Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters, and most of the words in this story belong to Stephenie Meyer, only the normal text is mine.

A/N: I've been intrigued by reading a story about the characters in the Twilight series reading the books ever since I saw the movie last year (yes, I didn't start reading the books until after I saw the movie, which is wrong but at least I'm tuned in now). I've been searching off and on from that time on and have found only two that goes beyond the first chapter (and these only go a few more chapters after that). I must also admit that the main reason why I want to read one of these is because I really enjoy reading the Harry Potter all read stories (and just so you know I didn't start reading those book either until the movie came out). I waited a long time for something to come out (mostly quenching my appetite by reading Edward POV stories), and decided that I should just try my hand at doing it myself and see if that works.

This story starts about a month before Twilight begins and the Cullens gather around the dinner table to read the series together. Originally, I wanted to make it take place after Breaking dawn, and have everyone read, but it was difficult to make the characters that have lived through the experience seem interested in it (only having Renesmee (and Jacob for the most part) unknowing). I'm not very good at creating extra humor in scenes and after the first three chapters it just didn't feel right... it didn't flow (though it was hard to let Bella, Jacob and Renesmee go). So I started over with just the Cullens, and allowed them to be surprised by all that is going to happen to them for the next few years.

I would also like to say that I've only read the series a few times, and only read a handful of fanfictions (again mostly Edward POV of the series stories) so I'm not sure if I have a handle on all the characters personalities yet (if not, hopeful it will get better as time goes on). I feel so much more comfortable writing in the Potter-verse (which I'm also writing a next generation reading the books series too) seeing as I've read them like a thousand times but the Twilight series has grabbed me in almost the same fever as that has and I just want to know what the character reactions would be. Oh, and I just want to add, even though I know it makes me sound a little crazy, I often imagine the characters wearing robes (the image just pops into me head and it really odd and doesn't fit the scene at all). I blame Harry for this of course, but I never really think of those characters as wearing robes even when I know they should be. I know this doesn't have anything to do with the story but I just wanted to get it of my chest.

Oh, and I'm sorry about all the spelling and grammar mistakes I know will be in this stories, I'm really bad at that and I would appreciated any helpful suggestion you have to offer. Hopefully I'll be able to post one or two chapters a week on this story, I've already written five chapters and if I keep up my writing pace there shouldn't be a problem with that. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.

This story has now been update and beta by Angelinia 10/23

Chapter One

First Sight

It was a typical day in the rainy town of Forks - okay so maybe the house wasn't inside the borderline of the town but that doesn't matter. Alice was skipping around the room in inhuman speed replacing all the flowers and other perishables in the house, though it wasn't strictly necessary for them to keep up the appearance in the house; what person would come to their house to even notice this? - it was one way to keep busy. As she ran she could hear Jasper and Emmett having a discussion about a wrestling match that Emmett had lost the other day - he was trying to goad Jasper in a rematch. Edward shook his head; he was sitting at the piano playing Esme's favorite song. Alice could tell from his smirk that Jasper must be feigning reluctance just to annoy Emmett and as she looked at her husband from her peripheral vision she could easily see the signs on his face too. Though of course Emmett couldn't. Rosalie was sitting on the couch staring off into space - or more likely into the huge glass window admiring herself. Esme was in her study working, but like any other time Edward was playing - especially this song - there was a certain happy peacefulness coming for there. Carlisle wasn't home at the moment, though he should be home any minute; he was working at the hospital always choosing to work late on the holidays - today was Christmas - so that his human coworkers could have the day off and spend the time with their families.

It was only five minutes later that he drove up and only three seconds after that that he came in the door carrying a box in his arms. He looked at the box a little oddly; there was no address or anything like that on it.

"What's that?" Emmett asked.

"It's a box," Jasper teased his already frustrated brother. Emmett glared at him, but otherwise let it go, though the twinkle in his eyes told everyone that he was up to something.

"I doubt it's dangerous," Edward said now standing next to Carlisle, examining the box too and obviously picking up on his father's apprehension with it. "Though, it is odd that we didn't hear anyone leave it..."

"It's only a box, open it already," Emmett said impatiently. "And then Jasper and I can..."

"I've already told you, I'm not giving you a rematch," Jasper said, his tone annoyed, but Edward's mouth twitched in amusement.

Carlisle opened the box, with some trepidation and pulled out four books. "'Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn,'" Carlisle read the name of each of the books. "I've never heard of them."

"They look like novels to me, maybe even romance novels," Emmett smirked. "Not your typical genre."

"Let's see," Alice said, picking up the first one and then turning to the back cover. She read it in less than a second and was quite intrigued to find out more about whoever it was that would fall in love with the... She quickly stopped that train of thought, as the vampire in question looked at her curiously, and she quickly ran to her room hiding the other three books before coming back down. "I think we should read these books together."

"Why?" several voices asked. No one was that interested in reading these books at all until that point.

"I think it might be interesting," Alice said with a nonchalant shrug all the time translating the Star-Spangle Banner in Spanish to keep Edward from reading her mind.

Edward looked at her, not understanding why she was trying so hard to block him and the curiosity was really starting to get to him. She knew he hated it when she kept things from him. "Fine."

"Good, I'll start," Alice beamed for a second before sitting at the dinning/conference table. Everyone else joined her, most of them mildly interested in the books now.

"Preface," Alice read.

I'd never given much thought to how I would die —

"You're already dead Alice," Emmett smirked. "Why should you?"

"You're not going to be interrupting all the time are you?" Rosalie said impatiently - she really didn't seem to care at all about this.

"Oh, we'll all interrupt a lot," Alice smirked. "I don't even have to use my gift to see that."

"Hm," Edward said thoughtfully giving his sister a scrutinizing look as she was switching to Latin; the fifth language so far. She just smiled at him and continued reading.

though I'd had reason enough in the last few months — but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.

I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me.

"Do you think it's vampires?" Esme questioned. "Some poor person getting hunted by a vampire?"

"Seem logical to me," Carlisle said. "It also could be a reason why whoever sent these books would give them to us."

"Oh, there's more reasons than just that," Alice smirked and Edward narrowed his eyes at her.

Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved.

"Yes, that is a good way to die," Edward said moving his glare from Alice long enough to look at all his family members, each looking like they had the same thought as him.

Alice frowned a little at his expression. 'You don't have more reason to die than any one of us Edward.' Edward sighed and his eyes shifted slightly to Jasper and back to Alice, a look that only Alice could interpret; she knew her brother the best seeing as they had to stick together because of their gifts. 'I know that you would happily give up your life for anyone of us, especially knowing that you wouldn't only be saving whoever it was, but you would be saving their mate too, but Edward... we all love you too. It would kill us too if we lost you... If I lost you.' Yes, she definitely didn't want to lose her favorite brother. She took Edward's slightly rolling eyes as a whatever and then went on reading with a frown.

Noble, even. That ought to count for something.

I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks,

"Forks?" several voice said and Alice smirked, smugly gloating that she was right, before she went back to her translation - now in Russian.

"Does that mean that this person is talking about one of us?" Jasper questioned and his worried look was barely disguised - of anyone he was he most likely suspect.

"I don't think you have to worry," Alice said sweetly to her husband though she did give Edward a worried glance before reading on.

I wouldn't be facing death now. But, terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.

The hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to kill me.

"Well, isn't that cheerful," Emmett smiled. "I think I'd like to meet whoever this human is."

"That was the Preface, but I think I'll just continue with the next chapter," Alice said turning the page.

"First Sight," Alice read.

My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue.

"The last place you'll likely find someone like us," Emmett said. "During the day at least."

I was wearing my favorite shirt — sleeveless, white eyelet lace;

"If they're coming to Forks that's not going to be warm enough," Esme said, worrying about everyone like always.

I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka.

"That's better," Esme said.

"Ugh," Alice said making a face. "Parka!"

In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds.

"Perfect conditions for settling a family in," Emmett smiled. "Well, a family like ours at least."

It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie,

"Charlie? Do you think that's Chief Swan?" Carlisle said.

"That would make sense, his daughter Isabella is supposed to move here in a few weeks," Edward said.

"Keeping taps on her," Emmett smirked; he was constantly teasing Edward about his lack of mate - or any interest in the opposite sex.

"She's the center of most of the gossip in town," Edward was rolling his eyes, missing the smirk Alice was giving him.

vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead.

It was to Forks that I now exiled myself— an action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks.

"Why is she coming to Forks if she hates it?" Edward muttered, shaking his head.

"Maybe her mom is making her," Jasper supplied.

I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and the blistering heat. I loved the vigorous, sprawling city.

"Bella," my mom said to me — the last of a thousand times — before I got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."

"Now I really am confused by that," Edward said, but everyone else just shrugged, not seeming as interested in this as he was.

My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself?

"Um, isn't she the child?" Emmett said.

"Children often gain a sense of parental characteristic, especially in divorce cases," Carlisle said.

Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still…

"I want to go," I lied. I'd always been a bad liar, but I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now.

"Tell Charlie I said hi."

"I will."

"I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want — I'll come right back as soon as you need me."

But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise.

"She seems to be a very considerate girl," Esme said, smiling.

"Yes, very selfless for a human," Edward added.

"Don't worry about me," I urged. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom."

She hugged me tightly for a minute, and then I got on the plane, and she was gone.

It's a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks. Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I was a little worried about.

"But it's her father," Esme frowned.

"That she's barely seen. Their relationship must be strained," Edward said, and Alice smirked at his defense of the girl.

"Besides, imagine having to ride in a police car," Rosalie said, shuddering at the thought.

Charlie had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence.

"Of course he is, he's her father," Esme said. "I couldn't imagine not seeing..."

Carlisle quickly wrapped his arms around her as she broke off her sentence; her eyes showed her despair as her thought went to a sadder memory.

He'd already gotten me registered for high school and was going to help me get a car.

But it was sure to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of us was what anyone would call verbose, and I didn't know what there was to say regardless. I knew he was more than a little confused by my decision — like my mother before me, I hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Forks.

When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen — just unavoidable.

"Hmm… a sensible mind," Carlisle said; he could get along with anyone that was reasonable - though he could get along with anyone, really.

I'd already said my goodbyes to the sun.

Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser.

"Okay, this is a little creepy," Emmett said. "It starting to sound like this is real."

"I have a feeling it is," Alice smiled. "And I'm pretty sure we'll all be in it soon." She added this, smirking at Edward.

Edward gulped at her weird look, and judging by the look of wonder and hopefulness Esme was now giving him, he might have guessed where this was leading.

This I was expecting, too. Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks. My primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of my funds, was that I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top.

"No one would blame her for that," Rosalie said making a face.

Nothing slows down traffic like a cop.

"True, that's why I avoid them," Edward smirked, though it was a little forced; he was afraid of where this was leading.

Charlie gave me an awkward, one-armed hug when I stumbled my way off the plane.

"It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied me.

"What does she mean by caught?" Jasper muttered. "She doesn't seem the type that would run into her father's arms."

The others shrugged, not having an answer to that.

"You haven't changed much. How's Renée?"

"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." I wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face.

"It is rude to say it at all," Esme frowned. "Children today."

"But at least she's respectful enough to his face," Edward pointed out.

"True," Esme smiled, which seemed to have more to do with his defense of the girl than anything else.

I had only a few bags.

"Hmph," Alice said.

"Alice you don't go anywhere with more than one bag either," Jasper pointed out.

"True," Alice said, knowing that he wouldn't understand - it was only because she would buy half a clothing store wherever she was going; this girl wouldn't have that option.

Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. My mom and I had pooled our resources to supplement my winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser.

Alice eyes narrowed again, but the reason was acceptable - barely.

"I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced when we were strapped in.

"What kind of car?" I was suspicious of the way he said "good car for you" as opposed to just "good car."

"She's perceptive," Carlisle mused.

"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."

"Where did you find it?"

"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?"

There were frowns on everyone's faces by the mentioning of this. Carlisle rolled his eyes at his family's tension, wishing that they could put this animosity with the Quileute Indians behind them.

La Push is the tiny Indian reservation on the coast.

"No."

"He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Charlie prompted.

That would explain why I didn't remember him. I do a good job of blocking painful, unnecessary things from my memory.

Emmett chuckled at that. "I think I'm going to like this new girl."

"He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when I didn't respond, "so he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap."

"What year is it?" I could see from his change of expression that this was the question he was hoping I wouldn't ask.

"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine — it's only a few years old, really."

"He's avoiding the question," Jasper smirked.

"I don't think the girl is going to let him get away with that," Edward smirked too. "She seems much too observant."

I hoped he didn't think so little of me as to believe I would give up that easily.

"Hm... and stubborn too," Edward mused.

"When did he buy it?"

"He bought it in 1984, I think."

"That's not too old," Emmett said.

"It's old enough," Rosalie said making a face again. "The cruiser might be better."

"He said 'he bought'," Carlisle pointed out with a smile, eyes twinkling in amusement. "I bet it's older than that."

"Did he buy it new?"

"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties — or late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly.

"Ch — Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic…"

"You could fix it babe," Emmett teased.

"Ugh," Rosalie said. "I will never touch that thing."

"Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore."

The thing, I thought to myself… it had possibilities — as a nickname, at the very least.

"How cheap is cheap?" After all, that was the part I couldn't compromise on.

"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." Charlie peeked sideways at me with a hopeful expression.

"That's nice of him," Esme beamed.

Wow. Free.

"You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."

"I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him. So I was looking straight ahead as I responded.

"Interesting family," Emmett said laughing.

"That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it." No need to add that my being happy in Forks is an impossibility. He didn't need to suffer along with me.

"A truly selfless person," Edward said with a wondering smile.

And I never looked a free truck in the mouth — or engine.

"Well, now, you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by my thanks.

We exchanged a few more comments on the weather, which was wet, and that was pretty much it for Conversation. We stared out the windows in silence.

It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves.

It was too green — an alien planet.

"Er... green is a common color to our planet, actually," Emmett said confused.

"Talking to a book Em," Alice smirked.

"Besides, she's from Phoenix; green's not exactly an abundance there," Carlisle pointed out.

Eventually we made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with my mother in the early days of their marriage. Those were the only kind of days their marriage had — the early ones. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was my new — well, new to me — truck. It was a faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. "Erg," Rosalie shuttered.

To my intense surprise, I loved it.

"This girl is insane," Rosalie said shuddering again.

I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged — the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed.

"Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" Now my horrific day tomorrow would be just that much less dreadful. I wouldn't be faced with the choice of either walking two miles in the rain to school or accepting a ride in the Chief's cruiser.

"Hm... I'd take the cruiser," Rosalie said.

"I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed again.

It took only one trip to get all my stuff upstairs. I got the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had been belonged to me since I was born.

The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains around the window — these were all a part of my childhood. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I grew. The desk now held a secondhand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from my mother, so that we could stay in touch easily. The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner.

There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which I would have to share with Charlie. I was trying not to dwell too much on that fact.

One of the best things about Charlie is he doesn't hover.

"He probably can't stand the awkwardness anymore," Jasper said.

He left me alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for my mother. It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let just a few tears escape.

"The poor dear," Esme sighed.

I wasn't in the mood to go on a real crying jag. I would save that for bedtime, when I would have to think about the coming morning.

Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven — now fifty-eight — students; there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone back home. All of the kids here had grown up together — their grandparents had been toddlers together.

"Yes, it is harder to fit in when you move into a small town," Esme said. "I hope this girl makes some friends."

"Judging by what everyone is thinking about her, she shouldn't be lonely for long," Edward said. "Though, I'm not sure she'll appreciate the attention. She seems a little shy."

I would be the new girl from the big city, a curiosity, a freak.

Maybe, if I looked like a girl from Phoenix should, I could work this to my advantage.

But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I should be tan, sporty, blond — a volleyball player, or a cheerleader, perhaps — all the things that go with living in the valley of the sun.

"There are all types of people anywhere you go, this girl shouldn't be so worried about that," Edward frowned.

Instead, I was ivory-skinned, without even the excuse of blue eyes or red hair, despite the constant sunshine. I had always been slender, but soft somehow, obviously not an athlete; I didn't have the necessary hand-eye coordination to play sports without humiliating myself — and harming both myself and anyone else who stood too close.

"I hope she's in my gym class," Emmett laughed at that thought.

When I finished putting my clothes in the old pine dresser, I took my bag of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean myself up after the day of travel.

I looked at my face in the mirror as I brushed through my tangled, damp hair. Maybe it was the light, but already I looked sallower, unhealthy. My skin could be pretty — it was very clear, almost translucent-looking —but it all depended on color. I had no color here.

Facing my pallid reflection in the mirror, I was forced to admit that I was lying to myself. It wasn't just physically that I'd never fit in. And if I couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what were my chances here?

"The poor girl never really had any friends," Esme sighed again worrying about her.

I didn't relate well to people my age. Maybe the truth was that I didn't relate well to people, period.

"Maybe she'll relate well with vampires," Emmett burst out laughing. However, everyone else in the room - beside, Alice - tensed at that prospect, knowing how dangerous that was for everyone, including – especially - the girl.

Even my mother, who I was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with me, never on the exact same page.

Edward frowned at that, looking like he was trying to figure out the oddity that was this girl.

Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain. But the cause didn't matter. All that mattered was the effect. And tomorrow would be just the beginning.

I didn't sleep well that night,

"Better than we did though," Emmett smirked.

even after I was done crying. The constant whooshing of the rain and wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background. I pulled the faded old quilt over my head, and later added the pillow, too. But I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight, when the rain finally settled into a quieter drizzle.

"She'd better get used to it," Emmett said. "It always rains here."

Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning, and I could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me. You could never see the sky here; it was like a cage.

Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school. I thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid me. Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife and family. After he left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three unmatching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor. Nothing was changed.

"Charlie obviously doesn't do things like that, nor does it seem like he spends too much time there," Edward said.

My mother had painted the cabinets eighteen years ago in an attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace in the adjoining handkerchief-sized family room was a row of pictures. First a wedding picture of Charlie and my mom in Las Vegas, then one of the three of us in the hospital after I was born, taken by a helpful nurse, followed by the procession of my school pictures up to last year's. Those were embarrassing to look at — I would have to see what I could do to get Charlie to put them somewhere else, at least while I was living here.

It was impossible, being in this house, not to realize that Charlie had never gotten over my mom. It made me uncomfortable.

"I bet that would be difficult," Jasper said. "Especially seeing as her mother has re-married."

I didn't want to be too early to school, but I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I donned my jacket — which had the feel of a biohazard suit

"Horrible," Alice muttered under her breath.

— and headed out into the rain.

It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me through immediately as I reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eave by the door, and locked up. The sloshing of my new waterproof boots was unnerving. I missed the normal crunch of gravel as I walked. I couldn't pause and admire my truck again as I wanted;

"Why on earth would she want to do that?" Rosalie said in disbelief. This time everyone else seem to be in agreement with the odd behavior of the girl.

I was in a hurry to get out of the misty wet that swirled around my head and clung to my hair under my hood.

Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Charlie had obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled faintly of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint.

The engine started quickly, to my relief, but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. Well, a truck this old was bound to have a flaw. The antique radio worked, a plus that I hadn't expected.

"Seriously, that is unbelievable," Emmett scoffed.

Finding the school wasn't difficult, though I'd never been there before. The school was, like most other things, just off the highway. It was not obvious that it was a school; only the sign, which declared it to be the Forks High School, made me stop. It looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon-colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs I couldn't see its size at first. Where was the feel of the institution? I wondered nostalgically. Where were the chain-link fences, the metal detectors?

"Why would she want that?" Emmett scoffed and laughed at the same time.

I parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading front office. No one else was parked there, so I was sure it was off limits, but I decided I would get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain like an idiot. I stepped unwillingly out of the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges. I took a deep breath before opening the door.

Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than I'd hoped. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made me feel overdressed.

The red-haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Isabella Swan," I informed her, and saw the immediate awareness light her eyes. I was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt.

"No doubt," Edward smirked.

Daughter of the Chief's flighty ex-wife, come home at last.

"Hm, that is what a lot of them are thinking... the adults at least," Edward said.

"Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter to show roe.

She went through my classes for me, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave me a slip to have each teacher sign, which I was to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at me and hoped, like Charlie, that I would like it here in Forks. I smiled back as convincingly as I could.

When I went back out to my truck, other students were starting to arrive. I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy. At home I'd lived in one of the few lower-income neighborhoods that were included in the Paradise Valley District. It was a common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot.

"If only," Rosalie sighed; just dying to drive her car to school.

The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out.

"And that's the most low key car we have," Edward said; he liked his Volvo, though not as much as his Aston Martin.

Still, I cut the engine as soon as I was in a spot, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to me.

I looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully I wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. I stuffed everything in my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, I lied to myself feebly.

"There is no point in lying to yourself," Jasper said shaking his head. "And to do it feebly is even more pointless."

No one was going to bite me.

Everyone chuckled at that.

"We'll try our hardest not to," Emmett laughed.

I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck.

I kept my face pulled back into my hood as I walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers. My plain black jacket didn't stand out, I noticed with relief.

Once I got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black "3" was painted on a white square on the east corner.

"It really is difficult to get lost in Forks," Emmett said, rolling his eyes, but the twinkle behind them showed his amusement by the thought that this girl might be capable of doing it.

I felt my breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation as I approached the door. I tried holding my breath as I followed two unisex raincoats through the door.

The classroom was small. The people in front of me stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I copied them. They were two girls, one a porcelain-colored blonde, the other also pale, with light brown hair. At least my skin wouldn't be a standout here.

"Yes, we find that a plus too, though we are still a little too pale," Carlisle said.

I took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at me when he saw my name — not an encouraging response — and of course I flushed tomato red. But at least he sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the class. It was harder for my new classmates to stare at me in the back, but somehow, they managed.

"Anything to observe the novelty in town," Edward sighed.

"And the girl doesn't even have the vampire characteristics that we do," Jasper sighed too. "It will take days, maybe weeks for them to lose interest in her." Jasper never was one for the spot light and he could understand the girl's aversion to it better than anyone.

I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. I'd already read everything. That was comforting… and boring.

"Tell me about it," The five vampires that had to repeatedly go back to school moaned.

I wondered if my mom would send me my folder of old essays, or if she would think that was cheating.

"If so, I cheat all the time," Emmett said.

"What's the point in reusing stuff, it only take two minutes longer to write something new," Edward said.

"With someone with infinite amount of time, I don't expect you to understand," Emmett answered wagging his eyebrow as his smile grew bigger at Edward's frown, as he went further on the subject in his mind.

I went through different arguments with her in my head while the teacher droned on.

When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to me.

"Eric Yorke," Edward said.

"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful, chess club type.

"Yep."

"Bella," I corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me.

"Where's your next class?" he asked.

I had to check in my bag." Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six."

There was nowhere to look without meeting curious eyes.

"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way…" Definitely over-helpful.

"She is quite observant," Jasper said.

"And funny with her assessments," Emmett laughed.

"I'm Eric," he added.

I smiled tentatively. "Thanks."

We got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I could have sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. I hoped I wasn't getting paranoid.

"I don't think she's that lucky," Alice said. "People can be really rude."

"Like you wouldn't be just as annoying if you couldn't sit in the other end of the school and still hear her," Edward said and Alice stuck her tongue out at him.

"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.

"Very."

"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"

"Three or four times a year."

"Almost the exact opposite than here," Edward pointed out.

"Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.

"Sunny," I told him.

"You don't look very tan."

"My mother is part albino."

He studied my face apprehensively, and I sighed. It looked like clouds and a sense of humor didn't mix.

"Hm, that wasn't funny," Emmett said thoughtfully. "At least not nearly as much as the things she's thinking about. You know Eddy, I think I can see the appeal there is to reading people's minds."

"It's not all fun and games," Edward said frowning. "There are plenty of people that have... awful minds."

A few months of this and I'd forget how to use sarcasm.

We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric walked me right to the door, though it was clearly marked.

"It looks like she has at least one admirer ," Emmett said.

"Like anyone would want that from Eric," Edward scoffed, uncommonly harsh.

"Edward, behave," Esme admonished.

"Sorry mom," Edward said, confused by himself. Alice was looking at her brother searchingly, barely able to keep her glee form showing - neither on her face nor in her thoughts.

"Well, good luck," he said as I touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together." He sounded hopeful.

I smiled at him vaguely and went inside.

The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself.

"He really is a jerk," Emmett said; Mr. Varner didn't like any of the Cullens.

I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own boots on the way to my seat.

After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, but mostly I just lied a lot.

"Come on, just tell them it's boring and you would rather be anywhere than here," Emmett laughed. "Why bother to keep up pretenses?"

"Because it will make it easier for people to accept her that way," Edward said shrugging. "You know how much humans crave acceptance."

"I guess," Emmett sighed. "I thought she would be better than that."

At least I never needed the map.

One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches,

"Hmph, she's taller than me," Alice said scrunching up her nose.

"Everyone's taller than you shortie," Emmett laughed along with Edward.

but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights.

"Jessica Stanley," Edward said barely able to repress a shudder - she had been particularly difficult to shake off and his mind reading skills were definitely a disadvantage while she was around.

"I haven't heard that name in a while," Esme smiled at Edward. His sibling had teased him mercilessly the first few months, when she was crushing on him.

"No, and she's really not a good friend," Edward frowned. "She's probably just after the extra attention."

I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up.

We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at me from across the room.

It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.

"Aw, here we are," Emmett said excited.

Rosalie turned her head slightly and for the first time she seemed to be giving the book her full attention.

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught, and held, my attention.

"Oh no, this girl is going to notice our differences immediately," Carlisle said.

"Everyone does," Emmett shrugged, but Carlisle looked a little nervous about how she was going to react to his family.

They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big — muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair.

"That's me," Emmett said.

"Really, I couldn't tell," Jasper said, shaking his head.

Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond.

"That's you Jazz." Emmett continued to state the obvious to annoy his brother - it worked... for both his brothers really.

The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair.

"Less bulky," Emmett said laughing. "Yeah, really wimpy Eddy."

Edward narrowed his eyes at Emmett, but didn't comment.

He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students.

"Well, we are a few years older than you," Jasper observed. "But I wouldn't really call you boyish."

"More boyish than the others," Edward nearly growled.

The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back.

"Well that's a good description, huh babe?" Emmett said and Rosalie did look pleased with it - smiling smugly.

The short girl was pixie like, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.

"Hey, you're not going to say anything about me," Alice whined, she had paused for a full second to allow Emmett to make a comment.

"Nope," Emmett said shrugging, unable to keep the smirk of his face as she stuck out her tongue.

And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than me, the albino.

"Aw, that comment's more funny now," Emmett laughed, not noticing Carlisle and Edward's worried expressions.

They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones.

"Looks like we're thirsty," Emmett commented.

"I wonder how long it was," Jasper muttered. He's been wanting to see how far he could push himself, but was nervous about actually trying the experiment.

They also had dark shadows under those eyes — purplish, bruiselike shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night,

"Maybe a little," Emmett smirked.

Carlisle, Edward and now Jasper were now all apprehensive at how much she noticed.

or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight, perfect, angular.

But all this is not why I couldn't look away.

"It's because of our amorous beauty," Edward scoffed, he had to deal with that more than the others, because he got to hear what everyone thought as they first lay eyes on his family - not to mention the fact that he was single.

I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful — maybe the perfect blond girl, or the bronzehaired boy.

"She thinks you're beautiful Eddy," Emmett teased, missing his wife's scowl at the tie.

They were all looking away — away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as I could tell. As I watched, the small girl rose with her tray — unopened soda, unbitten apple —

"She noticed that you didn't eat," Jasper pointed out. "That we don't eat."

and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. I watched, amazed at her lithe dancer's step, till she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than I would have thought possible.

"Alice," Rosalie admonished - she was the one that was most conscious of appearance - no real surprise there.

"It hasn't happened yet," Alice said sticking out her tongue.

My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging.

"Who are they?" I asked the girl from my Spanish class, whose name I'd forgotten.

"Hm, she's forgotten her friend's name, maybe she's not too observant," Carlisle said hopefully, but his two sons didn't look relieved.

As she looked up to see who I meant — though already knowing, probably, from my tone — suddenly he looked at her, the thinner one, the boyish one, the youngest, perhaps.

"In one way I suppose," Edward said. "Though there really was only one person actually older than me there."

"Why did you look up, Eddy?" Emmett said.

"Jessica likely thought my name," Edward shrugged. "Or maybe I tuned into the fact that the girl was thinking about the Cullens."

He looked at my neighbor for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to mine.

"To scan her thoughts about us no doubt, it looks like Jessica called my name after all," Edward said. "Though, it would have been better if I could hear her thoughts before... I would have known how observant she is."

He looked away quickly, more quickly than I could, though in a flush of embarrassment I dropped my eyes at once. In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest — it was as if she had called his name, and he'd looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer.

"It's unnerving how observant she is," Edward said and everyone knew that it was indeed what had happened.

My neighbor giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like I did.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said this under her breath.

"Ah, let's see if they've come up with any interesting scandals to describe us," Emmett said.

I glanced sideways at the beautiful boy, who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them.

"Okay, I think I'm starting to see what you mean," Emmett said. "She is a little too observant."

Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kinds of names grandparents had. But maybe that was in vogue here — small town names? I finally remembered that my neighbor was called Jessica, a perfectly common name. There were two girls named Jessica in my History class back home.

"They are… very nice-looking." I struggled with the conspicuous understatement.

"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all together though — Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, I thought critically.

"She's open minded," Carlisle smiled.

But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip.

"Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked. "They don't look related…"

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins — the blondes — and they're foster children."

"They look a little old for foster children."

"Maybe just a little," Emmett said, going back to his teasing nature - he wasn't really one to worry and it was more fun if he laughed at the girls comments.

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen,

"Well of course they are... they're twins," Alice said rolling her eyes. "At least as far as she knows."

but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."

"That's really kind of nice — for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."

"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, I would presume the reason was jealousy.

"Yep," Edward nodded his head.

"I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added,

Esme frowned at that and Carlisle squeezed her to him. As each of her 'children' smiled fondly at her, she couldn't help smiling back at them.

as if that lessened their kindness.

"She has a kind heart," Esme smiled more broadly than before.

Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here.

"I'm sure she would have," Carlisle muttered.

"No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."

I felt a surge of pity, and relief. Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were outsiders, clearly not accepted. Relief that I wasn't the only newcomer here, and certainly not the most interesting by any standard.

"Too bad for her that people lose interest in us quickly," Jasper said. "I imagine this girl will really stay in the spotlight for a while."

As I examined them, the youngest, one of the Cullens, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression.

"Curious of a mere mortal, can't be," Emmett laughed at Edward.

As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation.

"I wonder what that was about?" Edward mused.

"So you're assuming she's right in her observation," Alice said.

"Er... I guess I am," Edward said. "She has been quite accurate with the others things, so I assumed she would be right about this. Though, it might not be the case."

"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I asked. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was still staring at me, but not gawking like the other students had today — he had a slightly frustrated expression. I looked down again.

"Seriously, what is that about?" Edward said - probably looking a lot like he was described in the book. "Even if she's wrong about my expression - why am I looking at her at all?"

"Maybe, you don't like her observations," Jasper suggested.

"Or you're just not use to someone so considerate of others," Alice piped in. "She is an usual human."

"Maybe," Edward sighed.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he'd turned her down.

"That depends on which time you're asking about," Edward smirked.

I bit my lip to hide my smile. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling, too.

"Judging by this reading, I would have to say he is," Alice smiled.

After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They all were noticeably graceful — even the big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. The one named Edward didn't look at me again.

"Definitely has a crush on you," Emmett laughed.

"Great," Edward said; he didn't like the fact that as he was the only available choice he often caused girls crushing on him.

I sat at the table with Jessica and her friends longer than I would have if I'd been sitting alone. I was anxious not to be late for class on my first day. One of my new acquaintances, who considerately reminded me that her name was Angela,

"Angela Weber is actually a very nice child," Edward commented, approving of the girl's new friend. "A considerate mind."

had Biology II with me the next hour.

"Hm... It looks like she'll have a class with me," Edward said frowning. "And she'll have to sit next to me."

"That should be fun," Alice said, smirking.

We walked to class together in silence. She was shy, too.

When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used to. She already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat.

As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face — it was hostile, furious.

"What?" several voices said, none louder than Edward's.

"Edward Cullen, how dare you look at her like that," Esme reprimanded. "You were raised better than that."

"Sorry mom," Edward said. "I don't understand why I would be looking at her like that."

"We know you're thirsty, the girl said our eyes were dark," Jasper said.

"But this is Edward," Emmett said incredulously. "The only one that has more self control than him is Carlisle."

I looked away quickly, shocked, going red again. I stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch myself on the edge of a table. The girl sitting there giggled.

I'd noticed that his eyes were black — coal black.

"See," Jasper said. "It must have been a few weeks or more since he's hunted."

"But he still shouldn't be looking at her like that," Esme said worryingly.

Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by him, bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given me.

"Gees Edward, just make her more uncomfortable than she already would have been," Alice teased, but Edward was not in the mood; brooding over what he would do in the future.

I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad.

"She obviously smells good," Emmett said. "I wonder how appealing she is to you?"

"Enough," Edward said warily. "It looks like it's taking all my will power to stop myself from pouncing on her."

Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It smelled like strawberries, the scent of my favorite shampoo. It seemed an innocent enough odor. I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher.

Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down.

I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally through the screen of my hair at the strange boy next to me. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. This, too, he never relaxed.

"You're terrifying her Edward," Esme said sadly.

"It's better than attacking her," Edward sighed. "It looks like I'm about to..."

He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly brother.

"Everyone looks slight next to me," Emmett said - appearing to try to lighten the mood more than actually paying attention to what he was saying.

The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was finally coming to a close, or because I was waiting for his tight fist to loosen? It never did; he continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn't breathing.

"You probably aren't, it's the easiest way to avoid a scent... avoid temptation," Carlisle said.

What was wrong with him?

Was this his normal behavior? I questioned my judgment on Jessica's bitterness at lunch today. Maybe she was not as resentful as I'd thought.

It couldn't have anything to do with me. He didn't know me from Eve.

"So perceptive, but she gives it up too easily," Carlisle commented.

"But she does have a point that it's odd for someone to be that angry after just meeting them," Alice pointed out.

I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase if looks could kill suddenly ran through my mind.

"That poor dear," Esme said sadly.

At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose — he was much taller than I'd thought — his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat.

"You're moving too fast," Rosalie said.

"Do you think it would've been better if I'd stayed there longer?" Edward said harshly. "It's not only that girl's life that's in danger in that room."

"Edward, you could never do something like that," Esme said immediately, voice full of conviction.

"She's going to say something about this to someone," Rosalie pointed out. "After the deadly stares you've been giving her."

"Honestly, I don't think she is," Carlisle said. "She doesn't seem the type to confides in people too much."

"Whatever," Rosalie shrugged.

I sat frozen in my seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. It wasn't fair. I began gathering up my things slowly, trying to block the anger that filled me, for fear my eyes would tear up. For some reason, my temper was hardwired to my tear ducts. I usually cried when I was angry, a humiliating tendency.

"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" a male voice asked.

I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way. He obviously didn't think I smelled bad.

"Bella," I corrected him, with a smile.

"I'm Mike."

"Hi, Mike."

"Do you need any help finding your next class?"

"I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."

"Ah," Emmett pouted.

"That's my next class, too." He seemed thrilled, though it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small.

We walked to class together; he was a chatterer — he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me. He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was in my English class also. He was the nicest person I'd met today.

"Much nicer than my dear brother," Alice teased.

Edward frowned but kept silent.

But as we were entering the gym, he asked, "So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."

"Idiot, did he have to say that," Edward said.

"Yes, it would have been better if she thought you were always some kind of psycho, glaring at everyone," Emmett teased.

"Yes, it would," Edward agreed seriously.

I cringed. So I wasn't the only one who had noticed. And, apparently, that wasn't Edward Cullen's usual behavior. I decided to play dumb.

"Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" I asked artlessly.

"Yes," he said. "He looked like he was in pain or something."

"I don't know," I responded. "I never spoke to him."

"He's a weird guy."

"I couldn't agree with him more," Emmett said, smirking at his brother.

Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."

"Another admirer," Alice said. 'You might have competition.'

"That's not funny," Edward said, glaring at Alice, but she just shrugged. The others were confused, but no one asked what they'd missed.

I smiled at him before walking through the girls' locker room door. He was friendly and clearly admiring. But it wasn't enough to ease my irritation.

The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found me a uniform but didn't make me dress down for today's class. At home, only two years of RE. were required. Here, P.E. was mandatory all four years. Forks was literally my personal hell on Earth.

"Perhaps it would have been safer for her if she hadn't come here then," Edward said still warily.

"You're not going to hurt her Edward," Esme said confidently.

"Yeah, once you've hunted, you'll be fine," Jasper said, the corner of his eyes portraying that he was thinking something else - likely thinking it would have been worse if it had been him.

"I don't know about that," Edward said, looking like he was answering both Jasper's statement and his thoughts.

I watched four volleyball games running simultaneously. Remembering how many injuries I had sustained — and inflicted — playing volleyball, I felt faintly nauseated.

The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. I wrapped my arms around myself.

When I walked into the warm office, I almost turned around and walked back out.

Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me.

"Why are you there?" Emmett questioned, but the only answer he got was Edward's frown becoming more pronounced.

I recognized again that tousled bronze hair. He didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free.

He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time — any other time.

"Why?" Emmett asked again.

"She most smell unbearably good," Jasper said.

"My thoughts exactly," Edward said. "I don't think a hunting trip will help me."

"Um," Carlisle said thoughtfully.

"What is that?" Edward asked in response to his father's thought.

"It's when a human's blood sings to you more potently then any others," Carlisle said. "It's said to be a rare gift..."

"Gift," Edward scoffed. "She's an innocent girl..." he shuddered at the end, as it was evident that his thoughts became bleaker.

"I know, son," Carlisle sighed. "I'm sorry..."

"I can't believe you left," Emmett said. "I couldn't..."

"But it's not shocking that Edward was able to, with his self discipline and all," Esme said looking proudly at her son.

"I guess we'll see," Edward sighed.

I just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something else, something that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike to me.

The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face.

"Just my luck," Edward frowned again.

"It looks like this girl is not very lucky either," Emmett commented.

"I'm not so sure," Alice said. "If someone had to find her blood irresistible, the best would be Edward."

"I still wouldn't call that good luck," Edward growled.

"No, not good," Alice said. "But not the worst."

The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me — his face was absurdly handsome — with piercing, hate-filled eyes. For an instant, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. The look only lasted a second, but it chilled me more than the freezing wind.

"You really were going to attack her," Carlisle noted. "Her instincts picked it up."

He turned back to the receptionist.

"Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door.

I went meekly to the desk, my face white for once instead of red, and handed her the signed slip.

"How did your first day go, dear?" the receptionist asked maternally.

"Fine," I lied, my voice weak. She didn't look convinced.

When I got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed like a haven, already the closest thing to home I had in this damp green hole. I sat inside for a while, just staring out the windshield blankly. But soon I was cold enough to need the heater, so I turned the key and the engine roared to life. I headed back to Charlie's house, fighting tears the whole way there.

"You made her cry," Esme sighed.

"That's the end of the chapter," Alice said.

"I'll read next," Edward said, holding out his hand.

"Fine," Alice sighed and gave him the book.