A "Normal" Day at Forks High

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:00 pm

Edward and Alice exchanged a quick glance. Well, should we tell her? Alice thought to Edward, who nodded his head in agreement.

"We're gong to work on your trust issues," Edward stated calmly. "Don't object, you know we're right."

"Edward," Alice buried her face in her hands. "Don't say it like that!"

"Then how would you phrase it?"

"Joan, do you mind if we discuss our trust issues?" Alice demonstrated for Edward, being serious. "And we like hanging out with you, you're easy to talk to," she smiled warmly at Joan. "So refreshing from all the other people who are scared stiff of us."

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Fri Apr 10, 2009 9:35 pm

Joan's ears tinged a bright pink, a usual sign of her modest embarrassment. "Fair enough," she said tiredly, rubbing her arms for warmth as she searched for somewhere to begin. Sadly, she came up with nothing. 'Well, aren't you the brilliant human?' She mocked herself silently as she asked, "So where's the issue?"

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Fri Apr 10, 2009 9:41 pm

"Well, we don't know how to trust you, and you sure as hell don't know how to trust us," Edward smirked. "Shall we get to know each other before judging?"

Alice nodded, spaced out in her own little world whenever Edward talked.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Fri Apr 10, 2009 9:44 pm

"And how do you propose we do that, oh wise and humble vampire Lord?" Joan asked sardonically, getting a bit annoyed with her growing headache and the lack of plan of action, "Exchanging angst ridden pasts over tea and a box of Kleenex?"

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Fri Apr 10, 2009 9:53 pm

"No, we're going to...um..." Alice thought. "Just hang out like normal teens, you know?"

"Brilliant plan, Einstein," Edward chuckled.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:04 pm

Joan chuckled lightly, leaning her forehead against her hand. 'They sure do act like brother and sister,' she thought to herself. She asked softly, "So what? Another field trip?"

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:12 pm

"Not if you don't want to," Alice told Joan. "Just say when, we don't have much of a social life," she chuckled.

"You're such a dork," Edward teased. Alice smacked him.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:23 pm

Joan laughed loudly this time at their childish banter, suddenly feeling happier than she had been in days. 'Weeks actually,' she thought, 'When was the last time I actually laughed?' She smiled brightly, hearing the school bell ring right on time.

She stood up, putting her things away in her backpack as she said, "We can do something tonight. Movies? Or another walk along the beach..." 'I like beaches,' she added thoughtfully in her mind.

Joan swung the backpack over her shoulder and dug in her pocket for her keys. She gave a small wave as she started walking out into the parking lot.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:33 pm

"The beach?" Alice asked.

"Uh-huh," Edward replied. "Calms humans down, you know?"

"Brilliant, it's like Jasper, but not," Alice approved.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 12:55 am

"Dad!" Joan shouted out in the empty foyer, "I'm home!" She hung her rain jacket up the coat rack by the door and threw her backpack in the cupboard underneath it. She listened quietly when she got no response and heard a slam come from her dad's bedroom. He soon turned into the foyer with his business suitcase packed and ready to leave.

Joan's smile faded into a concerned expression as she asked, "Dad, where are you going?"

His quick reply was, "Away from here. See you soon." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and rushed out the door, grumbling. Joan hadn't seen her dad act so brash and hastened in years. 'Not since he left mom...' She thought to herself when suddenly, another pair of footsteps rounded the corner from where her father came.

Joan dropped her keys, pure and utter shock written across her face as her mother, Kiki Puttnam, stepped into the foyer and more importantly, towards her. She smiled sweetly; it left a bitter taste in Joan's mouth. Kiki asked politely, "How was school, darling?"

'What the HELL is she doing here?' Joan thought as she bent down to pick up her keys, staring intently at the mosaic pattern in the carpet, "Good." Her voice was also calm and polite but there was an underlying bitter tone in her words; "Did you make Dad run off again?"

"Oh come now, Jo..." Kiki said dismissively which caused Joan's hand to twist into a fist.

"It's Joan," she countered, anger clear in her tone now, "And you have no right to come here. At all. I visit you for two weeks every summer and that's all the court allowed you. No surprise visits."

She scoffed at her daughter who seemed to be turning red in the face, "Well, rules can be broken every once in a while. Besides, I've missed you..." She tried to step closer to Joan but Joan stepped back to the door, her hand reaching for the handle.

"Well, this rule could get you in jail and away from your precious Daniel." Joan said, her voice edgy as she contemplated whether she leave now or wait for her estranged mother to explain herself.

Kiki stepped a little bit closer as she asked, "Why are you acting so bitter? I haven't done anything wrong-"

"Except break Dad's heart," Joan countered once more, "And stomp on all the pieces."

Kiki puffed out her chest and her lips curved into a thin line as she told her, "Your father is a grown man. He can take the pain. Now stop being childish. You're coming with me."

"Why? Says who?" Joan shouted angrily, feeling tears at the edge of her eyes, "You? You can't make me! I've been happy since Dad left you and you just coming here ruins all my goddamn happiness and the happiness we've built up without you! Why can't you just stay away and enjoy the two weeks you have with me every year 'cause that's the way you've always wanted it to be!

"I was always in the way of you and Dad because Dad loved me more! You knew it and you hated it! You wanted me sent away and you kept torturing Dad by making him feel guilty about doing something wrong but he never did! It was your goddamn fault! Yours! You drove him away!" She pressed her sleeve to her face, stopping the tears that were spilling down her cheek.

"You have goddamn Daniel so why the hell are you back here?!" Joan asked quietly, feeling weaker from today's events and now this. "For me?" She felt sobs build up in her chest, making her clutch her chest tightly in pain.

Kiki stepped even closer, her outright shock replaced with a comforting smile that seemed forced, "Oh sweetie. I've loved you. I've always loved you, more than your father did. That's why-"

"Liar," Joan accused softly, looking up at her mother through bleary eyes. When her mother wouldn't stop coming closer, she yelled, "LIAR!" She turned the handle and ran out the door, into the sudden downpour, towards her car. She heard her mother shout at her to stop but she was already in her car and driving off.

Joan's chest still throbbed in pain, her eyes filled with more tears than were already falling down her cheeks. She was so blinded by her anger and sadness that she didn't realize where she was driving to until she stopped in a parking lot, along a barren shore. The same barren shore that she and Edward chatted on only last night.

She pushed open the car door into the now lighter rain shower and made her way towards the beach. There, she collapsed onto the sand, wrapping herself tight and she began to sob, feeling all the pain in her body bubble over in her chest.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 5:27 pm

Alice froze in vision, scaring all the other Cullens.

"Alice...?" Edward asked. "Was that....?"

"Yes, it was Joan," Alice admitted as she walked off to the garage. "I gotta go to her."

"Not without me," Edward growled.

"No, just stay here, Eddy," Alice stated calmly. "I need to go alone, I think."

"But-"

"I KNOW what I'm doing!" she growled as she got into her car and sped away.

Alice drove insanely fast to the beach, wondering what the hell Joan was doing there. She ran over to the distraught human, worrying about her mental health.

"Joan? What's wrong? What happened?" Alice cried out as she hugged Joan carefully, not caring that she had the body temperature of a glacier.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:00 pm

Joan looked up, bleary-eyed, to see herself in Alice's somewhat embrace. She shivered at the vampire's cool touch but enjoyed the comfort nonetheless. She drew in a deep breath but that only made her shudder with sobs even more.

'This is absolutely ridiculous!' She thought, mortified, 'I'm crying in front of a vampire... No, that's not it... I'm crying in front of my friend. Now, that's embarrassing. Worse than when I skinned my knee and started crying big, fat tears that had Mike calling me a crybaby for weeks afterward.' She laughed at the memory but it came out as a choked sob.

"I... hate her," Joan managed to say, suddenly feeling shameful that she was actually crying over this. 'This is stupid! I'm a seventeen year old girl. I know better to cry over stupid things...' She wiped away her tears but they kept coming, 'So, why can't I stop?'

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:04 pm

"What happened?" Alice asked concernedly. "Who did this to you? I'll kill them!"

Who's this "she" Joan mentioned? Alice wondered. Maybe she'll tell me? She noticed the rain for the first time. "C'mon, let's get into my car," she suggested as she picked up Joan and put her down carefully in the passenger's seat of her Porsche. Alice sat down in the driver's seat. "What's wrong? Is there someone I need to kill?"

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:12 pm

Joan shook her head, leaning it on the windowpane as she watched the rain fall outside. She chuckled sourly, hiccuping a bit from her previous sobbing session, "It'd make me feel better but it'd be wrong. So wrong..." She traced the rain droplets that raced down the window and thought of a happier time...

She was six, sitting in the chair closest by the porch door in the kitchen at her mother's house. It was pouring buckets outside so she and Mommy couldn't go out and play in the garden. She sighed, mashing her cheeks between her fists as she watched the rain keep pouring and pouring and-

Suddenly, she got up from her seat and stood in front of the door. She pulled it open with all her might and ran outside into the rain, getting her favorite sundress soaked. But she didn't care as she spun around, watching the rain dance around her. Soon, she heard her mother calling her to come in and get dried off.

So she stopped and ran over to where both her Mommy and Daddy were waiting by the door, with a big towel and a hot cup of cocoa...

Joan sighed, turning back to face the curious vampire as she whispered, "It's my mother."

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:27 pm

"Oh," Alice understood. "Isn't she in Maine? What did she do?"

That bitch! I'll claw her eyes out! she thought venomously. She watched the rain fall as she waited for Joan's explanation patiently.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:36 pm

"She's supposed to be," Joan stated bitterly, wiping away the dry tear stains under her eyes, "But she decided to give us a 'surprise' visit, which is totally against the court ruling... The nerve of her! She made my dad run out of the house even! I can't... It's just... She's so impossible! And she wonders why Dad left her!

"And my Dad... He just ran and left me with her. I know he never wanted to see her again but honestly? He just left me with her..." She huffed, annoyed but her heart soon weighed down with guilt, guilt of accusing her loving father of such atrocious behavior.

'Mom's the one who can't fix her problems, who runs away... I bet if I was in my Dad's place, I'd do the exact same thing,' she reasoned dejectedly. She glanced outside the window and realized they were speeding through a thick, dense forest.

Joan asked curiously, "Where are we going?"

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:40 pm

"My place, you don't want to go home, do you?" Alice asked quizzically. "Don't worry about Jasper, he won't come near us," she added hastily. "I'll make sure of it...Any other objections? Maybe we can contact the police and let them know about your mother?" she suggested. "Carlisle has a lot of credibility with the police, she might even get jail time," Alice grinned.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:44 pm

"I'm fine with going to your house but... can we just forget about my mother? I... She can go to jail some other time," Joan said wearily but her inner voice screamed, 'Are you crazy?! Here's your chance to lock up the crazy bitch and you won't go for it?! ARE YOU INSANE?!'

She managed to ignore though, passing it off as another sign of exhaustion. 'I just don't want to deal with it. Any of it. I'll just push it aside for now and deal with it later,' she reasoned with herself weakly, even though she knew she was lying to herself.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:49 pm

"Alright," Alice agreed unsteadily as she pulled into the driveway. Damn, I really wanted to see some legal action, too!

"Can you walk?" Alice asked worriedly as she opened her door. "Or are you totally spent?"

She acknowledged that it probably wasn't the best idea to bring Joan home with her, but what other option did she have? Leave her with that bitch? Hell no! She mentally prepared herself for the chastisement that was sure to come from Carlisle and Esme.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:55 pm

Joan waved off Alice's hand as she said, "I think I can manage for the moment." She stepped out of the car, holding onto the door for some support when she looked up at the Cullens' house.

She gave a low whistle at the beauty of it; "Damn, I knew you guys were loaded but this..." She also noticed that the entire Cullen family had assembled by the giant window that overlooked the driveway.

It sent goosebumps up and down her skin, making her look down, 'Why do I have a feeling that today just completely sucks and isn't going to get any better?'

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 8:00 pm

Alice laughed, "Yeah, when your dad has lived since the 1600's, one tends to accumulate money."

She noticed her adoptive family at the window, watching Alice. Edward, tell them to GO AWAY! she thought up towards Edward. He nodded and herded the other Cullens away. Alice smiled in relief and turned to Joan. "Sorry about that, I swear they won't bother you," she promised as she opened the door and ushered Joan inside.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 8:10 pm

Joan stepped slowly up the steps and looked around in amazement, almost dazzled by the sheer beauty of the house.

It was definitely a home for the eternal. It had many memories on each wall, each telling its own story about a place where the Cullens lived or traveled to. Or a person, a friend of theirs. Even artifacts from their own history hung on the walls.

She let out the breath she was holding and all she could say was, "Magnificent."

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 8:14 pm

"I knew you'd like it," Alice smiled. "Wanna see my room?" she asked as she led Joan up the stairs and down a hallway. She opened a door. "Behold, the best room in this house," she declared as she threw the door open, revealing the pale blue room. Alice walked into the powder blue room, spinning around happily, finally able to show someone who wasn't her family her decorating skills. She loved her family and all, but they could easily lie to her. Well, maybe not Rose, who was a crazy bitch, but still. It would nice to have an outsider's opinion.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 8:19 pm

"It's very... blue," Joan responded lamely. In all honesty though, she was completely stunned by the room's decor. It looked like it popped out of a fairytale and Alice was the princess.

"You did this yourself?" She asked, very impressed and a bit overwhelmed.

'They all have such exquisite taste. It's almost... inhuman,' she thought and chuckled at her ironic joke.

"Do I get to see the rest of the house or am I only allowed to bask in the glory that is your room?" Joan teased good-naturedly.

Subject: Re: A "Normal" Day at Forks High Sun Apr 12, 2009 8:25 pm

"Yes, I did," Alice smiled happily.

"What? Isn't my room good enough for you?" she teased. "Sure, let's go to Edward's room!" she giggled as she led the way to Edward's bedroom, where he was busy composing.

"SURPRISE!" Alice cried as she snuck up on him.

Edward didn't flinch. "Hello, Alice, Joan."

"You heard us," Alice pouted. "You're no fun! Dad said not to use your powers on me!"

» A New Vampire in Forks
» A normal day, or as normal as it could be
» Hallo (well, apparently "Hallo" isn't long enough to be a title. hunh.)