chapter two, her beauty is unknown

"OH," the school office clerk's face dropped as she scanned the paper Noelle gave her as soon as she got to the high school. "I—I don't think we can give you the needed space." The woman looked at Noelle with an apologetic smile.

Noelle has been through this many times and received the same, apologetic look, telling her that if there is an emergency, the school will likely be in trouble. The girl pushed her gloved hands together, looking at the administrator reassuringly: "These papers are only to explain why I cannot do P.E. and it would be good if you'd inform the teachers in case I would have a reaction. I don't need more space."

"Oh," she breathed out again, neatly pushing the papers. Staying silent for a few moments, reading the papers over and over. "I'm sorry, but is there—medicine? What would we need to do if you had an emergency? Perhaps we need to buy some medicine to have on hand?"

Noelle shook her head. "No, there is no need. I have injections with me all the time. If—there would be a complication and I'd have any trouble breathing or a seizure, calling 911 would be the best."

"Oh..." The woman sighed again and nodded. "I'll let all our staff know this information. What about other students?"

The girl hesitated for a second, fiddling with her gloved fingers. "It's best if students wouldn't know about that. They can get—purposely curious." Curious wouldn't be the right word to describe what some of the students have done to her, but the woman in front of her seemed terrified enough.

"Of course... Let us hope that there won't be any type of complication or—worsening of your condition." She offered the girl a smile. Placing the paper away, she took two pieces of paper and placed them in front of her. "Your schedule and a map. We've taken credit for the information sent by you and we got you into all the courses preferred. Are you planning to be a doctor?"

Noelle smiled. Both of her parents were doctors. Her mother is a gynecologist and her father a cardiologist. They both met in med school and that's how their love blossomed. That's why a little town was perfect to move to – Forks really needed specialized doctors to have, and they offered a very good pay. When you have two doctors in the family, there is a huge possibility that her choice will be the same. An immunologist, most likely.

"Yes, I do plan that."

"Oh, right. Your parents must be the new doctors in our hospital. It's good to know that healthcare will become even more available." The clerk smiled, watching how the girl took the papers. "If you have any problems or questions, please, don't hesitate to come to me."

"Thank you," Noelle breathed out. "Have a nice day."

With these words, she left the school's office, and she was found in a hallway. It was slowly flooding with people. Looking at her schedule, she noted that the first lesson was P.E. Guess she has a free period now. Wanting to explore the school during the class, when there was less chance that she would meet someone, she wandered outside as it was pouring rain.

Noelle felt herself smiling. This kind of weather was refreshing. As much as she would've wished to just sit in the rain and let herself get completely drenched, she knew she had a whole day of school ahead of her. She took her umbrella out of her bag and headed outside, going around the wooden benches and tables and closer to the forest, to sit on a rock nearby.

Meanwhile in the parking lot, right before the school rang, Eros hopped out of Edward's Volvo. "Which subject do we have now?" he asked as he closed the door, at once feeling pissed. The rain was making him completely drenched as his curls stuck to his forehead, making him look no better than a wet cat. He quickly rushed to the entrance, under a roof, rubbing his curls so the drops would fall on the ground. Shivers went up his body—ugh.

"Physical." Edward followed him.

Eros frowned, "You want to skip?"

"No." He seemed serious.

The taller one looked at the other one curiously. "Ah... Bella's going to be there."

Edward seemed to wince, not wanting to talk about it. "She has a tendency to hit someone on the head with a ball."

"Let's hope it will be you this time," Eros pushed his thumbs up, looking at the window to his right, noticing a white umbrella with little flowers near the forest. The thought of sitting out there, in the rain, even under an umbrella seemed unbearable. "Who's the psycho over there?"

Edward looked to where he was looking at, shrugging: "Probably the new girl."

"Another new girl?" Eros raised his eyebrows. "I leave once, and all the interesting stuff happens."

Both of them shared a look before their paths changed – Edward went to the gym and Eros got to the library. As much as he preferred to be outside, he had to stuff himself in the library because it was always raining in Forks. Entering the library, he greeted the librarian.

It was a lovely old lady, who was always reading something new. One time you could see her reading a detective story and the other time, you could catch her reading something more poetic. As she noticed who entered, she smiled widely: "Eros! Skipping a class again?" She pushed her glasses lower down her nose to look at him.

"Yes, ma'am. I have a doctor's note." He offered her an innocent smile. "It's been a while since I told you that you look lovely."

The woman flushed – she couldn't resist the charm he had from his nature. "Oh, you..." She dismissively waved her hand. "Go on, read something."

Eros kept his smile until he disappeared from the woman's eyes, between the shelves of the books. The library wasn't huge, but you could have some privacy. There were different shelves full of books stacked in a row and at the end of the room, there were a few tables and couches to spend the time there learning or reading.

He was wandering between the shelves, puffing his cheeks out of boredom. He has already read most of what this library had to offer, but since he hasn't indulged most of his time reading, he wanted to spend the given time wisely. Choosing a dusty cover of Dante's 'Divine Comedy', he wandered to the back, plopped on the couch and started to read.

After a while, he wasn't satisfied enough with the translation of the book, so he closed it and went to find something new. As he walked to put the book back, he noticed a white umbrella with flowers drying near the entrance. His interest was piqued as he heard someone's silent footsteps to the left of him. Following the sound, he reached the shelf for schoolbooks, and he saw her.

The girl was beautiful. Her gloved hands were holding a few books already as she was scanning the books with her eyes. Her brown turtleneck sweater was covering her neck, revealing her bony structure and that sharp, elegant jawline. She seemed elegant. He felt as if he was watching one of those older French movies where women were surrounded by a gleam of elegance, not allowing him to take his eyes off. Her light brown hair was cut in layers, and styled to flow gently, revealing her face.

She turned her head, noticing him and he got a chance to look at her properly. The blue of her eyes seemed to remind him of the lake he grew up next to. Of where he used to forget his sorrows and enjoy the sun on his shoulders.

"Do you need help?" He asked.

Noelle didn't know how someone could be this breathtaking. It seemed unfair how someone could be gifted with such beauty while others got the scraps of it. Not even the slightly blinking light could mask his charm. His damp curls were curling against his forehead into tight spirals, his dark brown eyes, almost seemed black, looked so inviting, so deep, hiding all the secrets of the universe. His smooth skin had no imperfections – not a single freckle, not a single scar. It made her want to hide herself even more even if only her face was visible from all the clothes. His tall frame was leaning against the shelf, watching her.

Noelle was flustered. "Uh... Do you know where I could find a biology workbook?"

Eros moved from the shelf and turned to his left where on the highest part was the book she needed. He took it and passed it to her. "You must be the new girl. I'm Eros."

She carefully took the book by the other end and placed it in her stack of books. "Thank you. I'm Noelle."

"Are you French?"

The girl barely chuckled, "Do you base that solely on my name?"

"Yes."

She pushed her books to her chest, wanting to cover herself as his eyes were just so—dreamy. "Half-French. Half-Swedish. Are you Italian?"

Eros chuckled and she noticed how a dimple appeared on his right cheek. Her heart skipped a small beat as she tried to calm herself. He replied: "It's a name of a Greek origin."

She hummed, "I thought of the singer."

"But I am Italian."

Gently tilting her head, she smiled: "So I was right."

"So was I."

They shared a moment looking at each other as his smile grew, revealing the loveliest smile she had ever seen. Blinking a few times as if to bring herself back into reality, she took a deep exhale and swung the books gently. "Thank you for your help. I'd probably would've spent another—two minutes searching for it."

He bit down on the inside of his cheek, wanting to contain his smile a bit: "Yeah, well, sometimes the hero appears least when you expect it."

"Je te verrai plus tard alors," she said, and she walked out of this row of the books and moved further.

Following her, but through the other side, he replied: "Au déjeuner?"

She stopped in her tracks and turned to her right where he was standing at the other end of the row. "Hai preso il francese?"

Now, he was the one surprised. "How do you know Italian?"

Biting back a smile, she shrugged: "Just the same way you know French – I learned it." She looked at the book he was holding, making out the title. "I'll leave you to your Beatrice."

Looking at the book he was holding, he scoffed: "It's a horrible translation... An unbearable experience to read it."

"Mh," she hummed. "I'd say you have about—thirty-five minutes to start translating it. Maybe you will become a well-known translator in the future?"

Eros smiled, pressing the book to his chest: "Maybe you are the hero I least expected."

Noelle smiled and shook her head, making her way to the librarian, leaving him to stand still for a second. He bit his inner cheek once again as his cheeks were pulling weirdly from smiling. Interesting.

Eros was the link that joined the Cullens and the other students. They were, nonetheless, considered reserved to themselves, but since Eros resembled somewhat of a normal human, it somehow softened the whole opinion on the Cullens. They seemed more natural since Eros was openly eating at the cafeteria, while the others were munching on food or drinking water.

He was far more talkative than his other siblings, not afraid to strike up a conversation with a given partner for a project or someone in the hallway. While others were considered unavailable, he was the one people approached with hopes that they would join the inner circle of the Cullens.

Edward was the silent heartthrob of the school since a few girls were put down in their place quickly, so others decided to watch him and swoon for him from afar. Eros, on the other hand, was a far more popular heartthrob, since he seemed more approachable. He didn't seem like a statue that was brought back to life, but he had the same charm the Cullens had on people. Only his dark eyes brought out the human side of him which people clung to subconsciously.

He managed to create an illusion the Cullens so desperately needed – to make them look human.

꒷꒦

         NOELLE DIDN'T HAVE ISSUES communicating with someone new only when she didn't feel like there was danger surrounding her. She enjoyed one-on-one talks, talking about books, movies and anything, really. But as soon as she was in a place full of people, her legs felt as if taking her back home.

         These few past subjects went on quietly. Surprisingly, she got to sit alone, meaning she didn't receive anything apart from curious stares from her fellow students and teachers. Not once was she asked to say something, and she was fine with it.

         As soon as she came into the cafeteria, she was as if choking. It was flooded with people and their conversations. She managed to avoid people during the breaks, quickly leaving the classes and going outside. But she knew she wasn't going to avoid them all the time and she needed to have something to eat.

         "You must be Noelle!" A voice behind her startled her as she twitched and turned around to meet a girl with glasses, holding a camera. Noelle took a step back as a reflex, creating some space between the two. "Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you."

         Noelle tried not to show her panic, she shook her head, smiling gently. "I am fine. Just overwhelmed. I thought this school was smaller than that."

         The girl with glasses chuckled, looking at the new girl. "I'm Angela. I work for the school paper and since I know better now—would you like to be on the front page?"

         The taller girl hummed, shifting her weight from one leg to the other, holding the strap of her bag with both hands. "I don't think so... I am not really that interesting to be in a paper."

         Angela sighed, but she nodded reassuringly. "I understand. Nothing really interesting happens in here, so I am all out of ideas..." She shrugged. "Anyways, want to join me and others for lunch?"

         Noelle was prepared to eat lunch alone as to avoid any certain complicatiobs, so the offer shocked her. She didn't think she would get to know many people on the first day. "Yeah," the girl nodded, a small smile tugged on her lips. "I'd love to."

         Angela led her to the table in the middle of the cafeteria where two girls were already sitting there with another guy. "Guys," Angela started, "this is Noelle. Noelle this is Eric, Bella and Jessica."

         Noelle waved her hand, offering them a small greeting. Angela left her to choose where she wanted to sit as she walked around the round table and sat between Eric and Bella. Noelle chose to sit a bit further from all, taking out her lunch box.

         It was clear that Angela had a little crush on Eric as she purposely shifted closer to him as she placed her camera on the table. Eric had kind eyes as he offered the new girl an energetic wave. He seemed like the guy who was a friend to all, overseeing things and planning everything.

         Bella, a gorgeous girl with eyes matching her hair, was sitting slightly leaning forward, her back scrunched as she was poking a cucumber with her fork. She had a memorable face, but the way she was sitting indicated that she wasn't comfortable being among so many people.

         Jessica, on the other hand, was sitting with her chest open. Her headband was keeping her hair away from her face which was radiating with a youthful smile and confidence. The way she looked around every other second, jumping and shifting her weight meant that she was energetic and loved to communicate.

         Noelle learned how to read people in order to avoid certain dangers. She stayed away from people who displayed that their love language was touch and preferred to be amongst people who were uncomfortable around people.

         "Another new girl in Forks... Never thought that would happen," Jessica stated, looking at Noelle curiously, her eyes dropping to her gloved hands.

         "You came from New York, right?" Eric asked, taking a bottle of Coca-Cola and twisting off the cap.

         Noelle nodded, opening her lunch box and grabbing a fork that was folded, unfolding it. "I moved a lot. But the last stop was New York. I originally come from Stockholm."

      "Why the hell would you choose such a small town like Forks?" Jessica bluntly asked.

         "Well, I... I love the rain."

           Jessica snorted, giggling afterwards. "I'd never leave a big city for Forks."

           "I'd do anything to live in New York or even in Stockholm," Angela dreamily said, placing her elbows on the table and placing her chin on her hands.

         "What's with the gloves?" Jessica asked, receiving a glare from her friends. "Is it some fashion trend in New York?"

         Noelle was surprised by how blunt Jessica was, but she knew that some people couldn't contain their curiosity. "No... I am a germaphobe, actually. I don't like to touch anything or be touched." It wasn't really far from the truth. She wasn't a germaphobe, but she didn't like touching surfaces with her bare hands since the skin was terribly sensitive, and she didn't want to be touched.

         "Oh," Jessica tilted her head, poking the piece of salad on her plate.

         Angela leaned back slightly, looking at Noelle with a curious look. "Do you mind if we wrote an article about germaphobes? I already wrote about eating disorders as Bella had suggested."

         "Yeah," Noelle nodded. "As long as I don't see my face in the paper, I am fine."

         Suddenly, a door at the other end of the cafeteria opened which led outside and a group of people entered the room. Noelle felt as if the oxygen was vacuumed out of the room, leaving her lungs aching and desperate. But she wasn't the only one who felt like that.

         "Yeah, they are Cullens," Jessica read the expression on Noelle's face and turned her attention back to her food.

         The group of people looked like statues who left art exhibition. Each of them had this certain beauty around them that united them, but also, they looked different. A certain aura entered the room as if you needed to worship them as they were the Greek Gods reborn.

          Jessica leaned a bit closer to Noelle but kept her distance. "You see those two in the middle? That's Emmett and Rosalie. I feel that it's kinda weird that they are dating since you know... Doctor Cullen adopted them," Jessica blabbered, causing Angela to roll her eyes.

         "We already discussed this," Angela disagreed. "They are not related."

         The girl with the headband shrugged as if it was only her truth. "Well, that still doesn't make it any less weird."

         As that group of gorgeous people sat at the table at the other end of the cafeteria, Noelle had a chance to look at them properly. The guy Emmett was incredibly buff, making her wonder how much time he had spent working out. His arm was wrapped around his apparent girlfriend's waist, who looked as if she had escaped from a painting. Her blond curls were falling over her shoulders with such lightness that it probably made every girl jealous.

           "And next to them, we have another couple – Alice and Jasper. He always looks in pain." Jessica introduced the others from afar.

            Alice seemed like a very friendly girl. Her twirly dress was sparkly and her short-cut hair was adding so much youthfulness to her. She had one arm wrapped around her boyfriend, who indeed looked as if he was suffering. But Noelle didn't make any assumptions. Many things such as chronic pain and mental disorders existed – you never knew what the axe was that the person was carrying with him.

           "And on to singles..." Jessica's voice turned a bit breathier as if she was dreaming out loud. "Beside Jasper sits Edward, but I bet Bella can tell you more about him."

           Bella shook her head, turning her back to the Cullen table, blinking a few times. "No... I—we talked a few times."

           "That's a few times more than others have," Jessica's voice was rough, a certain jealousy lingering. "He's not really a socializing type. I don't think anyone's good enough for him. Or so he thinks."

           Edward was another Greek God sitting by the table, rolling a pizza crust between his fingers as he indulged in the conversation going on at their table. He had brown, slicked-back hair and he seemed muscular. No wonder there was jealousy involved in this topic. He seemed to be the popular guy everyone wished to have.

           "Last but not least – Eros. He's—uhm... He's nice." Jessica's voice became silent.

           Noelle had already seen Eros, but that explained the charm she had felt before. His whole family had the same charm. It seemed like Doctor Cullen adopted teenagers shaped out of the best clay.

           Eric chucked: "Yeah, someone has a huge crush on him for a year now."

           Jessica flushed red. "It doesn't matter. The crush is all gone. We talk from time to time."

           Eros suddenly turned to their table as if he heard that the conversation was going on about him and his eyes met Noelle's, offering her a small wave with a smile. Noelle felt like everyone in the cafeteria looked at her, so she unevenly gulped and waved back to him before averting her eyes to her food. She didn't want to have trouble on the first day. Especially when Jessica had a crush on him.

           "You know him?" Jessica asked, her voice unusually calm, but Noelle could guess that there was a storm raging inside. Noelle had no intention of having a school romance or anything related to that. She knew well that it was impossible. It was impossible and she wasn't going to chase dreams. Dreams will stay for the night. No one would want to be with her as soon as they would find out that she is—that there is something wrong with her.

           "Yeah, I met him in the library. He helped me find a book," Noelle shrugged this whole deal off. "I am not interested in him or anything. I am not looking for romance."

           "It's hard not to look for romance when they are just so dreamy," Angela hummed, disappointed that the perfect family won't even look at no one.

           It seemed that Noelle's words seemed to smooth everything over and the girl, who said that she didn't have a crush, calmed down. It seemed that Noelle would survive the first day of school. Somehow. The last thing she wanted was to get involved in a high-school drama. But she knew better. No one was interested in her for good reasons only. She attracted only danger.

author speaks—

this chapter is kind of dull, a filler one - I apologize. But it was necessary to introduce her to all of the characters so this book could grow. I don't know how about you all - but the simple interaction between Eros and Noelle made me giggle while writing it. I feel like they have so much tension already.

if you speak french or italian and there are mistakes, please don't hesitate to point them out!

Please leave a comment or two and a vote! I really appreciate that and it keeps me motivated!