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𓏲 ࣪₊♡𓂃 AS MUCH AS HER MOTHER TRIED, she couldn't keep her end of the promise, unable to find the culprit for the stalker—like note Sophie had received at her window. She knew for a fact that it had something to do with the wolves, but she didn't want to linger on it for longer than necessary and so she forgot about it, like most other important situations.

It was about two weeks later after the incident and everybody in the town knew of Bella Swan's depression, the Cullens had left town for an unexplained reason, but everyone assumed Bella's constant sulking was because of that fact.

Multiple of Sophie's friends tried to comfort her, which always ended in failure and it got to the point where Mike had begged Sophie to try. Layla smacked her brother at this, he knew about Jacob thanks to Eric's over—sharing and was being insensitive for his own benefit.

But, Sophie being the sweet girl she was, couldn't continue to watch Bella for weeks and possibly months sulk over a stupid boy. So, she found herself carrying her tray over to where Bella sat at the completely abandoned table where the Cullens used to sit, she was staring out of the window, her food untouched but her dark eyes snapped over to Sophie when she heard the chair beside her screech against the ground, a tray being placed down onto the table.

Sophie winced, trying to sit down quietly in order not to annoy the girl further, "Uh, hey." The St. James smiled sympathetically in a way she hoped would relax Bella's nerves, but it didn't work, the Swan staying silent, "So—"

"If you're here to persuade me to go to La Push or do something else that's dumb, forget it." Bella looked away, placing her hands in her lap as she stared out the cafeteria window again, trying her hardest to ignore Sophie's presence.

"Um..." Sophie was at a loss for words for just a moment before a lightbulb switched on in her mind, immediately knowing how to respond to Bella's bluntness, "For one, you sulking over Edward is fucking dumb. I mean, you're wasting precious time, he isn't going to come back. Are you sad that he's gone, is that why you're so... upset?" She chose her words carefully whilst also trying to get her point across and Bella just stared at her, dumbfounded.

"No. It—it was the way he left. He told me I wasn't right for him and that basically, he didn't love me." Bella felt herself begin to cry but she sniffled the tears back, refusing to burst into tears in a room full of people who were most likely judging her. She felt eyes staring at her every day, it was uncomfortable but it didn't bother her, all her mind was on was Edward.

"Who cares? He doesn't deserve you, Bella." Sophie attempted, but her mouth clamped shut when Bella looked over at her, her eyes narrowed in what looked to be anger.

"I loved him." Bella sobbed silently, squeezing her eyes closed and Sophie hesitantly placed her hand onto Bella's in hopes it would comfort her in some way. Sophie didn't like Bella, yes, but she didn't hate her, it wasn't as if Bella did anything directly wrong, everything was Jacob's fault.

"I know, but did he love you?" Sophie whispered, her voice hushed due to the students purposefully strolling by out of nosiness, she didn't want to expose Bella's reason for acting so depressed lately, she didn't deserve that.

Bella hesitated, wiping away her tears with her free hand, trying to compose herself before she spoke, stuttering her words, "If—if he did, he wouldn't have—have left." Sophie nodded in agreement, she knew that Edward could've possibly left because he loved her, because he wanted not to hurt her, but she knew that wouldn't help calm Bella down at all.

After a few moments of well—needed silence, Sophie forced a smile, caressing the back of Bella's hand, "How about we go and watch a movie next term, I have a lot of studying but I'll be free then?" The younger girl offered, going to watch a movie with Bella Swan wasn't anywhere close to on her bucket list but if it meant she'd stop moping around as if someone died, then it's good enough for her.

Bella looked surprised if anything, the two girls had hardly ever spoken to each other, maybe once or twice over the years Bella would visit before she completely left to live in Arizona full time. When Isabella returned to Forks for good, Sophie wasn't very welcoming, muttering little to no words to her unlike the rest of the friends she'd made at school.

She blinked a few times before sucking in a breath, a tiny curl appearing on the corners of her lips and that was enough for Sophie to feel accomplished until Bella opened her mouth, "Um, I'd love that. Next term is next month, right?"

"Yep!" Sophie grinned, patting Bella's hand before moving her hand away, placing it in her lap and Bella nodded, picking up her juice box, "We could see whatever you'd like. You like horror?" A romance movie would not be a good idea whatsoever, so her only option was to avoid all love genres, despite the fact that there is slight romance in some horror movies.

"Horrors are my favourite." Bella expressed, sipping on her apple juice and Sophie nodded, pulling out her cell from her pocket with intentions to get her phone numbers.

"Can I get your number? So we can plan the time and stuff?" Sophie looked at her with an expression of hopefulness and determination and Bella nodded without hesitation before typing her number into the St. James' contacts. The bell rang, signalling that it was the end of their lunch break and Sophie glanced back at their friends, her eyes immediately locking with Layla's before she looked back to Bella, "Well, I gotta go but I'll call you."

Bella nodded, a tight—lipped smile appearing on her lips and Sophie grinned, pushing herself up and picking up her tray holding food she hadn't touched, "Thank you, Sophie." Bella sent the girl a nod, to which Sophie returned before walking off towards Layla, who met her halfway.

"Well, fuck. What happened?" Layla hooked her arm with her cousin's, the two walking towards the trash can when Sophie dumped her half—eaten disgusting school meal and Sophie shrugged, chucking her used tray with the others before the two made their way to the exit of the cafeteria, leaving their friends at the table.

"I'll tell you later." She assured, the cousins heading towards their next shared class which they dreaded dearly; gym class.

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  AFTER SCHOOL, Sophie headed home, ate dinner with her parents, watched a movie per usual and Layla came over so they could FaceTime Embry on the blonde's laptop. She had promised them both she'd tell them everything about her interaction with Bella and unlike others, she kept her promises.

Sophie was sat criss—cross on her bed in front of the laptop whilst Layla laid on the floor beside the bed on her stomach, crocheting her latest project. Embry's face was displayed on the rather large screen, tucked under his bed sheets like a pillow squished inside of a pillowcase, looking cosier than ever.

"You're really going to watch a movie with her? Your arch nemesis?" Embry asked, his eyebrows knitted together in pure confusion and Sophie scrunched her face up, shaking her head immediately. Bella was far from her enemy.

"Okay, for one, Bella is not my arch nemesis, we're friends. It's Jacob that I hate." Sophie rolled her eyes as Layla giggled from below and Embry nodded, his eyes widening in realisation, making the brunette chuckle lightly, "And two, yes, I am gonna watch a movie with her. A horror movie."

"Oh, my God, you should watch that new zombie movie with Tom Cruise in it." Layla suggested, nodding at her cousin with a smirk and Sophie giggled, shaking head in humorous disbelief.

"Isn't Tom Cruise the one that's in Mission: Impossible?" Embry questioned, picking at his fingernails out of habit, a strand of his dark hair falling over his face and Sophie shrugged, she wasn't one for action movies.

"Yes, my brother!" Layla jumped up from the ground, a huge grin on her face and Sophie rolled her eyes, knowing how much Layla adored Mission: Impossible. She moved aside, climbing off of the bed as Layla took her space, rambling about the movie to Embry, who was hardly listening.

The St. James strolled over to her window, her eyes scanning over the woods, a tiny piece of her mind wondering if they were out there. She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against her windowsill as Layla's fast speaking began to slow down, all noise around her turning to a blur.

The round moon shone down on the side of her pale face, a slight glimpse of purple light in her left brown iris. But, as much as she stared intensely, there was no wolves, no people, nothing, just darkness between the tall, swaying trees.

"What are you doing?" Layla's voice brought her from her revery and she snapped her head over to her, forcing a small smile. Layla had spun the laptop around so Embry could see Sophie too, both of her best—friends staring at her in confusion.

"I thought I saw something..." The brunette shrugged, closing her curtains swiftly before she climbed onto her bed, lying down beside the blonde, snuggling into her side.

But, as Layla and Embry continued to speak to each other about Marvel movies, Sophie couldn't help but feel a sense of trepidation, worried about what was to come. Everything was fine, she hadn't seen anything unusual ever since the note showed up at her window but she was anxious about what that meant.

Maybe it meant that something big was coming, something she wouldn't be expecting but fortunately for her, she's expecting everything.

She just has to get through her exams and that dreaded apocalyptic movie with the girl her ex—crush loves.

@amxliewrites — 2024