The Fast Ones [Twilight]

It's my first day of my junior year but it's not a normal first day, it's the end of February; everyone already has their established friend groups, everyone has known each other their whole lives. I haven't been here since elementary school, no one is going to remember me but maybe that's a good thing.

"Oh my god, Cannon?" Is the first thing I hear as I step onto campus, "Yes?" I question, "Mike Newton, I played little league when you did and I thought you were so awesome." He gawks at me, "Oh thanks." I let out a breathy chuckle. "Mike, you're scaring her." Bella steps in, "Like how you all did to me when I first got here." Bella chuckles at the group of people following her to my rescue. "Guys, this is Trinity she just moved here she's cool though." Bella jumps right in, putting me on the spot. "Where'd you move from?" A peppy brown haired girl asks. "California." "North part?" "San Diego." "Oh, you're just a lot paler than I'd imagine, kinda like you Bella." She says, "Thanks Jess for pointing that out again." Bella chuckles nervously. "I don't go in the sun often and when I do I wear sunblock." I answer. "That's lame." Jess says. "Okay well, I'm going to class." I dismiss myself and quickly walk away from that awkward interaction. 

☪

It's been almost a week since I've been back in Forks, everyone here is so grey and boring. I'm so relieved it's the weekend, after school I decided to wander in the woods like I used to as a kid—it calms me, I like the stillness, it made everything slow down that was going bad in my life; at the time my parents' divorce, now—starting over in Forks in the middle of junior year. 

Suddenly the familiar sound of a bat cracking stimulates my ears from a distance; I curiously followed the sound—I've always had a keen sense of hearing. I can hear things from very far away, sometimes a little too far. 

 The comforting sound led me to a clearing I didn't know existed, tucked between a thick row of ancient cedars. There was a makeshift field, dirt worn into bases, and five figures moving across it with unnatural grace. I quickly ducked behind a bush and watched, my breathe caught in my throat; they were... fast.

One boy hit a ball so hard it vanished into the clouds. Another sprinted to the outfield and back before the ball had time to fall. Their movements were synchronized like dancers—perfect, eerie. Like something not entirely human. Just then, one of them stopped mid-swing and turned his head, looking straight at me, "You can come out," he said calmly, voice smooth like glass.

My heart nearly exploded out of my chest, "Sorry, I just heard the bat and wanted to see what the commotion was about." I explain. "You heard us?" the smallest girl with short brown hair asks in amazement. "Yeah it was loud." I explain and all their faces grow confused. "The thunder usually sounds that out." One boy with perfectly quiffed hair says with a small chuckle. They're all perfect looking, pale but beautiful; all five of them.

"You play?" he asked, changing the topic. I nodded slowly, "Yeah. I'm Trinity. Just moved back but you guys are... uh... pretty intense." A tall blonde girl who looks a little too familiar chuckled. "We get that a lot." "You're the pitcher right?" The small girl asks, I nod, "How'd you know?" "Word spreads fast here in Forks." She answers. "I'm Alice." She finally introduces herself, the blonde girl staring intensely at me, eyebrows furrowed head tilted. "I'm Edward Cullen." The boy with the perfectly quiffed hair says, "That's Rosalie." He nods towards the girl staring at me. "Emmett," he points to the hot buff one, "and Jasper." He motions towards the blonde boy standing next to Alice. "Nice to meet all of you, sorry to interrupt your game." I say beginning to back off. "Why don't you pitch to us?" Alice asks, "Gives me a chance to swing." She says, tossing me the ball in her hands. "This is a baseball." I say, spinning it in my hand, "Same thing right?" Emmett asks, "I'm sure I can manage." I huff, walking over to their mound, Edward standing at homeplate.

I toed an invisible rubber, set my stance, and threw. The ball screamed toward Edward like it had a mission; he swung. Crack! The sound echoed like a gunshot. The ball launched straight into the sky and vanished through the mist, my jaw fell open "No way." I muttered. Rosalie stepped up next, I threw her a curve and it bent hard—should've been unhittable, it's always unhittable. But not for her. Rosalie didn't just hit it, she placed it, like she had time to study the seams.

They took turns. One by one. And every pitch I delivered—fast, spinning, inside, outside—they crushed. Gracefully. Effortlessly. It wasn't just skill. It was something else. Something impossible. Something I've never saw in all my years playing softball, all the videos I've watched and coaches I've met—I've never witnessed a more talented group of people like the Cullens.

When it was Alice's turn, she didn't swing. Just held the bat and smiled. "You're good, Trinity," she said. "Really good." "Not good enough," I muttered, frustrated and also amazed. "You guys are like what, Team USA on steroids?" Jasper gave a half-smile. "Something like that."

The game ended quickly after that. The Cullens gathered, murmuring to each other in a way too fast and too quiet for me to catch. "Let me guide you out of here, you're pretty far from the mainlands." Edward says, guiding me partway back through the woods.

"You shouldn't tell anyone about us," he said suddenly. "Okay?" I question "I mean it. People don't get us. It's better if we keep this field to ourselves." "Only if I can play with you guys." I reason, "It's not safe." I stopped in my tracks, "What do you mean?" I ask, I mean their movement was unreal but I don't think that deems me not safe. He looked at me for a long moment, eyes unreadable. "Just promise." "I don't make promises without answers." I spit and that almost made him smile but he didn't answer. He just turned and vanished between the trees—gone so fast it took me a full three seconds to realize he was no longer beside me.

☪

"Hey kid how was school? Where have you been?" My dad bombards me with questions as I walk through the backdoor. "Good and woods, took a walk." "You shouldn't be in those woods. It's not as safe as it was when you were a kid, Trin." My dad reasons, "What's it with people and my safety today?" "What do you mean?" "Nothing." I hesitated but decided to keep my promise to Edward despite not having any answers. "You hungry?" My dad asks, grabbing two frozen dinners from the freezer, "Sure, whatcha got?" I ask, sitting up on the counter. "Chicken and mashed potatoes?" He asks and I nod, "Still your favorite?" He asks, throwing it into the microwave. "I'm more into the steak lately, rare only." "Still mooing?" He asks, slightly disgusted. "The blood juices taste so good." I rave, "You're gross, kid." He teases, "I like mine burnt." He says causing me to scrunch my face, "You're sick." I tease back. It feels good to banter with my dad like this again, I missed him; he's just so normal compared to my mother—she's a cruel, cold woman.

☪

Later that night as I was laying in bed, staring at the glow in the dark stars that no longer worked, I kept replaying the way the Cullens moved, their mechanics, their hitting, the way Edward disappeared.

No one is that fast, not even me and I was fast. Why do they want to be hidden? With that talent I'd want to be trying out for the olympics or something. Maybe they don't want anyone to know how talented they are but why?