Calculus is the same as English, attendance and a syllabus to go over. I spend my time thinking about Bella Swan, something about her intrigues me. I'm sure my therapist would say this has something to do with my need to be the baddest bitch in every room (maybe not in those words), which may be true but I don't think Bella is bad necessarily. At least not in the way I am. Maybe that is what is curious about her...she just doesn't seem like your garden variety over-apathetic teenager. I think something happened to her to turn her into the zombie person I saw in English class and I find myself wanting to know the story.

After math I have Chemistry which is similarly uneventful, except that Mike is in my class along with some annoying girl named Jessica. They try to talk to me but lucky for me the teacher is really strict and does not tolerate any chatter so they are unsuccessful. When the bell rings I rush out before either of them can corner me and head to Spanish class.

Once more I find myself sitting towards the back of the classroom and this time the person that sits next to me is a boy. He is about the same height as me, has golden brown skin, and straight black hair that falls over his brown eyes. He is wearing dark skinny jeans, a red t-shirt with some comic book characters on it, and a dark brown hoodie. The boy plops down on the desk to my left and then seems to notice me sitting there. He smiles in my direction and gives me a slight wave.

"Hola! Me llamo Ben."

He grins at me as he says it and I decide that I like him, which is unusual for me but he seems like a genuinely nice guy. The way he looks at me is friendly and completely devoid of the obvious attraction that was in Mike's eyes or the jealousy that I saw in Jessica's. I flash him a genuine smile and wave back.

"Hola, me llamo Leah."

Before we can say any more class starts and the teacher takes roll. This teacher is a bit more relaxed, she goes over some introductory stuff for the class then has us write a paragraph about ourselves in Spanish to turn into her. When we're done she allows us to have some free time to talk to each other as long as we do it in Spanish. Ben and I stumble through a conversation, it's Spanish 4 so we have a decent grasp of vocabulary but we are both rusty from having the summer off. We bond over a shared love of action movies and video games. He also tells me about his interest in graphic novels and about his girlfriend Angela, who he has known for a while but just starting dating at the end of last year. I mention that I enjoy surfing and he tells me he goes surfing occasionally with his group of friends in La Push but isn't that good. When class ends and we start walking towards the cafeteria he switches to English.

"Hey if you don't have any plans for lunch you should join my group."

"That'd be cool, thanks."

"Don't thank me just yet. Some of my friends are morons."

We are both chuckling as we walk through the cafeteria doors and get in line to grab food. Once we have our trays he leads me towards a table that, to my horror, has Jessica and Mike on it. However Bella is also sitting there which I find interesting, she didn't seem like the type to be sitting with a group like this. She is sitting next to a tall girl with light brown hair who has her arm around Bella's shoulders as though she is trying to comfort her. On the other side of the tall girl is a tall boy who is pale and has short black hair. Ben slides in next to Mike, ending up sitting across from tall brunette who smiles shyly at him when he sits down. I sit next to him and everyone looks at me as Ben introduces me.

"Hey everyone. This is Leah, we met in Spanish class and she's really cool."

I give a short wave and smile at everyone as the two I don't know introduce themselves. The tall girl next to Bella introduces herself in a quiet voice and I find out she is Ben's girlfriend, Angela. The boy next to her is Eric and he seems nice enough. Once introductions have been made Jessica speaks up in her high-pitched voice.

"Bella was just telling us that Edward broke up with her last week. His whole family just moved away out of nowhere. If you ask me I think we're better off without them, the Cullens were seriously weird."

The Cullens, that is a name that sounds familiar. The elders in our tribe do not like them, I heard my dad refer to them as "the cold ones" once when he was talking to Billy Black. Some of our elders seem to actually believe in our tribe legends which I find a little sad. They don't allow this poor family in La Push because they think they are "the cold ones" that our ancestors are said to have made a treaty with decades ago. Hearing that one of them broke up with Bella does explain a lot though...I knew there had to be some reason behind her attitude. Angela responds to Jessica and I am surprised by the stern tone she uses.

"Jessica can you please try to be a bit sensitive?"

"She probably can't," Eric chimes in. "I don't think Jessica is capable of normal human emotion." Everyone chuckles and Jessica turns red.

"Ugh whatever. Screw you Eric. And you," she looks over at Mike, "I can't believe you just let him speak like that to me."

Jessica storms away dramatically and Mike rolls his eyes as he grabs both their trays and follows after her. I look over at Ben and he seems to know what I'm going to ask before I open my mouth because he nods and says, "Yep, they're dating."

It doesn't escape my notice that Bella has not said anything since I sat down, she doesn't even really seem to be paying attention to everyone's conversation. The only time she shows even a flicker of interest is when Eric asks why I left school on the reservation and I tell him I was expelled, though she loses interest when it becomes apparent I am not going to tell Eric what I did to get expelled. Ben changes the subject by bringing up that I like to surf and soon we are all planning to get together on Saturday at the beach in La Push. Angela tells Bella that she and Ben will pick her up on the way to the beach and she nods in acceptance.

Angela and Ben shoot each other worried glances at Bella's lack of emotion as the bell rings to signal the end of lunch. My next class is history and Angela's class is next door so we walk over to the building together. I can tell Angela is a bit shy but we talk the entire way. She asks me about my interests and listens politely when I talk. She is very kind and I can see why Ben likes her. I don't know anyone in my history class and it is pretty uneventful. When it's over I meet Angela outside the door since she offered to show me the way to the gym for my final class.

I ask her about herself as we walk over since we spent our last trip talking about me. She has two younger brothers, twins, who she says take a lot of her time but I can tell she loves them dearly. When we get to the gym doors I thank her before she walks away and then head over to the bleachers where the rest of the class is sitting and waiting for the teacher. I notice Bella sitting in the third row off to the side of the group and decide to go sit next to her. She glances at me as I sit down and gives me a half-hearted nod. I don't try to have a conversation with her because I have a feeling it wouldn't work too well.

The gym teacher enters and introduces himself as Coach Clapp. He takes attendance before going over all the rules for the class. Before the end of the period we file into the locker rooms to claim our lockers, I end up getting one next to Bella since we walk in next to each other. When the bell rings I am still struggling with my lock and Bella slips out with a nod in my direction, something I see as progress.

By the time I figure out my lock, get my gym clothes put away, and make my way out to the front of the school the parking lot is almost empty. As I walk towards my car I notice there is an ugly red truck a few spots down from me that is making a sputtering sound. I walk over to see none other than Bella sitting in the driver's seat trying unsuccessfully to start it. As I get closer to the truck I see her slam the driving wheel in frustration. She throws her door open and hops out of the truck just as I get there.

"Hey, something wrong with your truck?"

"Yeah, it won't start. I don't know why."

"Do you mind if I have a look?"

Bella gestures with her hand for me to go ahead and look so I step towards her truck. It only takes me a few minutes to figure out what the problem is.

"Your battery is dead. It needs a jump. I could give you one if you have a cable…"

"I don't." Bella stares helplessly at her truck, looking like she could burst into tears at any moment. Considering her boyfriend just broke up with her and skipped town last week, I'm assuming this is just pushing her over the edge. I try to jump in before she gets too upset.

"I can give you a ride home if you'd like. I can also pick you up tomorrow to bring you back here. I'll bring a cable with me and give you a jump after school."

"I can't ask you to do all that for me."

"You're not asking, I'm offering." I smile at her in what I hope is a reassuring way. I am surprised when she returns my smile with a small grin.

"Thank you Leah. That's really kind of you."

I lead her to my car and we both get in. She actually talks to me on the way to her house, though it may just be because she feels bad ignoring me while I'm giving her a ride. Between giving me directions she tells me about having moved from Phoenix and I tell her about my little brother. She asks if I miss going to school on the reservation and I tell her honestly that I do not. I pull into her driveway but she gives me a questioning look instead of getting out, so I explain further.

"I went through a pretty rough break up last year, his name was Sam. He ended our three year relationship out of nowhere and was dating my cousin, who he met while we were dating, within a month. They're engaged now." Bella makes a shocked face. "Yeah, it sucked. Anyway I've never been great at controlling my emotions and after that I was pretty much a wreck. I would go from being sad to angry at the drop of a hat, and when I got angry I would sometimes get violent. Two of the kids at my school started following Sam around a bit after we broke up, like they were all in some sort of gang and he was the leader. Sam had already graduated but the other two were still at the school with me. They followed me around at school and wouldn't let me forget what had happened. I was expelled because I snapped on the last day of school and grabbed one of them, Paul, and slammed his head against the locker. His friend told a teacher and I had already been on thin ice."

"Wow. That sucks, I'm so sorry that happened to you."

"It is what it is. Anyway though I wasn't exactly excited to be at Forks High I realized today how great it feels to finally be away from those two morons and the constant reminders of Sam. Almost everyone at the school knew what had happened, and even if they didn't say anything it sucked having almost everyone in the school look at me with pity. I was tired of being seen as the pathetic girl who couldn't live without her boyfriend"

I say the last part without thinking and then freeze, realizing the situation pretty much applies to Bella at this point. I look over at her and am relieved to see she does not look offended. She takes off her seatbelt and turns towards me.

"Would you like to come in for a bit, Leah?"

I definitely did not expect that but I nod and follow her inside the house. She offers me a glass of water and we both sit down on the couch in her living room. I am still thrown off by the fact that she invited me into her house and I don't really know what to say. Luckily I am saved from having to figure it out as she starts speaking.

"I met Edward when I first moved here and we were both immediately drawn to each other. I started dating him and became close with his entire family. His sister Alice was my closest friend after Angela, and his parents treated me like one of their own children. Edward and I talked about spending our lives together. When he broke up with me last week it felt like it came out of nowhere, and his entire family moved away without even saying goodbye."

She stops talking for a second but I can sense that she has more to say so I stay silent. She takes a sip of her water before continuing.

"I felt like my world had ended. I've practically been a zombie since that moment. But hearing your story made me realize that I don't want to be that girl either. The kind that can't live without her boyfriend. I was never that sort of girl before I met Edward and I refuse to let myself be now that he is gone."

"Does this mean you'll actually talk to me in class tomorrow?" I tease. The moment seems a bit too heavy considering we just met so I feel the need to interject some humour to lighten the mood. I think it works because Bella smiles at me before replying.

"Well I guess since we're stuck with each other I have no choice."


This is as much as I have already written. Please review - I will continue if there is interest.