Disclaimer- Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight

Chapter 1

I kept my eyes fixed on the clock as the hands made another unforgiving trek around the face. Mrs Narcol peered at me once again over her glasses the lines of her face drawn in with wrinkles. I smiled.

My hands held a thin sheen of sweat and I wringed them together anxiously. Mum had been in with Principle Sharp for half an hour and although I had been telling myself that no news was 'good' news; who was I kidding! No news was definitely bad news. Mr Sharp was ruthless and unfortunately I had been on his hit list for too long. I knew it and I'm pretty sure even Mrs Narcol knew it, my time was up.

I could hear mumbled voices and I forced my shaking hands into my pockets to hide them as Mum emerged from the Principles office. They shook hands formally said their good byes and then turned to look at me.

Crap.

Mum's eyes were stained red and the left seemed to bulge; I cringed back into the plastic chair, willing myself to fall through straight into the ground. Placing a gentle hand onto her seven month old pregnant belly, my mother, Mrs Jenny Wheeler stormed straight past me; silent tears streaking her face.

Grabbing my rucksack from the floor I trailed after Mum. She remained silent as we walked out of St Bridget's High NYC and towards the car. Thankfully the rest of the school was in fifth period so I managed to avoid the shouts and sniggers of my classmates as I climbed into the car.

I steeled myself for the explosion that is sure to follow as mum put the car into drive. Three, two, one,

"Expelled. You got expelled!" Mum screamed, "How could you be so stupid?" I opened my mouth to reply when mum sent me her death glare.

"That was a rhetorical question Zoe. Five schools in two years, you're seventeen years old; how much longer are you going to keep acting like a child for."

"It wasn't my fault," I protested, we'd had the same conversation multiple times that my response was futile and mum knew it, I'd given up explaining myself, just like she'd given up listening to me.

"That's what you say every time. How can the chemistry lab accidentally set its self on fire? It's not possible Zoe!"

"I can't explain it! I didn't do it." Frustration was laced like poison in my voice and I crossed my arms over my chest exasperated.

"I just don't know what to do with you, once your little sister arrives this can't continue, I can't cope Zoe; you're running John and me into the ground." Mum rubbed another hand over her stomach, her voice sounded so sad. I knew John- my step-dad- was running out of patience with me and I wasn't surprised, but it honestly wasn't my fault. Things just kept happening and I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Call it karma or fate or whatever the hell you want but it definitely wasn't my fault.

The journey home took longer than expected and the tension within the Lexus only seemed to grow more and more prominent.

I didn't know what to say. I knew I should apologise but every time I went to open my mouth it became think with lead. I couldn't apologise for something I didn't do…it wasn't in my nature.

Eventually, we made it to our house on Long Island. John's car was parked like a statue in the driveway and I braced myself for his wrath. It was still hot for early September and I could feel the air wrap its tentacles around me as I walked towards the door.

We lived on Suffolk County, Long Island, NY. After I got expelled from my third school, Mum and John thought it would be a good idea to remove me from our apartment in the central city and buy a house on Long Island. The house was nice, it backed onto the beach and was quiet, peaceful, but it didn't feel like home. Ever since I turned seventeen in the summer, John's bad moods had increased towards me. He and my mum had married two years ago and now she was knocked up with my replacement. I was thrilled.

I opened the door and was greeted by the not so lovely face of John. His frown deepened at the sight of me, his eyebrows falling so low they covered his dark brown- basically black- soulless eyes.

"Alight Johnny," I sang, putting on my sweetest smile as I strode past him into the kitchen.

"Does she think this is funny, Jenny?' I heard John shout at my mum. It made the hairs on the back of my neck rise to her him speak to my mum like that but I swallowed the vile in my throat. I could hear his thunderous footsteps as he followed me into the kitchen. Grabbing a soda from the fridge I turned to face him.

John had been and always would be a bully. A great big hulk of a man who loved power. His stature and demeanour oozed control and quite frankly it pissed me off. He wasn't necessarily a big man, standing at 5ft 9, I was only an inch smaller than him but it was mum I worried about. Her sweet disposition and slight frame of 5ft 4 was no match for John.

My eyes flicked between the two of them. Mums gentle blue eyes staring at me sadly as she rubbed her unborn baby with one hand and pushed some stray golden strands of hair from her face with the other and John who glared at me, his thick broad shoulders consuming the kitchen.I almost felt scared. Almost.

"Your mother and I have been talking about this for a while now and we feel like you've left us with no other choice,' John started, his voice surrounding me like ice. I could feel my muscles begin to tense as every worst case scenario flashed in front of my mind. But nothing could prepare me for what came next. Nothing.

It seemed I had banished all thoughts of this ever happening out of mind, how foolish I was. Stupid Zoe, I mentally scorned myself as John opened his mouth and the worst scenario ever, came tumbling out.

"Pack your bags Zoe Elizabeth Swan, you're moving to Forks."

…

A/N- Favourite, alert, review, it would be great to hear from you :)