Bella Swan sat at the edge of the bench near the school's front courtyard, notebook in her lap, pencil twirling between her fingers. She was supposed to be outlining an essay, but the words wouldn't come.
Because Kane Hanma had just walked out of the front doors and something about him demanded her attention.
He moved with quiet confidence. Not like a student. More like someone who knew he was stronger than everyone else in the room but didn't feel the need to prove it.
Bella couldn't stop watching him.
She wasn't the only one.
Across the courtyard, the Cullen family stood in a loose cluster near the edge of the trees. All of them too still. Too perfect. Too focused.
Their eyes were on Kane.
Rosalie's arms were crossed, her jaw set tight. Edith stood with a hand against her chin, expression unreadable. Alice stood slightly forward, her golden eyes unblinking.
It wasn't casual observation. It was something more.
Intense.
Purposeful.
Bella's heart ticked a little faster. She'd never seen the Cullens act like this before. Usually, they stayed apart. Remote. Silent. But now… they were watching someone else the same way other people usually watched them.
She let her gaze follow Kane as he passed through the school gates and turned down the path into the trees, headed toward the edge of town.
None of the Cullens moved. None of them spoke.
And none of them even looked her way.
Bella glanced down at her notebook, realizing she hadn't written a single word.
She tapped her pencil against the page.
Who are you, Kane Hanma? she wondered.
And more importantly… Why do they care so much?