~~~I would just like to take a moment to thank and address any readers who managed to stick with this story. I know that I have not updated in a while, and I sincerely apologize for that. I could supply a miriad of excuses, but none of them are likely to have any validity in the long run. So, basically, I would just like to say that I am in the process of updating the whole story, making small edits throughout everything I have already written. I am doing this in the hope that I will be able to alieviate my writer's block. If you have already read the currently published chapters, I will do my best to outline the minor differences that have occured in the next chapter (8).~~~

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight, or any of the characters in Twilight. I do, however, own Cassidy

A/N: Bare with me for the first couple of chapters, as they are a bit like Twilight. I promise it will get better, though!

CHAPTER 1- Collision

I slammed the door to my car closed as I swung my book bag over my shoulder. It was the first day of my senior year, and I was less than pleased to be back at good old Cold Bay High School. The sun above had been unsuccessful this morning at escaping the numerous clouds hanging overhead, and I shivered a little as I walked towards the school entrance. This type of weather was to be expected, though, as Cold Bay, Alaska, where I live, can get as little as sixty-one sunny days per year. Although I have lived here all my life, I have never quite gotten used to the number of overcast days we have; I yearned for the warmth of a sunnier state.

Shaking away my daydreams, I sighed as I entered the building. Only one more year of this torture, and then I could be free of the constant cage that was my hometown. I planned to go somewhere far away and very sunny for college- Florida, perhaps? I just had to get through my last year of high school first.

"Hey, Cassidy!" I turned when I heard someone call my name from behind. My face broke into a grin when I noticed who had spoken.

"Hi, Kaitlyn. How was your summer? You have to tell me all about camp," I demanded, knowing that she would proceed into a very long-winded description of every minor detail of her summer. She didn't disappoint me. I listened intently to her speech, interested in knowing what her vacation had been like.

Kaitlyn was my best friend, and I had been very lonely without her this summer, as she had gone off to a majorette camp for two months. This year, as a senior, she was to be a co-captain of our school's squad, and she had been extremely excited about the scholarship she had received to this camp. She was very good, and had been twirling a rifle since halfway through her freshman year- the youngest to ever do so at our school. When she joined, she tried her best to get me to go along with her, but it wasn't my thing. Knowing my athleticism, I'd probably end up gouging an eye out or something.

Normally, we would spend our summers together watching movies and hanging out at the local pool, but, with Kaitlyn gone, I'd had to find something else to do with my time. I ended up spending an even larger amount of time at the library than usual, rereading all of my favorites as well as scrounging up a part-time job arranging books and whatnot.

Kaitlyn managed to keep up her discourse all the way through homeroom, which was located in the farthest corner from the front door. This didn't count for much, though, as our school was roughly the size of three quarters of a football field. The student- teacher ratio of our school was incredibly low due to our town's small population, and I noticed that I had the same homeroom teacher as last year. I was pleased- I had always liked Mrs. Kreppler, who teaches calculus. I wasn't sure I would like her quite so much now that I had to take her class, though.

When the bell rang, I said a quick goodbye to Kaitlyn before heading off to my first period class. I stopped in the bathroom before class started, adjusting my appearance in the mirror. I swept my dark brown curls up into a ponytail, as they were being particularly unruly today, sticking out in random places. I made sure that my makeup was in check, backing up to look at the overall appearance. I had soft, slightly copper skin, with large, brown hazel eyes- evidence of my Native American background. My hair normally hung to just below my shoulders, but now bounced behind my head, having been contained in a rubber band. I was an average height- about five feet six inches tall. I had distinctly feminine features, and had never been an athlete. My build was too slight for that- I was thin and angular with a distinct air of fragility about me.

Satisfied with my appearance, I continued on to my first period English. English had always been my favorite class, and I was looking forward to it this year, as the teacher, Mr. Donovan, was considered the best in the school.

I entered the classroom with moments to spare, the bell ringing just as I sat down in one of the only empty seats left. I took my notebook out of my book bag and began doodling to pass the time as Mr. Donovan took roll, briefly raising my hand when he called "Cassidy Conner." He then proceeded to go over the mandatory rules of the classroom, aware that the class was not listening; I doubted he himself was even paying attention to what he was reading- we were required to hear the same rules every year, and the task had become very tedious for us seniors. I could only imagine how many times Mr. Donovan had read them.

Once English was over, I headed to Calculus, which was my second period class. I was running early, and a couple people from the first period were still evacuating the classroom. I squeezed my way past the tiny freshmen, and took a seat in the back of the class. I set down my books on the seat next to me, saving a chair for Kaitlyn, who was also in this class. When she appeared in the doorway, I motioned to her, lifting my books off of her desk as she sat down.

"How was your summer? All we've talked about so far is me," she stated.

"I think I'm used to that by now- you're the one that does all the talking," I teased her.

"Well, I'm curious to know what you did all summer without your best friend to keep you company. "

"There's not much to tell, really. I pretty much lived at the library. I made a bit of money working there and got a bunch of reading done."

She made a face at the last statement. "Honestly, Cassie, I can't understand why you read so much. I'd much rather be out there living life than reading about it."

"Well, maybe some of us prefer fiction to reality," I muttered, too low for her to hear.

Mrs. Kreppler started the class then, calling everyone to order, and we didn't have a chance to continue our conversation. This suited me just fine- I hated talking about myself.

We went over our objectives for the class, and I was already dreading having to sit through this class all year. Not that I had trouble with math; I was actually quite good at it. I just happened to find it tedious and boring. The only reason I was even taking Calculus was because it would help me get into a better college.

Mrs. Kreppler was in the middle of some boring review of last year's work when the phone rang. I was half asleep when she picked it up, barely noticing the pause in her rambling. For this reason, I was very surprised when she called my name, and I was afraid that she was going to reprimand me for dozing off in class.

"Cassidy?" She looked at me; she already knew my name from last year.

"Yes, Mrs. Kreppler?" I looked at her a bit sheepishly, waiting for my scolding.

"You're wanted in the office." That took me off guard. I hadn't done anything that bad, had I? Surely this wasn't because of my lack of attention- the students around me were also completely ignoring her. I shot her a questioning look, hoping for an explanation. She disappointed me by shrugging her shoulders and bending down to write something on a slip of paper.

"Here's your pass," she held out the paper toward me, and I got up from my seat to take it from her.

After grabbing the pass, I turned to leave the room without a word, casting a quick glance at Kaitlyn before I left. She was looking at me curiously, and I shook my head a bit to show her that I had no idea what was going on either.

I made my way down the short hall to the front office, walking slowly to waste time. I stared at my shoes as I walked, glad for an excuse to be out of class, even though I wasn't sure if I was in trouble or not.

I was still staring at my shoes when I felt myself collide with something very hard. I wondered for a second what it was. It felt as if I had run into a stone wall, but surely I couldn't have- I was in the middle of the hallway. I didn't wonder for long, though, because that was when the pain caught up to me. My head had broken the impact- probably not a very good thing. It felt as if my forehead was splitting in two, and I cried out in anguish, my vision blurring with the intensity of the pain. My eyes closed as I winced away from the agony. I felt myself slip towards the ground as I struggled to keep consciousness through the throbbing headache. The last thing I felt was something cold wrapping around my waist, keeping me from making contact with the ground.