The pattern finally broke.
It happened on a gray Tuesday morning in Biology.
Bella Swan slid into her usual seat beside the lab table, expecting the same thing she had seen all week—an empty chair and a quiet lesson.
Instead, when the bell rang, the door opened.
And Edward Cullen walked in.
The room changed immediately.
It wasn't loud. No one said anything. But the small ripple of attention moved through the class like a stone dropped in still water.
Bella froze for half a second.
Edward walked to his desk without looking at anyone.
Without looking at her.
But the moment he sat down beside her, something shifted.
Bella felt it before she understood it.
The tension.
Edward's hand closed slowly around the edge of the desk.
His knuckles whitened.
Bella glanced sideways.
His jaw was tight.
Too tight.
He stared straight ahead, shoulders rigid like he was holding himself perfectly still by force.
Mr. Banner started the lecture like nothing was wrong.
Bella tried to focus.
She really did.
But every few seconds she felt it again—Edward's stillness beside her. Not calm stillness.
Controlled stillness.
Like someone holding a door shut with their entire weight.
She turned her head slightly.
Edward's eyes flicked toward her.
For one brief moment Bella saw them clearly.
Dark.
Not gold.
Not curious.
Something sharper.
Something hungry.
Her breath caught.
Edward's fingers dug into the desk.
The wood creaked softly under the pressure.
Then suddenly—
He stood.
The chair scraped loudly across the floor.
Every head in the room turned.
Mr. Banner blinked.
"Mr. Cullen?"
Edward didn't answer.
He grabbed his bag and walked straight out of the room.
The door shut behind him.
The class stayed silent for a moment.
Then Mr. Banner cleared his throat.
"…Right. As I was saying…"
Bella stared at the empty seat beside her.
Her heart hadn't slowed yet.
Across the school, Mame felt something strange.
He was halfway through history when it hit.
A flash.
Cold stone towers.
Red eyes watching from a throne.
Bella running through the forest.
The pressure slammed into his head without warning.
Mame grabbed the edge of his desk.
The headache exploded behind his eyes—sharp, heavy, like someone had jammed a spike through the center of his skull.
Cluster headache.
Migraine.
Both.
He clenched his teeth, breathing slowly.
Just like the dream.
Just like the night before.
Then—
A cool sensation spread across his head.
Like cold air sweeping through his thoughts.
The pain vanished instantly.
Gone.
Mame sat still for a moment, staring down at his notebook.
"…What the hell was that?"
The memory fragments faded again before he could catch them.
Like always.
Just out of reach.
He saw Edward a few minutes later.
Classes were switching. The hallway filled with noise and lockers slamming open and shut.
Mame was leaning near the stairs when the Biology door opened.
Edward came out.
Fast.
Too fast.
His movement cut through the crowd like it wasn't even there.
Students stepped aside without realizing why.
Mame watched him closely.
Edward's head was down.
His eyes were dark.
Not thoughtful.
Not curious.
Hungry.
The same word from the dream flickered through Mame's mind again.
Hunter.
Edward turned the corner and disappeared down the hallway before anyone else seemed to notice how quickly he'd moved.
Mame stayed where he was, frowning.
"…Yeah."
Something was definitely wrong with that guy.
Bella told him everything that evening.
They were sitting at the kitchen table while Charlie finished washing dishes at the sink.
Bella had just finished describing the scene in Biology.
The way Edward had gripped the desk.
The look in his eyes.
The way he left the room.
Charlie turned halfway around.
"That doesn't sound normal."
Bella shrugged.
"It was weird."
Mame didn't speak right away.
He sat there quietly, arms crossed, staring at the table.
Then he leaned back slightly.
"…Yeah."
Bella looked at him.
"What?"
Mame's jaw tightened just a little.
"He left the hallway like someone lit him on fire."
Bella frowned.
"You saw him?"
"Yeah."
Mame looked toward the window, eyes narrowing slightly.
"And I didn't like the look in his eyes."
Bella shifted in her chair.
"Maybe he was sick."
Mame shook his head slowly.
"No."
Something about it had felt wrong.
Dangerous.
The image of Edward's dark eyes flashed through his mind again.
Bella's voice pulled him back.
"What are you thinking?"
Mame looked back at her.
"Tomorrow," he said calmly, "I'm going to talk to him."
Bella blinked.
"You're what?"
"Relax," Mame said. "I'm not starting a fight."
Bella looked unconvinced.
"Just a conversation."
Charlie snorted quietly from the sink.
"Those are the ones that usually turn into fights."
Mame ignored him.
His eyes stayed on Bella.
"…But if he's going to keep acting like that around you," Mame said calmly, "I'd like to know why."
Bella didn't answer right away.
Outside, the forest behind the house was already dark again.
And somewhere deep in Mame's mind, the image of red eyes in the trees waited for the moment it would return.
The next morning felt… normal.
Too normal.
Rain tapped lightly against the windshield as Bella drove them to Forks High School. The parking lot looked the same as always—students walking through puddles, backpacks slung over shoulders, the usual quiet chaos of a small-town school waking up.
But the moment they stepped inside, the pattern shifted again.
By the time lunch arrived, the whispers had started.
Mame carried his tray toward the usual table, Bella beside him, when he noticed something immediately.
Two empty seats.
Again.
But this time the entire Cullen table felt… different.
Edward Cullen wasn't there.
And neither was Edith Cullen.
Bella noticed it too.
Her eyes lingered on the table for half a second longer than she meant them to.
Mame followed her gaze.
"Let me guess," he said quietly. "Biology seat was empty again."
Bella sighed.
"Yes."
They sat down with Angela, Jessica, Mike, and Eric, but Mame's attention kept drifting toward the Cullen table.
Alice Cullen sat there swinging her legs slightly under the table like nothing in the world was wrong. Rosalie Hale sat perfectly straight beside her, posture sharp and composed. Emmett Cullen leaned back in his chair while Jasper Hale watched the room quietly.
Two empty chairs remained between them.
Mame stood up.
Bella looked up immediately.
"…Where are you going?"
"Curiosity," he said calmly.
Bella sighed. "Mame."
"Relax," he said. "Just asking a question."
He walked over to the Cullen table and stopped beside Alice.
"Hey, Pixie."
Alice looked up, smiling instantly.
"Bean Swan."
Mame sighed.
"One day I'm getting revenge for that."
Alice tilted her head playfully. "Looking forward to it."
Mame nodded toward the empty seats.
"So where are Edweird and his twin?"
Alice's smile softened just a little.
"Family emergency," she said easily. "They had to go to Alaska."
Mame blinked once.
Then slowly nodded.
"…Alaska, huh."
Emmett leaned forward slightly, watching him with obvious amusement.
"Yeah," Emmett said. "Big family stuff."
Mame stared at them for a moment longer.
Then he shrugged.
"Well," he said casually, "tell him I said hi when the werewolf pack meeting ends."
Alice laughed immediately.
Emmett grinned.
Rosalie rolled her eyes.
Jasper's mouth twitched faintly.
Mame turned and walked back to his table.
Bella looked at him expectantly.
"Well?"
Mame sat down and picked up his fork.
"Family emergency."
Bella frowned.
"Really?"
"In Alaska."
Bella blinked.
"…Alaska?"
Mame nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
He took a bite of his sandwich and leaned back in his chair.
"Which is interesting."
Bella crossed her arms.
"Why?"
Mame looked completely serious.
"Well," he said, "if you were a werewolf trying to hide your transformation…"
Bella groaned.
"Mame."
"…you'd definitely go somewhere with a lot of wilderness," he continued calmly.
Bella buried her face in her hands.
Angela looked like she was trying not to laugh.
Mike blinked.
Jessica whispered, "He's doing it again."
Mame took another bite of his lunch.
Bella peeked through her fingers.
"You are impossible."
Mame smiled faintly.
"Probably."
But even as he joked, a small part of his mind stayed focused on one thing.
Edward's eyes yesterday.
The way he'd left the classroom.
The hunger in that look.
Mame glanced toward the empty Cullen seats again.
"…Alaska," he murmured under his breath.
For now, he let it go.
But something told him the story wasn't finished yet.
The next few days passed quietly.
Almost too quietly.
School continued the way it always did at Forks High School. Classes. Lunch. Homework. Rain tapping against windows while teachers lectured about subjects half the students weren't listening to.
To everyone else, things had returned to normal.
To Mame… they hadn't.
The flashes were getting worse.
At first they came like quick images—brief and unclear, like something remembered just before waking up.
But now they lingered longer.
One morning in math, Mame froze mid-note as another vision slammed into him.
Snow.
A pack of massive wolves running across white ground.
Bella standing at the edge of a forest.
A man with red eyes smiling as he watched her run.
The pain followed immediately.
His head throbbed like someone had driven a spike behind his eyes. A brutal mix of migraine and cluster headache, so sudden he had to grip the desk to keep himself steady.
Then—
The cold sensation again.
Like cool air spreading through his skull.
The pain vanished instantly.
Gone.
Mame exhaled slowly and stared down at his notebook.
"…Not normal," he muttered quietly.
The flashes weren't random anymore.
They felt like warnings.
And every time they appeared, the same feeling followed.
Something was coming.
Something bad.
A tight, ominous pressure settled deep in his chest every time it happened, like his instincts were trying to tell him something important.
But the memories themselves stayed blurred.
Always just out of reach.
Lunch that day was quieter than usual.
Edward Cullen and Edith Cullen were still gone.
Which meant the cafeteria felt slightly less tense.
Mame grabbed his tray and spotted Alice Cullen sitting alone at one of the side tables, sketchbook already open in front of her.
He walked over and dropped into the seat across from her.
"Alright, Pixie," he said.
Alice looked up immediately, smiling.
"Bean Swan."
Mame sighed.
"You're really committed to that nickname."
"Absolutely," she replied cheerfully.
He shook his head and gestured toward her sketchbook.
"Art project meeting?"
Alice nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes! I brought ideas."
Mame leaned forward and looked at the rough sketches she had drawn.
Abstract shapes.
Flowing movement.
Light and shadow crossing over each other.
"…You really went all in," he said.
Alice beamed.
"Of course."
Mame tapped the page thoughtfully.
"Okay, but hear me out."
Alice tilted her head.
"I'm listening."
"For the individual portrait part," Mame said, "why don't we just paint each other?"
Alice blinked once.
Then smiled wider.
"That actually makes sense."
"Right?" Mame said. "Easy reference. We already sit next to each other."
Alice nodded.
"And the collaborative painting?"
Mame leaned back slightly, thinking.
"Let's do something together for that."
Alice's eyes sparkled.
"What kind?"
"You start it," Mame said.
She blinked.
"Start it?"
"Yeah," he continued. "You do the base. Shapes. Motion. Whatever your vision is."
Alice leaned forward, clearly intrigued.
"And you?"
"I finish it."
Alice studied him for a moment.
"…That's risky."
Mame shrugged.
"I trust your starting point."
Alice laughed softly.
"And I'm supposed to trust your ending?"
"Exactly."
She tapped her pencil against her chin.
"That's actually kind of exciting."
Mame smiled faintly.
"Plus," he added, "we won't accidentally ruin each other's work."
Alice closed her sketchbook.
"Deal."
She held out her hand.
Mame shook it once.
"Deal."
Across the cafeteria, Bella watched the conversation.
She leaned slightly toward Angela.
"They've been like that all week."
Angela smiled.
"They seem to get along."
Bella nodded slowly.
Yeah.
They did.
But while Mame talked easily with Alice, Bella noticed something else.
Every once in a while…
He would pause.
Just for a second.
Like something far away had caught his attention.
Like he was listening to something no one else could hear.
And every time it happened, his expression turned a little more serious.
Like he was waiting for something.
Something that hadn't arrived yet.
And somewhere deep in the forests around Forks, something dangerous was slowly getting closer.
A few days later, the art room was nearly empty.
After-school light filtered through the tall windows of the classroom at Forks High School, turning the dust in the air into thin golden streaks. Most of the students had already gone home, leaving the quiet scratch of brushes and the faint smell of paint behind.
At the back table sat three people.
Alice Cullen stood at her easel, brush moving quickly with confident strokes.
Across from her, Jasper Hale leaned against one of the desks, arms crossed, quietly observing.
And at the far end of the table, Mame worked on his canvas.
The three of them had fallen into a comfortable rhythm over the past few days.
Paint.
Small conversations.
Silence.
Repeat.
Alice stepped back from her canvas, tilting her head as she studied it.
"Well," she said proudly, "mine's finished."
Mame glanced over.
Alice's painting of him was… surprisingly accurate.
The posture.
The relaxed shoulders.
Even the faint half-smile he tended to wear when something amused him.
But she had added motion to it.
Color flowed around the figure like wind or energy, making the portrait feel alive rather than still.
"…Okay," Mame admitted. "That's really good."
Alice beamed.
"I know."
Jasper chuckled softly.
Mame stretched his shoulders and turned his own canvas slightly away from her.
Alice immediately narrowed her eyes.
"Oh no."
Mame raised a hand without turning around.
"Don't."
Alice leaned sideways, trying to peek around him.
"Mame."
"No."
"Come on."
"Absolutely not."
Alice planted both hands on the table and leaned closer.
"You saw mine!"
"And it's great," Mame replied calmly. "Which is exactly why this is a surprise."
Alice pouted dramatically.
"That's unfair."
Jasper chuckled again from the wall.
Mame glanced toward him.
"Hey."
Jasper looked up.
Mame carefully lifted the canvas and turned it just enough so only Jasper could see it.
Alice gasped.
"HEY!"
But Mame had already angled it away from her view.
Jasper studied the painting quietly.
For a moment he didn't say anything.
The portrait showed Alice sitting on the edge of a desk, exactly the way she often did in class.
Her posture was relaxed.
Her head tilted slightly to one side.
Her expression bright and curious.
But the background was what made it different.
Instead of a classroom, faint colors swirled around her—soft blues, silvers, and pale golds. The shapes weren't random.
They felt like motion.
Like possibilities.
Like the moment before something happened.
Jasper looked at it for a long second.
Then slowly nodded.
"…Yeah."
Mame tilted his head slightly.
"Yeah?"
Jasper looked back at him.
"That's Alice."
Alice crossed her arms dramatically.
"I hate both of you right now."
Mame lowered the canvas quickly before she could see it.
"Perfect."
Alice leaned over the table again, eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"You're hiding it until we submit it?"
"Yep."
"That's cruel."
"Correct."
Jasper pushed himself away from the wall, still smiling faintly.
"She's going to stare at it the entire time once you turn it in."
Alice immediately nodded.
"That is exactly what I'm going to do."
Mame shrugged.
"Worth it."
Alice huffed but grabbed her sketchbook again.
"Fine," she said. "But the joint painting is next."
Mame leaned back in his chair.
"Alright."
Alice flipped open to a blank page.
"I'm starting it tomorrow."
"Good," Mame said. "Then I'll finish it."
Jasper watched them for a moment.
The easy conversation.
The quiet comfort between them.
And for a brief moment, he noticed something strange again.
The calm around Mame.
It was steady.
Grounded.
Like standing near someone who simply refused to be unsettled.
Jasper folded his arms again and looked out the window toward the forest beyond the school.
Something was changing in Forks.
He could feel it.
And somehow…
Mame Swan was standing right in the middle of it.