WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN

≪•◦ CHAPTER TWO | YOU HAVE REALLY PRETTY EYES ◦•≫

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     It had been over a week and a half since the Salvatore kids learned about their permanent move, and two days since they finally arrived in Forks, Washington. Today marked their first day at the new school. Talia was starting her freshman year, Jaxson and Chloe were beginning their sophomore year, Colby and Grace were entering their senior year, and Jason, having already graduated, had secured a job at the police station thanks to their neighbor, Chief Charlie Swan.

     Their morning routine was always the same, but today felt different. Perhaps it was the prospect of staying at the same school for more than four months, unlike their previous experiences of moving every time Grace and Colby got into fights (mostly with others, saving their one-on-one battles for home) or when Colby was caught smoking in the parking lot, a habit she still hadn't kicked. Or maybe it was the adjustment to the four girls no longer sharing a room. Regardless, the day had a unique feel to it.

     "You guys have everything? Backpack? Lunch money? Pencils? Notebooks?" Heather asked her children as they descended the stairs one after another.

     "Mom," Colby began, trying to halt her mother's pacing around the kitchen. "This isn't our first first day of school. What is it, like our third this year, maybe?" She glanced at her siblings and then back at her mom, who stopped pacing and smiled at her kids.

     "You all look great. Let me take a picture," Heather said, pulling out her phone.

     "Bye, Mom!" the kids called out as they dashed towards their vehicles, eager to leave before their mom could follow them outside. "Love you!" she called after them, standing on the porch until her husband, Christopher, joined her, laughing.

     "Honey, this isn't their first time starting at a new school mid-year," he reminded her.

     Heather sighed. "I know, but I'm worried about Colby." Christopher wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "She'll be fine. It's not going to happen in the middle of the school day."

     "But what if it does? You know she has trouble controlling her magic," Heather fretted.

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     "We made it out alive!" Chloe exclaimed to Colby, Talia, and Jaxson as Colby parked in the Forks High School lot beside Grace's truck.

     "For now. We still have to survive an entire school year. Do you think I could make the volleyball team?" Colby asked, getting out of the car and joining her siblings in front of Grace's truck.

     "Colbs, all you have to do is make friends. You've been on the team and the captain at every school we've attended," Grace reassured her as the Salvatore siblings fell into step together.

     "Easy for you to say, but I guess that's true," Colby muttered, making eye contact with nearly the entire student body. Her cheeks flushed as she looked back at Grace, Talia, Jaxson, and Chloe.

     "Really, because it looks like everyone can't take their eyes off you, Colb," Talia teased, smirking.

     "Oh, please," Colby retorted. "He's not—never mind, he just looked and winked at me. Okay, inside we go. Let's move, people!" Colby said, quickening her pace and nudging her siblings towards the school entrance. They laughed and followed her into the main office.

      "You know, you've never been shy before," Chloe remarked, glancing at her older sister.

     "Yeah, because before we didn't need to meet people and make friends," Colby replied, smiling at the front desk lady.

     "How may I help you kids?" the greying woman asked, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.

     "We're new, the Salvatores," Colby said, smiling warmly at the older woman. She rifled through her folders before pulling out ten sheets of paper, which included their schedules and maps of the school.

     "There are a lot of you. Reminds me of the Cullens—there's about five of them as well," the woman remarked, handing each teen their papers. They all nodded and thanked her before stepping out to examine their schedules.

     "Oh, how I love having P.E. first period," Colby said with a sarcastic smile, glancing at her schedule: PE, Art, History AP, Calculus, Lunch, and Anatomy.

     "On the bright side, big sis, we all have lunch together and we have art together. But why are you taking History AP and Anatomy? I thought seniors were supposed to take Physics?" Chloe asked, peering at each of her siblings' schedules.

     "Because I love history. We've been over this before, and I already took Physics back in sophomore year. I'm good at both, you know," Colby replied.

     "Yes, yes, we are very aware you are the smart Salvatore. Now enough of that, are we sitting together at lunch?" Grace asked with a laugh, knowing they all had lunch together.

     "Sure," the younger ones chorused with eye rolls and laughs before they departed to their first periods as the late bell rang.

     Colby walked into the gym, watching the girls play volleyball and the guys play basketball. As she made her way towards the coach, she saw a ball hurtling towards a brunette in front of her. The girl awkwardly hit it, sending it flying towards the boys and hitting a blonde in the back of the head.

     "Oh," Colby said, her mouth wide open before she burst into laughter. "Nice one," she said to the girl, who looked at her like a deer in headlights before running towards the guy.

     Colby handed the coach her schedule with an annoyed smile. "Colby Salvatore, you're late, but I'll let it slide on your first day. I'll give you some clothes, and you can participate tomorrow since class is almost over. Follow me," the coach said. Colby did as she was told, but not before catching the eye of the girl who hit the volleyball. Colby saw either fear or something else in the girl's brown eyes, making her smile sweetly, reminding herself that she was actually staying at this school and might as well make an effort to make friends.

     "Here you go," the coach said, handing Colby gym clothes, a lock, and its combination. "Pick a locker, put the clothes in, and do whatever you want today. I really don't care," the coach said.

     "Do you by chance have a volleyball team?" Colby asked, stopping the older woman.

     "Yeah, you wanna try out? We're playing volleyball again tomorrow, so we'll see how you are, and I'll let you know if you're good enough to actually try out for the team." And with that, the coach left.

     "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Colby muttered to herself as she put her clothes in a locker and locked it, noting the locker number and combination in her phone before walking out.

     Colby awkwardly sat on the bleachers, watching the others play. "Hey, I'm Jessica. You must be one of the Salvatore kids, Colby, right?" a brunette said, walking up to her.

     Colby nodded. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

     Jessica laughed. "Word gets around here in Forks. Plus, the description everyone had of your family is spot on. You have really pretty hazel eyes, Chloe has brown eyes, and she has a twin brother named Jaxson who has an uneven jawline, while you and Chloe have sharp jawlines like the rest of your siblings. You have an older sister named Grace who's a senior like you, and you two are Irish twins, which is pretty cool, honestly. Then there's your little sister, Talia, who's a freshman with big doe eyes, and your older brother, Jason, who graduated already and has a job at the police station." Jessica rattled off in what felt like one breath.

     "Jeez, take a breath. That's incredibly creepy. Is that why people stare? To get our looks down to a science?" Colby asked with a laugh.

     Jessica laughed too. "I like you. We're going to be great friends. I'll introduce you to the others. I already have a feeling they'll like you." Colby smiled, feeling a sense of relief at the prospect of making a friend. "Yeah, that sounds good, dude," she said with a laugh.

     "Oh, there's another new girl in my grade, Isabella Swan. She's over there," Jessica said, pointing towards the girl who had hit the blonde boy in the back of the head. Colby nodded. "I saw her earlier when I walked in. She's got one hell of a spike," Colby joked.

     "That's what I said when I saw her hit Mike," Jessica replied, nodding.

     "Why not introduce me to Isabella?" Colby suggested, setting her bag down and standing next to Jessica, who was quite a bit shorter than Colby's 5'8" frame.

     "Yeah, why not," Jessica said, linking her arm with Colby's and walking over towards Isabella.

      "Hey Bella, this is Colby," Jessica said as they reached the brunette. Bella turned and looked up at Colby, who felt like a giant next to her. Luckily, the blonde boy was taller than Colby, making her feel a bit more normal.

     Bella looked at Colby for a moment before smiling awkwardly. "Hey, I'm Bella," she said, sticking her hand out. Colby hesitated before shaking it. "Colby," she introduced herself. The three girls smiled at one another.

     'Maybe making friends won't be too hard after all,' Colby thought as the coach blew her whistle for the kids to change.

     "See you later, right?" Jessica asked with a raised brow as she slowly backed away.

     "Definitely," Colby said with a smile, exiting the gym and shaking her head with a small laugh.

      As she walked out the door, she took out her schedule, not paying attention to where she was going until she bumped into something hard.

     "Shit, I'm so sor—" Colby began, but stopped when she caught the golden gaze of a dark-haired boy.

     "No, it's fine. It was my fault. I'm Emmett Cullen," the boy said with a smirk that made Colby's knees weak. She couldn't deny he was gorgeous.

     "Colby Salvatore," she said, surprisingly awkwardly, which wasn't like her.

     "Salvatore? You're the new family that just moved here, right?" Emmett asked, a sparkle in his eyes. Colby was mesmerized by his golden eyes, never having seen anything like them.

     "Uh, yeah, that's us. You have really pretty eyes," Colby blurted out, causing Emmett to laugh loudly. A few students looked over at them with surprised expressions.

     "Sorry, that was really weird. I gotta go," Colby said, feeling her cheeks heat up as she quickly walked away.

    'You're so stupid, Colby,' she thought, quickly walking into her art class. Everyone's eyes were on her as her younger sister arrived behind her.

     "Colby Salvatore running to class? What happened?" Chloe asked with a laugh.

     "I'll tell you later," Colby said simply as the teacher greeted them.

     "You must be the Salvatore sisters. Welcome to Forks. Sadly, we don't have an empty table for you two, but Colby, you can sit beside Rosalie Hale in the front of row three, and Chloe, you can sit beside Angela Weber in front of row one," the teacher said after handing back their schedules.

     Colby slowly walked to the partner table where a pretty blonde sat. The two made eye contact as Colby sat down. The blonde was stiff but soon relaxed when Colby smiled at her.

     "Hi, I'm Colby Salvatore," Colby introduced herself, thinking that since she'd be sitting beside the blonde for the rest of the school year, she might as well introduce herself.

     "I know. Rosalie Hale," the blonde replied after a moment of silence. Colby could tell Rosalie was tense but couldn't figure out why.

     'This is going to be one hell of a year,' Colby thought before turning her attention to the teacher.