Hope you enjoy this chapter. I've been really excited about this idea, and it's the first time I've ever written ahead, so let me know what you think, please.

Preface

In a high school as small as the one in Forks, there were a few general rules that every student learned and began to follow within the first month of the school year. First, never sit at the front of Mr. Mason's English class, unless you prefer to hear the classics read accompanied by a saliva shower. Second, for the female students, if you are wearing a dress or skirt, try to avoid the second floor water fountain beside the boys' bathroom as spectators tend to gather there; for the male students, if you have a girlfriend, make sure adheres to that particular guideline. Next, never, ever eat the fish that is served in the cafeteria. Just don't. If it is sunny, sit outside. Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts, or it will only disappear faster.

The final rule, and the most important, is the one which dictates every social gathering a particular person attends, the side of the cafeteria they sit on and the people they sit with at lunch. Since they both attended Forks High School, the Hales and the Cullens have been sworn enemies. It has always been that way, and will be that way for the entirety of their senior year. The rule is: Pick a side. Stick to that side. Then, you may just make it out alive.

Throughout junior high, the Hale twins, with their premature beauty, elegance and unwavering intelligence, had the best of everything. Raised with the good graces and manners that were used to much older times, they charmed every teacher and peer alike. As they moved through their youth none of their admirable qualities diminished, and, if any one had before thought it impossible, their beauty only increased exponentially with their age.

Rosalie reigned amongst the girls, and she was more than aware of it. Her subjects saw her as the perfect specimen of a female, even before she developed fully. On many occasions, a poor, hopeful girl would try to recreate the perfect wave and luminous blonde of Rosalie's hair, she would layer on thick foundation to imitate her flawless complexion, buy a push-up bra in an attempt to gain Rosalie's perfect and curvy physique or bleach her teeth to the extent that they were painful to look at in chance that her smile would rival that of Rosalie's. Eventually, in her senior of junior high and to the dismay of a majority of the student body, she chose Emmett McCarty, the tall, muscular, curly haired and dimpled jock, as her lucky suitor. What started as a tutoring project developed into the steady relationship that seemed perfect to all who witnessed its growth. They were both young, and Emmett, who was smarter than most people gave him credit for, used this reputation to his advantage and pleaded with Rosalie to help him improve his math and science grades. The rest, at least to the younger and more impressionable residents in Forks, is history.

However, every queen needs a king to help her maintain rule, and Rosalie's counterpart was her twin brother, Jasper. Matching her in almost every way, looks, brains and popularity, Jasper was the noticeably more reserved of the pair. While Rosalie worked actively to enchant everyone around her, to most observers it seemed that Jasper had the spotlight thrust upon him. But to those who knew him well enough, and they were few and far, it was clear that Jasper enjoyed the attention just as much as his sister, if not more so.

When Rosalie settled down with Emmett (with Jasper's approval, of course) Jasper took advantage of his high status in the hierarchy of the school and by the time he entered high school his track record with girls was already impressive. With the teachers, he was the favorite Hale twin, often producing a standard of work far beyond what was necessary and doing everything he could to get himself ahead. He was insightful, thoughtful and definitely more tactical than his sister. This was why, to his classmates, he appeared deceptively shy.

Rosalie was the crowd pleaser; Jasper was the observer. Together, they made the perfect team. This was why, until the beginning of their sophomore year of high school, they remained unrivaled, even against their upper class-men. It was in that summer when the Cullens moved to Forks.

Adopted brother and sister, Edward and Alice Cullen entered high school with no expectations, and certainly no enthusiasm. Their reputation preceded them, as reputations usually do with newcomers being so rare in Forks, and once the more ridiculous rumours had been weeded out, a short biography of the Cullens had life circulated the town. Despite being born in America, the Cullen family had traveled all over Europe throughout their younger teenage years, but now their mother wanted to settle down to a quieter life close to where she grew up. Dr. Cullen had applied to a position at the local hospital and apparently they had bought a house just outside the town limits. If Dr. Cullen's qualifications and job history were anything to go by, then the family were very well off.

A mixture of excitement and fear surrounded the arrival of this new family. Given their past, Edward and Alice were something new, and terrifyingly unknown, to the students at Forks. They had lived far beyond the confines of the small town life that most of Fork's natives never dreamed of crossing and no one knew what to expect from the pair of 15 year olds who had spent the majority of their adolescent years in Paris, London and Milan.

As could only be expected, intertwined with the generic facts were the unlikely and the fabricated. If hearsay was to be believed, then Alice Cullen had walked in countless couture fashion shows, inspired the work of many an artist and had danced danced prima ballerina with the Mariinsky Ballet. Her brother's list of achievements were not quite as impressive as her own: Edward had only passed through high school three times as fast as a regular student, rejected places offered to him by every Ivy league college and performed in one of his father's open heart surgeries. In short, the Edward Cullen Forks was expecting was a child genius.

Typically, while absorbing all of this information, Jasper Hale was assessing the potential threat the new students would pose against Rosalie's and his position of power. With all of her usual confidence, Rosalie casually dismissed each of the rumours as untrue. Even if the boy was exceptionally smart, there was no reason why he wouldn't just blend in with the brainiacs of the school. As for Alice, Rosalie knew enough of fashion to be sure that no one by that name had ever walked in the show of any designer, couture or not. Just as they always did, the Hales would welcome the new students, charming them in the same way that always won people over. She was absolutely sure of it, and there was no reason for Jasper to believe differently: The Cullens would not be a problem.

She was very, very wrong.

Trouble began from the very first day they set foot in the car park. Pulling up in a sleek, sliver Volvo- obviously the stories of their wealth were accurate- it was hard not to notice that it was the only car that rivaled the Rosalie's cherry red convertible, which was in bad need of repair. Windows were rolled down and people hovered on their tip-toes in order to catch a better look at the beautiful automobile. It, however, was no match for the two people who slid gracefully from the two front seats.

They were breathtaking. Strikingly dark and with overall more delicate features, they were, superficially and essentially, the antithesis of the Hales, but even from this first glance it was undeniable that they were every bit a beautiful. Many people stopped and stared, unabashedly open mouthed. This did not go unnoticed by the Hales, and, in what was one of the turning events in High School, Rosalie marched up to the newcomers with Jasper at her heels to introduce herself: Undoubtedly her intent was to make it perfectly clear to the Cullens exactly who was in charge at Forks High School, and to prove to the student body that the Hale twins were still the most beautiful.

When recounting this infamous meeting most people would credit Rosalie with her confidence and bravery; others would laugh at the outcome. To see these equally beautiful women standing face to face was a strange sight at first. Although, to say 'face to face' would not be entirely accurate, as Rosalie stood head and shoulders above the positively tiny Alice Cullen. Her straight up and down figure looked like one of a gymnast or dancer, complete with the stunted growth.

Compared to Roaslie's flowing golden waves, Alice's short, black bob looked almost boyish, but this was of no detriment to her beauty and it only served to highlight her angular features. For the innocent, and ordinary bystanders it was hard to believe that two women this beautiful existed at all, let alone in the small population of Forks High School. Too overwhelmed by the concentration of beauty in such a small space, no one could focus enough on what was being said to know what passed between the girls, but suddenly Rosalie's eyes tightened and she dropped her hand. She placed the hand on her hip and shook out her hair, both recognizable signs that Rosalie was not pleased with what she had heard. Knowing what was following would make any other girl cower, but Alice did not move at all. In fact, it was unnerving how still she kept under Rosalie's glare, and her delicate face remained unchanged, save the slight raising of one of her eyebrows.

Throughout this confrontation the male members of the group had been staring silently at each other, as though trying to suss out whether or not the other one was a threat to them, without actually acknowledging it. Like Rosalie had been to Alice, Jasper was taller that Edward, but only by a couple of inches, and also broader. Edward's hair was not black, but various shades of bronze which seemed to reflect the sunlight in their perfect disarray. Their own dumb confrontation did not last as long as Alice and Rosalies'. Jasper seemed to be able to tell instinctively that Rosalie was not happy, and was less than a second behind her when she spun around and stormed off, grabbing Emmett by the hand as she went. The Cullens remained rooted in the spot, seemingly amused.

Over the next few weeks it became clear that, in some way, the Cullens had offended the Hales. Although everybody who witnessed the exchange in the car park could not doubt that it had something to do with it, there were clearly other reasons.

For one, there was now an ongoing debate as to who were the more beautiful siblings: It was a shallow argument, and one that inevitably came down to preference. Nonetheless, it shook Rosalie to her core that the opinion of the student body was dividing, and that she was no longer the sole matriarch of Forks High School. Jasper, too, did not like the buzz that the Cullens were generating. Always one step further ahead of the game than Rosalie was, Jasper realized that what was so unsettling about the Cullens was not how different they were, but how many similarities the two families had, aside from their insane attractiveness.

In class it was immediately apparent that Edward was every bit as smart as promised, producing work to equal Jasper's and winning the teachers over instantly. More importantly, winning the female population over instantly down to his looks, charm and mysterious air that surrounded him. Early on he revealed himself to be a musical prodigy, securing himself even more admirers. Watching Edward as closely as he was Jasper picked up on details that passed over the heads of other people, and he alone identified that the fake humility Edward paraded was more laziness and arrogance. Yet, it seemed to do the trick and in no time it was impossible to last a day through school without hearing some deluded girl drone on about how modest Edward was, and how he needed a boost in his confidence so he could play more openly. Consequently, the humble Mr. Cullen was constantly bombarded with compliments and with each counterfeit shake of his head or wave of his hand, his suppressed grin would grow by a millimeter. It made Jasper sick to his stomach to see so many people falling into his trap. Had Edward's musical talent not far surpassed his athletic, Jasper would have been even more infuriated.

When gym came around, the only thing Edward was able to beat Jasper in was a simple sprint and even that race was close. Edward did not show up to any team try-outs and Jasper at least felt confident that Edward was not about to steal that forte from him.

His sister was again another story. Just as intellectual, she maintained her perfect GPA, but did nothing in class to show herself to be the brains of the pair. As her figure and, now renowned grace had foreshadowed, Alice was a dancer. Not surprisingly, since the tales of Edward's intellect had proved to be somewhat accurate, rumors that Alice had danced in the Russian Ballet were not far off the mark. Although she had not been the prima ballerina, she did train for a short with them, and the small dance department in Forks High School welcomed her, and her experience, with open arms.

With such talent and ability, it was obvious why Alice and Edward immediately resented the Hales assumed superiority. They deflected any attempts at a feigned friendship, seeing right through to the blonde twins true intentions. It started slowly, with only those who were sick of the monopoly the Hales had on the school drifting form the status quo, but within three months of the new year the entire students body of Forks High School had been split. Naturally, the music and dance crowds floated towards the new arrivals, finding the new source of power refreshing.

The mainstream athletes and the more loyal followers of Rosalie and Jasper stayed put. A rare few who thought they still stood a chance at being the girl to secure the elusive Jasper in a serious relationship, or thought that they could win over either Alice or Edward, were motivated by their own romantic ideas. Those in the middle chose according to who would get them invited to the best parties or just stuck by their friends.

Even with their growing popularity Alice and Edward did not branch out, and they made very few real friends. No romantic offers were ever accepted. While remaining in their own little bubble, they appeared not to enjoy this small-town version of fame, but it was only an act Jasper knew too well. Predictably, it did not deter the admirerers. Once it was established that the two groups would never get along, and that each had their own distinct set of followers, school life settled. Much to Rosalie's annoyance, Jasper suggested that they accept the changes, and that maybe the Cullens would decide to move before it became permanent.

His hopes were unfounded, however, and by the time they reached their senior year the Cullens, and their minions, remained as large a portion of Forks High School as ever. As they had done the pervious year, the freshmen had picked up on the divide between the students and had settled themselves in accordingly. Towards the end of September the rumor mill began spinning again and the news spread that Chief Swan's daughter was moving to Forks. Neither the Hales not the Cullens were worried by this news: She was only one girl, and she would follow the first person that talked to her. Still, like the rest of the school they still eagerly anticipated the new girl's arrival. What they didn't anticipate was the trouble that ensued.

End of Preface