Chapter 1: Harlow

Veronica and I slipped on our yellow high-tops and stepped outside. The air was heavy with the scent of rain and fresh flowers.

Portland, Oregon; our only home since we were born. Veronica and I: best friends from the womb. No, we weren't twins. Our mothers were friends, and so we were friends. Since my dad left after I was four, my mom and I moved in with Veronica and her brother and mother. Our neighbors called us "The Family of the Ditches" since both of our fathers left. Not that we really minded. Neither of us had gotten to know our dads, and it wasn't like he'd left six babies to one poor woman.

Both of us took in the fragments of favorite memories as we wandered around the lot. The row of bushes that Ronnie and I hid behind when her brother Jonah brought friends over. Every friend brought a new five-minute crush, and whenever they walked by, we'd sing "Message in a Bottle" by The Police. The tree where I hid and played guitar while Veronica took pictures of people's reactions. The garden that chased boys into so I could kiss them. The swing-set where we played shoe-fling and Veronica flung her shoe at Neil Harrison, leading up to them becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.

Now, we would have to say good-bye to all of that. We were moving, the "Family of Ditches", to Forks, Washington. The place no one had heard of unless you lived there. Apparently, there were really good job offerings for Mrs. Wainright and Mom at the hospital. Lucky for Jonah, he had graduated high school just in time to avoid the move. Veronica and I, however, were only juniors. So we had two more years to go.

The house was, sadly, pretty easy to sell. On the last day, we got to meet the family. They were the snooty, French-ish kind of family that turned their nose up at "simpletons". Veronica and I could both tell that they were gonna tear down everything that we loved; the garden, the tree, the bushes, the swing-set… Probably so they could build a pool.

Once everything was packed up, we piled in the car and drove down to Forks. The minute we saw the Welcome to Forks! sign, we knew we were in for some under-the-radar living. The sign was chipping and splitting. Ronnie and I glanced at each other, and then at Mrs. Wainright. She smiled sheepishly. "Darling town, don't you think?" Veronica and I looked at each other again.

Mrs. Wainright turned to Mom. "Are we almost there, Raquel?"

Mom nodded. "We should be there in about fifteen minutes." I groaned and slumped back into my seat. "Oh, hush, Harlow. We're almost there."

Finally, Mom pulled into the driveway. Veronica and I jumped out of the car and dashed up the stairs. Since Mom and Mrs. Wainright had come the day before to have our furniture set up, everything was all put where we want. I flopped down on the couch and Veronica flopped down on me. "Oomph," I gasped. She laid her head down on my shoulder and sighed.

"So tired," she mumbled, "and bored."

"You're crushing me," I groaned. She sighed again and rolled off of me. "Thank you."

"I can't believe we have to go to school tomorrow," Veronica said. I nodded.

"I know, right?"

"And it's a Monday, too."

"Damn, why couldn't we have come on a Thursday?" Ronnie shrugged.

"Why did we have to move at all?" Good point.

Jasper

I knew I should of gone hunting with Edward.

"Oh c'mon, Jasper," Alice whined. I rolled my eyes. "It's just school." I gave her a look. She returned the look, only she had a smile on her lips. Alice climbed into the front seat and buckled up. "You know you're coming," she said.

I pursed my lips. "You mean you know I'm coming." She smirked and put on a pair of designer sunglasses. "Get in hot-shot."

Once we were in the school parking lot, Alice unbuckled my seat-belt and shoved me out of the car.

Rosalie and Emmett pulled up and got out with us. Rosalie flipped her hair and looped her arm through Emmett's. "Let's go," she said to him. They walked off, and Alice and I followed them into school.

My first class was biology.

When I walked in, everyone was standing up. Everyone's moods were the same as usual. I glanced around and waited for Mrs. Rossi to come in. When she did, she stood in front. "Ok guys," Mrs. Rossi started, "we're rearranging seats today."

Someone raised their hand. "Why?"

"Because," she said. "We have a new student, and I thought it'd be best for a new seat arrangement." Rossi looked around. "Which, she should be here soon…" As if on cue, a girl walked in. She was really pretty for a human; long, dark brown hair, hazel eyes, Cupid's bow lips… and her smell. It was awful. My throat tightened and instantly dried. I was almost positive that my eyes were turning black.

"Ah," Rossi said. "And here she is. Class, this is Harlow Caraway." Harlow smiled awkwardly. "Ok, now we're going to seat alphabetically." I didn't realize what that meant until she put me in my seat. There were no other C's in the class… except Harlow.

So I had to sit next to her and restrain myself.

Harlow

Veronica and I went to the front office to grab our schedules and maps. We wished each other good luck and went to our classes. My first was Biology.

When I walked in, everyone was standing up. Oh no. "And here she is. This is Harlow Caraway." If the teacher weren't looking, I'd roll my eyes.

She sat us all down in seats, and I sat down next to some guy whose name started with a J. The whole time, he either glared at me or clawed at the desk. Whatever, he looked like some angry psycho. Sure, he was, as Veronica would say, a "hot tamale". But that didn't change the fact that I was ever-so grateful that looks could not kill.