Is This What A Normal Life Is?!

The school week after I joined Forks High was, in a word, draining. Years of being as anti-social as I was had left me ill-prepared for the sheer effort of interacting with so many new people. It wasn't that I had anything against my new friends; they were all caring, fun, and happy. I just struggled to find common ground with most of them.

My life on the streets, constantly worrying about where my next meal would come from, where I'd find shelter, or even if I'd be safe, had made me... jaded.

'Maybe I should talk to someone about this professionally,' I thought. 'This isn't healthy. I have everything I could ever want now, but I'm still stuck in the past.' Lost in thought, I drove along the winding roads of the Quileute Reservation.

La Push was close to the main town, so finding the signs pointing towards the beach was easy enough.

'I should figure out a way to get some DNA from one of the locals,' I mused.

'I wonder if assimilating it would give me access to all their shapeshifting abilities? I'd hate to be stuck only being able to turn into a wolf.' I'd been keeping up with my research, reading and watching the Twilight stuff.

At first, I assumed the tribe were werewolves—you know, the kind that fully transform under a full moon and lose their minds. But thankfully, it turned out they were just a watered-down version of shapeshifters.

In my spare time, I'd also started reading comics, manga, and novels. I was trying to expand my knowledge of the supernatural world, hoping it would help me blend in more seamlessly wherever I ended up. 'The ability to shift my fingers into wolf's claws would be really useful,' I thought.

'Especially in close-quarters combat.'

Parking the car, I was greeted by the beautiful ocean stretching out before me. The rain made it look a bit more dreary than usual, but it was still a sight to behold. I spotted my new friends getting changed into their wetsuits and organizing their gear.

"Eric! I heard you're a disaster when it comes to surfing. Should we have the ambulance on standby today?" I yelled, walking towards them with a smirk.

The group turned at my voice, and some of them laughed at Eric and his perpetual struggle to stand up on a surfboard.

"Ha ha, Cyrus. Maybe if you're nice, I'll even let you in on my secrets to surfing!" he replied smugly, clutching his surfboard.

I just laughed at his confidence. Jessica and Angela gave me a quick hug before moving aside, carrying their bags, and leading the way to the beach. I overheard them whispering to each other, clearly thinking they were out of earshot.

"I swear, she's become even more of a shell of herself since he left. What the hell did Edward do to Bella?" Angela whispered.

"Ugh! I don't know, Ange, she's always been a bit weird," Jessica grumbled. "She wouldn't even come to the beach to clear her head. Poor Chief Swan looks like he's losing his mind."

'So, she's gone straight into catatonic mode... I don't get women,' I thought. 'This would be a perfect episode for Dr. Phil, though. "My baby daddy is a vampire who dumped me in the woods."' I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

'Getting involved with the Cullens is a nightmare I'd rather avoid, but there's no other easy way for me to get my hands on vampire DNA. Maybe I could intercept Laurent on his way to kill Bella and get him to bite me? I could get the venom, and if he tried to drink my blood, he'd drop dead on the spot.'

Laying down on my towel, I watched the guys head into the water. They seemed really eager to impress the girls with their surfing skills. I took off my shirt, and the cool ocean breeze washed over my skin as I closed my eyes.

"Oh. My. God. Ang, look at him. He's got muscles on top of muscles! What the hell are they feeding him?" I couldn't help but smirk as I listened to Jessica drool over my new physique.

"I'd say steroids, but we've seen him play sports," Angela said, and the audible gulp that followed inflated my ego even more.

Turning my head, I glanced at both girls in their swimsuits. "You know, my eyes are up here, ladies. Seriously, I'm not a piece of meat."

I couldn't help but laugh as Jessica choked on her water, while Angela did a slightly better job of recovering, simply slapping my chest. "Shut up. I've seen you checking us out too!" Gods, she's quiet, but she's got a sharp tongue.

Humming, I just closed my eyes and enjoyed a day free from school and the supernatural entities that infested this town.

(Two Months Later)

I'd been in this world for a total of two and a half months now. It turns out that having friends, a place to call home, and regular meals does wonders for a person's mental health. Angela had become my best friend. Sure, she was attractive, but we'd grown closer as friends than anything else. The rest of the group had become true friends, too, even with Jessica acting like a drama queen, Mike being a total spaz most of the time, and Eric acting like a yappy chihuahua.

We were sitting in the cafeteria when Isabella Swan walked up to our table. She stood there in complete silence for a minute, just staring at us. 'Fuck, this is awkward. She looks even worse now,' I thought.

"Uh, hi. You're Cyrus, right?" she mumbled. Before I could answer, she continued, "Sorry, I know who you are. I'm sorry I didn't thank you sooner for saving me. I've been going through a bit of a rough time since then."

Scratching the back of my neck, I nodded. "Yeah, no worries, Bella. I hope you're doing better now."

Biting her lip, she turned to the group and looked at each of us. "I was wondering if you all wanted to see a movie tonight?" We all paused, looking at each other, hoping someone would take the lead and respond.

"Wow, Bella Swan wants to hang out with us?" Jessica said snarkily, though she seemed to regret it as soon as Angela elbowed her in the ribs. "Sorry, sorry. Yeah, sure, what time should we meet? Say, around 8?"

Bella's eyes lit up for a moment. "Cool, yes. I'll see you all then." Turning quickly, she strode out of the cafeteria, leaving us all confused.

"Well, that was awkward," I said.

_____

Turns out my friends are damned flakes.

Angela had come down with the flu, and Mike and Eric were, as usual, holed up in his mother's basement playing Call of Duty. Jessica called to inform me of our traitorous friends. Seeing as it would be just the three of us, we decided to take my car. What can I say? My car was a thing of beauty.

Even Bella agreed to come with us, mostly because her father didn't want her driving alone, and partly because her car was a piece of shit.

The drive to Seattle was awkward, to say the least. Both girls spoke sparingly to one another, while I just enjoyed the radio, which was playing some Linkin Park.

Since I have zero concept of what a good movie is, Jessica decided we should watch a rom-com. Sitting in the theater, I was hoping the roof would collapse and save me from two hours of torture. Unfortunately, I'd used up all my luck when I gained Eos, so I sat there like a good friend.

'So, he leaves his fiancée, quits his job, and moves back to his small-town home because the girl he liked in high school was finally single? Please tell me this shit doesn't make money. Oh God! They're talking about marriage after two dates.'

"I want my money and time back, ladies. That movie killed every last brain cell in my head," I complained as we left the cinema. Jessica just laughed at me, while Bella seemed lost in her own thoughts.

Now, seeing as I had watched the Twilight films, I knew to avoid the biker bar where Bella would become a temporary fan of the guy offering her a ride.

We completely avoided that whole situation since I had parked on the opposite side of the street.

Unfortunately, it seemed fate had other plans, and Bella was so lost in her head that she walked in the opposite direction of the car, leading her to her canon meeting with the biker. Cue Jessica flipping her shit.

"Can you believe her? She actually decided to get on the back of a dirty bike, leaving us here?" God, she had a mouth on her.

"It'll be fine. I'm pretty sure she's got a couple of screws loose, thanks to this Edward fella. Her dad's the Chief of Police; I'm sure she's got some pepper spray," I said. I really couldn't give a fuck about changing her mind. We're her 'friends,' not her parents.

Fifteen minutes later, Bella hopped off the bike and walked towards us. Her face was a myriad of emotions, but the one that stood out the most was excitement. 'She's so odd. They're literally voices in your head telling you to avoid danger.'

After Jessica's little tirade towards Bella, we hopped into the car and headed back home.

_____

After dropping the girls off at their homes, I made quick work of heading to my own. 'System, am I supposed to do anything in this world, like save the heroine, or help the Cullens out?' I asked.

[Host has no true objectives in each world they live in. The Host can cause happiness or chaos, disregarding the plotline or canon events without any repercussions. There may be certain quests offered, depending on the direction the Host wishes to move.]

'So, hypothetically, if I decided to go power-hungry mode, I could walk into the Volturi and kill them all, and it wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things?' I added. 'Now, I probably wouldn't do that unless they tried to hurt me or something.'

[Correct.]

Humming, I parked the car as I thought about my possible objectives. My martial arts were going swimmingly, to the point I had three classes a week instead of one. I had advanced to the point that I really didn't need an instructor and I could be the one teaching now.

'Maybe I should start testing the limits of my powers, go for a deep dive in the ocean and let the pressure start crushing me?' My regeneration hasn't grown since the knife incident, and there really aren't many weapons I could get that are sharp enough. 'Maybe a gun?'

Hopping into the shower, I lathered myself with body wash as I hummed a tune. The hot water cascading down my body washed away any annoyance Bella Swan had given me.

As I was finishing up in the shower, my attention was pulled towards my phone ringing. 'Who could that be at this hour?'

Turning off the shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist. The phone flashed 'No Caller ID,' which was odd, but I still picked up.

"Hello?" I asked.

There was a sharp intake of breath before a soft, siren-like voice spoke out. "You need to stay away from Bella Swan."

'Fucker says what?'