Alright everyone, here's the first chapter! Just a fair warning, this story is rated M for dark themes. There are no lemons (I can hear all the pervs going "Awww, dang!"), but there is self-harm and attempted suicide, so be warned. This story is an angst romance, so if you don't like angst, you should leave. Like now.

And finally, just so you all know, I'm Canadian, so I have slightly different spelling than Americans. Canadian spelling puts u's where some American words don't have them, and s's where Americans have z's and little nuisances like that.

This chapter is short, but I decided that I was tired of long chapters because they make me draw things out too long and take forever to tell a story, and they take forever to write, so I thought I'd change it up.

Sorry for ranting, I'll let you get on with the story now. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer for the whole story: I do not own Stephenie Meyer, Stephenie Meyer's weird sparkly vampires, Stephenie Meyer's weird glowy-eyed alien creatures (I wish), Stephenie Meyer's adorable humans (I WANT TO MARRY IAN! But this is the wrong book…also, Jared is excluded from the 'adorable' category because he is a mean douchebag and I greatly, intensely dislike him.), Stephenie Meyer's attractive werewolves (I'm Team Jacob…you know, before the whole Breaking Dawn incident where he completely loses his mind), Stephenie Meyer's weird obsession with phases of the moon and times of the day, Stephenie Meyer's Mormonness (I'm a Protestant, so…definitely not), Stephenie Meyer's children, Stephenie Meyer's husband, Stephenie Meyer's money (if only…), Stephenie Meyer's hairdresser, Stephenie Meyer's obsession with American deserts (did anyone else notice that in Twilight, Bella used to live in Phoenix, and The Host takes place in the desert?), Stephenie Meyer's weird mutant hybrid child that is totally creepy and not cute in any way and shouldn't exist (I'm nauseated just thinking about it, ew), and Stephenie Meyer's toothbrush (if she uses one). So, basically, I don't own Twilight or anything remotely affiliated with the series.

"Hurry up, Bells," Charlie bellowed from the front hall. "You're going to be late for school!"

Another new day, another pointless collection of hours waiting until we die.

Cynical? Well, that's me. Maybe you know me the way everyone else does: "Look, it's the emo girl!" "Look out for gothzilla!" Or, my personal favourite, "Ahh! A vampire!"

You get used to it after a while. I've become so accustomed to comments like these that I've learned to deflect them. They don't mean anything as long as I don't let them.

Of course, that was at my old school, where I've known most of those kids since we were in diapers and had an equal amount of insults I could throw back at them if need be. But here in Forks, everything was new. And, though it may be a tad hypocritical, I hate change.

"Relax, Dad, I'm on my way," I called down to him, then shoved my iPod into my black messenger bag - adorned with skulls, of course - and made my way down the stairs.

To say Charlie didn't like this darker side of me is like saying the sky isn't blue on ordinary days, or that it never rains in Forks. Some things are just inevitable.

I wasn't always like this, of course. I used to be one of the peppy girly-girls who just wanted to make the cheer squad and had to have the most expensive article of clothing in every store. I grew up around princesses and divas, and I became one.

But when your mom dies, it tends to put a damper on your mood.

-x

The drive over to Forks High - home of the Spartans! - was mostly silent. Charlie didn't know what to say to his once-sweet daughter who was now the poster child for Hot Topic, and I couldn't blame him. It must be hard to lose your wife, and then every semblance of normality within your household as your daughter drastically changes to become her own polar opposite. I wish I could hold myself up, still be that person, so that my father had at least one unchanging thing to hold onto. But unfortunately, I'm not quite that strong.

Just then, Charlie decided to break my streak of inner musings. "So," he said, "excited for your first day?"

"Ecstatic," I said blandly, giving him a sarcastic twirl of my finger.

He sighed. "Look, Bells, I know it must be hard with the move and everything. I never wanted to do this to you. But, to be honest, it wasn't very healthy for me to be in that house anymore, and I don't think it was best for you either."

I felt bad then. It wasn't Charlie's fault that my mother had died. The grief became so great for him that he couldn't even bear to be in our house, where all our old memories seemed to whisper from every corner. To be honest, I had a hard time sleeping at night, remembering how my mom used to come in when I was little and sit in the rocking chair in the corner of my room and sing me to sleep. That chair always seemed mockingly empty, and the shadow of what it used to be haunted my dreams.

"I suppose it wasn't," I murmured. "I'm sorry for being so difficult, Dad. It's just weird, living in a new town and going to a new school all of a sudden. It'll take some time to adjust."

"Of course," he said.

Just then we pulled into the school parking lot. Forks looked about as bland as any other high school built in the middle of the twentieth century. It was uncharacteristically brown, and almost depressingly…normal.

The most normal of all were the students. There didn't seem to be a single clique or stereotype among them. They were all nondescript, in popular name-brand clothing, and disgustingly ordinary.

My father parked in front of one of the buildings.

I turned to face him. "I can't do it," I said. "They're all so preppy! I get a little nauseous just looking at them!"

Charlie raised an eyebrow, and the expression on his face was the one he usually wore when he was about to scold me. You know, the one that brings the words "oh shit" to mind.

"Isabella," he said mildly, "you can't judge people before even knowing them. Imagine if these kids judged you just by looking at you, and decided they didn't want to talk to you or get to know you because you're not like them?"

"But Dad," I whined, "that's probably exactly what they're going to do! Why can't I just…you know, return the favour?"

He shook his head at me. "Get out of this car, Bella, before I have to throw you out myself."

I sighed, and rolled my eyes to the heavens in a silent prayer. God, if you exist, please don't let me become shark bait on my first day.

-x

It took me ten minutes to find the main office, so already I was late. When I walked in, the receptionist was on the phone, but she gestured toward the four chairs lined up against the wall across from her desk, so I took a seat.

A couple of chairs over was another girl. She was short, with wild brown curly hair, and moderately pretty. She glanced at me over her magazine with mild interest.

"I'm Jessica," she whispered, for the sake of the receptionist on the phone. "Are you new?"

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. No, I'm not new. You just happened to overlook me in a school that only has a few hundred people. But, since I was trying not to get shot on my first day (you never know who's packing these days, and I don't know what northwest kids are like), I thought I'd try a more polite approach.

"Umm, yeah, it's my first day," I said timidly, then almost whacked myself over the head. Yeah, great job at not sounding like a complete idiot. "My name's Bella."

Her eyes widened, and I could see she was excited. "As in Isabella Swan?"

I doubted there were many Isabellas at this school, but I humoured her. "Yep, that's me."

"I heard all about you!" she exclaimed. "You're big news. You and your dad moved from Phoenix, or so I hear, and your dad was transferred to the Forks police force. He's the new chief, right?"

"Wow, I guess you can't really keep much secret in Forks," I said with a nervous laugh. I must be the only person in the entire town who thought it was a bit creepy that everyone knew everything about each other.

She laughed. "Not much, no. So, do you have anyone to sit with at lunch? Because you could totally sit with me and my friends. Unless you prefer to sit alone. That's cool too."

She said this all so fast I couldn't understand her until a few seconds after she stopped talking. Why didn't anyone notify me that the first person I would befriend at my new school would be a motor mouth? Granted, most of the girls I hung out with at my old school could put an auctioneer out of business, but still."That's really nice, I'd love to sit with you." I knew I'd regret it the second the words were out of my mouth, but I didn't really care. I knew Charlie was right, and I shouldn't judge these people before I got to know them, so I figured I'd give having a few normal friends a try. After all, if I had a group of people to hang out with, "loner" couldn't be added to my resume of labels.

The receptionist finally got off the phone. "Jessica, I can sign those forms now," she called.

Jessica got up. "I'll meet you in the cafeteria," she said as she passed me.

Once Jessica was done, the receptionist turned to me. "What can I do for you, honey?"

I didn't know how I felt about a complete stranger calling me "honey", but I rolled with it anyway. "I'm Isabella Swan. I'm new."

"Oh!" She pushed herself in her chair to the other side of the desk, and opened a drawer. She pulled out some papers. "Alright, dear, here's your class schedule, a map, and a paper that I need you to get signed by each of your teachers. Oh, would you like me to give you a late slip so that it doesn't go on attendance that you were late or skipping?"

I felt myself smile in relief. Woah, smiling? I needed to get a grip. "That would be great, thanks."

Okay, this school didn't suck that much.

So, what did you think? Good or bad? Please review, they motivate me to write more, and let me know if what I'm writing is actually good or if I should give up on life and go die somewhere. So, any questions or comments, feel free to review or PM me or anything you want.

Love and hugs,

Alexa :3