The night went by quickly but the rain lingered behind as it gently pitter-pattered against the window of Penelope's bedroom. She was sitting up with her back resting against the headboard as the weak rays of sunlight that barely made their way through the fog dimly lit her room.

It was 6 AM. She'd have to get ready soon, though school didn't start until 8:30 AM and she had no real urge to get up from the comfortable bed. A smile came to her as a memory flashed through her mind. Her parents- from her original life- were getting ready to go to dinner with some friends from church and her father was asking her mother when she'd be ready. Her mother, the woman who gave Penelope her style and flair (aka, the penchant for taking a while to get ready), responded with, "Would you tell a rose to bloom faster?"

A small pang hit her heart at the memory of her mother's voice. Her mother wasn't dead, but she had no idea when would be the next time she'd see her- if ever.

The urge to cry was slowly building up, but she repressed it. "No," she scolded herself. "I'm going to see her and the rest of my family again. I will settle for no less."

With renewed determination, she got out of bed and got ready for the day. Having seven hours of the day taken from her because of school would cut into her time for research, but that only meant she'd have to make every moment count.

Taking the "proper" amount of time to get ready (wardrobe, hair, and makeup), Penelope was dressed in a chic, black wool coat with carmine-colored lapels which she wore along with a long-sleeved, knit dress, opaque tights, and heeled boots. At this point, the students at Forks were used to Penelope's outfits which were, more often than not, more fashionable than necessary for high school.

・・・

Penelope stood in front of her closet's mirror as she finished assessing the outfit when she heard a phone ringing from the bedroom. The noise startled her out of her thoughts as she looked around, trying to locate the source of the ringing. After a minute, she found her Motorola flip phone inside her nightstand and saw that it was coming from her mother's number- Morticia Addams.

After realizing she had forgotten that Gomez and Morticia were her parents in this life, she quickly answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Good morning, sweetheart." Morticia's smooth, melodic voice came through the phone, filling Penelope with a sense of relief and trepidation. Addams was looking forward to speaking to her mother while Marlowe was stunned to be speaking to THE Morticia Addams. 

"Here, I'll put you on speaker phone so you can talk to your father too," she added and in just a moment, she heard Gomez's deep, joyous voice coming through. "Good morning, my darling!"

Penelope hesitated for a few moments while she tried to remain calm, though the comforting sound of her father's voice helped relieve some of that hesitation. "Good morning, father. How's your trip?"

His deep chuckle sounded from the phone before answering, "It's going very well, my dear. Your mother and I miss you very much. How are you?"

A grim smile came to her at his question, but she answered with something that would be suiting for Addams. "I'm well, just getting ready for school." She paused for a moment, wondering what else she could say to them. "Um... when are you two coming back again? Today, I hope?"

Gomez's voice softened, "Yes, sweetheart, we'll see you tonight."

"We have a surprise for you," Morticia added.

"Really?" she replied excitedly, her previous worries washing away at both pieces of news. "What is it?"

"If we told you it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" Gomez chuckled. "You'll just have to wait, my dear." 

"Oh, fine," she scoffed playfully.

"Well, we should let you finish getting ready, my dear. We love you very much, Penelope," Morticia added, her voice sounding loving and sweet.

"I love you too," she replied with a bittersweet smile. After Gomez gave his goodbye, they hung up and she was left feeling conflicted again. It was clear how much Addams cared for her parents and vice versa, but how was she to consolidate that with her simultaneous feelings of missing her original parents?

Her fingers gently massaged her temples as she compartmentalized her feelings and focused on the matter at hand: making sure the Cullens don't find out she knows about them and that she's not from here.

"Can't I just have a little peace?" she muttered to herself before slipping her phone into her pocket, grabbing her backpack, and going downstairs for breakfast.

・・・

Anastasia was gone already but she had left a note for Penelope, telling her that she left a fruit smoothie in the fridge for her along with an egg white omelet with spinach and feta cheese.

Penelope loved her aunt and appreciated that she took the time to make her "normal" breakfast, but sometimes she went a little too healthy for Penelope's liking. Like what's wrong with the egg yolks? Nevertheless, she ate the food provided for her, though the smoothie was more enjoyable (she has a big sweet tooth).

After she finished, Lurch came in to wash her dishes for her which was still something she'd have to get used to, at least for Marlowe. 

"Thanks, Lurch," she called out over her shoulder, a small grunt meaning "of course" coming from him as she made a quick stop at the family library. The books she had left in tall stacks were neatly placed back on their shelves. Again, a pang of guilt hit her as she realized that Lurch put them away for her. Though it is in his job description, and though Addams is used to this way of life, it was something that would take Marlowe some time to get accustomed to. Sure, it was nice to have a butler, especially since Marlowe's never had one, but she figured that Lurch had enough to take care of without her adding a huge mess of books on top of that. She would have to remind herself to put them away on her own next time, even if she was tired.

・・・

The drive to school was long and slightly peaceful. She had found a Frank Sinatra CD in the glove compartment and was blasting that on her car's sound system, singing along to his heartbreaking lyrics.

The morning almost felt like her original life, but the delusion fell away as soon as she pulled into the high school parking lot and spotted the infamous shiny Volvo.

"Shit...," she muttered under her breath as she pulled into a space on the opposite side of the parking lot. Her heart rate picked up as she tried to calm her breathing in the car. She hadn't even seen them and she was already overwhelmed. No... no... no... I'm not ready. I'm not ready. Oh god. She panicked silently. If she said any of this aloud, then she'd certainly be heard by the Cullens. What was I thinking? I can't do this! I can't casually go to school with the Cullens!

It took a few minutes, but eventually, she gathered her courage and shakily got out of the car. Her first few steps were reluctant, part of her wanting to go back and drive away, but the closer she got to the school building, the easier it was to convince herself that it was just a normal day. Seriously. Is one day of peace too much to ask for?

・・・

Penelope made sure to keep her mind-reading ability active as she walked in. The other students barely acknowledged her as she made her entrance, even with her heeled boots clicking against the linoleum floors. 

Their thoughts came in rapidly for her. Everyone was buzzing about the new, beautiful additions to the student body, both inwardly and outwardly. The Cullens' faces kept popping up in everyone's minds. The girls were already swooning over Edward, Jasper, and Emmett while the boys swooned over Rosalie and Alice. Well, at least I'll be looked over for sure, she thought to herself. Edward would certainly have enough thoughts to deal with. All Penelope needed to do was keep her thoughts as boring as possible so that he wouldn't catch on to her secrets. 

With that reassurance, she went through her first few classes as calmly as one could with the ongoing barrage of lustful, teenage thoughts- all of them about the Cullens. It was proving difficult for her to contain her scoffs and eye rolls because she also understood why everyone was fawning over them. Just seeing their images in her mind was enough for the fact to really settle in that they were immensely attractive. Thankfully, knowing their personalities from the books and movies helped keep her grounded.

Lunchtime soon rolled around and, finally, the reality of her situation would fully set in. Penelope waited a few minutes at the locker while everyone rushed off to lunch and she pretended to fix her makeup as a way to stall for time. 

Despite her earlier sense of determination, it all seemed to crumble at the mere idea of seeing the Cullens in the flesh/stone. Before that train of thought kept going, she cut herself off. No one else would know this about them and she wasn't going to be the reason they left. Part of her still wanted to live this life out and see where it went. 

Instead, her thoughts became centered around her clothes, the excitement over a book she had in her backpack, and curiosity over the Cullens- making herself blend in internally as much as she tried to blend in outwardly.

・・・

The walk to the cafeteria was shorter than she would have liked, but it gave her a chance to make another observation about herself in this new life. It was the way she walked. Penelope Addams walked like a model, but a toned-down version of a typical model's walk. It was no big surprise in the end since Addams had seen her fair share of fashion shows in her life.

Now that the whole school was anticipating the Cullens' arrival at the cafeteria, all eyes were on her as she entered, though she caught on to the disappointed thoughts of "Oh, it's just her," she also heard other thoughts of admiration and jealousy. 

After getting her lunch, Penelope settled down at her usual table in the far corner of the room. The spot was practically guaranteed for her since no one really liked to mingle with her. Tales of the weird Addams family have spread for as long as her family's been here in Forks.

Just as she began to wonder where they were, all eyes turned to the set of doors leading to the courtyard and there they were, the Cullens. For Penelope, it was a little anticlimactic. As they walked in, they ignored everyone for the most part even as the students made no effort to hide the fact that they were checking them out.

People were quick to catch on to the established couples, Alice & Jasper and Emmett & Rosalie. That left Edward as the most eligible and sought-after high schooler at Forks High, meaning most of the girls were already imagining themselves as Edward's girlfriend.

The Cullens' thoughts made their way to Penelope as she tried to look like she was focusing on her book. They were all a bit pained as it was hard to be surrounded by all the new blood, more for Jasper than any of them. It was sort of interesting to hear their thoughts for herself, but before she could get too caught up in them, she heard Edward's thoughts. He was scanning all around, making sure no one suspected anything yet.

However, his next thought, accompanied by his view of her from the opposite side of the room, sent a chill down her spine: Why can't I hear her?

Apparently, he hadn't heard any thoughts coming from her, not even a mental image. He had been surprised that Penelope wasn't fawning over the Cullens or even paying them attention like everyone else.

Some girls noticed that he kept looking over at Penelope, their minds filling with hurt and jealousy once they thought that Edward had taken an interest in her. Of course, he's interested in the rich girl. Wait until he hears about her freak family.

That thought came from Jessica Stanley in particular.

What is she thinking? Edward's thoughts came in with more urgency. It was starting to unsettle him. After all, he was the lookout for his family and if Penelope knew about them or even suspected them, his family would have to leave town immediately. The only logical reason for Penelope was that Edward simply couldn't read her mind.

Not knowing what to really do in this situation, Penelope casually looked around, letting her eyes linger on the Cullens for a moment with a neutral expression before beginning to eat her food. Edward didn't seem to like that. He had hoped to count on reading her facial expressions but when she offered very little, it truly irritated him.

Ugh, whatever. It's not like he's entitled to everyone's thoughts, she thought to herself. But though Edward couldn't read her mind, he saw the little scowl that appeared on her lips for a brief moment before she hid it. Is she angry? Perhaps unsatisfied with the school food? I need to know.

No, you don't! She shouted back in her head, even if it was a fruitless act. His thoughts were starting to get on her nerves, even more so when she heard him vow to himself that he would find a way to read her mind. 

With her mood ruined, she ate a little more of her food before dumping the tray and walking out of the cafeteria, not even sparing a glance towards the Cullens, much to Edward's annoyance- and Rosalie's (for vanity reasons).

You know, maybe this will be enjoyable, Penelope thought to herself. Surely it would be fun to watch Edward get annoyed whenever he couldn't read her exact thoughts, right?

・・・