Bella looked at her absolutely soaked book and sighed. Another day, another book ruined, by another bully. She hated this school, all the people in it were arrogant and uneducated pigs; she couldn't wait to get out of there! She wished she still lived in sunny Phoenix, with the sun beating unrestrainedly at the back of her neck and the people who were unfailingly friendly. The only plus side about living in the ever-rainy town of Forks was the fact that she had two amazing friends, Rosalie and Jasper Hale. They were twins, and yet you would never be able to find two people more dissimilar, not in looks, but in personality and demeanour.

Jasper was tall, a good foot and three inches bigger than Bella. He had curly dirty blond hair which framed his face, a surprising amount of freckles and a strong southern accent. His eyes were a clear strong blue, his eyelashes thick and long. He had lithe muscles that were lightly highlighted by the snug fitting band tops he was so fond of wearing. He was the goalie for the school soccer team. He also wore about fifty bracelets on his right wrist permanently, each one with it's own little story as to how he came to acquire it. You would've thought his easy-going nature, money and good looks would've made him one of the most popular guys in town – wrong. Because he was adopted and new in town, he was therefore an outcast; something that he didn't really seem to mind.

Rosalie was also tall, naturally but also because she wore the most high heels in Forks. She was also absolutely stunning. Her golden blonde hair fell in soft waves to her lower back, just brushing the top of her bum. Her skin had a permanent sunkissed glow, something unattainable if you lived in Forks and yet somehow she had one, and it was natural. Her eyes were a curious mix of green and blue, but big and also framed by long blonde lashes, which she covered in mascara anyway. She was never seen without wearing her signature red lipstick; and her red Aston Martin DB9 hardtop convertible made many of the male residents of Forks drool. She had a barely there Southern accent, and was one of the most talkative and outspoken people anyone had ever met. She was fairly popular, being a flier on the cheer leading squad and dating the best striker on the soccer team, but her protectiveness and loyalty to Bella and Jasper stopped her from being Miss Popular.

Bella was completely different to the other thirds of the trio. She was small, not sporty in the slightest, and was nearly always seen with a book in her hand. Her hair was such a dark brown it was almost black, and fell ramrod straight down her back to reach the same length as Rosalie's. Her light brown eyes were always covered with her maroon glasses. She had a small nose, small lips and was unbelievably pale. She wasn't toned like Rosalie, rather slightly dumpy. But she didn't mind about her weight, not in the slightest. Her dad was the Chief of Police, Charlie Swan, and, like him, she was emotionally inept. Even though she loved reading her intelligence wasn't top of the class in Maths or Science. She wore make up often, foundation, liquid eye liner and mascara her custom. She had recently moved to Forks, which made her, of course, an outcast. When she'd arrived, she had been utterly alone until lunch had rolled around and the Hale twins had sat at the empty table with her. They'd been inseparable since.

Bella sighed and walked to her locker. When she arrived there, Rosalie and Jasper were waiting for her with identical grins on their faces, Jasper with his hands behind his back. Rose was wearing black jeans and a red blouse with red heels. Jasper was wearing tight maroon jeans, his navy v-neck t-shirt and grey vans.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY BELLA!" They chorused. Bella rolled her eyes but was secretly pleased. This was the first 'Happy Birthday' she'd received today; Charlie had still been in bed by the time she'd left. He was working night shifts at the moment.

"Thanks guys," She grinned. Jasper's arm swung round, a present clutched in his large hand. With the other hand he ruffled Bella's hair and then gave her the wrapped parcel.

"Hope you like it," He said in his Southern twang.

Bella started to unwrap, "Knowing you guys it's sure to be something ridi- Oh my gosh! You didn't!"

Rosalie grinned, "We did!"

Bella opened the jewellery box, and gently took out the silver locket. It was engraved:

diligo est eternus

She opened it and sure enough was the picture of her grandma on one half and her uncle James, who died only a year earlier.

She looked up at her friends with watery eyes, "Thank you so much!" she whispered. They went into their usual three personed hug when a voice interrupted, a voice that was velvety smooth yet cut like a knife through their happiness.

"Oh look, it's Issy's birthday! Got her another book that she can stick her abnormally large nose into? Perhaps you could get her a diet book, help her to shift a bit of that weight, hey?"

Edward Cullen sneered, hatred filling his cold emerald eyes.