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The first few classes of the day passed without much notice. Nate sat, listened, and responded only when necessary. He avoided standing out, though, ironically, he couldn't completely avoid it. His face, with its serious features and brown hair that fell slightly untidy, accompanied by his blue-gray eyes—cold and inquisitive—created an impression that was hard to ignore. It wasn't that he was trying to intimidate. He was just there, and his mere presence seemed to project a subtle pressure that kept most people at bay.
The girls looked at him. Some boys did too, though with a bit more discomfort than curiosity. But no one dared to ask him too many questions. His gaze was enough to make more than one person think twice before speaking to him.
It was an advantage.
It was time for the last class before lunch: Government. Nate entered the classroom in Building 7 about ten minutes before it started. He liked to arrive early, to have time to read the atmosphere, to watch the others enter. There were already a few students inside, and among them, a figure immediately intercepted him.
"Hi!" Jessica Stanley said with a smile that was meant to be irresistible. "You're Nate, aren't you?! I saw you this morning. Wow, your eyes are like… ice! Or steel, I don't know. Great!"
Jessica walked toward him as if she had known him all her life, tossing her hair deliberately and standing right in front of him.
"My name is Jessica. Jessica Stanley," she said as if her name were a trademark. "And you? Where are you from? What brought you to Forks?"
Nate took a deep breath, controlling the gesture that was almost escaping him. He didn't mind the attention, but the insistence always bothered him.
"From several places," he replied, unwilling to give any details. "I came for... family reasons."
Jessica laughed without really understanding.
—And do you have siblings? Are you dating anyone? Are you going to the homecoming dance?
Nate offered him a kind, but empty smile.
—I'm still adjusting.
Before Jessica could continue her interrogation, the bell rang. She returned to her seat with a flirtatious look, and Nate, grateful for the interruption, walked over to one of the middle rows, taking a seat next to a boy who immediately caught his eye.
The pallor of his skin was unnatural. His sharp, elegant features seemed carved from marble, and there was something odd about his movements: too precise, too controlled. He sat up straight, his arms crossed with an inhuman stillness. Nate watched him for a few more seconds, with the trained gaze of someone who knows how to read between the lines.
Overly pale skin, controlled posture, almost no blinking. He doesn't move like a normal person. He moves like... someone pretending to be normal.
He had barely finished spinning that thought when the boy turned towards him.
"Edward Cullen," he said in a soft, measured voice, though there was a barely perceptible tension in his jaw. "I don't think I've ever seen you before."
Nate didn't respond immediately. He watched him for a second longer, as if every word he said might trigger a chemical reaction.
—Nathaniel Winter. Nate.
Inside Nate felt euphoric, it didn't take long for him to find one of the people he was looking for in this school.
Bingo.
Billy's warning flashed through his mind:
"Stay away from the Cullens."
He didn't need any more clues. He'd already found his point of interest.
Edward, for his part, listened to everything. And the more he listened, the more uncomfortable he became.
Who the hell is this guy?
His thoughts weren't like the rest. They weren't shallow or distracted. They were deliberate, and sharp. As if he were scanning every word, every movement, every omission.
He's not like the girl in the parking lot. He's not a mystery because I can't read him… he's a problem because he thinks too well. He's dangerous.
"Did you move recently?" Edward asked, trying to sound casual.
—Yes, a few days ago. I'm… adjusting.
Adapting.The way he said it made Edward feel a pang of alarm.
It doesn't sound like a teenager adjusting to a new school. It sounds like an insider adjusting to a hostile ecosystem.
"Forks doesn't change much. You'll probably adapt quickly," Edward commented, still watching him.
"So they say. Although not everything seems to be what it seems," Nate replied, lowering his tone slightly.
Edward faked a smile. Inwardly, he analyzed each word as if it were a veiled threat.
No one new comes along talking like that… Is he part of something? Does he know what we are? No. He doesn't know yet. But he's looking. And the worst part is, he's good at looking.
"Are you coming from the city?" he asked, diverting the conversation.
—Before, yes, but I'm getting used to this town. There are many interesting things.
Edward felt the hidden edge behind that phrase. Nate wasn't looking at him as someone curious. He was looking at him as if someone testing him.
"So what exactly are you looking for in Forks?" Edward asked, more directly than he intended.
"I don't know what it is yet," Nate replied without hesitation. "We'll see."
Edward suppressed the urge to frown.
It's like talking to someone who shouldn't be in high school. Like they're trained to interrogate you without you even realizing it. I haven't felt this way in... decades.
Tension had settled in. Not with shouts. Not with hostile glances. But it was there, in the air between them. A kind of silent game. Two people measured distances without moving from their seats. Edward tried to distract him, to steer the conversation to safe places. Nate, unaware that the other could read his mind, counterattacked with instinct and precision.
I don't know what it is, but it's not normal. He doesn't know what I am… but he's looking for the crack.
"And you?" Nate finally asked. "Have you always lived here?"
"Pretty much my whole life," Edward replied calmly, though his mind was in turmoil at his obvious lie. "Forks is... home."
—It must be hard to change after so much time in the same place.
"You get used to it," Edward said, crossing his arms. "And you learn to spot what doesn't fit."
Like you, they both thought, although neither said it.
The doorbell rang, cutting through the conversation like a blade. Edward stood up immediately, faster than usual.
"It was a pleasure, Nate," he said with strained politeness.
"Likewise, Edward, I'm sure we'll see each other soon," he replied, watching him as he walked away almost urgently.
Nate didn't get up right away. He stared at the empty seat.
He barely blinked. His tone was measured. His voice was perfect. But something about him is… too precise. As if he were performing a choreography instead of moving. And that silence before he answered. He's hiding something. I don't know what… but I'll find out.
He stopped by the bathroom before heading down to the cafeteria. He needed space to think. He washed his face with cold water and looked at herself in the mirror. His reflection stared back at her intensely. He was close. He felt him.
Edward Cullen. It starts with you.
As he left, he walked down the hall with a confident stride. He turned the corner into the dining room and heard his name called.
—Nate! This way!
It was Eric, waving at him from a table where several students were already seated. Among them were the girl who had greeted him in the previous class, a guy wearing a tracksuit and a confident smile, a girl with glasses and curious eyes, another young Asian man with an honest smile… and Bella Swan, who looked uncomfortable.
Nate approached slowly but surely. It was time to sit back, observe, and continue untangling the tangle.