So I have restarted this story. The beginning few chapters are very much similar, in a lot of places exactly the same. But the way the story is going to progress and change is going to be different. Emmett was too much like Edward through a lot of it. It just didn't sit well with when I was going over it. I know what I want to do now with it. I hope that the outcome will be more of what I originally planned. I'm not going to neglect either story. I will do what I can to update both fairly equally. Thank you for sticking with me when I first wrote it, when I took a break, and hopefully as this story continues again. Now...onto the story.

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Home sweet home. Or at least, it would be soon. Once again I was moving, finding a new place to plant my roots. I hoped more than anything that it would be the last time, at least for a while. Something about this house, about this town, felt good. It felt calm. I couldn't wait to get started.

The instant my house came into view, a happiness came over me. Though it wasn't really much to look at yet, it was still my house. The white paint was peeling off. The porch needed a new coat of paint itself. Definitely needed some landscaping. But as the Inspector had said, it was all superficial. Just like the other house nearby, it was two stories and had some beautiful windows. I was ready to call this place my home.

Almost as soon as I stepped out of the moving truck, there was a noise from nearby. Footsteps. Just as I turned to see who was coming my way, there was a man and a young girl about my age. I smiled as they walked closer. "Hello there. I'm Charlie Swan. This is my daughter, Isabella."

"Dad! Call me Bella, please."

"Nice to meet the two of you. I'm Alexandra Evans. But I prefer Alexa."

"I saw you pulling up as I went to leave for work. Thought we might welcome you to the neighborhood."

"Thank you. I appreciate the effort."

"Are your parents going to be here soon?"

Without as much as a breathe, my body stiffened. I knew by the look in their eyes that they notice my reaction. "They will never be welcome in my house. Not now. Not ever. I'm emancipated. Have been since I was sixteen."

"I'm sorry. I..."

"Don't worry. You couldn't have known."

"Will you be going to the high school?"

"That I will, as a senior."

"Bella here just moved back with me a week ago and started back."

"I'm a junior." Bella commented.

There was something about her. She was nice but innocent. There was an instinctual reaction in me to want to try and protect her. Something said she needed it.

As much as it would have been nice to stay and chat, I had furniture and belongings to move. "I appreciate the introduction. I don't mean to appear as rude, but I need to start taking my things inside."

"I understand. I have to go myself. Duty calls," he said pointing to the police cruiser in his driveway, "But if you ever need anything, do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you sir. I really do appreciate it."

With a handshake from both, he left and Bella went inside their house, leaving me to get started moving in.

Three days. Three full days it took to move everything into its rightful place as well as getting new paint on the walls. Definitely a long and tiring process. But it was well worth it. Though it may have only been on the inside at that point, the house was starting to look like a home.

That wasn't the only thing. There were two other things I had to look forward too. Starting school was one of them. That would certainly be interesting. The other? finding a job. Neither one of them was going to be exciting but both needed to be done. Yes, I had some money saved up but I needed a job. My savings would only last so long. Yes, I had my occasional job as a freelance photographer but it wasn't something constant. I needed a form of income that was certain.

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As it came to be the Sunday before I started school, there wasn't much for me to do in terms of working on the house. With nothing but boredom on the horizon, I grabbed my camera and headed into my backyard. No fencing and it just backed up to the woods. Time to document my surroundings; and have fun and relax before the torture of starting at a new school was to begin.

Everything was so alien. Yes I had been there before but knowing this is my house seemed to change my perception of it all. Step by step there was something new to see, to explore. I was in a near state of constantly taking a picture of one thing or another.

Further and further from the house I went. With each foot forward, it seemed more natural, so freeing. Trees towered over me, covering me in shadows. Little bits of sunlight broke through but were subdued by the clouds that were constantly covering the area. Different shades of green, brown, yellow, and even some blues and reds were constantly changing. Completely relaxing, something I never really got living in Seattle, for various reasons.

Suddenly, I got this rush. With a single thought, my legs just picked up and moved me. The camera was safely in hand as I ran through the trees. The wind rushing across my face had a calming feel.

By the time I stopped, I could barely breathe. With no idea of how far I had really traveled, it was time to take in my surroundings. I ended up in a decent size, grassy clearing. Seemingly ancient but beautiful trees lined the edges of the clearing. Light shined on the dew-covered grass, making it sparkle like little diamonds. Eerily enchanting. Almost fairy tale like.

Without a second thought, my camera was at the ready, taking pictures. Taken by the surroundings, I noticed no animals, no noises. I was completely zoned into the clearing and surrounding trees.

Not before long did I realize that there was something across the field. I took a picture but didn't seem to get much. I tried to move closer to get a better picture, but before I even made it two feet, the creature was gone. The only picture I got of it was a pair of huge eyes shining from inside the shadows. With defeat, I slowly started heading back.

By the time I got home, it was fairly late but not completely dark, which was definitely a good thing. After putting the camera away, there was one thing that I needed to do. And that was eat. I made some Mac and cheese and then went to sleep. The first day at a new school was going to suck enough as it was. I didn't need to be tired on top of that.

Surely it was going to be one hell of a morning. I was going to be the new girl. In a small town like there, there would be no doubt that people would want to 'get to know me'. Wasn't looking forward to all the attention. With my school stuff in tow, I hopped into my truck and headed out. Took too long for my liking though. Just wanted it over and done with.

Luckily, I found a good parking spot as soon as I pull into the parking lot. Next to some huge jeep. Wonder if they went off-roading a lot? Pushing that thought away, I grabbed my things, locked my car and headed into the school. Before I was able to get far, I saw a red truck that was familiar. I just so happened to see Bella getting out just at that moment. Walking over to her, I smiled. She noticed me. "Hey, Bella."

"Hi, Alexa. How are you?"

"A little nervous. I…do you happen to know where the front office is?"

"I'll show you."

"If you don't mind, that would be greatly appreciated."

With another smile, she led me onwards.

On that walk to the office, I was able to talk to her a little bit. I could sense that she was a little shy but she was really nice. It wasn't just that that I noticed. I could see all the looks that we were getting. The most pertinent idea being that it was probably because of me being the second new girl in a week. I tried to shake it off as we got to the office. Didn't really work though. I thanked her and she let me go.

A few minutes later and I was done. The secretary in the office had tried to show me the best way to get to my classes. It was nice of her to do so but I just could not remember it all. So with all my papers in hand, I started to head towards my first class.

Yes I had looked into the school and the general layout of it, but that didn't mean I remember it all. The map I was given was in my hands the entire time. With that being the case, I wasn't exactly paying attention to where I was going the entire time. Not the best idea really.

Just as I thought that I was getting close to my class and was heading around a corner, I just so happened to bump into someone. IT felt as if I had walked into a brick wall. Ouch. Whoever it was, was hard as a diamond. I was literally knocked to the ground. After picking up my papers, I stood up to see who I so happened to walk into. A guy. Short, dark, kind of curly brown hair. Golden topaz eyes, and was a big, brawny looking guy. He wasn't alone either. He was with three other guys and two girls. All of them had the same eyes. Not only that, they were stunning, almost inhumanly beautiful. Something was different.

Didn't look at the others much. Instinctively, my attention when back to the one I bumped into. He was definitely mad. His eyes told me that. "I am so sorry about that. Can't keep my eyes off this damn map. No clue where I'm going here. It's my fault. Again, I really am sorry."

Still, his face remained the same. First thought that came to mind was that he wanted to kill me. If we were alone, I was sure he would. I couldn't speak though. Not a single word came to me. I couldn't even stop looking at him. Like a world of our own. That was until the pixie stepped forward. "I'm sorry about my brother here."

"Don't worry about it. It was kind of my fault anyway."

"I'm Alice. My brother here is Emmett."

"It's nice to meet you too; the rest of you as well. I'm Alexandra Evans but you can call me Alexa. I'm new here."

She nodded and I couldn't help but smile. She was just so...bubbly for lack of a better word. "I don't mean to be rude but I got to go. If I don't then I'll end up being late to class."

"What room is it?"

Looking at my paper, I said, "Room 214."

"It's just down the hall on the right."

"Thanks." I said smiling.

A quiet moment and I just walked away.

But just as I got to my class, I looked back. Emmett was the one that caught my eye. He was still looking at me. And he still had that same expression on his face. A little creepy that's for sure. How the hell would bumping into him make him that mad? What the hell was his problem? Maybe he was having a bad day but that didn't mean he had to stare at me like that.

All I could do was shake it off as I headed into the classroom. Handing the teacher my schedule, I was pointed to an empty seat. The girl in the seat next to me was on the edge of her seat as soon as she knew I was going to be sitting next to her. Great. A talker. She seemed nice at first glance. But something was off about her. Something told me she wasn't going to be a friend. "You're the second new girl in a week."

"I know. I actually live next door to Bella."

"I'm Sandra."

"Alexa."

"I don't mean to be pushy but what did you do to Emmett Cullen?"

Ahh. She was that kind of girl. A gossip. Not going to be fun. "No clue. I just bumped into him. Maybe he's having the male version of PMS. I don't know. I never even met him before that moment. All I know is that I want to know what his problem is."

"Don't get your hopes up. The Cullens don't really talk to people. They have their own little clique. They only really talk to others outside their family if they have too."

"They were nice enough. Definitely Alice. Emmett not so much. Alice even pointed me in the direction of this room."

"Don't bother. It's not like you're going to get that far."

The sting of rejection sounded in her voice. "Just because you didn't get accepted, don't mean everyone else won't. Especially me. I do not back down from a challenge. I put on my big girl panties and just go for it."

That shut her up, at least momentarily. Just in time for the bell to ring and the teacher to start the roll call.

I knew what I said was what I would do. Nothing was going to stop me from figuring out why Emmett Cullen acted like he did. There was no way that I couldn't wonder about it. No one in their right mind wouldn't. And to be frank, that was all I could think about during my first class and for most of my classes up to lunch. It was that look. I couldn't get it out of my mind. Over those classes, plenty of other kids asked me the same question that Sandra did. And I told them the same thing. But by so many people asking, it got me thinking. Those questions meant that he didn't normally act like that with people. So what was it that about me that caused this reaction?