Sunlight filtered weakly through the heavy clouds that hung above the town of Forks. It was still well and truly early in the morning, a time when the majority of the population was nestled comfortably in their warm blankets, fast asleep. Theo, however, found himself up and awake at the crack of dawn, unbridled energy flowing through his body as he exited the building that held both his business and his home.
The land surrounding the back of his residence was somewhat isolated from the town hub, and with that isolation, his backyard was technically a large expanse of untouched forest. Nestled in the far corner of the flat ground was a garage that held his grandparents' vehicles.
Opening the creaking garage door, Theo was greeted by the sight of two somewhat decommissioned vehicles: a car and a motorcycle. He couldn't help but grimace at the natural decay that surrounded the two machines; his grandmother obviously hadn't covered them up when she moved all those years ago.
"Yikes," Theo whispered, running a finger along the accumulation of rust on the car's fender. "I'd have to spend a fortune getting these back up and running."
With a shake of his head, Theo moved to the empty spot in the room and summoned his System panel.
With a quick mental command, the icon for his new vehicle disappeared from the inventory, and in the empty space, the air shimmered before a sleek, black American muscle car materialized. Its body shone in the dim light, the polished chrome catching the stray beams of sun, and Theo couldn't help but appreciate how menacingly beautiful it was.
Bold, chrome-accented wheels carried the thick metallic body of the 1967 Chevy Impala. The car was in pristine condition, and peering through the window, Theo spied that the interior was in the same immaculate state.
"Fuck, that's nice," he said aloud, opening the heavy car door and sliding into the driver's seat. The leather groaned softly under his weight, a satisfying sound of quality. Finding the keys already waiting in the ignition, he gently turned them and listened to the roar of the V8 engine coming alive.
The initial startup was a guttural growl that reverberated off the garage walls, but the engine heated quickly, settling into a quiet purr.
"Let's take it for a drive," Theo said with a grin. With a press of his foot, the car slowly peeled out of the garage, the tires crunching over the gravel driveway.
Turning onto the main strip, Theo was welcomed by the quieter side of the town. As it was so early, his drive was completely unobstructed by traffic, and he enjoyed cruising through the streets in his stealthy machine. The seats were much more comfortable than he'd initially thought; the car felt spacious, easily able to hold five people with room to spare.
He spent the better part of three hours navigating the winding roads surrounding Forks, the windows rolled down as the freshly rain-washed forest air caressed his skin. He was in bliss, his body's tension bleeding away in the hours of quiet solitude and green forests, accompanied only by the classic rock tunes he found on the radio.
Unfortunately, glancing at the clock on the dashboard, he realized that time had escaped him, and with a sign, turned the car around. He arrived back at his bookshop just as the town was waking up. Bella and Angela would be arriving momentarily, and he made it a point to always be there for the opening of the store.
Parking the car conspicuously in front of the store, Theo happily hummed a tune as he exited the vehicle, locking the door with a satisfying click.
"Damn," he heard someone mutter.
Turning, he noted Angela and Bella standing at the front entrance, their eyes wide as they appreciated his new toy.
"When the hell did you get that, Theo?" Bella asked, her eyes tracing the lines of the Impala.
"I've always had it, but it was sitting in the garage out back. Completely forgot about checking it out in the rush to get the store opened. Like it?" he asked with a grin.
Angela nodded in approval. "It's beautiful. It looks like it belongs in a movie."
The trio entered the store, and before long, each of them began their normal routine of jobs before opening time. Theo merely double-checked the register and bookkeeping before being content enough to take a backseat to the duo.
Prepping his first coffee of the day, Theo called out to the girls.
"Bella, Angela, the store is yours completely today. I'm heading out and probably won't be back until late in the afternoon. Are you both okay with being left alone?"
Sure, he was generally a hands-off boss, but at the end of the day, he wanted his employees to be happy with their working environment.
"Yeah, no problem," Bella said, unfazed. "Hot date with Alice?"
Theo snorted at her question, almost spilling his coffee. "Nah, we're not at that stage yet. Just got some personal stuff to deal with, so I'll be no-contact for a little while."
After a brief conversation regarding the day's tasks, Theo bade the girls farewell as he moved to the outside of the building. There was an external door that granted access to his apartment, and while he rarely used it, today it offered the privacy he needed.
Going up to his apartment, Theo finished off his coffee before looking around the living space.
"Now, if I were to place a dimensional door in here, where would be the least obvious place?"
He walked around, scrutinizing the layout, before settling on the spare storage room near the back. It was small—really only big enough to hold boxes and cleaning supplies—but it was nondescript enough for people to ignore entirely.
Willing the brass key into his hand, Theo felt a hum of energy radiate from the metal. He slowly pushed it against the wooden wall inside the closet. A vibration passed through the air, distorting the light for a fraction of a second, before a pitch-black rectangular door frame manifested, sitting flush against the wall as if it had always been there.
With a shaky breath, he stepped through the void.
The transition was instant and seamless. One moment he was standing in a dusty closet in Forks, and the next, he was blinking against the ambient light of a new world.
Sprawling grounds were the first thing Theo saw. The grass was manicured to perfection, a vibrant green that seemed almost artificial in its perfection. The sky above was a soft, perpetual twilight hue, providing ample light without the harsh glare of a sun.
Then, his eyes fell upon the behemoth of architectural design standing before him. Though the System description had mentioned a mansion, Theo felt he had to make a correction; this was a castle imitating a mansion.
The structure was crafted from pristine white stone that seemed to glow softly. Large, floor-to-ceiling windows were spread throughout the exterior, showcasing hints of the grand design within. A sweeping staircase led upwards to massive wooden double doors, flanked by imposing marble pillars that looked strong enough to hold up the sky.
Slowly walking up the stairs and pushing through the front doors, Theo let out a low whistle of appreciation as he stepped into the foyer.
Just the entrance was grander than anything he'd ever seen in reality. Deep, crimson carpets ran down the center of the hallway, cushioning his steps. Rich, mahogany furniture lined the walls, and foreign artwork—oil paintings depicting landscapes unknown to Earth—hung in gilded frames.
'This place reminds me of those manors people spoke about in Harry Potter fan fictions,' he thought as he began his exploration of his new hidden residence.
Though the interior was fully furnished, Theo noted a distinct "showroom" quality to the atmosphere. It reminded him of IKEA displays or open houses for billionaires; everything was perfect, pristine, and dust-free, but it lacked any evidence of life. It was a blank canvas waiting for him to make it a home.
He moved first to the kitchen, his eyes widening. It looked like it had fallen out of a Michelin-star design magazine. Stainless steel appliances of the highest grade lined the walls, a walk-in freezer the size of his apartment's bedroom, and an island bench made of black marble sat in the center.
"I could cook a feast for an army in here," he muttered, running a hand over the cool stone counter.
Next was the Reinforced Warehouse. He found the entrance behind a heavy steel door that looked like it belonged in a bank vault. Inside, the space was vast—a cavernous hall with reinforced concrete walls and high ceilings. The acoustics were deadened, perfect for absorbing the sounds of impacts and explosions. It was empty now, a gray void, but Theo could already see it filled with gym equipment, training dummies, and perhaps even heavier machinery for his strength training.
He found multiple bedrooms on the second floor, each a copy of the last: large beds, oak dressers, and attached en-suite bathrooms. But the Master Suite on the third floor was in a league of its own.
It took up almost a third of the floor's footprint. In the center sat an Alaskan King bed, looking ridiculously comfortable. A stone fireplace dominated one wall, ready to be lit, while the flooring was a mix of plush carpet and heated hardwood. A personal study was attached, complete with a desk that made him feel like a CEO just by looking at it.
However, the Bathhouse on the ground floor was truly the shining beacon of the entire estate.
Reminiscent of a high-end Japanese onsen, the indoor area was constructed from natural slate and cedar wood. Small, artificial waterfalls trickled down rock formations along the outer edge, feeding into a pool that neared the size of an Olympic swimming lane, though rounded and organic in shape. Steam rose gently from the water, carrying the scent of minerals.
"Definitely going to be spending some evenings resting here," Theo stated to the empty room, his voice echoing slightly against the water.
Taking a look at his watch, he noted that he'd already spent more than six hours exploring the place, and yet it felt like he'd barely scratched the tip of the iceberg. There were still floors he hadn't touched and rooms he hadn't opened.
Deciding he would have the future to explore more, Theo swiftly moved through the mansion, backtracking his steps through the silent halls until he arrived back at the portal outside.
"I guess I don't really need to worry about finding myself a home," he said, taking one last look at the manicured grounds and the waiting mansion. "Sure, the apartment can be where I spend my nights to keep up appearances, but this... this will be my true home from now on."
Stepping back through the black rectangle, Theo found himself in his closet. He pressed the key once again on the portal, watching it shrink and disappear as if nothing had been there previously.
Looking back at his apartment, Theo couldn't help but feel it was cramped in comparison to the palace he'd just visited. He still loved his home above the shop—it had character and history—but the comparison made him realize that this place was truly only big enough for one person to comfortably live in.
Pushing the thoughts aside, Theo left through the external door of his apartment and entered the bookstore via the front entrance, shaking off the surreal experience of inter-dimensional travel.
He smiled at the sight of customers sitting and drinking in the cafe section, whilst others were near the back in the reading section, quietly flipping through their books.
"Theo! You came back early?" Bella said as she smiled at him from the front counter, her phone in hand.
"Yeah, got most of my work done, but I'm in no rush, so the rest can be on hold for another day. Anything exciting happen today?"
Thanking Angela for the coffee she quickly made him, Theo leaned on the counter expectantly.
"Not really? Alice came by but left after she found out you weren't here," Angela said in place of Bella, as a customer had come to purchase a book. "She seemed pretty bummed out, but she said she'd come back tomorrow. I don't even know how you got her so obsessed with you, Theo."
"What do you mean?" he asked, genuinely curious about her perspective.
"Well, even with the rumors about her being with Jasper, it's obvious they're not real after seeing you two together. But she's been asked out by half of the male population of our school, and she's completely ignored them. Oh, she's been a sweetheart when rejecting them, but still. You just appeared, and she's like a lost puppy following you around."
Theo chuckled at her description but thought about the words. He had been questioning the same things himself but hadn't pushed the subject, assuming it had something to do with her supernatural instincts or perhaps the novelty of him being an anomaly.
"Honestly? I wouldn't have a damn idea. One moment I'm trying to reopen this place, and the next she hasn't left my side."
Angela rolled her eyes at his simple response. "Oh, actually, Bella and I were wondering if we can have Sunday off next week? Jessica came by earlier and reminded me that I needed a prom dress."
'Oh, we're getting close to everything turning on its head!' Theo thought about the implications of the shopping trip. 'This is when Edward comes to save Bella from those would-be rapists in Port Angeles, and she starts clueing in on his secret.'
"No problem. I was thinking about closing next Sunday anyway. Might take the car out for a drive to Seattle or something."
It was a spur-of-the-moment thought, but Theo had a sudden realization that since opening, he hadn't closed the business down for a single day. In the rush of bringing it back to life and creating some positive income, he'd completely neglected the normal concept that many stores closed once a week, especially in smaller towns like Forks.
'Fucking idiot, thank God I'm getting smarter.' He chastised, 'Though, I doubt it will stop me from making mistakes; being smart isn't synonymous with having wisdom.'
Leaving the two girls to get back to their jobs, Theo retreated to his apartment, his mind already planning his first training session in his new, indestructible warehouse.
**********
Yahallo! Here's another chapter for all you lovelies today. It may seem like filler, but I honestly just wanted to write about his cool new rewards. Now, there's only like two images of his mansion available online, and they're shit, so I went with my own imagination (though the rooms are accurate).
Next chapter will be the awaited Cullen POV! Keep commenting, reviewing and donating!