Title: The New Kid
Author: JJ Murilega
Rating: Well, this chapter is T but others will be NC17(AKA: M)
Summary: Hi, I'm Luka Evans. I've just moved to the small town of Forks, Washington. On my first day of school, I managed to piss of the queen bee and discover that a clan of vegetarian vampires had been living there for the past few years. But there's something strange about one of the vampires. The feelings I get when I'm around him are like nothing I've ever felt before. Wait, now there's a pack of pissed off wolf-shifters, too? Oh, fucking great!
Parings: Esme/Carlisle, Emmet/Rosalie, Alice/Jasper, Edward/MaleOC, Lots of OCs
Warnings: multiple doses of slash, fem!slash, cross-dressing, lesbians and gays, violence, sexy situations

I woke with a start, heart pounding. The knife that I always slept with under my pillow was in my hand, tip pointed at the far wall. My eyes darted around, searching for a threat. After realizing that there was no threat other than my own imagination, my heart began to slow. The hand that held the knife came down to rest on the bed, palm splaying out atop the hilt. I closed my eyes, my other hand pushing my hair out of my face. Just another nightmare, I thought with relief.

I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower, turning the water on as high as it could go. The hot water ran over my body, forcing some of the more tense muscles to relax. I wasn't really surprised that I was having nightmares. Moving to a new place always seemed to trigger them. Jacqueline and Clarissa assured me that it was normal… I wasn't so sure.

My first day at a new school. Goody. With that thought in mind, I cleaned up and got dressed within thirty minutes.

It's not that I don't like school. It's just that I don't really like those first few weeks when all that anybody calls you is 'new kid' or 'new boy'. It also didn't help that it was the middle of January. Half the school year had already past. Academically, it wouldn't be too hard to catch up. Socially…Oh, who am I kidding. I've never fit in with humans. The time of year has nothing to do with it. Well, with luck, maybe I'll meet at least one friend, I hoped optimistically.

Completing my outfit, I checked my reflection.

Dark grey, almost black, eyes stared back at me. I need to go hunting soon, I thought. Don't want to snap and attack someone if they get a paper cut or something. I snorted. Yeah, that kind of shit would happen to me. My black hair brushed my shoulders and had many, messy layers, giving it a disheveled appearance that my sisters told me made me look 'sexy and mysterious'. I'm skinny and toned but not an obvious weightlifter. More like a gymnast or dancer than a football player. Dark eye lashes, a short stature, pale skin, and general body type make me look more feminine than masculine, which was just fine by me. I threw on some tight fitting black jeans, a clingy blue turtleneck, and an old black jacket that hung to half way down my thighs. I completed the outfit with mid-calf black and blue lace up boots, tucking a throwing knife into each of them just in case.

Good enough, I thought.

Grabbing my black backpack, I ran down stairs to the kitchen, thankfully not getting lost.

My new house was huge, and I mean HUGE. It looked sort of like an old haunted Victorian mansion that you'd expect to come with some sort of curse attached to it. When I'd bought it, it had been in horrible shape. The paint was peeling, the outdated wall paper was moldy, the appliances weren't even usable! Now, everything looks so…fresh. Everything was clean, new paint was on the walls, new appliances, and not a trace of that tacky wallpaper anywhere. And I had done all that in a span of a few days. Thank goodness for non-human speed and strength.

I devoured four bowls of cereal and a bagel in a span of twenty minutes, cleaning up after myself before digging around in my bag. I unzipped a hidden compartment in the main pocket and removed a key.

It took me a bit longer to find the garage. When I did, I hit the button to open the door and hopped into my dark blue Ferrari 458 Italia, placing my bag in the passenger seat. I started it up, smiling as I did so. Of all the going-away-gifts my family had gotten me, this was the by far the best.

"Just try not to crash it, Luka," Jacqueline said as she handed me the keys.

"No promises," I grinned, giving her and Clarissa tight hugs as I said a heartfelt, "Thank you."

I shook my head to clear it and backed out, making sure the garage door closed before heading off to school.

Forks High School had a population of only three hundred fifty-eight students, including me. That was smaller than my Junior class alone back at my old school.

"Try to stay optimistic. If you be yourself, people will gravitate towards you. They usually do," Roxie shrugged from the doorway.

"Oh yeah? Then why is it I have no friends here?" I asked her, unable to keep a trace of bitterness out of my voice. I sighed. "Sorry. I don't mean to be such a bitch, I just…I'm a little…"

"Scared?" She questioned, a slight smile on her lips.

"Maybe," I grumbled.

She laughed. "Good." My head snapped up to look at her. Her eyes softened as she came over to sit next to me on my bed. "Luke, I'd be more worried if you weren't apprehensive about this. You're going to be living on your own for the first time. It doesn't exactly help that you're also going into completely unknown territory without any of the people with whom you've become acquainted to spending your time." She shrugged. "It's only natural to be nervous."

"I hate nature."

Roxie grinned darkly. "Luke, trust me, you'd hate her a whole hell of a lot more if you were a girl."

Lost in my thoughts, I almost didn't see the sign proclaiming the scattering of less than a dozen small brick buildings, slightly hidden by trees and other greenery, to in fact be Forks High School. I turned sharply onto school grounds, thankful that I was early so no one else was there to witness the probably illegal maneuver.

I drove over to the building marked FRONT OFFICE and parked in one of the front spots. No one was there, so I figure no one would mind.

I walked down a hedge-lined stone path and into the small office. The small room was made even smaller by the long counter that cut it in half – atop which sat a few wire baskets, while neon flyers of all colors were taped to its front. On one side was the waiting area – padded folding chairs, a hideous orange-flecked carpet, a loudly ticking clock along with awards and notices nearly covering the walls – and on the other were three desks for the secretaries.

Behind one of said desks was a woman with red hair, glasses, and a purple tee shirt. The name plate on her desk declared her to be Shelly Cope. She looked up at the sound of my entrance.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

I put on a charming smile. "Well I sure hope so. My name is Luka Evans. I am a new student here as of today."

The woman's eyes widened. "Oh yes, of course." The woman, slightly flustered, dug through one of the stacks of papers on her desk, gathered a few, and brought them over to me. "Here are your class schedule and map of the school." She was then nice enough to go through my schedule with me and highlight the best routes to each of the classes on the map. She handed me a pink slip of paper. "One last thing. I need you to have all your teachers sign this and bring it back here at the end of the day. If I'm not here, you can just put it in this," she held up one of the baskets. She smiled. "I hope you have a wonderful time here in Forks."

I smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you very much. I hope so, too."

By the time I got back outside, the other students were starting to arrive. I jumped back in my car and played follow-the-leader with the van in front of me. Unfortunately, most of the other cars were older, so my car got me quite a few appreciative and curious looks. I did notice one other car that stood out in the crowd – a silver Volvo. Not as nice as mine, but still. At least I wasn't only one who stood out.

I parked next to the Volvo, hoping it would make me stand out a little less, and proceeded to memorize my schedule and map. I stashed the papers in my bag, shoving my keys into my pocket.

Trying to ignore the prying eyes of the student body, I made my way over to my first class – English in building three.

The teacher, Mr. Mason, was a tall, balding man, pale like the rest of this town's population. I brought the slip up for him to sign. His eyes just about popped out of his head when he saw that he had the new kid in his class. He recovered quickly, though, and signed it without a word, handing it back to me along with a few other papers. Thankfully, he sent me to a seat in the back of the classroom. At least now they won't be able to stare at me all class, I thought.

Oh how wrong I was.

I kept my gaze glued to the reading list Mr. Mason had given me – Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner…booooring. I'd already read all of the books on the list at least once.

Well, I guess this means I can expect to pass English with flying colors, I thought, already getting bored.

I tuned out most of what the teacher said that period. Before long, the bell rang, signaling the end of English.

As I gathered my things, a lanky boy with acne and dark, oily hair came up to me. The smile on his face told me he was probably one of those helpful-to-a-fault people. "You're the new kid, right?" He asked. Of course, by this point everyone who hadn't already left had turned to stare at us.

I smiled. "Yep, that's me. Although, I prefer Luka over 'new kid', if you don't mind."

He smiled. "I'm Eric. What's your next class?"

"Government in building six with Mr. Jefferson," I replied.

He looked surprised. Probably because I hadn't had to look at my schedule. "Okay. I'm heading over to building 4 but I could show you the way."

Oh yeah, defiantly overly helpful. I smiled. "That would be great."

I waited as he grabbed his jacket before we both walked out. A few people made sure to be within hearing range of us as we walked. I rolled my eyes. And so the gossip begins.

We made small talk for a few minutes. Eric was obviously trying to make me feel a bit more comfortable.

"Well, here we are."

I looked up and sighed. Here we go again. I turned and smiled at Eric. "Thanks. See you later."

"Yeah. Maybe we'll have some other classes together."

"Maybe."

I walked into a class room that looked pretty much like the one I had just come from. Government went virtually the same way as English – I got a seat in the back, the other students still managed to stare at me, and I pretended to take notes while actually drawing in my notebook.

Absorbed in my picture, I was startled when a timid finger poked at my shoulder. I jumped and looked up at a small brunette girl with glasses.

"Sorry if I startled you. It's just that the bell rang and I wasn't really sure if you'd heard it," the girl said.

I looked around to see that, sure enough, most of the room had already emptied out. As I put away my stuff, I said, "Thank you. I just get so absorbed in my drawings sometimes, you know?"

The girl nodded. "My name's Angela Webber. You're Lucas, right? Lucas Evans?"

I smiled at her, picking up my bag. "Hey Angela. Actually, my name's just Luka, not Lucas." We walked out the door and back into the crowd of teens. "Uh, do you think you could point me in the direction of building five? I've got Trig with Mr. Varner next."

The girl seemed to brighten at that. "Me, too."

I smiled. "Well then," I made a dramatic sweeping gesture with my arm, "lead the way, milady."

She blushed, but also smiled.

"Ah ha! So you can smile!" I teased.

She smiled even wider. "Yes."

As we walked and talked, I couldn't help but notice that I was much more comfortable around her than I had been around Eric. It wasn't that I didn't like other guys, quite the opposite, it's just that I've always been more comfortable around girls. Probably had something to do with the fact that I grew up in a family that was predominantly female.

We walked into the classroom and again I handed the slip to the teacher. Mr. Varner signed it and handed me a book. I went to grab a seat but he stopped me.

"Hold on just a moment," Mr. Varner said as the bell rang a second time, signaling the official beginning of class. "I would like you to introduce yourself to the class and tell us one interesting thing about yourself."

"Um, okay." I faced the rest of the class, who were now looking at me with wide, curious eyes. Oh, great. "Hey. I'm Luka Evans, although most of you probably know me as 'the new kid'." A few laughs. "And, no, my name is not short for Lucas. My birth certificate says 'Luka'. An interesting fact, huh? To be honest, I'm not all that interesting. Uh…The best thing I can think of is that I'm the only guy in a family of ten."

That drew a few whispers and giggles. Some of the males were giving me envious looks, and I could hear some of the females talking about how because I'd grown up around woman, surely I must know so much more about women than some of the other idiots in this town. Their words, not mine.

I took my seat in the back corner, next to Angela and behind a short girl with an abundance of brown hair.

The next couple of classes flew by in a flurry of 'how are you liking Forks?' and 'hi my name is such-and-such' and 'is Luka short for Lucas?'. After a few periods, I began to notice that I was seeing some of the same faces in my classes.

One girl, the short female with curly brown hair and blue eyes, sat in front of me in Trig and also sat next to me in Spanish. Her name was Jessica, I think. She walked me to lunch, chattering about all the teachers – which ones to suck up to, which ones hated being sucked up to, who to buy what for on the holidays, etc. She seemed nice enough, but something about her rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was because she hadn't stopped flirting with me since we'd met. She clung to my arm, putting pressure on it with her small breasts and leading me over to a table nearly full of rambunctious teens. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

Eric waved at me from across the room. I shifted my food-filled tray and shook Jessica off my arm so I could wave back, silently thanking Eric for the excuse to get the girl off me. We went over to join the table of Jessica's friends. I recognized Angela amongst them. Jessica introduced me to the rest of their group.

There was Mike, a cute blond-hair-blue-eyed boy who was a good three inches taller than me with an athletic build. A girl with corn silk blond hair and fishy green eyes introduced herself as Lauren. She and Jessica seemed intent on throwing themselves at me. Hmmm…I wonder how long it'll take them to figure out I'm gay… Next to her was an athletic looking black boy named Tyler and a blue eyed brunet named Conner. I was a bit disappointed that none of the guys seemed outright gay, although I was pretty sure Mike and Conner were questioning, if not bi. Most of them were pretty nice but only seemed curious, like I was some sort of new toy. The only exceptions were Angela – who actually seemed to get I wasn't some sort of new Disney land exhibit – and Conner, who mostly just kept to himself. All and all, the only one I really hit it off with was Angela.

I was intermediating between eating, ignoring Jessica and Lauren, and talking with Angela about the boring book list we had in English (she was also a bit of a bookworm and had already read most of them), when I sensed them.

I carefully kept my expression neutral even as I tensed, ready for a fight. Vampires. The thought flitted through my mind as I tensed. Shit. Then I frowned. Wait a minute. Why would there be vampires in a town like Forks? And so many, for that matter. It feels like there's at least four or five of them. Wouldn't the locals notice all the people they feed on disappearing? I looked over my shoulder, trying to locate the group. They weren't that hard to find, honestly.

They were sitting at a table in the far corner of the room. There were indeed five of them; two females, three males.

They were all looking away from each other but I could see their mouths move from time to time, like they were talking. I couldn't tell what was being said, though, as their lips moved too fast to read and their voices were too soft to hear over the din of the other students.

All of them were very pale, paler than any human. One of the females was a very petit, pixie-like girl with short, spiky, dark hair. Next to her was a fit blond boy who looked like he was in some sort of pain. On her other side was the other female, a blond girl who even I had to admit was beautiful. Sitting with his hand in hers was a big, intimidating male with curly brown hair and large muscles, defiantly a serious weight lifter.

But it was the third male, sitting in between the other two males, that most caught my attention. I had honestly never seen anyone or anything so…absolutely gorgeous in all my life. He was more lean than the other males, less muscular, but had a body that would make Adonis himself green with envy. He was a good five or six inches taller than my own 5'8". The bronze hair atop his head had this hot just-got-out-of-bed-after-a-really-great-fuck look to it. His long, delicate fingers were picking at a bagel, tearing it to pieces as his juicy red lips moved at lightning speed.

Just as I looked over, the small girl's gaze shifted and I suddenly found myself gazing into twin pools of dark golden-brown. I swear I saw her smile before we each looked away from each other, she going back to talking with the blond boy, I looking down on my now empty tray, slightly embarrassed that I had been caught staring.

Wait a minute, gold? Shouldn't their eyes be red? That's odd…Oh! I get it! They must be one of those 'vegetarian' clans Clarissa told me about. They feed only on animals, like we do.

I felt something poking lightly at my mental shields and immediately strengthened them. Who's trying to get into my mind? Probably one of the vampires. The small girl, maybe? What are their names, I wonder?

I turned back to Angela who had a knowing smile on her face.

"What are you looking at?" Jessica asked, pushing out her chest and batting her eyes. She looked over in the direction I'd been staring and seemed to deflate a bit. "Oh," she said, a bit disappointed. "Those are the Cullens. The big one is Emmet Cullen, the blondes are Rosalie and Jasper Hale, the little one is Alice Cullen, and the other boy is Edward Cullen. They moved here, like, two years ago from somewhere in Alaska. Their father's a doctor who works at the local hospital."

Did I ask? But still… a doctor, huh? He must have amazing bloodlust control for a job like that. I was impressed, to say the least. "That's nice."

The poke on my mental blocks was getting stronger, turning into more of a push.

"Yeah, I guess." She must have thought I was thinking of making a move on one of them or something (which you so are, my subconscious added) because she quickly added, "Don't even bother, though. They're all together. Like, together. Rosalie and Emmet and Alice and Jasper. I'm not even sure that's legal," She said with envy in her voice.

So Edward is the only one who's still un-mated, huh? Interesting… I imagine that must get annoying, though, I thought.

"They aren't actually related, Jess," Lauren said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, yeah, but they live together, it's weird."

"I'm guessing that they're adopted," I said, curious despite myself. I don't like gossip, but I needed to know as much as I could about the five potential threats sitting across the room.

The pressure on my shields grew strong, giving me a bit of a headache. I rubbed my forehead for a moment, trying to alleviate some of the pressure.

"Yeah, they are. Well, Rosalie and Jasper are twins. Mrs. Cullen is, like, their aunt or something. Doctor and Mrs. Cullen are both really young still, like in their twenties or thirties or something, but they adopted them when the five of them were, like, little kids." She said that as though it was a bad thing.

"That's so nice of them. To take care of so many children like that, even when they're so young themselves," I said, secretly thinking; And now I realize why she rubbed me the wrong way – this girl is a huge bitch. A huge gossiping bitch. I wonder if anyone would mind if I punch her? Then again, probably not the best of ideas in a room full of human witnesses and hungry vampires. I wonder how old these vamps really are, anyway. The doctor is probably at least a hundred years old if he is able to resist the temptation of human blood so easily.

The push on my mental shields got stronger still. The pain made my skull throb dully. I wish whoever is doing that would just give up, I thought, rubbing my head again.

Jessica frowned. "I guess." I got the feeling she didn't like the Cullens too much. From the looks of her, she had probably asked one of them out and got turned down. Ha ha, serves you right, bitch. "I don't think Mrs. Cullen can have kids, though. That's probably why they adopted so many," she said, condemnation in her voice.

My blood began to boil. Okay, that's it. I turned my head and glared at her, causing her to do a bit of a double take. When I spoke my voice was hard, furious. "So what? It's none of my damn business whether or not she is infertile and it certainly isn't any of yours either. Besides which, since when does sterility suddenly make you a bad person? And did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, they adopted those kids out of the goodness of their hearts?"

The pressure on my mind let up a bit, then came back ten-fold.

Fuck, that hurts!

I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking a bit. I hadn't hunted recently so my energy was low and the push on my mental shields was stronger than anything I'd ever felt. All it wanted was for me to give in, to drop the barriers. Just as I was about to give in, I stood up, careful to keep at a human pace as I threw my trash away and stalked out into the cool air of the outside world. The pressure let up as I got further away from the hall, stopping completely by the time I got to the picnic tables.

I sighed, flopping into one of them. Well, at least it's stopped raining. For now, I thought, looking up at the clouds looming above. Suddenly realizing that I'd forgotten my bag in the cafeteria, I groaned. Aw, great.

As I was contemplating whether or not I should go back and get it, someone cleared their throat. I looked up to see Angela.

I smiled. "Hey."

She smiled back uncertainly. "Hey. I'm sorry about Jessica. She's kind of a…"

"Bitch?"

Angela gave a shy smile, taking a seat on the other side of the bench. "I was going for 'gossip queen' but that works, too."

Suddenly, my bag was dropped onto the table with a dull THUNK.

A small girl with a curly bob of dark hair and bright blue-green eyes stood at the foot of the table, staring at us. Stylishly ripped baggy jeans, a green tee shirt, and a white sweatshirt adorned her petite body. I recognized her from my English and Spanish classes.

"Um, hi," I said.

"Hi! I'm Krystal Bates," she said, holding out her hand.

I looked at it for a minute before shaking the offered appendage. "Hey. I'm-"

"Lucas Evans. I know."

I smiled. "Actually, no. I'm Luka Evans, not Lucas Evans. Thank you for getting my bag, though. I was sort of dreading having to go back in there."

She nodded, sitting down across from me, next to Angela. "Sure. It's the least I can do after what you said to that bitch, Jessica."

I laughed. "Oh, good, so it wasn't just me," I said.

She shook her head. "Uh-uh. Trust me, most people know she's a bitch but they let it go 'cause she and Lauren have most of the jocks and teachers on their sides."

Angela nodded her agreement.

"Goody," I grumbled. "First day of school and already the queen bee is out to get me."

Angela smiled sympathetically and Krystal shrugged just as the bell rang. "Yes!" she exclaimed, punching her fist in the air. At my look, she explained, "I've got biology next. I love bio!"

"I have bio next, too," I said with a smile.

"Seriously? Oh, awesome! C'mon, we'll show you the way," She said, getting up.

"We?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Angela as she stood along with us.

She nodded. "Krystal and I are lab partners."

"Cool," I said, falling into step between them. We earned ourselves quite a few looks, the rumor mills already going strong.

Suddenly, Krystal looked a bit unsure. "Actually, you might want to get someone else to show you the way. I'm not especially…well-liked in this school. AKA you might end up getting yourself shunned just by walking with me."

"It won't do me any harm. After I followed you out just now, Jessica's probably trashing me, too," Angela said, biting her lip.

I lifted a brow and weaved my arms through one of Krystal's and one of Angela's. "Girls, I have never gone out of my to be popular in any of my old schools. Why in the hell would I start now?"

The two girls laughed.

I brought the slip of paper up to Mr. Banner when we got there. He signed it, handed me a book, and pointed me to the only empty seat. Next to the one and only Edward Cullen. I sighed, knowing that he and his siblings had probably heard the whole conversation at lunch. Of course.

"I'll see you later, girls," I said as they took their seats in the front row.

"See ya," Krystal said with a wave and a smile.

Angela smiled, too, as she said, "Bye."

I slid into my seat, noting that my partner was also fairly tense. He was leaning as far away from me as possible, hands clutching at the table like a lifeline. I peaked at him out of the corner of my eyes to find that his eyes were also on me.

Bad move.

I found myself forgetting to breath as I was suddenly enthralled, falling into the deep, dark lakes of his eyes. Every fiber of my being suddenly seemed to want to be close with him in any and every way possible. Nothing else mattered, only him. Only us. I wanted to reach out and map the planes of his perfect, snow white face with my hand, down his neck, his chest, his waist, his – Okay, do NOT go there! I scolded myself. The emotions further darkening his eyes told me he felt it as well. The irresistible pull. But, there was something else in those eyes, too. Frustration? Hatred? Anger? What the hell?

Edward's eyes tore away from mine and I forced myself to look away, back down at the desk. I took a deep, ragged breath and realized my stomach was tingling, a strange feeling I had never before experienced. I frowned, placing a hand over my stomach.

Am I getting sick or something?

Then suddenly, that same presence from the cafeteria was there, in my mind, pushing at my mental shields, trying with all its might to knock them down. I could feel his heavy gaze and knew without a doubt that the presence was him. He was trying to get inside my mind. He somehow had the ability to get inside others minds in the first place. He was starting to give me one hell of a headache.

I braced myself, letting the shields down just long enough to think one thought. You know, it's kinda rude to attempt to invade somebody's mind without getting their permission first, I thought, annoyed. With that, I put my shields back up.

I smirked a bit at the sharp intake of breath beside me, turning my head to get a better look at his face. He was obviously shocked. Irritation and confusion flitted across his eyes, his perfect face still expressionless. That face. What I would give to get the chance to draw him. I wonder if he would model for me. Maybe a nude model? I mentally slapped myself and pushed those thoughts aside for now, forcing myself to look at Mr. Banner as the bell rang again, signaling the beginning of class.

He wrote the topic of the day at the top of the board. CELLULAR ANATOMY. A topic I already had memorized. I pretended to take notes anyway, once more drawing in my notebook. I was careful not to look over at the boy next to me. I could feel his gaze whenever it turned on me, burning holes straight through to my soul. The heat of that gaze alone caused me to shiver more than once.

After a half hour, I couldn't take it anymore. I peeked up at him, hoping he wouldn't catch me.

Of course, he did anyway.

His eyes, now coal black, bore into mine. His face was impassive, but his eyes told all he was feeling; confusion, curiosity, lust … but also anger and fear. The lust had me shivering with want but the anger and the fear confused me.

My brow furrowed, I asked in a voice too low for a human to hear. "What did I do? Why are you so…angry with me?"

He looked away, towards the blackboard. I sighed, knowing he wasn't going to answer me just yet, and went back to drawing mindlessly, not really paying attention to what my pencil was doing. When I glanced back up a moment later, he was staring at my paper, a myriad of expressions in his eyes.

I frowned. "What?" I followed his line of sight. I soon realized what he'd been looking at and found myself flushing. The picture I had been drawing was a portrait. Of him. Horrified, I quickly flipped to a new page, my face tomato red. I was sure even my hair was blushing by now.

I refused to look at him as I started on a new picture, this time actually paying attention to what I was doing. I drew who I always drew when I was confused; my family. I started off with Clarissa and Jacqueline. The image of them from last year's New Year's party floated into the forefront of my mind. They were slow dancing, holding each other close. Clarissa had her head in the junction of Jacqueline's throat and shoulder while Jacqueline rested her cheek atop Clarissa's head. I was just starting to draw some of the decorations around them when I accidentally pushed my eraser off the desk with my elbow. I was going to catch it but a smooth, pale hand beat me to it. Slowly, I reached out and took the eraser, but the hand still didn't move. I followed the hand and arm with my eyes up to Edward Cullen's face, so close to mine I could smell the sweetness of his breath. Edward's eyes met mine and held them. They were still irate but also searching, questioning, and held a hint of something else…something I couldn't begin to decipher…

The splitting sound of the bell ringing brought us back to our senses. Edward Cullen was the first one packed and out of the room.

I stared after him, a bit dumbfounded before letting out a breath I hadn't been aware I'd been holding.

"I can see that went well," Krystal said as she and Angela walked up to me, her brow raised curiously.

I frowned. "Not as well as I'd hoped, I'm afraid." I slung my bag over my shoulder.

"Please tell me you have gym next," Angela pleaded.

I went along with the subject change, thankful for it. "Um, actually I do have gym next. Why?"

"Yes!" Krystal exclaimed. Both girls looked happy.

"Again I ask, why?"

"Both of us have gym next, too," Angela replied, smiling.

I smiled back. "Awesome! So, what are we going to be playing?"

"Volleyball," Krystal said with a shrug. "Not my favorite sport but…"

I nodded. "Same. I like the exercise but I'd choose a different game if it were up to me."

"I'd much rather read or play piano."

My eye brows raised. "You play piano, Angela?"

"Uh-huh. My parents forced me to take lessons when I was younger but I've actually grown to like it."

We reached the gym and I sensed them before I'd even opened the doors. Standing between to doorways to the locker rooms were Edward Cullen and two of his siblings. Per-fucking-fect.

The three of them looked at me as I walked in. I tensed but held my head high and walked over. The small female – Alice, my memory supplied – giggled a bit before going into the girls' locker room, Krystal and Angela not far behind her. Alice's mate and Edward watched me as I walked. I felt that gaze on me as I walked by. At least these jeans make my ass look good, I couldn't help but think.

I walked over to Coach Clapp. He held out a pile of clothing – maroon sweat pants and a yellow tank top.

Ugh. Yellow is so not my color, I thought with a bit of distaste.

"There's your uniform," Coach Clapp stated. "Now, I realize today was probably a bit stressful. Therefore, I am giving you the option to sit out for this class."

I blinked. "Actually, sir, I would prefer it if you would allow me to play. I think the exercise would be helpful in relieving some of my stress, sir."

The coach looked flattered at the 'sir's. "Well, if that's how you feel, go change quick, or we'll start without you."

I smiled at him. "Yes, sir."

I human-ran over to the door of the locker rooms and was about to reach out and open it when it swung open. Of course, there stood Edward and his brother, fully in uniform. We just sort of stood there for a moment, having a three way staring contest. His sweat pants rode low on his hips, leaving a thin strip of pale skin naked in between them and the small yellow top. Now that he was in that tight, sleeveless shirt, I could clearly see the muscle definition Edward had. I stared at him unabashedly. Wow. This guy is…wow. No one should look so good in sweats and a god-awful yellow tank top, but he...geezums.

"Are you going to stand there all day or can I pass?" I asked, trying to get the image of what Edward might look like out of his clothes out of my mind.

The other male – Jasper, I finally remembered – seemed to get his wits about him first, stepping aside. Edward was still standing there, though, and I brushed by him on my way through the door. A shiver made its way down my spine as our arms touched. I could feel his cold even through the fabric of my jacket and shirt. I had been touched by vampires before, of course, but this was different. Instead of just being plain cold, Edward was…electric. That was the only way to describe how his touch felt. Electric.

I gulped and forced my now shaking legs to walk. I changed as quickly as I could, not bothering to keep the human façade in an empty locker room. I could look worse, I thought as I snuck a quick peek at the mirror. The faded sweat pants were baggy and the tank top was a bit too tight.

By the time I got back into the main room, everyone had already split into partners. I noticed that everyone was paired up boy-girl. To my dismay, I saw that Krystal and Angela already had partners – Angela with Eric and Krystal with a boy I had yet to meet.

"Evans!" Coach Clapp called me over.

"Yes, sir?" I asked, very conscious of the fact that Edward was standing right next to him.

"Most of what we do in this class is going to be in partners or groups. At the beginning of the year, everyone picked a partner. Cullen, here, has been working with his siblings because of the odd number of people, but now that you're here, you two are going to be partners. We clear?"

Fate has seriously got it in for me, hasn't she?

I looked over at Edward. After a moment hesitation, he gave a curt nod and walked over to his siblings.

"Crystal, sir," I replied, still watching Edward.

I human-jogged over to where Edward and his siblings were standing. To my surprise, his sister held out her hand as Coach Clapp went over the plan for the day.

"Hello! This is Jasper and I'm Alice, as you already know," she smiled, gesturing to herself and her mate with the hand she wasn't holding out. She really did remind me of a pixie.

Well, at least one of them is friendly. I shook her hand firmly. "Hey. I'm Luka. Although, you probably already know that."

She smiled, dropping my hand. "Yep. But it's nice to finally have a proper introduction."

I quirked a brow, raising it higher when I saw the glare Edward was shooting his sister.

"Alice," he said in a warning tone.

His voice alone had heat pooling in my lower regions. Oh, that voice. I suddenly found myself very glad for the bagginess of my sweat pants.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, lighten up, Edward." Alice turned back to me. "We are going to be great friends."

I smiled. I liked this girl. "You seem so sure."

The smile was returned with a grin. "I am."

"Okay!" Coach Clapp yelled. "Here are the groups for today: Newton and Stanley vs. Bates and Bates, Webber and Yorkie vs. McNabb and Dowling, Marshal and Richardson vs. Garnet and Crowley, Cullen and Cullen vs. Cullen and Evans. Grab a ball, pick a court and go!"

Alice and Edward were the ones closest to the net while Jasper stood behind Alice and I stood behind Edward.

Alice grinned at us through the net. "Good luck boys," she said as she served the ball.

I was pretty… distracted the whole game and ended up not scoring too many points. By the end of the hour, the game was tied 3-3. Although, if the four of us hadn't been putting up the whole human charade, I was pretty sure Alice and Jasper would have won.

Coach Clapp blew his whistle and yelled, "Okay, everyone, hit the showers!"

Not breathing any harder than usual, I walked up to the net and grinned at our opponents. "Good game," I said, holding out my hand.

Alice smiled and shook it. Her eyes flickered to where her brother stood behind me and her smile widened before she danced off to the locker room, Jasper going as well. I turned around to see Edward looking directly at me. The look in his eyes…hunger. There was hunger in those black eyes, and I knew it wasn't only for blood.

Suddenly, the irritation was back, pushing the hunger away. His lids cut off my view as they closed tightly, fists clenching at his sides. Without a word, he turned and stalked off into the locker room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I knew it. He feels it too. But why? We've only just met. We shouldn't being feeling so… And that was where my thought process stopped. Because I didn't really know what to call this feeling. Attraction? Yes, that was there, but it was more, so much stronger than just something purely physical. What puzzled me even more, though, was the annoyance. What could I have possibly done to make him so angry with me?

As I pondered this, I walked into the locker rooms and stripped down, taking my time in putting back on my clothes. The other boys hurriedly changed into their casual clothes, eager for the end of the day. By the time I was done, everyone else had left, but I could still feel the presence of the three vampires in the gym. After a few more minutes of waiting, they left as well.

I walked up the path to the front office to drop off the annoyingly pink paper. I was able to feel his presence before I was even half way there. That's strange. I didn't notice it before but I can sense him from farther away than I can most others.

By the time I got to the door, I got the general gist of why he was there. He was talking to Ms. Cope in a low, sultry voice that immediately had all my blood rushing south. The topic of conversation, however, had it stopping cold. Edward was trying to get his sixth and seventh period classes switched to something else – anything else. Ms. Cope, flustered, told him that she was sorry but there wasn't anything left for those two periods, everything else was full.

Deciding I'd heard enough, I opened the door and walked right in, making sure my arm made contact with Edward's as I leaned against the counter. Electricity shivered through my body. "Here's that paper you wanted, Ms. Cope," I said, handing her the hot pink slip while trying to keep my voice warm and my smile steady as my arm brushed against Edward's. I turned to face the very tense vampire, keeping my voice conversational as I said, "Oh, hello, Edward. I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?" I felt him stiffen further beside me. His gaze met mine and I let my eyes show that, yes, I had heard what he'd said and, yes, I was pissed as all hell. His eyes narrowed before he whirled around and walked out without a word. I turned back to Ms. Cope. "Well, that was odd. Hope I didn't offend him. Good day, Ms. Cope."

The woman nodded with a vague smile. Even without the ability to read minds, I could tell she was thinking about Edward. I walked out and over to the student parking lot.

What the fuck was that all about? Does he really hate me that much? What the hell!

I could still feel his presence as I walked, seething, to my car. The closer to my car I got, the stronger it grew. Oh great. What is he, waiting for me in my own car? As I got closer, I noticed that I could now sense all five of the vamps in close proximity to one another. I looked around the parking lot and my eyes came to rest on the silver Volvo I had parked next to. Sitting inside were none other than – Drum roll, please! – the Cullens. Okay, seriously? I'm all for coincidences but this is starting to get a little creepy. I feel like I'm in one of those 'boys love' novels that Hana reads sometimes.

You mean the BL novels you and Hana read, sometimes, my subconscious reminded me.

Oh, shut up.

I could feel gazes on me as I got into my car. The Volvo started up and peeled out before I even had time to turn on the radio and blast the heat.

That asshole! I thought to myself as I drove out. I haven't been here a full day and he seems like he's already decided he hates me! What the fuck! I took a deep breath, closing my eyes briefly. I mentally relived my day, trying to find something that I'd done that might make him dislike me.

Maybe it was what I said at lunch? No, that can't be it. I defended one of his clan. That should make him like me, if anything.

At this point, I had arrived back home. I shrugged out of my jacket and threw it over the back of one of the living room couches. I grabbed an apple Izze from the mini-fridge and plopped down on the couch, still thinking.

Maybe he was irritated because we were talking about them in the first place? I asked myself, sipping the bubbly drink. I leaned forwards, putting my elbows on my legs as I stared at the glass bottle as though it could give me all the answers. I sighed, running a hand through my shaggy hair.

…Why do I care so much about what this guy thinks of me, anyway? He's one guy. And it's not like he's given me much of a reason to! Sure, he's sexy as hell, but he also obviously doesn't want anything to do with me…I'm probably just an annoyance to him. Just yet another fucker throwing themselves at his feet. Great, now instead of angry and confused, I'm depressed and confused. I gulped down half of the fruity soda before placing it on the coffee table in front of me.

I picked up my remote, flopping back and flipping on the TV, hoping to distract myself. Nothing good was on so I ended up watching some CSI reruns.

At about a quarter to six, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I picked up. "Yeah?"

"Hello, Luka!"

I smiled. "Hey, Clarissa. How are you?"

"Oh, just fine, dear. What about you? Today was your first day of school, correct?"

I sighed. "Yeah, yeah it was."

"Uh-oh. I know that tone. Something happened." It wasn't a question.

"It's nothing."

I heard a sigh on the other end. Clarissa said something I couldn't make out before a new voice reached my ear.

"What's up?" Jacqueline asked.

"It's nothing," I repeated, getting irritated. Did Clarissa honestly think I would do anything if she put Jacqueline on the phone?

"If it was nothing, Clarissa wouldn't have put me on. Now, what happened?"

I huffed irritably, running my hand through my hair again. "…it's really stupid. Not even worth your time."

"…Fine, then. We love you. If you need to talk about it, we'll be here. Until then, bye."

I frowned. "Wait, what?" But it was too late, she'd already hung up. That was…weird…usually she'd keep pushing…and she never hangs up on me unless she's mad…

I contemplated her behavior, wondering if I'd upset her.

An explosion from the television brought me out of my musings. I sighed. No matter how long I live with them, I doubt I'll ever understand girls.

I flipped the TV off and walked to the kitchen to start on dinner. I dug my iPod out of my pockets and plugged it into the dock, turning all my songs on shuffle. Green Day blared from the speakers and I smiled.