A/N: I do not live in the USA. Therefore, while every effort is taken to maintain accuracy to life in the USA, I am unfamiliar with certain aspects such as the USA school system and some mistakes may be evident.

Later, this story will contain themes of domestic/sexual abuse, depression and self-harm. They will not be graphic or detailed but please proceed with caution if these upset you.

"Have you seen the new kids?"

I jumped as Sam dropped onto the bench beside me, dropping her bag to the floor. "Huh?"

"The new kids." She rolled her brown eyes. "There's a whole family of them, everybody is talking about it."

I stared blearily at her. It was still too early for me to function.

"Geez, Alex." Anna laughed from across the table. She was scrolling on her phone. "Are you on this planet?"

I managed to crack a smile and itched the back of my hand. "Sorry. It's before noon after summer break. What was this about new kids?"

"The Cullen's." Sam waggled her eyebrows. "There's like, I don't know! I whole horde of them. Their dad is the new doctor at the hospital or something."

I nodded. I still didn't understand what the big deal was, sure Masonville wasn't a big town . . . but new people weren't uncommon.

"And holy guacamole they are gorgeous! Seriously, they all look like supermodels or something! Get me whatever is in their water." The brunette ran her hand through her frizzy brown hair. "The guys are like uber hunks. There's this super tall body builder with these crazy dimples, and the shortest one! He has this crazy hair!" She waved her hands above her own head. "And his face . . . I drooled a little. He is like . . . I didn't know people like that existed!"

"Just two guys?" Anna said out in a bored tone. "I thought there was a horde?"

Sam shot her a dirty look. "There are three guys and four girls. The other one, the blonde? He's perfect too but not my type. He sorta looked . . ." She screwed her face up. "I don't know. Too broody for my tastes."

Too broody. I barely contained my own eyeroll. That was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard. "Did you speak to them?"

"Speak to them?" She squeaked. "No! Of course not. Kimberly and Hannah are doing the welcome wagon routine. I'll get the downlow from them later."

This really is ridiculous. If the look on Anna's face was anything to go by she agreed. Thankfully the bell rang, stopping my sharp-tongued friend from saying anything. She swore and dropped her phone her bag. "Sophomore year, here we go."

"Hallelujah." I picked up my own bag. Rain poured down outside the small alcove we sat in.

"Three more years until we blow this popsicle stand." Anna raised her arms. "I'll finally get some sun."

I smiled and shook my head, walking towards the glass doors. Anna went to Florida over the break and came back bright red. Despite her nasty sunburn, she maintained that she was moving somewhere warm and sunny the first chance she got.

"Better pull up your grades." Sam jabbed as we moved into the crowded hall. "Otherwise you'll be stuck in this Podunk town forever."

Anna glared at her tossed her dark blonde hair. "At least my head is filled with more than air and gossip!"

Instead of answering, Sam squealed "Linda!" and ran to embrace one of the girls on the volleyball team with her. "Oh my gosh! You barely texted over break! What were you up too?"

Anna let out a small sound of disgust and forced her way through the crowd of people standing at the bulletin boards outside the office. "They need a better system. Want me to tell you what homeroom you're in?"

I nodded and pulled down my sweater sleeves, staying close to the wall. It was too noisy in here, it made me jumpy and the crush of bodies made me feel like I couldn't get in enough air.

No. Not here. You're fine. You're safe. This is just high school. These are just kids trying to figure out what class they're in.

"Jenkins." I jerked as a hand closed around my elbow. "Hey! Easy Alex."

Heart pounding, I looked at Anna and nodded. I needed to get out of here.

"It's the same as mine." She was practically yelling to be heard. "C'mon, it's the next floor up."

Clutching my bag to my chest I dutifully followed her, sticking close so her body would shield me from the others. Thankfully Anna was not a social butterfly and made her way to the second floor and our apparent homeroom without saying anything.

"You cool?" She eyed me critically.

I nodded, even though I felt like I was going to throw up. My stomach twisted, full of butterflies. Make that bees.

She stared at me for a moment longer before pushing open the door. "Ladies first."

I stepped forward, managing to find my voice under the bile that threatened to rise. "You are also a lady."

"A girl, yes." She snorted. "But not a lady. C'mon, let's get the window seats. Those are the best."

The classroom was laid out in 5 rows. Three desks, the walkway, two desks. The windows lined the side with two desks.

Anna dropped her bag on the very back row but left the window for me. I shot her a grateful smile and sunk down, resting my head on the cold glass.

See? You're fine. You can do this. Just another day.

Nobody else had made it to the classroom yet. Anna pulled her phone back out, a quick glance told me she was updating her blog. Thankful that she knew me well enough to leave me alone to my thoughts. I fumbled in my backpack for my water bottle and took a small sip. When my stomach didn't reject it, I took another one.

"Reckon we'll have many classes together?"

I shrugged, holding my sleeves in my hand. "Hope so but I doubt it. You didn't choose any of the same classes I did."

"That's because you decided to do all artsy shit." She smiled. "Maybe English. Algebra or Bio? That's at least half our day."

"Possibly gym." I pointed out. She pulled a face.

"I plan to ditch that as much as possible." She grumbled. "It's a total bullshit class. If they did dance, cheerleading or gymnastics maybe I'd show up."

I shook my head and grinned. "So even if we had gym you wouldn't show?"

"Damn straight." She grumbled. "I'll get a doctor note. Maybe the new doc in town can write something up for me. What was his name? Casey?"

More people were slowly trickling in now, standing around talking.

"Cullen."

"Right, Cullen." She shrugged. "One week it'll be period cramps, the next a sprained ankle. You know how I roll. I'll spend my time in the library – working on my assignments and you know, not wasting my time."

"You know, Coach is going to catch on."

"Eh." She shrugged. "What's he gonna do about it?"

Call your parents about forged notes?

"Guess what!" Sam threw herself into the chair in front of us and it rocked wildly. "One of the new kids is in our class? Can you believe it? Renesmee Cullen! I can't wait to find out why they moved here. Do you reckon she'll hook me up with one of her brothers?"

"What kind of name is Renesmee?" Anna screwed up her face. "Are you sure you're saying it right?"

"Yes." Sam rolled her eyes. "R-E-N-E-S-M-E-E Cullen. Renesmee."

"Hmm." Anna tapped her long nails on the desk. "Nope. I bet you're saying it wrong."

"I am not!" Sam turned to look at me. "Tell her Alex, how would you pronounce-"

The bell rang and talking students began to drop into seats. Sam spun to the door, obviously hoping to catch a glimpse of the new student.

I rested head in my hands and pitied her. The last thing I would want was everybody staring at me, much less the inquisition Sam seemed determined to launch.

"There she is!" Sam squealed quietly.

"Jeez." Anna whistled. "You weren't joking about them being attractive."

That made me look up. Anna was not easily impressed.

A girl stood in the door way, bronze ringlets falling to her waist. My friends were right, she did look airbrushed – like she was on a shoot for a hair shampoo commercial. She had wide chocolate brown eyes, set in perfect features. Her cheek cheekbones were high, nose straight, lips full. From here, I couldn't even see an acne: not a pimple or zit marred her creamy complexion.

Kimberly was talking to her and she was nodding, eyes running over the classroom. The conversations had gotten louder the moment she walked in, people echoing Anna's sentiment: this girl was beautiful.

I tried not to stare, I really did. If it was me, I would have hated all the looks. She didn't seem particularly bothered though, so I let myself watch her as she sat at one of the front desks and pulled an iPad from her bag. Her posture was perfect, shoulders back, ankles crossed.

I'd never so incomparably frumpy in all my life.

You want to be unattractive remember? Invisible. The less attention the better.

And this girl – Renesmee – she attracted attention.

"Alright sophomores." Mr. Jenkins carried a large cardboard box into the room. "If you would all find a seat and quiet down we can get today started." He turned on the Smartboard and wrote his name. "I am Mr. Jenkins, I teach both algebra and calculus here at Masonville High. In addition, I will be your homeroom teacher." He looked over the classroom and nodded. "Most of you I recognize from Freshman year, those who I don't I will endeavor to learn your name by mid-semester. Now, if you would all pull out your devices I will walk you through logging onto the school Wi-Fi and accessing your student email."

I tuned out as he went through the long (boring) talk about what we were and were not allowed to do on school internet as well as the consequences if we were caught doing so. A few students trickled in during his speech, they got narrowed eyed looks. I could almost see him mentally labeling them as 'troublesome'.

I logged onto the Wi-Fi easily, they'd changed the password to Masonville2018 which was not at all original. A few moments later I was scrolling through welcome back emails and locating my timetable.

"Show me." Anna turned her laptop, so I could see her screen. I did the same, scanning her schedule.

Biology. Lunch.

"Damn." She muttered and sighed. "One class. That's the pits. Oh well, we'll still see each other after school. Who else will I copy English answers off?"

I swatted her and tried not to smile as she laughed. That earned her one of Mr Jenkins narrowed eyed stares and pursed lips.

"Did anybody have trouble logging on?" He helped one of the boys before moving back to the front. "All right, attendance. Jordan Anderson?"

I clicked through the emails, deleting the ones for various clubs and sporting activities as he slowly went down the list.

"Ren- ruh-" He cleared his throat. "Miss Cullen?"

"Here." My eyes once again moved to her. Her voice was so angelic.

Mr Jenkins adjusted his glasses. "How do you pronounce your first name Miss Cullen?"

"Ruh-nez-may." She chirped. "You may call me Nessie if it's easier."

Anna lent forward, "I told you, you were pronouncing her name wrong."

"Shut up." Sam muttered. "You couldn't figure it out either."

I sighed and rested my head on the window, ignoring the two and their whispered argument. Mr Jenkins was still going through attendance but most of the students seemed more intent on gawking at Renesmee. That must get old so fast.

When the bell rang I gathered my books, hanging back so I didn't get caught in the crush of bodies. At least 5 people surround Renesmee, all offering to walk her to her next class.

Anna rolled her eyes. "And there's more of them. Great, we'll be putting up with the Cullen fan club all year."

"Be nice." I muttered as I slipped through the door. "It isn't her fault."

"No," Anna sighed. "But being that attractive should be illegal. I'll see you at lunch Alex."

I waved and headed in the direction of my English class.

O ~ O ~ O ~ O ~ O

"So!" Sam dropped her bag beside mine. I tried not to groan, algebra was a class I needed to focus in. "What was your last class and was there a Cullen in it?"

"English and yes." I pulled out a notebook.

"Who?" She lent in. "Wait, it must have been Renesmee. Alice was in my American History class."

I nodded and began to doodle, hoping she'd drop it.

"Apparently only those two are sophomores." Nope. "They're the youngest. Two are juniors and three are seniors. It's pretty disappointing, you know? I'd hoped one of the guys would be in our grade. But no, I miss out on all the eye candy."

I shifted, uncomfortable with the way she spoke about them. Yes, they were attractive (or so I presumed) but they were people too.

"Hopefully at lunch you'll see them." She turned to me. "Have you seen them yet?"

"Just Renesmee." I sighed. I had no interest in gossip.

"When you see them, you'll understand." She nodded. "Oh! Kathy! Your sister is a senior, has she told you anything?"

I tuned her out, doodling on my notebook until Mr. Jenkins called the called the class to attention. He wasted no time on getting into it, handing out a quiz that would assess our overall knowledge from last year. Groans filled the classroom and the entire lesson Sam was huffing beside me as she worked.

I finished with a few minutes to spare. I was confident about the first few dozen questions, but it had gotten harder from there. When the bell rang Mr. Jenkins gestured to a cardboard box. "If your name is on your paper you're free to go to lunch."

I hurried out of my seat, hungry and desperate not to be caught in the crowded hallway.

The cafeteria was huge, which was good since all four grades had their lunch at the same time. It had multiple lunch lines and I moved to the closest one, buying a salad and a choc-chip muffin. By the time I was done the cafeteria was filling up. I looked around for Anna, moving to where we had sat last year. Sure enough, there she was with a plate of fries in front of her.

"Hola mi amigo." She grinned. "How is your first day going?"

"It's going." I shrugged beside her on the end. "You had Spanish last period?"

"Sí señorita." She laughed. "And with both the Cullen girls. Sam's head may explode."

I smiled and began to pick apart my salad. I ate all the elements separately, something she teased me for.

"And here comes the rest of our gang." She grinned as Bentley and Laura came over. "I didn't see you two lovebirds this morning."

Laura, in her usually hoodie and jeans, flipped her the bird.

Anna laughed and ate another fry as Bentley moved to wait in line. "What's got you in a bad mood?"

"Cullen gossip." She grumbled. "How am I meant to sleep through class with all this talking?"

"Maybe by not sleeping through class." Sam sat down, her nose in the air. "I happen to think it's very interesting. For example, why are so many of them in the same grade?"

"Tell us." Anna rolled her eyes. "Fountain of youth?"

"They're adopted." Sam reported. "Well, not all of them. Emmett, the hunky senior, is brother to Bella and Alice who is in our grade. Edward is Nessie's older brother. They were apparently adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Cullen years ago. Then Jasper and Rosalie, the blonde seniors? They're foster kids. Mrs. Cullen's niece and nephew."

I tensed up, wondering if she would remember that I too was technically a foster kid living with my aunt.

"It's so weird!" She gushed. "Like, do they only adopt beautiful kids? I have to see them, maybe they're super ugly so they're compensating? I mean, why else would you take in somebody else's-" She jumped. "Ow! Anna! You did that on purpose."

"Yes. I did." She smiled but it wasn't nice. "Why don't you take your gossip to somebody who cares and come back when you remember how to act like a person?"

"You can talk!" She stood up. "You are so rude!"

I watched her flounce off, chewing the inside of my lip. The last thing I wanted to do was make Sam mad, she was likely to turn to rumor mill against us.

"Forget her Alex." Laura advised. "You don't need a friend like that."

I nodded even as my stomach twisted. I slowly chewed a piece of tomato. It's fine. Everything is fine. Any false rumors are just that, false.

Anna started chatting to Laura about some videogame they had both started playing. I tuned out, methodically counting each time I chewed and trying not to flinch every time somebody walked too close to where I was sitting. I didn't get up when the warning bell rang, more than content to sit and let the halls empty a bit before I made my move. I stood when Anna did and followed her out, while her class was on the same floor as the cafeteria mine was not and I had to run to make it before the bell rang.

Miss Langdon was standing at the front as I walked through the door, seconds before the bell rang. Art was not a large class; a lot of people had dropped out halfway through last year when they realized that it wasn't an easy A. The room was large and airy, big windows showing the drizzle outside. Desks could easily sit 4 students, but Miss Langdon preferred that we sit 2 at a table if numbers allowed so we could spread our work out. I recognized all bar one of the 11 students in the room.

The only student sitting without a partner was a Cullen. Even if I hadn't of recognized her, her sheer beauty gave that away. She was tiny and sharp boned. Her dark hair was cropped short and contrasted wildly with her pale skin. Pale skin. She wasn't just fair skinned, she was whiter then anybody I had ever seen. Large gold eyes watched me, a knowing-smile on her lips.

"Alexandra." Miss Langdon prompted and nodded towards her. "Please take a seat."

With a pounding heart and shaking hands I moved to do as she said and sat across from Cullen.