them. She just wanted to see me react."

"That's why you ran out of the lunch room that day?"

Reese nodded. "I should have punched that wicked smirk off her face, shown her that I wasn't some meek person she could push around, but her words cut through me like a knife. It hurt to hear her talk about my family."

"You are not meek, Reese," Emmett gripped her hand, causing her to stop walking. "Don't let her trick you into thinking that's true."

The bell rang and Emmett left Reese at the door to her civics class before heading towards his own first block, leaving his words to bounce around her head: she wasn't meek. Reese ignored her teacher's pointed expression as she hung her coat up on the rack and headed to her seat. Flynn was slumped over in the desk in front of hers, the blonde's head resting on her notebook as she snored quietly. Mike Newton was attempting to toss rolled up pieces of paper into her open mouth, and cheered quietly every time he nearly succeeded. After a few more tries, he finally landed a larger piece on her tongue.

Flynn jolted awake, spitting out the paper and wiping the drool from the corners of her lips. "What the hell, Newton? I was sleeping."

"Yeah, and your mouth was wide open," he chortled, snickering along with his friends. "What was I supposed to do? Not take advantage of that?"

"If you wanted to put something in my mouth, all you had to do was ask nicely," Flynn deadpanned, and smirked as Mike turned a vibrant shade of red. "Don't cream your jeans now, Newton, that would be embarrassing for both parties."

"Shut it, Flynn," Mike hissed, trying to hide his clear blush.

Flynn snorted and turned to Reese as if to say can you believe this kid? By that time, Mrs. Moore had began jotting down a few questions on the board. Reese attempted to answer it multiple times, but her brain was moving for her too quickly for her to focus on anything. Her head throbbed from the conversation she'd had with Elizabeth last night, and the car ride with Emmett and the feelings she was growing for him and Flynn and Mike making obscene gestures at one another was doing nothing for her concentration. She wanted to scream at the girl clicking her pen and the kid chomping on gum and the teacher chewing on her nail between sentences. It was giving her a migraine.

Reese squeezed her pencil and clenched her jaw. A strange yet vaguely familiar feeling flowered through her and the sound of glass shattering made the whole class jump, Reese's eyes flashed open and she spotted Mrs. Moore's vase of flowers broken on the floor. The strange feeling had melted away, but she glanced down at her hands in shock. Had she done that? Flynn was looking at her too with wide eyes.

"Was that you?" She mouthed.

"I don't know," Reese mouthed back.

The bell couldn't ring soon enough, and when it finally did Reese and Flynn were the first out of their seats, the latter purposely bumping into Mike Newton's shoulder. They quickly grabbed their coats and fled the classroom, making their way across campus. Once they were out of earshot of anyone else, Flynn turned on Reese.

"So what happened? Did you talk to Elizabeth?"

Reese nodded. "Yeah," she took a deep, shaky breath. "It's true. The curse. Witches. Everything."

"So what now?" Flynn was worried, fear evident on her usually calm face.

"Now apparently I'm a Chosen One or whatever that has to stop the curse from killing people."

"Jesus," Flynn breathed out. "So you're some witch with a tragic backstory and I'm a weapon of mass destruction."

"Oh yeah," Reese rolled her eyes and paused in the courtyard where they would soon travel in different directions. "We make a great team."

"Hell yeah we do," Flynn agreed. "With our combined skills of badassery, we're ten time better than Batman and Robin. I protect your witchy ass when people infected with crazy try to jump us and you do whatever you did last night."

"Well hopefully we don't get attacked again," Reese said, rubbing her temples that had begun to throb from stress. "Because I have no idea what I did."

"Well then I guess we'll just have to stroll around back alleys looking for trouble so you can figure it out."

Reese groaned at Flynn's suggestion. "I need a cigarette."

As she stalked off to find a secluded corner where she could light up in peace, Flynn shouted after her. "Hey, if I'm your protector does that mean I get to kick your ass when you do something that's going to kill you!"

Reese's reply was a single flip of her middle finger.

□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

— TRUE TO HER WORD, Reese hid herself behind building two and fished her handy pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lit up. She breathed in, letting the smoke fill up her lungs before she exhaled. Her back was pressed up against the brick and her pants were getting wet from the frost on the grass. The cigarette rested between her index and middle finger, and the paper slowly burned away from the hot embers. Reese stared at it, wondering if her parents would disappointed in her for her new addiction or if they would understand. Maybe they knew how much pain she was in and could forgive her for needing something to numb it. She hoped so.

The late bell rang, but Reese chose not to move. Most of her teachers understood what she was going through, and let her have a minute to compose herself if she needed. Today though, Reese needed more than a moment. Her brain was filled with unanswered questions and a load of emotions she wasn't prepared to handle at that given point in time. Part of her contemplated leaving, just ditching and driving around town until the sun sank low in the sky and she would lie and say that she had been with Flynn — the girl would cover for her — but a figure sliding down the wall to sit beside her, threw that plan out the window.

For once, it wasn't Emmett coming to her; it was Mike Newton. They had never really talked much and didn't have a lot in common, but when he held out his hand for Reese's cigarette she didn't say no. He took a long puff, blowing out a few smoke rings before passing it back to Reese to finish.

"Ditching?" He asked, and Reese shrugged not sure what she was going to do. "Same."

"What, you don't want to spend the next hour in Hayes' class?" Reese snorted and Mike let out a chuckle.

"Actually, I didn't want to sit next to Flynn for the next hour," Mike groaned, dropping his head back against the building.

"Let me guess, it's been going a little something like this," Reese began to mock her friend. "Hey, Mike, what's that stain on your pants. Oh, you didn't. How tragic. Did I get that right?"

Mike eyed the stain from where he'd been splashed with water disdainfully. "Pretty close."

"Ignore her," Reese suggested. "Flynn's kind of like a second grade boy, she tugs on the hair of the girl she likes."

Mike perked up. "Wait, you think she likes me?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I did not say that," Reese was caught off guard. "I'm just saying that instead of being nice she uses sarcasm like it's going out of style—"

"All I heard was O'Connell likes me," Mike jumped up from the ground, a proud grin on his face. "This is useful information, thanks for the help, Reese!"

As he jogged off — probably to find and torment Flynn — Reese called after him. "Don't tell her I said anything! She might kill me and call it protection!"

Mike was already across the courtyard, turning out of sight and didn't seem to hear her. Reese just hoped he had enough common sense to keep her name out of whatever he was going to taunt Flynn with. She groaned and dropped her head into her lap; great, she thought to herself, now not only is your friend going to be pissed but you have to try not to dwell too much on the fact that everything good in your life turns to shit. She stayed curled up until the lunch bell rang, Reese contemplated staying put and maybe having a cigarette for lunch but the growling coming from her intestines made up her mind for her.

Her joints groaned and muscles protested as she stood up, having gotten used to the position she was it. Shaking the numbness from her body, Reese slipped out from her hiding spot and melted into the crowd of tired teenagers. She stepped into the cafeteria, the heat radiating from the vents feeling nice on her frozen body. Reese made her way to the table that she and Flynn frequently occupied, dropping her bag before heading to the lunch line to get a heaping pile of tater tots.

Reese let her tray smack against the table, and slumped down into her seat. She chased one of the tater tots around her plate with her fork, and was content with that amusement when Emmett decided to join her. She glanced up at him, her green eyes lighting up. "Hey," she nodded, making room for his to join her. "What's up?"

"You weren't in English," he sounded worried. "You alright?"

"Yeah," Reese eased his concern. "I just needed some fresh air, I have a lot on my mind."

Emmett tossed his apple up into the air a few times, catching it and then repeating. "So," he started, looking at Reese nervously. "About last night—"

His question was cut short by a second tray hitting the table — and Reese had never been so happy in her life to see Flynn. Emmett smiled at her, "I'll talk to you later, Reese," he stood up moving to return to the table his siblings were seats at.

"What you don't want to talk to me?" Flynn called out with a mouth full of tater tots.

"Goodbye, Flynn," Emmett said with a light laugh. As he walked away, Flynn turned towards Reese and let out a long, exaggerated sigh.

"That was pretty heavy," Reese commented, sipping on her water. "Want to talk about it."

"No," Flynn dropped her head into her hand. "Yes. I don't know."

"This doesn't have anything to do with Newton does it?"

Flynn's mouth dropped open and she stuttered out an answer. "What! God, no! He's like so gross!"

Reese nodded thoughtfully. "So are you, I think you guys would be cute together."

"I would rather perish," Flynn mumbled and glanced over in the jock's direction watching him mix his friend's marinara sauce with his chocolate milk. "I mean, just look at him! It's like watching a kindergartner."

Reese spun around, watching Mike attempt to make his friend eat the mixture. "Flynn, you were literally doing the same thing yesterday."

"Yeah, but it's cute when I do it," she defended herself. "And besides, what was I supposed to do with the left over potatoes? Not see what would happen if I put my soda on it?"

"Christ, Flynn," Reese mumbled, rubbing her temples. "You're something else, you know that?"

"You sounded just liked Maeve right there," Flynn forced a dramatic shudder at the mention of her older sister. "You know I had all the intentions of telling you all about my dilemma but bringing up Newton made me forget. That's what he does to me, he makes me lose brain cells."

"And you had so many of those to begin with," Reese joked and Flynn shoved her lightly in response.

"You would get along great with my siblings," Flynn pouted, stabbing her fork into a tater tot. "They like to be mean to me too."

As Flynn launched into a spiel about how Reese shouldn't be rude to her protector, Reese let her gaze travel across the lunch room and land on Emmett's burly form. As if he sensed her, he spun around and when he spotted her familiar green eyes, his lips lifted up and smiled at her. Reese let the corners of her lips twitch (it was the best she could do) and turned back to her friend. As Flynn continued to prattle on and on about how Reese should respect her serious muscle mass, Reese allowed herself to imagine an alternate universe where she hadn't been born a Piedmont; a universe that would allow her to let the butterflies that tickled her stomach when Emmett smiled at her to grow. But she wasn't in that world. So Reese sank lower in her seat, wishing more than anything that she was just a normal girl with normal girl problems. Fate just didn't care what she wanted, apparently.

authors note: wow another chapter ?? so soon ?? ik. sorry it's trash but kara and i just figured out the plot and im soo excited for you guys to read it !!! but anyway reese is dealing some internal conflict bc she's catching feelings for emmett but knows that if she acts on said feelings that she could kill him (but not really bc home boi is already dead). also,,flynn and mike are gonna be a pOWER COUPLE like reese and emmett who ?? we don't know them here