This is my first story on this app and I really hope you enjoy. We'll be following the books instead of the films so the description of the characters will be different and Bella will also be different since she is, essentially, a new character. Some situations and interactions will be different too.

CHAPTER ONE:

WELCOME TO FORKS

In her last life, she'd been the young daughter of a gossipy housewife. Her memory of it was hazy, but she could recall that the woman wasn't the most loving and was actually quite selfish. And she'd found no problem in leaving her three year old inside a car in the middle of one of the hottest summers just to purchase some clothes from the store. She hoped that her previous mother at least felt some level of sadness when finding the sweaty corpse of her child in her backseat. It was highly doubtful, but it was a nice thought nonetheless.

So, yes, you could say Isabella Marie Swan detested the heat. Phoenix was always sweltering hot and it'd be a miracle if it rained more than twice during the whole year. It was currently nearly eighty degrees, not a single cloud present in the vast expansion of the blue sky as Renee Swan drove Bell to the airport with all the windows rolled down. She was extremely grateful for the, albeit dry, breeze caused by the speed they were going at. She was wearing the white sleeveless, eyelet lace shirt her mother had gifted her last Christmas. It was something like an unspoken farewell to both her mother and the disgustingly dry city of Phoenix.

She wouldn't miss it much, not really. Bell fidgeted with the folded parka sitting on her lap as she thought of her destination, watching as they grew closer to the airport. Forks was a small town situated in the Olympic Peninsula of the northwest Washington State, its sky covered by ever present grey clouds. The highest temperature recorded there was seventy five degrees, that was considered cold in Phoenix! It rained every single day in Forks, more than in any other place in the United States. To Bell, that was heaven. To Renee? Not quite.

Her mother had quite literally fled from Forks after she and Charlie divorced, taking a three month old Bell from her little piece of heaven. Thankfully, she'd been allowed to visit every summer up until a small accident during a fishing trip when Bell was fourteen that caused Charlie to start visiting her in California for two weeks each summer instead of the other way around. It wasn't his fault she was clumsy enough to trip over her own feet and fall out of the boat, but he'd still felt immensely guilty.

But now, as a — physically — seventeen year old, she could make her own decisions. She was abandoning Phoenix in exchange for Forks. She hated everything about the vigorous city; it was dry, hot, loud. From past experience, she knew she wouldn't live very long with such hatred for the place she lived in. Forks would be her literal savior with its cool temperatures and cloudy skies. Her life as Bell Swan would definitely be long and content if she lived there.

"Bell," Renee spoke up before she could board the plane. The soft tone of her voice made Bell turn on her heels, parka clutched to her chest and suitcase sitting by her feet. She managed to avoid grimacing at the expression on her mother's face. "You don't have to do this." Renee reminded her, her wide brown eyes nearly begging. Bell wouldn't ever dream of leaving her loving, erratic, harebrained mother behind, but she had Phil now. He could take care of her and make sure she had everything she needed.

"I do. I really want to go." Bell said truthfully, letting go of her things to pull her into one last hug. She could feel Renee shudder under the palms of her hands as the older woman breathed out a watery sigh.

"Tell Charlie I said hi."

Bell smiled softly, "I will."

Renee pulled back and cupped her face in her soft hands, brown staring into brown. "You can come home whenever you want, I'll come right back as soon as you need me." She insisted and Bell could hear the truth in her words, see the sacrifice reflected in her eyes.

The corners of her lips lifted into an easy smile and Bell nodded her head. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine— it'll be great." She quickly reassured and leaned forwards to place a kiss on her mother's cheek. "I love you, Mom."

Bell couldn't help being mildly amused as Renee could barely say the words back, watching tearfully as her daughter boarded the plane. It was a three hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, then another hour in a small plane to Port Angeles, and finally an hour drive to Forks. The flights were alright, filled with the chatter of excited passengers and the occasional cry of a child. What she was really looking forward to was the drive back to Forks with Charlie. They were more alike than she and Renee were, people of few words and comfortable silence.

Her father had been both pleased and excited when he found out she was going to be living with him. Charlie had already registered her for highschool and was going to help her with a car since driving a motorcycle in such a rainy place wouldn't be her safest choice. When Bell finally made it to Port Angeles, it was raining. A light drizzle that came down from the cloudy sky, the sun hidden behind a thick grey curtain. She took it as a good omen and said, from the very bottom of her heart, good riddance to the hot sun.

Charlie was waiting for her by the cruiser, dressed in his uniform. Bell nearly ran over to him and disregarded his attempt to give her an awkward one-armed hug by dropping her things and wrapping her arms around him. He gave a soft grunt and a chuckle, patting her back softly. "It's good to see you, Bells. You haven't changed much," Charlie noted as they pulled away, smiling down at her. "How's Renee?"

"Probably crying in my room and caressing my pictures, but otherwise fine." Bell grinned as her few bags fit easily into the cruiser's trunk. Her clothes from Arizona weren't suitable for the change in weather and the warm clothes that they'd managed to buy weren't too many. "It's great to see you, Dad." She'd missed him terribly, even his inability to cook a decent meal.

"I found a good car for you, really cheap." He announced the second they were strapped in and pulling away from the airport.

"Oh?" Bell turned away from the window to raise an eyebrow at him, a smile playing on her lips. "What kind of car?" She asked, trying to tone down her excitement.

Charlie glanced at her from the corner of his eye, seeming to be biting back a smile of his own. "A truck, a Chevy, actually." He answered and Bell did a little fist pump that made him chuckle.

"Where did you get it from?"

"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?" Charlie enquired, making a turn.

"Yeah, he used to go fishing with us." She could remember him clearly, from his olive skin to his long black hair and the laugh lines on his face. He was from the little indian reservation, along with his family.

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

Bell drummed her fingers on her thighs, watching the trees blur as they went past, "What year is it?" She saw him shift in his seat and turned to stare at him fully, his expression pinching.

His dark eyes darted around the road and he adjusted his hold on the steering wheel. "Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine— it's only a few years old, really." Charlie ramble on.

She raised her eyebrows, knowing he was ardently avoiding the subject. "Yeah, but when did he buy it?" Bell pressed. It really didn't matter, old things sometimes worked better than new ones, but it was fun watching him squirm.

Charlie grimaced, "Late nineties, I think…"

"Was it new?"

"Well, no," He mumbled, sort of curling into himself as much as he could while driving safely. "I think it was new in the early sixties, or late fifties at the earliest." Charlie admitted, sheepish.

Bell bit back a smile, "As long as it doesn't need me to fix it, it's fine. I don't think I could afford it."

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

Don't I know that, she thought, amused. "So, how much is it?" She finally asked.

"I kind of already bought it for you, honey. As a homecoming gift." He added, peeking over with a hopeful expression on his face.

She blinked, gaping at him in surprise. "Oh, no— Dad, you don't have to do that. I can play for it, really! How much is it?" Bell practically demanded. Her father was an angel, and she'd be damned if she let him waste his money on her.

He smiled at the road, "Nothing. It's a gift, Bells." Charlie pointed out, visibly pleased with himself. "I want you to be happy here."

Bell slumped in her seat, defeated, and sighed. "Okay, but please don't buy me anything else."

"No promises."

She groaned under her breath, making him let out a short laugh. Bell found herself smiling again at the sound, "Hey, Dad?" He hummed. "Thank you. It means a lot to me."

"No problem, Bells." She spotted the bashful pink staining his cheeks and bit her inner cheek to stay quiet, turning her head to look out the window.

A few comments about the weather — which was, quite simply, wet — were made during the rest of the ride, the remaining time filled with a comfortable silence. The scenery was beautiful, filled with green everywhere you looked. The tall trees, their trunks covered with healthy moss, their branches filled with wet leaves, the ground covered with ferns… Even the air was filtered down greenly through the leaves, a far cry from the stuffy air and dull colors of the city.

They eventually made it to Charlie's, a small house with two bedrooms he'd bought with Renee when they got married. It looked just as she remembered it, its walls painted the very same white. The street hadn't changed at all either, with the minor exception of the truck parked in front of the house. She gasped audibly as she laid her eyes on it. It was a faded red color with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. Bell knew for a fact that if she ever got into an accident with another car, her truck would come out unscathed.

Bell placed her hand on the hood, grinning widely as she turned to look at Charlie. "I love it! Thank you so much, Dad!"

The previous blush returned to his cheeks with vengeance and he cleared his throat, embarrassed. "I'm glad you like it." Charlie said gruffly.

It only took one trip to get all of Bell's things upstairs to the west bedroom, the one that faced the yard. Bell stood in the middle of the room and took everything in. It smelled lightly of fresh paint, the walls a light blue shade, and her bed was surprisingly large. The peaked ceiling was still the same, along with white lace curtains hanging from the window, and the chair and a desk pushed against the wall. Now there was a little white box sitting on said desk, Wi-Fi from the looks of it, and a dark blue beanbag in another corner.

It felt like home.

Charlie wasn't one to hover, so he'd left her to unpack and get settled after hearing her approval. Renee wouldn't have left so easily, Bell recalled as she hummed to herself and put away her clothes. She took out her camera with great care and set it on her desk, then proceeded to hang some of her photos around the room. They were fairly simple; some were of animals — mostly birds — while others were just sceneries, but they were pictures taken in the right moment. Bell had always enjoyed immortalizing moments and people like that, ever since she was handed her first camera in the sixties.

She finished up unpacking and took a small bag filled with her toiletries to the bathroom, along with a towel and a change of clothes. Bell took a quick shower to clean herself up from the long day of travelling. She looked at herself in the mirror as she brushed out the small tangles in her wet hair. She was pretty, in a plain girl-next-door sort of way, with her dark brown hair and brown eyes filled with green flecks and her pale complexion. Bell could blend in with the rest of the kids at school here, they should be almost the same shade given the lack of sunlight.

However, from what she knew, Forks High School only had three hundred and fifty-seven — now fifty-eight — students. It was a small town and word got around rather quickly, so she was sure she'd still stick out like a sore thumb. Bell could try to fit in, but deep down she knew she'd be labeled as the weird girl who spoke few words and took pictures of meaningless things. It was just the way it was, the way it had been for many lifetimes now. And that was fine, she was happy with herself and her work and that was all that mattered.

She'd fallen asleep after catching up with Renee over the phone and woke up to dim sunlight and plenty of fog, the sound of the gentle tapping of rain on the window caressing her ears.

Heaven.

Bell whipped up a quick and filling breakfast after getting ready for her first day. Charlie had been pleasantly surprised and ate everything on his plate with gusto. As they ate, Bell took the time to look around the room and take in every little detail. From the mismatched chairs they were sitting on, to the old yellow paint of the cabinets — that Renee had painted in an attempt to brighten up the house — and the pictures over the small fireplace. Most were of her, some of Renee and him, and others with the three of them. It made her a bit sad that he'd obviously never gotten over her mom, but she still had hope that Charlie would find someone to spend the rest of his life with.

She cleaned up and put the plates away, pecking Charlie's cheek as he said his goodbyes and wished her luck. He left in his cruiser to the station and Bell put on her jacket, pulling on her hood as she grabbed her bag. She locked up the house with her keys and made sure the spare was hidden under the eave. It was drizzling still and she definitely didn't miss the crunch of gravel under her new, waterproof boots. Bell got inside her truck quickly, lest she caught a cold on her first day.

The inside of the old truck was nice and dry, a little pine scented air freshener was placed in the cupholder, but she still caught the very faint smell of gasoline and tobacco. The engine roared to life, startling a laugh out of Bell, before idling down to a constant rumble. She was pleased to find that the radio worked, so the ride to school was accompanied by the soft murmur of music coming from the speakers. Forks High School, like many other things, was just off the highway. It looked like a collection of matching houses, with its maroon colored bricks and vast shrubbery.

She parked swiftly and grabbed her things before making sure the truck was locked up. Bell walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges to the door labeled Front Office. As she pushed open the door, she had to squint to adjust to the brightness of the lights inside the building. It was warm as well, not sweltering, but certainly warmer than it was outside in the rain. She pushed down her hood and shook out her long hair with her fingers as she looked around.

Bell walked up to the desk manned by a large, red haired woman wearing glasses the moment she spotted her. The woman looked up from the papers on her desk, flanked by a wire basket fill of more papers and a plastic pot with an aloe vera plant, "Can I help you?"

She mustered a polite smile, "Hi, good morning. I'm Isabella Swan."

The lady brightened at her good manners and a knowing look crossed her eyes, no doubt having heard of Chief Swan's daughter coming back to Forks. "Of course." She said and swiftly dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents before pulling out the ones she was looking for. She leaned forwards and pointed at the papers with a manicure finger, "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school."

The woman was very nice, going through Bell's classes for her and marked the best routes on each map with a bright yellow highlighter before handing her a slip for her teachers' signatures that she had to return at the end of the day. "Thank you very much. Have a nice day, ma'am." Bell flashed her a brief smile and gave her a nod.

"You too, sweetheart. I hope you enjoy it here in Forks."

"Oh, I already love it here." Bell said lightly as her goodbye, turning on her heels and heading to the parking lot to move her truck. As she drove around and searched for a good parking spot, she noted that the only flashy car there was a shiny Volvo that stood out like a beacon. Bell cut the engine as soon as she parked so she wouldn't disturb the other students with the truck's rumbling engine. She looked the map over one last time before carefully sliding the papers into her bag so they wouldn't get wet. Bell got out of her truck and slung the strap of her bag over her shoulder, once again making sure her vehicle was locked before heading towards the building.

No matter how many times she had experienced a first day of school, her heart still went a little faster. Bell went around the cafeteria, as the map had said, and found the building she was looking for by the large 3 painted on a white square on the east corner. The classroom was relatively small, filled with few people with mostly pale skin. Bell followed the others in hanging up her jacket before taking the slip to the teacher.

He was a tall, balding man in his forties and the nameplate on his desk identified him as Mr. Mason. He looked down at the slip with disinterest until he spotted her name, gawking at her for a few seconds too long. Bell shifted on her feet and gave him a small, uncomfortable smile. Thankfully, it seemed that Charlie had done him no wrong as Mr. Mason merely signed the slip and sent her off to an empty desk at the back without telling her to introduce herself to the class. Their eyes followed her every move despite her assigned spot, but Bell ignored them in favor of reading the list Mr. Mason had handed her. It was the basics: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner.

She had read all of them numerous times and she briefly considered logging into her docs on her laptop and using her previous essays. Even if she wrote them again from scratch, with her knowledge, Bell knew it'd still be "cheating." When the bell rang with a shrill sound that filled the whole building, a lanky boy with very dark hair leaned across the aisle to talk to her.

"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" His voice was cheerful and there was a friendly smile on his face. He seemed like the type that played chess as a hobby and was overly eager to help.

"Bell." The brunette corrected automatically without looking up from her bag as she packed her things, pretending not to notice how the other students had turned in their seats to watch.

"Where's your next class?"

"Government with Jefferson in building six."

The boy seemed to pout for a moment, but then he smiled again, "I'm heading to building four, but I can show you the way." He offered before adding, "I'm Eric."

Despite having memorized the map already, Bell gave him the smallest of smiles, "That would be great, Eric." They got their jackets from the hooks and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. There were some students nearly stepping on her heels as they walked closed enough to catch what they were saying. As much as it annoyed her, Bell knew it was inevitable. Then, the interrogation started.

"So, this is a lot different from Phoenix, huh?"

"Mhm."

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

"Four times if you're lucky."

"Wow, what must that be like…?" He wondered out loud, looking up at the grey clouds with a pensive expression.

"Sunny." Bell stated bluntly.

Eric looked at her again, "You don't look very tan."

"I hate the sun." At her words, Eric grimaced sympathetically and patted her shoulder, which made her huff out a short laugh. They walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym.

Eric walked her to the door and spoke when she wrapped her fingers around the cold handle, "Well, good luck." He smiled at her again, hopeful, "Maybe we'll have some other classes together."

Bell nodded her head at him, "Maybe." She echoed.

The rest of the morning went by fairly quickly, and the rain didn't let up once. The only teacher that had forced her to introduce herself was Mr. Varner, the sadistic Trigonometry teacher that enjoyed watching his students squirm and quite possibly smiled as he failed them. She'd kept her cool, stating that they could call her Bell instead of Isabella, and made her way to the back of the room to escape the man's victim selection spots. Students aside from Eric had grown bold enough to try to talk to her, introducing themselves and asking about how she was liking it in Forks. They didn't linger for long, most likely put off by her soft voice and short, polite responses rather than the boisterous version of her they had expected.

As Bell made her way to the lunch line in the cafeteria, she was joined by a girl who sat next to her in Trigonometry and Spanish. Her name escaped Bell at the moment and she was tiny, smaller than Bell's 5'4" stature, with a petite frame and a mane of wild dark curls that made up for their height difference. She prattled on about teachers and classes, speaking more than enough to fill in the spaces caused by Bell's silent nods and tight lipped smiles. They sat at the end of a full table with several of the girl's friends, who she introduced Bell to. They said their names, but Bell had been too interested in her lukewarm chicken alfredo to memorize them.

Pushing at a bland piece of chicken with her plastic fork, Bell noticed Eric waving at her from his table and lifted her fingers in a half hearted wave. It was then that she first noticed them, sitting in their own little corner like Greek statues carved from marble. They were five, three guys and two girls. They weren't talking or eating, their food untouched, and they certainly were the only ones not openly gawking at Bell as if she were the new addition to the zoo exhibit. It was odd, all of them were.

The biggest of the males had short, curly dark hair and was built like a brick house, all broad shoulders and pale muscle. Another was taller, leaner than his friend yet undeniably toned, with gentle honey blonde waves that fell just above his collar. The last one was less bulky, his bronze colored hair an effortlessly elegant mess. While his male companions looked like they could be in college, he seemed a bit more boyish, charmingly so. The two girls were polar opposites. The tall one had a beautiful curtain of luscious locks that fell down her back like a golden waterfall, with a body that professional models starved themselves for. The other girl was much shorter, pixie like in appearance with short black hair that pointed in every direction.

They were all different, but the same in a sense. With their chalky pale skin, lighter than every other person living in the rainy town, including her. Their features were sharp and defined, their eyes an equally dark color despite the range in their hair colors. Those same eyes had purplish, bruise like shadows under them, as if all of them hadn't had a good night's sleep in ages. Bell found herself unable to look away from them, so inhumanly and breathtakingly beautiful that it made her fingers itch for her camera to immortalize the image of them sharing their silent conversation.

Bell watched, entranced, as the short girl rose from her seat with her tray — despite not having eaten anything from it — and walked away with the grace of a model who had years of experience on the runway. She noted the elegant skip in her step as she discarded the untouched food in the trash and glided through the back door with surprising speed. Bell tilted her head, flicking her eyes back to their table to see that they were still there, unchanging.

"Who are they?" Bell finally asked the girl next to her, the one whose name she couldn't recall.

She hummed lightly, looking up from her food to see who Bell meant. In that same moment, the one with bronze hair looked over to their table. His dark eyes focused on Bell's acquaintance for the fraction of a second before locking on to hers for longer. His brow twitched, which would have gone unnoticed if Bell hadn't been paying such close attention, and he looked away quickly. It was a brief glance, nothing like interest in his expression, as if he'd simply heard his name and looked over on instinct. Bell heard the girl giggle in embarrassment, and turned to see her looking down at her tray.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Cullen. The one that left was Alice Cullen." The girl, Jessica was her name, murmured under her breath to keep the conversation between the two of them. "They all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She added.

Bell lifted a piece of cold pasta to her mouth, humming softly as she glanced sideways at the breathtaking boy, who gently tore into the bagel on his tray with pale, slender fingers that belonged to a pianist. His lips, a pale pink like the gentle petals of a begonia, moved quickly yet barely as he spoke to his adoptive siblings in an inaudible murmur. They were all looking away, but Bell knew for a fact that they were listening.

"They're beautiful." Bell finally spoke and tore her eyes away as she set her fork down in favor of fiddling with the ring adorning her index finger.

"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another, girlish giggle. "They're all together, though— Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean." Her voice was filled with the shock and disapproval that came with living in such a small, judgy town.

"They don't look related," Bell noted while unscrewing the cap of her cranberry juice to take a sip. "Are they adopted?"

"They all are. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his late twenties. The Hales are brother and sister, twins."

Bell's brow furrowed lightly as she sat the half empty bottle on her tray again, "Aren't they too old to be foster children?"

Jessica bobbed her head, "They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they be were eight. I think she's their aunt."

Her expression softened and she fiddled with her ring again. "That's very kind of them, to take in so many kids when they're still young themselves."

"I guess so," Jessica muttered almost reluctantly, which made Bell look at her directly. Her expression was midly sour and Bell immediately understood that for some reason or other, Jessica disliked Dr. Cullen and his wife. With the glances she threw at their table, Bell guessed it had to do with the jealousy she felt towards their children. "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though." She added, as if that somehow lessened the couple's kidness.

Bell couldn't help but gawk at her for a moment, shocked. She blinked and closed her mouth, eyebrows raised, "That was very rude and uncalled for." The brunette found herself scolding the girl.

Jessica recoiled in surprise, flushing in embarrassment. "Sorry." She squeaked at the stern look on her brown eyes. There was a long moment of silence and Bell glanced away again briefly at the feeling of being watched. All of the Cullen kids were staring at her with their dark eyes and various expressions ranging from surprise to amusement.

She looked away and finished off her juice before sighing softly. "When did they move here?" Bell finally asked, knowing she would have at least heard of them during her summers with Charlie. Specially if their adoptive father was a doctor.

"They moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska." Jessica replied in a softer voice than before, obviously ashamed at how Bell had reacted to her comment from before.

A brief glance to their table informed her that the only one still looking at her was the bronze haired one. Bell tilted her head lightly in his direction, maintaining eye contact as she asked, "Which one is he?"

Jessica let out a gasp like she was dying, clasping a hand around Bell's arm as if for support. "That's Edward," She said the name is if it belonged to a saint. "He's totally gorgeous, of course, but he doesn't date so don't waste your time pining after him. Apparently, none of the girls here are good enough for him." She ended her description with a sniff and a roll of her eyes, clearly sour about it. Bell bit back a smile and leaned back in her seat, turning her head in time to admire the side of Edward's gorgeous face. His cheek was lifted, as if he were smiling as well. It only served to feed her amusement and cautious curiosity.

After a few more minutes, the four of them rose from their seats in unison and dumped their trays to exit the cafeteria together. Bell was then reminded by the tallest girl at the table, Angela, that they had Biology II together in the next hour. They walked to class in silence, Angela was very shy despite her size and Bell wasn't much of a conversationalist anyways. Angela waved briefly at her as they entered the classroom, joining her partner at a black topped lab table. Handing the teacher, Mr. Banner, the slip for him to sign, Bell noticed all of the tables were filled— well, all except for one.

She immediately recognized the shock of Edward Cullen's messy bronze hair in the opaque colors of the classroom as he sat by the only available space next to the window. Bell gave Mr. Banner a tight lipped smile as she was handed the slip and a book before being pointed to the only available seat. She was quick to cross the room, careful not to trip over the book on the walkway, just in case Mr. Banner changed his mind about not asking her to introduce herself to the class.

Bell slipped into the seat in silence, making brief eye contact with Edward's nearly coal black eyes as she did. She paused as she heard the small hitch of his breath, raising an eyebrow, but set her book down on the table. She didn't look at him just yet, "You okay?"

"...Yes." He definitely didn't sound okay. His reply was a bit breathless, like he'd just ran a marathon.

The brunette finally looked over, taking in his trembling frame. She watched his throat move as he swallowed hard, his eyes set firmly on his papers. The long sleeves of his white shirt were pushed up to his elbows and she took note of the muscle rippling under his pale skin as he curled his hands into tight fists on his thighs. He wasn't nearly as slight as she'd first thought. They locked gazes again when she looked up from his toned arms, charcoal black meeting warm brown. He blinked at her almost dazedly, long lashes fluttering over his pale cheekbones, and swallowed hard again, his shivering not lessening in the least.

"If you say so." Bell finally hummed, ignoring how his breathing hitched again and he turned away quickly, and started taking notes despite having taken cellular anatomy five times over. As she scribbled down facts she already knew, Bell found herself wondering if Edward Cullen always behaved like that or if she had somehow broken him with her presence. He seemed to be struggling to breathe throughout the whole leasson, so when the bell rang, she quickly rose from her seat left the classroom with her things. Even if she didn't turn to look, she felt those wide charcoal eyes follow her the whole way.

She heard the sound of quick footsteps, too light to belong to someone as tall as the Cullen boy, and was faced with a cute boy with blond hair and a friendly smile. "Aren't you Isabella Swan?"

"Bell." The brunette corrected him swiftly, returning his smile with a smaller one.

"I'm Mike." He introduced himself with the eagerness of a puppy, blinking his baby blues at her. "Do you need help finding your next class?"

"I'm heading to the gym next, so I think I can find it." Bell reassured him, not wanting to take advantage of his eagerness to please and make him late to his own class.

His expression lit up, "That's my next class, too!" He sounded thrilled over it, but it shouldn't have been such a surprise given how small the school was. They walked together and, like Jessica, his chatter filled up the spaces her nonverbal responses supplied. Apparently, Mike had lived in California until he was ten and missed the sun terribly. He was surprised when she casually mentioned her preference to colder weather. It turned out they had English together as well.

"So, what did you do to Edward Cullen?" Mike finally asked the question she had been expecting, curious. "I've never seen him act like that."

Bell shrugged a shoulder, "Don't know. Maybe he wasn't feeling well." She offered casually.

"He's a weird guy," Mike noted, scuffing the toe of his shoe against the polished floors and giving her another cute smile. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."

He was cute, like a golden retriever puppy.

The brunette gave him a small smile and a nod before heading into the girls' locker room. Coach Clapp, the Gym teacher, had procured a uniform for Bell after signing the slip, but hadn't made her dress down for the day's class. Back in Phoenix, only two years of this class had been required. In Forks, P.E. was mandatory in all four years. Bell simply leaned against the wall and watched four simultaneous volleyball games unfold, but her mind was on Edward's strange behavior.

When the final bell rung, she made her way to the front office to return her paperwork. The rain had finally let up, but was replaced by a strong and cold wind. There was someone else in the office by the time she'd entered, Edward's bronze hair even messier than before, like he'd endless ran his fingers through it. Bell waited in silence as he, in his low and impossibly attractive voice, argued with the red haired woman. She caught the gist of it, he was trying to trade Biology from sixth period to any other time. Whereas other, normal, girls would've been hurt, Bell was more curious than ever. Had their seating arrangement really flustered him that badly?

In that moment, the door was pushed open and with it came another cold breeze that tugged at her long hair. She watched intently as the muscles of Edward's back stiffened and he straightened, slowly turning his head to peek at her from the corner of his eye. Bell tilted her head at him and he turned away quickly like he'd done back in class. "Never mind, then," His velvety voice spoke in a hurry. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help."

He swiftly turned on his heel, avoiding her eyes as best as he could, and inevitably brushed past her as he disappeared out the door. With him he carried a rather enticing scent, maybe the mix of his cologne with his natural aroma, and it left her a bit dazed before being brought to the present by the woman's voice.

"How was your first day, dear?" She enquired motherly.

"It was certainly eventful." Bell smiled lightly, handing her the documents. The woman smiled back, but she didn't know half of it.

By the time Bell got to her truck, most of the cars had left the lot. She hopped on, welcomed by the roar of the engine and the soft murmur of the radio, and pulled away from the school. During the whole way back to Charlie's, she could only think of Edward Cullen.