Chapter One
Why me? I choked back tears as I stared up at my new school. Might as well get this over with. As I walked up to the ominous front doors, I thought about my predicament. My father had just died, he was a policeman, and they just couldn't save him. This time, I couldn't hold the tears back. I quickly wiped my eyes, I wouldn't cry on the first day. I loved my dad a lot. In most ways he was my best friend. I told him most things, except the obvious 'crush' topic. When he died my world came crashing down around me, like the floor had been taken out from beneath my feet. Now I had moved away from Phoenix; my home since I was a child. My parents had been separated ever since I could remember and now I had to come and live in Forks, Washington, where my mother escaped to when I was a child. It's not like my mom's a bad person, she's just not my dad and they obviously rushed into having a family and starting a life together. Not to mention the fact that my mother got remarried. Phil was nice enough, but those stupid daughters of his! Ugh! I shuddered thinking about my first night here.
I had almost finished unpacking and settling in. Thankfully, I got a room all to myself. Jessica and Lauren weren't too happy about that. So, in spite of that, they felt the need to be extra malicious that night.
"Wow, Lauren, look at those gorgeous clothes little Bella's got!"
Lauren gasped, "And look at this darling necklace!!"
"No! Give it back!" I cried. That was my necklace; dad gave it to me a few weeks before he died, for my birthday.
"Oh, Jessica, looks like we've got to give it back now!"
"Definitely Lauren, little Bella looks like she's going to cry!" Jessica taunted. What was up with that voice, does it have to be that high pitched?
"Oh! Jessica, there's an inscription!" Lauren gasped.
"No, give me my necklace back!" I was almost to the point of tears, but I wouldn't let them out, not in front of them.
"I'll always be here," Lauren read, "How stupid is that?"
"It's not stupid!" I spat through my gritted teeth, "Not at all!"
"Aw, did your daddy give you this necklace?" Jessica cooed. I swear, if they keep this up, one of them is going to have a black eye. Or maybe I could hit both of them… interesting idea.
"I think he did!" Lauren said, "Now this is really stupid, he's already gone! Wow, this guy was a moron! No wonder Renee left him!"
"He was not a moron!" I screamed, tears now streaming down my face. Though I made no move to stop them, they didn't matter anymore. Anger was pulsing through my veins, and I just wanted to hurt them. Why did they have to make my life hell? As if I wasn't suffering enough. Just after I thought that all three of us saw a figure standing at the doorway. It was Phil, and I was thanking God for his timely arrival.
"What's going on here?" He questioned, eyebrows raised.
"Nothing daddy! Just welcoming Bella to the family." Lauren chimed, with Jessica nodding in agreement. Phil took in the scene before him, assessing the situation for a second, I tried to see it through his eyes. Me, standing there crying, Lauren and Jessica with smug little smirks on their faces. Clearly this was not a warm welcome. What he did next surprised me, he nodded and walked away. How could he do that? It was quite obvious that something was going on here. Any idiot could see that! And in that split second before Lauren and Jessica went at it again, I realized that I'm completely alone.
The soft music of the receptionists' office woke me up from my daze. She looked up at me as I walked in. She was young, that was obvious, with her blonde hair in a clip pinned to the back of her head. She smiled at me as I walked towards her.
"Hi, I'm Isabella Swan," I sucked in a breath, "I'm a new student here."
Realization swept over her features. She took in a breath.
"Oh, alright, one second." She stared at me a second, then realized she was staring and dropped her eyes to the desk in front of her. She shuffled around for a minute, then handed me a bunch of papers including a map of the school, my schedule, and a bunch of other crap that I couldn't care less about.
"Thanks." I looked up from the papers and smiled, or did my best smile.
"Your welcome," She smiled back, unfazed by my fake. "Have a nice day." I smiled and nodded, then turned around and walked into the hall. It wasn't as dead as it was when I first got here; students were now rushing along trying to get to class on time. I could've sworn I saw someone being trampled, but when I looked back, no one was beneath the feet of students walking by. I stood there for a moment, debating whether or not to make a run for it. With a sigh, I turned around to go to class but I find something blocking my way, or someone. I looked up to see a very tall boy with shaggy black hair standing there with a bewildered expression on his face.
"Sorry." I muttered while trying to steer my way around him but he caught my arm. I reacted like anyone would if a stranger grabbed their arm and froze.
"Chill, I'm not going to abduct you or anything," He grinned down at me. I looked up at him, confused. "I'm Jacob, are you new here?"
I grimaced, "Is it that obvious?"
"No, well, yeah," He grinned again, "You look completely lost and I've never seen you before."
"Oh," I was at a loss for words, and didn't really need to say more as a bunch of boys, came running up to him. They were all roughly the same height, which was really tall I realized with shock. Geez, these guys are huge! At least a foot and a half taller than me, and I was an average 5'4". They all started shouting excitedly, about what I have no idea, until one of them stopped, noticed me and then turned to Jacob, with his eyebrows raised. He glanced at me quickly and said,
"Guys this is…wait, you never gave me your name."
"Oh, my names Isabella." I looked at the boys expectantly; introductions start now I thought wryly.
"Oh, uh, this is Quil," he pointed to the one standing on his left; he had dark eyes and long dark hair. "This is Embry," He was standing on Quil's other side, smiling warmly. He had brown hair that barely covered a set of sparkling chocolate brown eyes. I smiled back.
"Anyways, that's the gang." Jacob said, turning back to me.
"It's nice to meet you." I smiled up at them. I wondered idly if any of them were on athletic teams. They all smiled and Jacob was the first to break the silence.
"Okay, enough chit chat, Isabella, what are your classes?" They all stared at me intently, making me feel self-conscious. Please dear God, let there not be something wrong with my face at this moment.
"Um, you can call me Bella, easier to say," They laughed, "And my classes are…um, English, Math, then lunch, then French and History." I looked up at them waiting for someone to say something.
"I have English with you." Embry said with a smile. He seemed to be the quiet one. I smiled at the thought of knowing someone in at least one class.
"We got History together!" Quil cried rather loudly. I laughed at his energy and huge grin, returning it with my own.
"I have French and Math with you." Jacob said. My smile grew bigger at the prospect of having classes with people I know.
"Cool, I won't be alone!" I cried out in joy. The boys laughed and told me to meet them at lunch. Then said goodbye and walked away, leaving me with Embry. After they were a few feet away, Jacob turned around and shouted; "You can call me Jake by the way, easier to say!" he winked, turned around and kept walking.
"We'd better get going; Mr. Mason isn't a very patient man." I looked up at him and he was grinning. This confused me a little bit.
"Firsthand experience?" I queried.
"Firsthand experience." He said chuckling as we walked.
I took this time, walking to English, to look around the school a bit. I gasped as we walked by a set of windows that looked onto a gorgeous little garden. Embry turned at the sound of my gasp and followed my eyes to the little garden.
"You like that?" He asked, looking at me with a small smile on his face.
"Yeah, it's gorgeous!" I exclaimed. Gardens have always been my weak spot, my dad always used to promise me that one day he would make me a little garden. We never actually got around to it, but we always had fun planning it out. A warning bell went off in my head and that's when the pain hit once again. I wasn't going to cry. I sighed and kept walking; Embry hurried to match my quick pace.
"You okay?" He looked at me worriedly. I fought the urge to tell him everything. He seemed like someone I could trust. But I didn't need to breakdown on the first day of school.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I looked up at him, smiling, hoping it was convincing enough. Apparently it wasn't as he looked away and sighed, but thankfully he dropped it. We arrived on time, but the teacher gave us a cold stare and was taping his foot, obviously Embry wasn't joking when he said he wasn't patient.
The rest of English passed uneventfully and when Embry and I walked out the door we were surprised to see Jake waiting there. I shot him a confused look and Jake simply said "I didn't want you to get lost." I laughed and thanked him then walked to Math with Jake. Math was my favourite subject, next to English, so I was really looking forward to this. When we got there, Jake walked to his seat. I walked quickly over to the teacher and explained that I was the new student. He nodded and pointed me over to a seat next to a guy that I hadn't even noticed. But wow did I make up for that now. He had unruly bronze hair that seemed to stick up at all ends. I briefly wondered what it would feel like to run my hands through it. His eyes were the most breathtaking shade of green. The planes of his face were perfectly angular and looked as if they were carved from stone. It took me a moment to realize I was gawking. I of course, being me, flushed cherry red and walked to my seat. I sat down and he turned and smiled at me.
"Hi, my name is Edward Cullen," He held out his hand and I took it carefully, wondering if this was just a dream.
"Isabella Swan," I said, trying to regain my coherency. "Though I prefer Bella." I didn't even notice the guy sitting next to me until he spoke up.
"Hey, my name's Mike." I turned to look at him and noticed he had that eager puppy dog look. He had short blonde hair that was spiked up with gel.
"Hi, I'm Isabella," I smiled back "But please call me Bella."
"Bella it is then." He said with a chuckle. He was opening his mouth to say something else when a familiar high pitched screech interrupted.
"Edward!! Hi, how are you?" Oh my gosh. Please let it not be who I think it is. Nope, it is. Jessica. Does somebody up there have something against me or something?
"Oh my god, Bella?" Her mouth open wide with disbelief. "You're in this class?"
"Uh, yeah." I answered, looking at the floor. I would not talk to her if I couldn't. But of course, she wasn't having that.
"Aw, Bella. I missed you!" Ha, fat chance, wow this girl could act. She should try out for the school play or something, although, she's probably not smart enough to memorize the lines. I smiled at the thought of her screwing up onstage in front of the entire student body, and possibly some parents. "How has your day been?"
"Fine." I would give her simple one word answers, maybe she'd get the hint….Who am I kidding, this is Jessica we're talking about.
"Wait, you two know each other?" Mike interjected quickly.
"Yeah, Bella's my step-sister! We're like best friends!" I looked up at her in disbelief, since when were we best friends, wasn't there some sort of rule that you had to be nice to your best friend? She looked over my shoulder and her expression lightened noticeably.
"Hey Bella?" Jake asked me as he turned around to face me, putting a piece of paper on my desk at the same time. "Are you any good at math?"
"Um, yeah." I said uncertainly. "Why?"
"Because I am suck, and I can't find anyone to help me." Jake whined loudly. It was quite funny. I chanced a look at Edwards face and was surprised to find he was watching us intently; completely ignoring Jessica's attempts to get his attention.
"Um, I guess I could help you," I said, still surprised at Edwards staring. "Just as long as you aren't completely stupid." I joked half-heartedly. Jake laughed loudly, only to be shushed by the teacher. The rest of the class went by, and the only things out of the ordinary were Edwards's glances in my direction. I was going to have to take a quick trip to the bathroom and check if there was something on my face. Wait, lucky me I shoved my compact into my backpack this morning. I pulled it out, checked my face, but nothing was there. Then what was it? Ugh, this was infuriating, was I that ugly? I spent the rest of Math contemplating what the reason for Edwards staring could be. I could only come up with two theories, I liked one more than the other. The better one, or, the one that I preferred, was that he thought I was pretty and was interested. The other, was that I was really ugly and he couldn't look away. Well, either way, the staring was still weird.
The bell rang and we all packed our bags quickly. Jake waited for me to gather all of my stuff. That's when she decided to step in.
"Hey Jake could me and Bella just have a minute?" He glanced nervously at me and I gave him a nod. He nodded and walked away leaving me alone with Jessica.
"What's up?" I asked turning to face her. The cheerful 'smile' she was wearing earlier was gone, in its place a 'menacing' glare.
"Don't sass me, I know what you're doing and it's not going to work!" She snapped at me. What was she talking about?
"What?" I asked, really confused.
"You know what," She said, completely oblivious to my confusion "Stop trying to steal Edward from me!" What!?!?
"I didn't know you two were going out." I said quietly, trying to hide the disappointment from my voice.
"Well, we aren't going out…yet." She looked slightly disgruntled. I tried not to bust out laughing. Putting together the pieces in my mind, I thought about Edwards's reaction to Jessica. They were definitely not getting any closer. Unless she decided that she would handcuff him to her, although I don't think she would be able to think of that.
"Oh, well, good luck with that." I said cheerfully as I turned around to go to lunch.
"Wait," she exclaimed quickly "I would stay away from Mike too, he's Lauren's." Right and I was Santa Claus. Jeez, I wasn't even interested in Mike. I guess that makes staying away from him that much easier.
"Okay, thanks for the heads up!" The sarcasm was very apparent in my voice, but I don't think she caught it because she responded with a snort and quickly rushed out. I followed behind slowly. Only to crash into someone I realized to be Jake.
"Oh! You're alive!" Jake exclaimed, laughing at my bewildered expression. "Joking!"
We made our way to the cafeteria. When we got there we saw Embry and Quil sitting at a table with Quil talking and Embry just sitting there staring at him. When Quil noticed us he grinned and screamed "Hey guys! Over here!"
"Geez, Quil, we've only sat here for the past two years, I think we can find it without you scaring the little ones!" Jake said gesturing towards a group of girls, who were staring at Quil with scared eyes. I laughed at the thought of anyone being scared of Quil; he seemed like a child at heart. I sat down next to Embry while Jake went and plopped down next to Quil.
"Whatever dude, Bella doesn't know where we sit!" Quil exclaimed with an adorable triumphant look on his face. I giggled quietly because I knew what was coming next.
"Idiot! I was with her!" Jake exclaimed, now aggravated. I laughed along with Embry at the argument. It went on for about 15 minutes, both of them bringing up stupid points that had nothing to do with Quil's exclamation.
"Shouldn't you stop them?" I asked Embry quietly. He looked at me and chuckled quietly.
"No. This happens at least twice a day. Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Then he grinned at me. "Finally." Embry said quietly. I was about to ask what he was talking about when I noticed it was quiet at the table. I looked around quickly and noticed both Jake and Quil were gone.
"Where did they go?" I asked the boys that were now chuckling at my confusion.
"The cafeteria just officially opened; they went to buy food." Embry explained with a small smile on his face.
"Oh, aren't you going?" I watched as Embrys face turned hard at something over my shoulder. I looked up and found myself staring into Edwards's eyes.
"Hello," he said quietly. It took me a moment to form a coherent sentence.
"Hi." And that was the brilliant response. He chuckled and looked over my shoulder at Embry and his face hardened. I looked back at Embry and watched as they had a silent battle. Well, this was confusing, yet slightly entertaining. I started giggling quietly, but apparently not quietly enough as both Edward and Embry looked at me with confused looks on their faces.
"You guys looked so intense." I said between my giggles. Then at the same time both of their expressions changed. Edward was staring worriedly at the door of the cafeteria, while Embry was grinning maliciously. I turned to look and saw Jessica and Lauren standing there talking to a group of girls. I watched as Mike walked by and Lauren squealed and threw herself on him. A bunch of the guys that were walking with Mike stopped and laughed while he pushed her off. She pouted a little then smiled and started talking to him. I laughed at this and looked back at Edwards face. He was still staring at the door, but now with a look of horror on his face. I turned to see Jessica striding purposefully in our direction. I looked back at Edward but he was gone. I turned and looked at Embry with raised eyebrows.
"Um, I think he decided to talk to you later." He said, half laughing. I laughed along with him until a hand slammed down on the table right next to mine. My eyes travelled up the arm to meet Jessica's. She glared at me.
"Did Edward finally realize how much of a loser you are?" She sneered with a small smirk on her face. "I was wondering why he left so quickly."
"Actually Jessica, he left because he saw you walking towards him." I stated. Looking her right in the eye, showing her I wasn't afraid. She looked down at me with an icy glare.
"I would watch what you say to me Bella," She said quietly to me only, I don't think Embry could even hear. "Things could end very badly if you let something slip." Then she turned around and walked away, as if nothing had been said. I looked after her in shock. Did she just threaten me?
