After several minutes of driving, she finally found an entrance to the freeway and navigated toward the exit for the Carver Cafe, a local diner. The day was just lovely. Perfectly gloomy clouds, a bone-chilling cold, and the guarantee of rain later tonight.

・・・

The lighting coming from the inside of the diner gave it a warm glow, almost inviting you to come in from the cold and have a nice meal. That was just what Penelope needed right now more than ever. Her cherry red car stood out a bit among the work trucks and sensible sedans, but it would seem that the locals were already used to her car.

Everyone minded their own business when she walked in, which was a relief to her. The last thing she needed was one of those dramatic movie moments where everyone turns to look at her because they don't expect to see her in a place like this. In fact, Addams seemed to frequent this place quite a bit when she didn't want to be at home all day.

It was noon on a Sunday, meaning the cafe was crowded with families just coming out of church or simply enjoying the day with a nice meal. Luckily, Cora (one of the usual servers) was able to get Penelope a small table in a hidden corner of the diner. The window there gave her a good view of the forest- which was really the only view in this town.

Cora had her pen and pad out and ready to go. "You want your usual lunch, Penny?"

Without really thinking about it, Penelope nodded. "Yes, please."

It was only after Cora left that the memory of her "usual" came to her. A tuna melt with a side of fries and a cup of coffee. The combination of coffee and tuna might not be a good one, but she usually had her coffee first before getting to the main meal.

As she looked out the window and toward the forest, her mind drifted back to thoughts of her old life. Marlowe would be scrambling to finish the assignments she had neglected over the weekend while cursing her professors for giving work due by Monday in the first place. And that was just college. Now as Addams, she would be back in high school. That would not be fun, but at least she was an outsider there and wouldn't be subject to many interactions with the kids there.

The sound of a plate and a mug being set down on her table drew her out of her trance. "Oh! Thank you, Cora."

"Of course. Enjoy!"

・・・

After paying for her meal and leaving a nice tip, Penelope ventured back out to her car and sat there for a few minutes while she fidgeted with the radio. Nothing too recognizable played on her car radio aside from some pop artists who were well-known even in her day. Somehow, it had slipped her mind that it was 2004 here, meaning no smartphones, no "modern" artists, and, consequentially, no vast library of music that Marlowe was accustomed to listening to.

Finally, she just stuck to a classic rock station and drove aimlessly around town.

That took about 10 minutes.

Of course, Addams already knew her way around this place, but it was all new to Marlowe. She quickly found out there was nothing that interesting about the town of Forks. Mostly because it was sparsely populated, apart from the little downtown area. The houses and the shops looked to be from the 50s or 60s, so they were not very interesting in design.

"What my family was thinking, I'll never know," she muttered quietly to herself as she drove away from town and back to her home. Of course that wasn't exactly true. From reading the family journals, she knew that her family history was... something.

They knew they were a mix of everything, but no one believed they descended from one group over the other since each one had a long, rich history. That being said, the two prominent groups in Penelope Addams' (and Marlowe's too for that matter) genetic makeup were Spanish and Indigenous Mexican. Her most recent ancestors from the past 300 years or so were comprised of these two, for the most part. And as her ancestors made their way along the west coast, they landed in Forks when it was still in the control of the Quileutes. Appreciating the beauty of the forest, they made their home where it stands now after working something out with the Quileute tribe.

And even now that her mother's career keeps taking her back to New York, the family has zero intentions of moving away.

・・・

When Penelope got back home, she decided to take a tour of the family cemetery. Part of her found it funny that she was giving herself a tour of everything she had grown up knowing, but that was just the joy of the situation she was in. But being among her deceased ancestors, at least Addams' ancestors, was surprisingly grounding.

At first, this whole experience made her feel like she randomly appeared in some strange place where she knew nothing- which, admittedly, did happen- but having memories and history here gave her a lot of peace of mind. But as she went deeper into it, she found something unsettling.

Four burial plots were marked for the future- one for each, currently living family member in the house. Her parents, her aunt... and her. But the plots themselves were not what disturbed her.

If she didn't find a way back home, she would end up in one of these burial plots. But this was not only about her eventual death. The majority of her life would be spent in this world rather than her own. She would go to college (again), get a career, travel, have hobbies, and maybe even fall in love. A whole life would be spent here when she already had one elsewhere.

With renewed determination, she went back into the library and swore to herself that she wouldn't leave until she found an answer.

・・・

In an ideal world, she could have both her original life and this other, "normal" life. But in her mind, she knew her own world first and, as much fun as this other life could be, she belonged in her original world.

Penelope spent hours and hours thumbing through books in the supernatural and magical sections of the library. Nothing. There were towers of books on a reading table at the end of the room which she deemed possibly useful, but again, nothing ever described her situation with precision. At this point, they were basically physical representations of her growing frustration and disappointment.

Later that evening, Anastasia returned from her shift, exhausted and hungry. Lurch made lasagna for dinner per her request while she changed out of her scrubs and took a little nap.

"So, how was your day, Pen?" Anastasia asked as she prepared a salad to go on the side of the lasagna.

"Well, I went out for lunch and took a little walk. Since then I've just been in the library," Penelope answered casually as she watched her aunt. In an attempt to steer the conversation away from her, she decided to pry into her aunt's life a bit. "How was work? Any news on the hunky doctor?"

Anastasia let out an excited squeal at that. "Yes! Turns out, he's starting his first day tomorrow. Can you believe it?"

Penelope's reaction was a genuine one: eyes wide and jaw dropped. "Seriously?! That soon? I thought it would take at least another month or so."

"That's what I thought too, but he was very insistent on starting as soon as possible."

"Interesting..." she muttered to herself. "Wait! So that means I'll see his kids tomorrow at school?" Penelope tried to keep her voice as casual as possible because, if they were normal people, this would not be a big deal, but knowing what she does, it was obviously a big deal to her.

Anastasia finished the salad and plated it for the two of them. "I would say so. Now, let's eat."

Thankfully, her aunt did a good job of giving Penelope all the gossip there was- not that there was much drama to it- but in a small town like this, the Cullens would be like shiny new toys. And in Penelope's case, that would be quite literal.

After dinner, Anastasia went to bed, leaving Penelope free to go back to the library and continue her search for answers. Things were about to get serious here. Not only had she spent an entire day in this world, the Cullens would be at school tomorrow and Edward would most certainly find out that she knew about them. Then they would either disappear or make her disappear. The former was most likely though. 

・・・

When the clock struck midnight, Penelope set down another book on the table and let out a heavy sigh. The reading table had many towers of books stacked up on each other, covering every possible surface. 

The closest she had gotten to an answer was an account of someone having vivid dreams that almost felt real, just like hers. However, after reading ahead a bit, that was likely due to the use of a particular plant- which was not the case for her. 

She buried her head in her hands and took deep, calming breaths to keep herself from crying. As much fun as this world seemed, she wanted to go back to her home. She needed to go home. It didn't help at all that she had no one to talk to about this and nothing in the library was helping her.

"I need to get out of here," she muttered to herself, forcibly pushing herself away from the table and almost running out of the library. She went upstairs and onto the balcony for fresh air. 

The sky was dark and starless from the heavy rain clouds that were looking to fulfill the promise they made earlier very soon. Penelope heard the thunder rumbling quietly from afar as she took deep breaths of the cold air. 

The trees stood still for the most part, perhaps bracing themselves for the storm.

"It's ok... I'll figure something out..." she chanted quietly to herself, taking deep breaths between phrases to calm down. But nothing she did could really make that ache in her heart disappear. 

Her eyes scanned the trees, simply taking in the calm before the storm.

Suddenly, a glow caught her eye. It looked to be coming from the other side of the river. It was a long distance away, but she knew exactly where the light was coming from- the big white house... the one that belonged to the Cullens in the books. And their lights were on.

Penelope wasn't surprised anymore, just stressed. She had plenty of warning from her aunt that they were moving in quickly, but part of her wished it would never happen. In just a few hours, she would have to be up and go to school with them... and then they'd know everything. Edward would read her mind, would see how she's not from here and knows what they are.

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes," she recited to herself, a small grin pulling at her lips before turning to go back inside. Just as her head hit the pillows, the storm started and she fell into a deep sleep- thinking only of her return to her home.

・・・