4 Chapter 4: The Smell

Hola amigos. Congratulations: The Poll is officially over. Roselie came in dead last with three votes. The third goes to Leah with six votes. Coming in second is...

Alice with 20 votes. Coming in first is Victoria at 24 votes. 

Disclaimer: While the mate bond stuff will affect Victoria, it will not affect Sam. Just because he thinks she is beautiful doesn't mean he is in love with her. 

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Sam sat silently, eating lunch as his sister and her friends chatted. Mike, the blondie, had his chair dragged out from under him and was sprinting for the culprit. Eric, the Asian kid from earlier, had said something, but Sam couldn't be bothered listening. He couldn't help but grin at their desperate attempts to impress the new girl, borderline tripping over themselves. 

His thoughts wandered as he struggled to recall details from his prior life. His main goal was remembering the movies, so he produced a short list during his government session covering significant events.

Volturi's Stand, the Newborn Army, and James' Hunt. He could recall three significant incidents from memory. Minor ones like Jasper's loss of control, Edward's suicidal stand, and the van crashing were even harder to remember. 

Bella's voice cut off his thoughts. "Who are they?" 

Sam's gaze shifted to the party who had entered. Emmett was holding hands with a blond, statuesque woman. She was roughly 5'9" tall and had long, wavy hair that reached the middle of her back. Even Sam couldn't dispute it: Roselie was gorgeous but not his type. He preferred redheads. [Image] 

"Them? The Cullens," Jessica answered softly, not to let them hear her as she spoke about them. "Their Doctor Cullen's foster kids." Emmett side-eyed their table, obviously hearing her commentary; seeing Sam, he waved. Sam only nodded with a mouth full of food; Roselie's face shifted to an irritated look.

"Woah, you know Emmett?" Angela asked Sam; as both she and Jessica looked surprised. Neither of them knew the Cullens to be sociable people. "Generally, they keep to themselves."

"Yeah, cus there together, together. I'm not even sure it's legal." 

"I mean, they're not related."

"But they live together; that's weird," Jessica voiced, envy dripping from her mouth. The blondie, Roselie; she and that big guy Emmett are a thing." 

"You sound jealous." Sam retorted with a scoff as he slightly laughed at her. "You don't know their situation, so you can't judge too much." 

"Did Emmett spill stuff to you?" Jessica ignored his words and questioned him instead. Sam's only response was to pretend to zip his mouth shut and discard the zipper. Jessica rolled her eyes as Angela giggled while covering her mouth.

'Cute,' He thought to himself. Angela had this cute, nerdy girl vibe. "You'll spill it sooner or later. Anyways, the short, dark-haired girl is Alice; she's really weird." 

Alice was a guiding hand to Jasper, who towered over her at 6,3. Roselies's blonde hair matched his, giving the impression that they were twins. His hair stopped at his collar; he had a lean build, contrasting his brother's bulky build. [Image]

"She's with Jasper, the blond one who looks like he's in pain."

Alice glanced at Bella and Sam, more so Bella, before dancing and skipping to her seat beside her family. "Dr.Cullen, is this like foster dad/matchmaker person." 

"I wish he would adopt me," Angela commented. Jessica nodded in agreement, but Bella ignored both of them. Her gaze was steady, tracing the movement of the Last Cullen: Edward. Bella couldn't help but think of one word to describe him: Adonis.

Edward had high cheekbones and a strong jawline that complemented each other. Paired with his shaped nose and full lips, he was quite handsome. Even his untidy hair paired perfectly with its bronze shade. [Image]

"Him, that's Edward. Pretty boy, apparently, no one here is good enough for him. Not like I care or anything," Jessica commented as she followed Bella's gaze. Her comments about him were dripping a hateful tone. Clearly, she did care. "So don't waste your time."

"O-oh, I w-wasn't planning on it," Bella studdered out, her eyes locked with Edward's for a brief moment before she looked down, embarrassed by it. "Yeah, right, you like a cat, Bells." 

Bella elbowed her brother, but this time, he blocked it as the two other girls looked at him, expecting an explanation. "She's like a cat, curious and very persistent. Plus, danger follows her around a lot." 

"Shut up" 

"What, it's true."

Soon after lunch ended, there was some useless conversation about gossip around the school, but Sam didn't mind. Gossip was fun sometimes, but only when it wasn't you. 

~

The third class of the day was Government. Surprisingly, no Cullen was in his class, thankfully. Sam was placed near the back, the only open seat next to a blond-haired 17-year-old. His hair was scruffy; he looked to be in the middle of growing it out. His eyes were a piercing blue, showing a strong will and jawline to match. This school was just filled with models. [Image]

The man reached his fist out, offering a fist bump. "Hey, man. I'm Oliver. You can call me Olly."

"Sam." He bumped his hand with Olly as they talked about where they came from. However, Sam couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he knew Oliver from somewhere. "So where'd they drag you from?" 

"Arizona, you?" 

"I don't look like I'm from here?"

"You don't seem like the type to fit here. If I'm being honest." Sam raised his hands in defense, hoping he didn't offend the man. "Yeah, parents sent me here. They think it would do me good being in a small town." 

"Really now? Spoken like a rich boy." 

"Oh yeah, I forgot. My full name is Oliver Queen."

Sam's brain rebooted for a solid second, and Olly's face curved into a grin. "Shocking? You're like the second person to notice.

"Uh... It's hard not to," Sam sheepishly responded with a chuckle as he rested his head in his hand. "Your rich parents sent you to a small town in the middle of nowhere to teach you a lesson?"

"Something about humility and having humanity." His head shook dismissively, thinking his parents were overreacting. 'Spoken like a spoiled brat. Though, I wonder if Purgatory Island is here too.'

The rest of school sped by, owing to the fact that Olly and Sam talked for the majority of it. After exchanging numbers, they parted ways, with Olly having a personal driver pick him up. Scooting past some kids in the way, his sister sat against the hood of her truck, waiting. Not for him, but for somebody else. "Hey, do I smell bad?"

"Like absolute shit, I can see it fumigating off of you."

Bella's face went red, either in anger or embarrassment; Sam couldn't tell. He sighed as she slapped his arm. "You smell fine." He rolled his eyes before breaking into a grin. "Does someone's crush not like the smell of them~?"

"Shut up." She snapped back, her face, before quickly jumping into the truck. Sam followed, the car ride back had an awkward air of silence. It was thick enough to cut with scissors; Sam stole glances at his sister as she fought back tears of embarrassment. She focused on the road, ignoring him and his presence as she pulled into their home. 

Sam didn't say a word before she ran upstairs; he could only sigh. 'Teenage girl drama,' he thought back; maybe he shouldn't have teased her so much. Charlie looked to Sam for an answer. "Some guy thought she smelled bad, and I guess she's got a crush on him." 

"How do-"

"You don't. Let her cool off, and I'll talk to her later tonight." Sam knew the drill; the teenage girl's mind is so flip-flop that she'll need to cool off before anything. "Where is the old boombox you had?" 

"In the shed, behind the lawnmower. It should be on the blue bucket. Some old CDs are in the garage if you want to listen to good music." 

"That old music? Nah, I'll play some actual good music." 

"You call what they have nowadays good?"

"Uh, yeah, obviously, old man."

"Hey now, I'm not that old."

"Eh" 

Charlie rolled his eyes with a blank look as if saying 'really' without words. Sam shrugged his shoulders before leaving and grabbing the boombox. He slipped in a CD he had brought from his home in Arizona: Enter the Wu-Tang By Wu-Tang Clan.

`Protect Ya Neck` was up first as he started working on the car. The engine was mostly fine, with some tweaks here and there. His hand reached into the bay, grabbing a nut before twisting it. He was more than strong enough to easily screw it off and on with ease. 

He ended up working the day away until sundown. Coming out from under the car, he was greeted by Charlie, moving his head to the music and silently approving of it. "See, I told you you'd like it."

"It's not bad; I don't like the violence so much." 

"Eh, half of them fake it anyway. I think at least." 

"Anyways, Bella made dinner. So wash up."

After washing up, the Swan family ate dinner. An awkward silence appeared again; Sam decided against speaking about her problem for now. She wasn't as comfortable with Charlie at the moment, so he didn't want to push it. 

Later in the night, Bella opened his room door with a phone in hand. "It's Mom." Sam looked at Bella; he and their mother didn't have the best relationship, similar to Charlie and Bella's. Her only response was her own look, almost scolding him with her eyes. At the very least, she had attempted to rekindle the father-daughter relationship. 

He took the phone and did a 180 in personality, greeting his mother with a fake happy voice. "Hey, Mom!" As the mother-son duo talked, Sam mainly listened. It wasn't long before he finally got tired and interrupted her with an excuse to leave. Hanging up, he threw the phone at Bella and unintentionally hit her in the face. 

"What the hell, ow."

"Pay attention next time. You still worried about that crush of yours?" Seeing the look on her face, he could tell she was still thinking about him. She didn't respond, giving him all he needed to know. With a sigh, he tried to console her. "You're beautiful, you know?"

His compliment took her aback as he continued. "I mean, you gotta be; after all, you're MY sister. Being related to me is like winning the lottery." His gloating quickly fixed her opinion of her brother. "Really?" She questioned with a deadpan expression. 

"Of course. But really, though, don't let what someone else thinks affect you so much. They're them, and you're you. Can't change much about it, so if they don't like you, move on."

"You make it sound so simple." She looked down at her hands, doubting herself. He couldn't help but compare her to himself during his training. Self-doubt can kill the mind and body. 

He took a bit of pity on her, but he couldn't say anything without being hypocritical himself. Sure, their situations were different, but in the end, self-doubt ended them both. Socially and physically. 

~

Gongseob stood before Sam, his glasses half broken. *hiccup* a blush filled his face. Behind him, he held a blue glass bottle that read 'Soju' across it. The monk was drunk. 

"A-are you drunk?" 

"No, my child. *Hiccup* How could a monk do that?"

"Bullshit, what's that behind your back?"

"Never mind that you slave- *Hiccup* I me-ean-" His voice trailed off, losing his train of thought. "Uhh, get to cleaning!" 

"I finished. A while ago." 

"Then why is Lord Buddha still on your back?"

"My training?" Sam asked, confused by the Monk's attitude. "Oh, that's not your training." 

"What? Then why do I have it on?" 

"I don't know, you tell me."

"You put it on me!"

"You mean yourself. You put that weight on your own back with your self-hatred." 

"Eh?!" Gongseob's wise words confused the man, but then it clicked. The statue represented his self-doubt and how much it held him back. "Come and sit." 

Gongseob ushered the man to follow him; he guided the man to an even bigger statue of Buddha. It was surrounded by four smaller versions of Buddha, with the bottom two coping the same pose made by the biggest one. The top two held a staff and a ball in their hands. "Copy Lord Buddha's pose. Look within yourself."

Sam at least attempted it, closing his eyes and forcing it on himself. Looking within himself, his past life, and this one. The loss of both lives flooded his mind: he watched Lost after Lost. Each is one more pathic than the last. His mind wandered more than he wanted, thinking of the future.

"A Man doesn't hate himself." Gongseob's voice dragged him from his thoughts of the abyss. "When you are trapped in the consequences and start to doubt yourself, you will become a bird tried up on results, preventing you from flying." 

With a bamboo stick in his hand, Gongseob readied it. "For some people, hatred is the fuel of power. But monks dissolve the hatred to make us stronger." 

Striking Sam's right shoulder as he tried to meditate. "You learn the right thing." His grunts of pain forced his eyes to open and glance back at the monk. "And you will be on the right path." Gongseob struck the left shoulder harder than he did the last time. Sam's eyes widened in pain, grabbing his shoulder and looking back at the monk. 

"You will be the air that won't be harmed by lightning. You will be the sea that won't be wet with the drizzle. Be proud of yourself before it's too late." Gongseob's eyes shifted, uncomfortable, in both anger and acceptance. His thoughts traveled to the past, but he was still steadfast. 

"A man believes in himself." 

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It is a short chapter today, but I want the following chapter to be about his training and mentality. He'll need this character devolvement for the ending I have in mind for the first book with James's Hunt. Yes, it will still happen. 

Before you say it. No, he won't be getting with Victoria just yet; it's gonna be a while before it happens since I want a real connection between the two characters, not just love at first sight bullshit. 

I also use this to establish characters like Olly and Sam's carefree personalities. This brings me to another point: are there any other badass, fully human characters I should add? To flip a whole underworld upside down, it can't just be Sam and Olly.