Hey everyone. A new Twilight story for you all. I've been tossing this idea around for a while now and have spent the day writing 6,000 plus words of AU. Hope you enjoy, please read and review.


Chapter 1

It was raining when I arrived. This didn't surprise me. Auntie Lucy had warned me that it hardly ever stopped. Having moved to Forks, Washington from Manchester, England almost two years ago, she has spent those years complaining about the very similar weather conditions. I wouldn't have to adjust to changes in weather, which was perhaps the only bright side to this move. The move to Forks from Dorset was definitely not my idea; however, it had been forced on me and there was nothing I could do about it - I had, in fact, seen it coming. This didn't stop the resentment building, no matter how hard I tried to stop it.

I pushed these thoughts out of my mind as I walked out of the glass doors of Port Angeles' small airport. I saw my Aunt immediately - she was standing at the end of the shelter provided by the airport building, her large, black Range Rover haphazardly parked against the curb nearby.

"Alex!" She shouted to me and I could only just hear her over the downpour.

"Auntie!" I made my way over to her as quickly as I could whilst still lugging all my bags behind me. I dropped them without hesitation, though, to wrap my arms around Lucy as she embraced me. I leant into it fully, finding the comfort that I didn't even know I needed in it.

"I'm so glad you're here" She told me as she let me go, leaning down to grab most of the bags I'd dropped. I nodded at her, grabbing my last few pieces of luggage and following her to the car, heaving them into the boot as quickly as possible in the hopes that the rain wouldn't soak me through. Settling into the passenger seat soon after, I finger-combed my hair, relieved to find that whilst it was damp, it would be dry by the time we completed the hour-long drive to Forks.

"We've set up the basics of your room." My Aunt told me and I jumped at the sudden start to conversation. "Tim's got a few hours free tomorrow to take you to the local store and get the paint colour you want and some bedsheets." Tim has been her husband for over thirty years now and, whilst a quiet man, was nice enough.

"Thanks, Lucy. I appreciate it. I've got some money to deck out my room as well." I told her.

"Oh, no need for that. We can afford for you to decorate your room how you want." I wanted to protest, but knew that it would come to nothing and that I could just sneak in a few of my own purchases tomorrow.

The conversation tapered after that, with the only noise in the car coming mainly from the radio. We'd done much of the talking and arranging on the phone and over e-mail the last few weeks and had little to talk about because of it. I didn't mind.

We pulled up outside my new home soon enough. It was a fair-sized building with two floors. Carrying most of my bags through the house, Auntie Lucy pointed out the kitchen as the first room after the short hallway that led to the front door. The kitchen was large, with marble counter-tops and all white appliances. There was a rectangular, white wood table just visible in a small room next to the kitchen, connected through a large arch. Past the kitchen was a small bathroom and just past that was the living room. It was large, with a cream corner sofa and a matching arm chair. There was a large TV mounted on the wall opposite.

Going upstairs was an exercise, I discovered, whilst carrying so many bags, but we eventually made it. There were three bedrooms on this floor. The master bedroom, facing the side of the house, was my Aunts and Uncles. The smallest bedroom, which was also fairly large, held a king-sized bed already made - a guest room, ready for my cousins when they visit. The last room was my room and it faced the back garden and the surrounding forest. The walls were a boring cream and I was looking forwards to painting them my own colour. There was a wooden desk set underneath a large window. The double bed was set up in the middle of the room and along the far wall was a large dresser and a wardrobe. Smiling, I turned to look at my aunt, who was putting my bags on the bed.

"Thanks Auntie Lou. I love it." I meant it, as well. She beamed at me.

"Alright. Your bathroom is that door" She pointed to the left of my door. "Me and Tim have our own, so don't worry about sharing." She walked towards the door. "It's getting pretty late. Tim's getting take-away on his way home and I'll call up for you when he gets here, alright?"

"Yeah, ok. Thanks, Lou."

She smiled at me one last time before leaving the room, closing the door softly behind her. Finally alone, I walked to my new bed, pushed the bags off it and fell face forward into the pillows. And then I feel asleep.


I started school in Monday and I was dreading it. Walking into the office that morning, I greeted a red-headed older woman that was sat behind the main desk. A name tag declared her 'Mrs Cope'.

"Hello deary. A new student, ey? Well, let's see. You aren't Isabella, you look nothing like the Chief. Aha, must be Alexandra. Your Aunt registered you just the other week. Let's see, I have your timetable around here somewhere..."

I let the woman ramble on, only taking notice of the fact that I wasn't the only new student starting today.

"Aha, here you go."

I shook myself out of my thoughts as Mrs Cope held out a packet of papers to me. I was careful not to touch her fingers with mine and took the packet quickly. Flicking through them, I found a schedule, a map and what looked like a sign-in sheet.

"I've highlighted the best routes to each of your classes, the library and the cafeteria. Your teachers all need to sign that sheet and can you bring it back here at the end of day."

"Thank you, Mrs Cope."

"You're welcome, deary. Have a good day."

I smiled and turned back to leave the office. As I was doing so, I bumped into another girl coming in. She was a bit taller than me, with long brunette hair and matching eyes. Our hands brushed.

I didn't even bother smiling, let alone introducing myself, as I rushed to the nearest bathroom. It still took too long. By the time I reached an empty stall, I couldn't see in front of me. All I could see was a slim girl with brunette hair and matching eyes.

*My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. I was wearing my favorite shirt — sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka.

In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds. It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother

escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead.

It was to Forks that I now exiled myself— an action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks.

I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and the blistering heat. I loved the vigorous, sprawling city.

"Bella," my mom said to me — the last of a thousand times — before I got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."

My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself? Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still…

"I want to go," I lied. I'd always been a bad liar, but I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now.

"Tell Charlie I said hi."*

I took a deep breath as it flashed through my head, the grimy walls of the school bathroom swimming into my vision before it disappeared again.

*"So, in plain English, are we friends now?"

"Friends…" he mused, dubious.

"Or not," I muttered.

He grinned. "Well, we can try, I suppose. But I'm warning you now that I'm not a good friend for you."

Behind his smile, the warning was real.

"You say that a lot," I noted, trying to ignore the sudden trembling in my stomach and keep my voice even.

"Yes, because you're not listening to me. I'm still waiting for you to believe it. If you're smart, you'll avoid me."

"I think you've made your opinion on the subject of my intellect clear, too." My eyes narrowed.

He smiled apologetically.

"So, as long as I'm being… not smart, we'll try to be friends?" I struggled to sum up the confusing exchange.

"That sounds about right."

I looked down at my hands wrapped around the lemonade bottle, not sure what to do now.

"What are you thinking?" he asked curiously.

I looked up into his deep gold eyes, became befuddled, and, as usual, blurted out the truth.

"I'm trying to figure out what you are."

His jaw tightened, but he kept his smile in place with some effort.

"Are you having any luck with that?" he asked in an offhand tone.

"Not too much," I admitted.

He chuckled. "What are your theories?"

I blushed. I had been vacillating during the last month between Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker. There was no way I was going to own up to that.

"Won't you tell me?" he asked, tilting his head to one side with a shockingly tempting smile.

I shook my head. "Too embarrassing."

"That's really frustrating, you know," he complained.

"No," I disagreed quickly, my eyes narrowing, "I can't imagine why that would be frustrating at all — just because someone refuses to tell you what they're thinking, even if all the while they're making cryptic little remarks specifically designed to keep you up at night wondering what they could possibly mean… now, why would that be frustrating?"

He grimaced.

"Or better," I continued, the pent-up annoyance flowing freely now, "say that person also did a wide range of bizarre things — from saving your life under impossible circumstances one day to treating you like a pariah the next, and he never explained any of that, either, even after he promised. That, also, would be very non-frustrating."

"You've got a bit of a temper, don't you?"

"I don't like double standards." We stared at each other, unsmiling.

He glanced over my shoulder, and then, unexpectedly, he snickered.

"What?"

"Your boyfriend seems to think I'm being unpleasant to you — he's debating whether or not to come break up our fight." He snickered again.

"I don't know who you're talking about," I said frostily. "But I'm sure you're wrong, anyway."

"I'm not. I told you, most people are easy to read."

"Except me, of course."

"Yes. Except for you." His mood shifted suddenly; his eyes turned brooding. "I wonder why that is."

I had to look away from the intensity of his stare. I concentrated on unscrewing the lid of my lemonade. I took a swig, staring at the table without seeing it.

"Aren't you hungry?" he asked, distracted.

"No." I didn't feel like mentioning that my stomach was already full — of butterflies. "You?" I looked at the empty table in front of him.

"No, I'm not hungry." I didn't understand his expression — it looked like he was enjoying some private joke.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked after a second of hesitation.

He was suddenly wary. "That depends on what you want."

"It's not much," I assured him.

He waited, guarded but curious.*

I gasped for breath, bringing my hand up to grab at the toilet seats, not enough into reality to care about how dirty it was.

*Edward in the sunlight was shocking. I couldn't get used to it, though I'd been staring at him all afternoon.

His skin, white despite the faint flush from yesterday's hunting trip, literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface. He lay perfectly still in the grass, his shirt open over his sculpted, incandescent chest, his scintillating arms bare. His glistening, pale lavender lids were shut, though of course he didn't sleep. A perfect statue, carved in some unknown stone, smooth like marble, glittering like crystal. Now and then, his lips would move, so fast it looked like they were trembling. But, when I asked, he told me he was singing to himself; it was too low for me to hear.

I enjoyed the sun, too, though the air wasn't quite dry enough for my taste. I would have liked to lie back, as he did, and let the sun warm my face. But I stayed curled up, my chin resting on my knees, unwilling to take my eyes off him. The wind was gentle; it tangled my hair and ruffled the grass that swayed around his motionless form.

The meadow, so spectacular to me at first, paled next to his magnificence.

Hesitantly, always afraid, even now, that he would disappear like a mirage, too beautiful to be real…hesitantly, I reached out one finger and stroked the back of his shimmering hand, where it lay within my reach. I marveled again at the perfect texture, satin smooth, cool as stone. When I looked up again, his eyes were open, watching me. Butterscotch today, lighter, warmer after hunting. His quick smile turned up the corners of his flawless lips.

"I don't scare you?" he asked playfully, but I could hear the real curiosity in his soft voice.

"No more than usual."*

Falling forwards slightly, my cheek landed heavily on the porcelain. My hair fell into my eyes. I was starting to lose feeling in my feet.

*"I would just like to rub it in, just a little bit. The answer was there all along, and I was so afraid Edward would see that and ruin my fun. It happened once, oh, ages ago. The one and only time my prey escaped me.

"You see, the vampire who was so stupidly fond of this little victim made the choice that your Edward was too weak to make. When the old one knew I was after his little friend, he stole her from the asylum where he worked — I never will understand the obsession some vampires seem to form with you humans — and as soon as he freed her he made her safe. She didn't even seem to notice the pain, poor little creature. She'd been stuck in that black hole of a cell for so long. A hundred years earlier and she would have been burned at the stake for her visions. In the nineteen-twenties it was the asylum and the shock treatments. When she opened her eyes, strong with her fresh youth, it was like she'd never seen the sun before. The old vampire made her a strong new vampire, and there was no reason for me to touch her then." He sighed. "I destroyed the old one in vengeance."

"Alice," I breathed, astonished.

"Yes, your little friend. I was surprised to see her in the clearing. So I guess her coven ought to be able to derive some comfort from this experience. I get you, but they get her. The one victim who escaped me, quite an honor, actually.

"And she did smell so delicious. I still regret that I never got to taste… She smelled even better than you do. Sorry — I don't mean to be offensive. You have a very nice smell. Floral, somehow…"

He took another step toward me, till he was just inches away. He lifted a lock of my hair and sniffed at it delicately. Then he gently patted the strand back into place, and I felt his cool fingertips against my throat.

He reached up to stroke my cheek once quickly with his thumb, his face curious. I wanted so badly to run, but I was frozen. I couldn't even flinch away.

"No," he murmured to himself as he dropped his hand, "I don't understand." He sighed. "Well, I suppose we should get on with it. And then I can call your friends and tell them where to find you, and my little message."

I was definitely sick now. There was pain coming, I could see it in his eyes. It wouldn't be enough for him to win, to feed and go. There would be no quick end like I'd been counting on. My knees began to shake, and I was afraid I was going to fall.

He stepped back, and began to circle, casually, as if he were trying to get a better view of a statue in a museum. His face was still open and friendly as he decided where to start.

Then he slumped forward, into a crouch I recognized, and his pleasant smile slowly widened, grew, till it wasn't a smile at all but a contortion of teeth, exposed and glistening.

I couldn't help myself— I tried to run. As useless as I knew it would be, as weak as my knees already were, panic took over and I bolted for the emergency door.

He was in front of me in a flash. I didn't see if he used his hand or his foot, it was too fast. A crushing blow struck my chest — I felt myself flying backward, and then heard the crunch as my head bashed into the mirrors. The glass buckled, some of the pieces shattering and splintering on the floor beside me.

I was too stunned to feel the pain. I couldn't breathe yet.

He walked toward me slowly.

"That's a very nice effect," he said, examining the mess of glass, his voice friendly again. "I thought this room would be visually dramatic for my little film. That's why I picked this place to meet you. It's perfect, isn't it?"

I ignored him, scrambling on my hands and knees, crawling toward the other door.

He was over me at once, his foot stepping down hard on my leg. I heard the sickening snap before I felt it. But then I did feel it, and I couldn't hold back my scream of agony. I twisted up to reach for my leg, and he was standing over me, smiling.

"Would you like to rethink your last request?" he asked pleasantly. His toe nudged my broken leg and I heard a piercing scream. With a shock, I realized it was mine. *

The bell was shrill and I jerked, hitting my head against the toilet.

"Are you alright in there?" A melodic voice called out. They sounded worried.

*"You thought that would be a black tie occasion, did you?" he teased, touching the lapel of his tuxedo jacket.

I scowled to hide my embarrassment. "I don't know how these things work. To me, at least, it seems more rational than prom does." He was still grinning. "It's not funny," I said.

"No, you're right, it's not," he agreed, his smile fading. "I'd rather treat it like a joke, though, than believe you're serious."

"But I am serious."

He sighed deeply. "I know. And you're really that willing?"

The pain was back in his eyes. I bit my lip and nodded.

"So ready for this to be the end," he murmured, almost to himself, "for this to be the twilight of your life, though your life has barely started. You're ready to give up everything."

"It's not the end, it's the beginning," I disagreed under my breath.

"I'm not worth it," he said sadly.

"Do you remember when you told me that I didn't see myself very clearly?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "You obviously have the same blindness."

"I know what I am."

I sighed.

But his mercurial mood shifted on me. He pursed his lips, and his eyes were probing. He examined my face for a long moment.

"You're ready now, then?" he asked.

"Um." I gulped. "Yes?"

He smiled, and inclined his head slowly until his cold lips brushed against the skin just under the corner of my jaw.

"Right now?" he whispered, his breath blowing cool on my neck. I shivered involuntarily.

"Yes," I whispered, so my voice wouldn't have a chance to break. If he thought I was bluffing, he was going to be disappointed. I'd already made this decision, and I was sure. It didn't matter that my body was rigid as a plank, my hands balled into fists, my breathing erratic…

He chuckled darkly, and leaned away. His face did look disappointed.

"You can't really believe that I would give in so easily," he said with a sour edge to his mocking tone.

"A girl can dream."

His eyebrows rose. "Is that what you dream about? Being a monster?"

"Not exactly," I said, frowning at his word choice. Monster, indeed. "Mostly I dream about being with you forever."

His expression changed, softened and saddened by the subtle ache in my voice.

"Bella." His fingers lightly traced the shape of my lips. "I will stay with you — isn't that enough?"

I smiled under his fingertips. "Enough for now."

He frowned at my tenacity. No one was going to surrender tonight. He exhaled, and the sound was practically a growl.

I touched his face. "Look," I said. "I love you more than everything else in the world combined. Isn't that enough?"

"Yes, it is enough," he answered, smiling. "Enough for forever."

And he leaned down to press his cold lips once more to my throat.*

There was a knocking on the door of the stall and I could see a pair of ballet pumps peeking out in between he bottom of the door and the floor.

I tightened my grip on the toilet and heaved myself up, sighing heavily. I winced as pins and needles started as I regained feeling in my feet and I brushed my hair out of my eyes as I reached for the lock on the door and swung it carefully open, conscious of the person stood just outside it.

"Are you alright?" Golden eyes were worried and I froze. She was tiny, shorter than even me, with spiky dark hair and an extremely pale complexion.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, Alice. Thanks." I pushed my way past her and out of the bathroom, digging through my backpack to find some alcohol gel to clean my hands before grabbing the packet Mrs Cope had given me and studying the map.

My first class was history and it was also, apparently, homeroom - whatever that meant. It was in B3, which I found easily enough on the map. Peeking through the door, I saw a man with balding brown hair writing on a white board. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and walked into the classroom, studiously ignoring the stares of the students as I walked up to the teacher.

"Um, Mr Green?" He turned to face me. "I'm the new student, Alexandra Morgan..."

"Ah, of course." He took the slip I was holding out to him and signed it quickly before shoving it back at me, alongside a thick textbook. You can sit wherever." He waved a hand at the class collectively and turned back to the whiteboard.

I turned to face the class apprehensively. The class wasn't full yet, which I found weird since I heard the bell ring not too long ago, but I shrugged it off. Looking at the empty seats, I took a seat at the back of the class near the window. It was raining again and I was a lot happier about it now that I wasn't in it.

"Hey! You're one of the new girls" I looked to the side at the sudden noise, spotting two girls standing next to the desks around me.

"Yeah, I'm Alex. Nice to meet you." I waved, not offering a hand - I did not want a repeat of this morning. Luckily, they did not seem to find anything odd about it.

"I'm Jessica and this is Angela." Said a small girl with ridiculously curly hair. I jerked as I recognised her - she was part of that brunette girls life! The other girl, a tall thin teen with dark hair pulled back in a low ponytail was also familiar and I almost couldn't believe that I was meeting them. Sometimes, I still thought that what I saw was just me going mad, but then I meet people I've never met before but know things about and I'm brought back to the reality of my situation. Taking a deep breath, I focused on the two girls in front of me.

"So, you're from, like, England, right?" Jessica asked, dropping her book on the desk next to mine and sliding into the seat. Angela did the same with the desk in front of her.

"Um, yeah. I got here a few days ago." I replied.

"That's so cool! I love your accent, it's awesome."

"It really is." Angela interrupted. "If you have any problems with American history, I'm happy to help." She smiled at me shyly. I decided then and there that I liked Angela. I hadn't made up my mind about Jessica yet.

"What are we working on at the moment?" I asked her, flipping open the text book and making a face at the contents page.

"We've been learning about Native Americans and the history of the country before 'we' came along." Angela started, but I interrupted her before she could continue.

"Yes!"I shouted quietly. "I did this for GCSE. Brilliant."

Angela laughed, but both she and Jessica looked confused.

"What's GCSE?" Angela asked.

"Oh, it's these national exams we do at sixteen in the UK, with nationally recognised qualifications from these exam charities." I explained. "I did them last June."

"Ohh." Angela and Jessica said. "Anyway, we just started learning about the establishment of our constitution and the War of Independence." Angela continued.

"Huh. I know nothing about that." I grimaced.

"Don't worry. I can help you."

"Thanks so much, Angela."

The taller girl smiled at me and I easily smiled back.

"So what classes do you have?" Jessica interjected perkily. I fumbled in my bag once again, looking for my schedule.

"Um, History - obviously - Calculus, English, Geography and then lunch. After that I have Government? and Gym. Ugh."

"We have History, Calculus and Geography together." Angela smiled.

"And you have History, Government and Gym together. Yay!" Jessica cheered. "And you have to sit with us and our friends at lunch."

I smiled, glad that I'd made friends already. The day wasn't turning out to be so bad, after all.

**?**

I take that back. This is awful. Calculus had passed easily enough, with Angela helping me along. After the horrible morning I'd had, what with that fumble in the bathroom, I thought that my day was taking a turn for the good. Walking into English, I discovered that I'd thought that a bit prematurely.

First of all, the teacher, a Mr Mason, made me introduce myself to the class. This was awkward enough. It only got worse when I was sent to sit next to an Edward Cullen, in a spot in the middle row towards the wall. It was a slow walk to the spot pointed to me, spent looking at my shoes and fiddling with the book Mason had given me - To Kill a Mockingbird.

My slow walk was not slow enough, however, as I discovered as I stood beside the desk assigned to me. Edward was not looking at me, thank goodness, or I was pretty sure I would have fainted. Just the sight of his copper hair was enough to send my heart racing. Taking deep breaths, I set my book and bag on the table and, as slowly as I could, slid into my seat. He looked over to me as soon as I was situated and I looked away as quickly as I could once our eyes met. His eyes were a burnt gold, slightly darker than Alice's were this morning.

"I'm Edward Cullen. It's good to meet you." He held his hand out to shake. I turned to stare at him. His eyes narrowed in what looked like amusement as he continued to look at me.

That's when I remembered he was a mind-reader.

His eyes narrowed further in what was definitely not amusement this time. My cheek twitched in response, a nervous tick I knew I had and had tried, fruitlessly, to kick.

"I'm Alex Morgan. Pleasure." I said. I continued to ignore his hand, despite my curiosity over how cold it would be - I already knew it would be ice.

I shook my head to get the thoughts out of my head, noticing the suspicion in the other's gaze. I had to stop thinking.

"Right, class. Movie time!" Mr Mason announced. This was, quite possibly, the worst thing I had heard that day.

I fidgeted throughout the entire hour and a half of class and the 'To kill a Mockingbird' movie. I had, after all, already seen it. Instead, I kept my mind on what I thought of as safe things. I thought about books, movies, then I got onto the topic of if Angela would want to go see a movie with me sometime, as it was something I missed doing with my friends back in England, before my thoughts automatically went to the knowledge that Carlisle Cullen was from London. Over 300 years ago.

I shook my head vigorously, not caring what it looked like to those around me, trying to get the thoughts out of my head. But it was too late. Before I knew it, an ice cold hand had grabbed hold of my arm. I could feel how cold his hand was even through my long sleeved top and my jumper. He was glaring at me now. This kept up for the entirety of English class and by the time it was finished and Edward was dragging me up by my arm, grabbing both of our stuff and pulling me out the door and down the hallway into the unknown. I couldn't help but feel apprehensive, especially because I was beginning to lose feeling in my arm as his grip got tighter.

He had just pulled me into an empty classroom and was about to close the door when two people slipped in through the doorway. They were both familiar, but the shorter figure was the most. Alice slipped silently up to Edward with Jasper following closely behind.

"She's fine, Edward. I can see her perfectly. She won't do anything." Alice was saying.

"How can she know? How do you know?" Edward snarled, dragging me closer by the hand still on my arm.

"Edward." Jasper spoke up quietly. It looked like he was holding his breath. "Let go. You're hurting her."

Edward stared at me for a long time, not letting up until he pulled away with a growl, stalking away from me.

"She knew that I was a mind reader and that I would ice cold if she touched me." He said.

"I won't tell anyone." I offered up.

"She won't tell anyone Edward. I met her this morning when I saw her talking to you. No matter what I look for, nothing of it shows her telling."

"Your visions are subjective, Alice. You can't say that for sure."

"Yes I can, Edward. I know it and so do you."

Looking between them was a bit like watching a tennis match and I wondered why they were speaking at a pace that I could hear. I tilted my head, contemplating it as my eyes continued to watch the discussion/fight going on between Edward and Alice.

"Let me look at that." Jasper had gotten close to me without me noticing and I jumped as he touched lightly at my covered arm.

"Oh, no. That's fine. I'm good. Thanks for the offer. But I'm going to have to decline. I've got to get to class." At that, Edward and Alice looked over to me as well. I gave what I thought was a polite smile and started backing up towards the door, not wanting to turn my back on them.

"Jasper's got geography next too. Why doesn't he show you the way?" Alice phrased it like a suggestion, but I knew that it wasn't. I just nodded and moved to go out the door. I didn't wait for Jasper to follow me, but he overtook me quickly, leading me out of the building I was currently in and through to building 4. From there, it was a short walk to the right classroom. The teacher hadn't arrived yet but Angela had and, at her wave, I walked over to the seat next to her. As I plopped down, she gave me a funny look and, peeking over my shoulder, I realised that Jasper had set himself on the seat next to mine. I just gave her a shrug - I didn't know what he was doing either.

"So how was English?"

And this was why I was beginning to love Angela - nothing phased her.

"Alright. We're doing To Kill a Mockingbird and I did that last year so I know all about it and it was just watching a movie today, so it was kinda boring."

She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the teacher, a tall thin man, and we both turned to face the front. The lesson went by fairly quickly, even with the holes Jasper was boring into the side of my head. I stood up quickly when the lunch bell rang, stuffing my quickly growing collection of books into my bag.

"Come on Alex, I'll show you our table. Do you need to buy lunch?" Angela gestured for me to follow her.

I shook my head. I had brought my own lunch with me to school today - I didn't trust school food to be anything even resembling good.

"Haha, good choice." Angela laughed. "The school does fresh fruit and things like cookies or chips, but the meals aren't great. I bring my own lunch, too, so we can go and get the best seats away from the boys." She led the way down the hallway and out of the building. She opened the doors of another building and led me down yet another hallway until I could hear the sounds of talking and laughter. I didn't wait for Angela to point out the correct doors and instead went ahead and opening them, stepping just inside the canteen and holding the door open for my new friend. SHe thanked me, stepping up next to me and leading the way to a large table nearer the wall of windows than the centre of the room. There were already a few people there, including a group of three boys and two other girls.

"Guys, this is Alex Morgan. She just moved here from England. Alex, this is Mike, Lee, Ben" She pointed out each of the three boys "And this is Hannah and Lauren." All five of them waved and said 'hello' and I repeated it back at them quietly, feeling a bit shy.

"Come sit here, Alex." Hannah gestured at the seat next to her and I quickly made my way over there, Angela following behind me.

"It's nice to meet you" I offered when I had sat down.

"And you. I've never met someone from England around here - we don't get many tourists." Hannah said.

"Yeah, this town is boring as hell. The only good thing even close to here is Port Angeles." Lauren said, flicking stick-straight blonde hair over a shoulder. She glanced at me from the corner of her eye, not quite making eye contact. I smiled at her and nodded sympathetically.

"Yeah, we didn't have that much to do back in England,either..." I trailed off as I noticed Jessica come up to the table, a brunette girl trailing behind her. My eyes widened as I recognised her not only from this morning but from my knowledge of her entire life.

"Hey guys, this is Bella Swan"