Disclaimer: I take no credit in the characters within this story; those are the sole work of Mrs. Stephenie Meyer. I do, however, take credit for the specific, new traits I gave them and am quite proud of them.

AN: This (meaning this chapter and NOT this whole story) has now been edited by two, so if you find a mistake, copy it and send it to me! I would be much appreciated. Now, read and ENJOY!

I sighed, leaning my head against the wall beside my desk while I tried to push all of my thoughts away. They didn’t want to leave, of course. If they had, it would have happened within the last six or so years. “Get over it, Bella.” I whispered to myself. “Get over him.”

I stood and headed toward the bathroom, hoping a hot shower would clear my head. I walked into the room, being sure to lay a towel down onto the ground so that I didn’t slip when I got out… again. I stripped down quickly, just wanting to try to make myself change my thoughts. The whole situation made me want to laugh, though—like a shower would really help me block out the same sad thoughts that had been plaguing me for nearly six years. I turned on the hot water in the shower at the same time that I climbed in, allowing myself a small chuckle. The sound echoed a little, not sounding like a chuckle at all, but more like a hysterical groan.

The water scalded my skin, making me jump while I cranked up the cold and continued to adjust the two knobs until a careful balance was reached. As I let the water run across my skin and the steam begin to fill my lungs, I couldn’t help but let my mind wander back to him again. I knew exactly what was bringing this on, of course. Alice would be here in less than a week and was staying for a month. I wasn’t as nervous about that as about what staying with her for so long would do to my life. She always managed to flip it completely upside down, whether I saw her for a day or for longer. She was just that kind of person, and I loved her for it. She was like the sister that I never had and the best friend that I would never want to live without. Her entire family, really. Especially her brother…

BRING! The phone screamed from the living room. BRING! I jumped out of the shower, leaving it on so that I could climb back in after I was finished with this interruption. I slipped into a robe and hurried into the living room. My fingers curled around the phone, bringing it to my ear as I pressed talk. “Hello?”

“Bella!” Alice’s excited voice sang through the receiver, making me smile despite myself.

“Hi, Alice. How are you?”

“Excited about coming up! I’ve been trying to keep myself from packing all of my stuff. How are you?”

“Excited about seeing you!” I said, being mostly honest. I should probably talk to her about what had been running through my mind again, but I figured I could wait till she was up here.

“So, I called because I have a question…”

“What would that be?” I asked, smiling still. Something about Alice always made me happy, no matter what my previous mood was.

“Well, I was wondering if I might be able to bring somebody with me.” She sounded almost cautious, like I might say no.

“Of course!” I said, shaking my head. “Why would I have a problem with that?”

“Well, I know that this is supposed to be our time, and it is your house.”

“You know as well as I do just how much extra empty space I have here, Alice,” I said, looking at one still bare wall. “And like I could say no to you, anyways. You know that any friend of yours is always welcome in my house.”

I heard her tittering in my ear. “Oh, you are going to be so surprised, Bella. I can’t wait to see your face.”

My eyebrows came down. “Why?”

“You’ll see.” Alice sang.

“Is he different from your others?” I asked, thinking over the guys that I had met. They included almost every one of her boyfriends since high school, and none had surprised me yet. They were all sweet and cute and funny. She always got great guys, but it just never worked out for her. I wanted nothing more than for her to find a guy that was everything she wanted and more, a relationship that actually lasted for more than a few months.

She giggled. “You’ll see. Just wait.” She paused and then started talking again. “Oh, I think I just heard his car. I’ll let you go for now! He’ll be so happy to know that he’s coming! Neither of us can wait!”

“Okay, Alice. Well, I’ll talk to you on Thursday, okay? I can’t wait for you to finally get out here and keep me company!”

We laughed as we both said bye, and I hung up, still smiling. I really couldn’t wait to have my best friend back. And for an entire month no less, not just a measly day! And I was happy that I would get to meet her new boyfriend as well - check him out for her. I hadn’t really had a chance to stamp any of them with the friend’s seal of approval for the last few months.

Once I was back in the shower, I was no longer thinking selfishly cold thoughts, but rather warm ones about finally getting to be happy again for a while. I was a bit nervous about what we would do - only because Alice was so eccentric - but that seemed like a small price to pay for my friend’s company.

On Thursday I woke up extra early and began to run through my house again. I checked the guest room I had made up for Alice and her guest; the bed was made perfectly, everything clean and ready. I moved on into the bathrooms and other rooms, straightening some things that had been moved or changed the day before. I was sure that if anyone had been there to watch me it would look like I had OCD or something, but I couldn’t help but want to make everything perfect. I was so excited about having my friend back!

I wandered my house for the next hour or so, simply too happy to sit down and too stubborn to not think about it. My mind changed from topic to topic, starting with what we could to do and ranging up into how I should start to fill the extra rooms in the house. Then it began to move back to high school.

--

It was my first day at Forks High School - lunch, to be more exact. I was still being stared at like some new kind of specimen, studied like there was actually something interesting about me. I had been invited to sit with a girl who shared two of my classes and had trailed after her to a table that was already full of her friends. She introduced me to everyone quickly, hardly giving me time to nod at one before starting on another. I didn’t remember one name in the end, even hers. I sat down and began to look around the room, searching tables and faces. My eyes had made almost a full circle when they found the table. It was nestled in a corner, seating only three.

The people who were sitting there were unbelievably beautiful, absolutely amazing. None of them were looking at me, just speaking quietly among themselves. I stared rather openly, scanning them. There were two guys, the first considerably larger than the other, well-muscled and almost intimidating; his head was covered in dark, curly hair. My eyes continued to the guy sitting beside him and my breath almost stopped. He was gorgeous. His body was lean, not large like the other boy’s; he had unnatural bronze-colored hair and a face that was kind of boyish compared to his companion’s. I could see the green of his eyes from here, a bright, beautiful color that made me want to take a closer look. I managed to pry my eyes away and met those of the girl at the table. She was looking at me curiously, looking just as beautiful as the others with her tiny, pixie-like body that was thin to an extreme and black hair that was short and pointing out of her head.

I looked away quickly, ashamed to have been caught staring, and felt a blush begin to creep up on me.

“Bella?” I turned to the girl who was sitting next to me. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” I said, my eyes stealing a quick, nonchalant glance back at the table that had interested me so. The girl was still looking at me, a little smile playing on her lips as she said something to the others before standing up. I quickly looked back to the girl beside me. “Why?”

“Your face is just kind of red,” she said kindly. “Just wanted to be sure nothing was wrong.”

“No.” I said, shaking it quickly. “Thank you…” I blushed a little deeper as I realized I couldn’t remember the girl’s name.

“Angela,” she filled in with a smile.

“I’m sorry. I’m just not the best with names.” I said lamely as I tried not to look back at the table across the room.

“It’s fine. I can only imagine how many introductions you have been put through today,” she said, nodding.

“Yeah.” My nod was kind of short as I saw the girl out of the corner of my eye as she passed by the table, her eyes still on me. I didn’t meet her look but did notice it was kind enough - just rather bold. She must have caught my glance though because she turned and walked toward me.

“Hi. You’re the Bella I’ve been hearing everyone whispering about, right?” she said in a musical voice that seemed just as beautiful as her exterior.

“Yes,” I said turning to her and trying to smile even though I could feel myself blush again. I let my hair fall a little in front of my face a little, blocking my cheeks.

“I’m Alice.” She extended her hand, and I took it and shook it gently.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said kindly though I couldn’t seem to meet her eyes. She was just too beautiful; it seemed wrong.

“How would you like to go for a walk Bella? I would love to get to know you.” Her voice sounded rather excited.

I met her gaze then, surprised. Why would someone like her want to get to know me? “Umm…. sure, why not?”

She smiled sweetly as I stood up, excusing myself from the table and saying a quick goodbye. They all nodded and stared at Alice a little. I grabbed my tray and went to empty it before following the tiny girl out of the cafeteria. She started asking me questions about where I was from and how I liked Forks, the things you would expect to be asked on your first day, as she led me around the school. She was incredibly nice and seemed very hyper.

When the bell rang, dismissing the lunch crowd, she turned to me. “It was very nice talking to you Bella. I hope you don’t mind me saying that I hope we can be friends.”

I laughed. “Not at all.”

She smiled. “I’ll see you later then. Maybe we’ll have a class together.” Then she hurried away, probably off toward her locker. I turned the other way and went toward mine, following the crowd that was pushing that way until I saw it. I grabbed my schedule, searching from my next class. Biology II. Fun. I felt myself laugh darkly to myself as I found the building and went in just as the bell rang. I walked straight up to the teacher, my eyes not shifting from him.

After handing me a book, he sent me away to sit at an empty table. I sat quickly, relieved that I wouldn’t have to put up with the nonsense a partner can cause. Mr. Banner, the teacher, looked over the room, making marks in a book as he took role. After a second the door opened behind me, causing a rather chilly gust of air to sweep out behind me and up my neck, making me shiver.

“Sorry, Mr. Banner. My sister couldn’t open her locker,” said a beautifully melodic voice. I turned in my seat to see the bronze-haired guy from lunch closing the classroom door.

“It’s fine Edward. Just take your seat.” Mr. Banner said with a sigh as he erased something in the book.

I watched him as he came and pulled out the chair beside me, his eyes locking with mine. “Hello.”

“Hi.” I practically squeaked as I felt myself blush. Up close his green eyes were even more spectacular, fathomless.

He sat down and turned to me, extending his hand. “I’m Edward Cullen.”

“Bella Swan,” I said, nervously, taking his extended fingers.

He shook it gently, a smile on his lips. “Ah, Bella. You must be Alice’s new friend. The one that she talked to at lunch? It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Yeah. You, too,” I said quietly as I pulled my hand away, still feeling his skin on mine. He was really flustering me with his eyes locked like they were. I tilted my head down a little, letting my hair fall forward to cover my face as I began to blush yet again.

“You seem to have impressed her. She seemed very excited after lunch.”

I shrugged a little. “She was really nice.”

I saw a corner of his mouth lift. “That she is. A heart of gold. I’ve never seen her quite like that, though. She can get along with anyone, but girls don’t tend to impress her.”

I smiled a little. I was glad to know that she really did like me. “I’ll take that as a compliment then.”

He nodded and was about to say something when Mr. Banner called our attention to the front of the class. I barely paid any attention to the lecture as I watched Edward out of the corner of my eyes. He was incredible to look at, so at ease yet out of place in the room. I saw now that he was not nearly as small as he had originally looked in comparison to his brother, nor did he look as boyish. He was all man, I could tell. It made me wonder how much bigger the other guy actually was. He glanced at me at one point, but I don’t think he saw my eyes flash forward. I felt my heart race at the thought that he looked at me. I don’t think it slowed down from that moment on.

--

I sat down then, needing to stop thinking but not wanting to wander anymore. Get over it. I had to get over it! If I didn’t stop thinking about that boy, I was going to do more than just drive myself crazy. My eyes flicked up to a clock on the wall. 9:30. I knew I had to do something to keep my mind off of him for the half hour I had left, so I stood and went to my desk and pulled out my red pen and highlighter as I started to edit the pages sitting there.

While my eyes scanned the words, I began to blank out, my mind spiraling back again.

--

I arrived to school the next day a little early and just sat down at a table in the courtyard. It was chilly, but that didn’t really matter because I was bundled up in a coat over a sweater over a shirt. My eyes traveled up to the gray sky that was threatening to open up on my head, and I cursed at it quietly, willing it not to.

“Bella!”

I looked over to see Alice running over from the sidewalk that led from the parking lot. “Hi, Alice.”

She sat down across from me, a sweet smile on her face as she studied me. “You don’t look like you slept too well. Are you okay?”

I thought back to the long night of rain and thunder. How anyone could sleep through that was a question not yet answered. “I’m just not quite used to the echo of the rain yet, but I got enough. How are you?”

“Fine,” she said, as if it didn’t matter. “So, I heard that you met Edward. Why didn’t you tell me in English?” A little pout came to her lips.

“It didn’t seem like a big deal,” I said, smiling a little. “Besides, I don’t think I could have with all of your questions.”

She laughed a little, a light and whimsical sound. It made me a little jealous thinking of my own rather loud and awkward laugh. “I’m sorry. I was kind of bombarding you with questions, wasn’t I?”

I smiled as kindly as I could. “I don’t mind. So, how did you find out?”

“Edward told me on the way home. He said that you seemed like a ‘very sweet girl’.” She shook her head. “But that’s just the way he is. Either he’s too nice, or he doesn’t give justice to everything. But, what did you think of him?”

I laughed to myself, my eye catching him as he walked down the same sidewalk that she had. I said my answer loud enough for him to hear as he looked over at his sister and I. “He’s a very kind boy, I suppose.”

Alice began to laugh again and glanced over at her brother who was smiling as well. “Well, I don’t know about that.”

“Are you insulting me, Alice?” Edward asked, walking toward our bench.

“Of course not,” she said as if it was absurd to even think that. She turned back to me, laughter still in her eyes. “So, do you think that you will be able to survive staying here, Bella? I mean, even with all the cold?”

“I think so,” I said, thinking about the way I had cried myself to sleep the first night. I glanced back at Edward, who was standing at the end of the table, looking at me as if he expected more. “It could be worse.”

“How?” Alice asked with a moan. I had found out yesterday in English—which, as it turns out, we had together— that Alice wanted nothing more than to get out of Forks for college.

I smiled a little, meeting her eyes. “I could have met no one that I liked and just become a complete outcast with no one talking to me.”

“I doubt that,” she said, shaking her head. “They don’t allow that here.”

People were starting to fill the yard, and I saw quite a few look over curiously. I met the eyes of the girl I had spoken to at lunch yesterday - Angela? She smiled at me and gave a little wave, which I returned happily. She seemed like a nice enough person, and I hope I was right on that account. I let my eyes flick back to Edward, who was staring up at the sky with a little smile on his face that I didn’t understand. “What are you looking at?”

“The clouds. Looks like rain.” He said, his smile staying in place.

“And you smile about it?” I asked with an incredulous look. “That should be illegal.”

“Edward enjoys the rain,” Alice informed me with a sigh.

“Why would you do that?” I asked, looking back at him.

He smiled. “It makes it so that one second is different from the rest. If it were always sunny, you would know what to expect. Here you’re never quite sure when its going to rain, snow, or hail.”

“I don’t find that to be as attractive as he seems to,” Alice said, peering at the sky with contempt.

I thought about it. I knew what he was saying, but I didn’t fully agree. The ice that I knew would be falling from the sky in future months would be hazardous not only to me, but to anyone near me at the time. I shivered, imagining myself falling into a snow bank. There had to be a way to find a more enjoyable natural discontinuity than rain and snow. When I voiced my opinion, Edward looked at me with raised eyebrows before smiling and nodding.

“I’m sure there is one. I just haven’t managed to find it yet. I’ll keep my eyes peeled, though. You just gave me something to think about.”

“Oh, god.” Alice said, shaking her head as she tried to keep from smiling. “Just what you need, something else to muddle over.”

I laughed with her when Edward shot her a look. I couldn’t help it; her laughter was extremely contagious. “That’s not always a bad thing, Alice.” He snapped, but I could see a little twitch up in the corners of his mouth. I chuckled to myself again, and he turned to me. “Well, I’ll see you in Biology, Bella.”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding at him before he walked away.

--

I heard the crunch of gravel and pulled myself out of my reverie, so that I could jump up and run to my door, slipping on a pair of sandals. I flew out the door, almost tripping over the door jam. Alice hopped out of the car before it shut off and ran over to me, her arms pulling me into a tight hug. “Bella!”

“Hi, Alice,” I said, meeting her hug before pulling back and peering her face. As beautiful as ever, if not more so. “How was your drive?”

“Way too slow. I know it was only like four hours but I swear we’ve been driving for at least six,” she said, smiling as she looked down me at my tee shirt and jeans. “You haven’t changed at all since the last time I saw you, have you?”

“Of course not.” I said, taking in her tiny frame clad in tight jeans and an adorable top that probably cost nearly ten times the price of anything in my wardrobe. Alice had always been a fashionista, to say the least.

She looked back up at my face. “You look tired.”

I shrugged. “It was hard to sleep last night. I was excited.”

She laughed. “I know exactly what you mean! I don’t think I got an hour. I couldn’t wait to get out of there this morning. I think I ran more in a shorter amount of time than I ever have.”

“That’s quite a feat,” I said, laughing before remembering that she wasn’t alone. I glanced at the car and saw the trunk was open and a guy was leaning in. I couldn’t see his face with the lid of the trunk open, just a pair of black jeans. “So, who is he?”

“Oh, you’ll see,” she said before turning. She had the biggest smile on her face. What was she up to? “Hurry up with those bags!”

I felt myself laugh a little as the guy straightened. Then I froze as he started walking toward us, his eyes glued on me. His hair was its normal mess, his face naturally kind. My breath hitched, and I barely squeezed it out. “Edward?”