I do not own Twilight or any of its characters

Special thanks to Project Team Beta

As I reached over to stop the vicious wailing of my alarm clock, realization hit me like a ton of bricks. It was my first day at a new school. I was very excited to enter this new world of freedom and possibilities. I was also very much scared to death. My mind was still reeling from all of the events that had led up to this day. For the past few years I had been stuck at St. Mary's, a Catholic school for girls. It was such a horrible place and I didn't fit in with any of the people there. Everyone was so cruel, including the teachers. Most of the students were sent there because they were bad kids. I wasn't bad though. My dad, Charlie, had put me there after my mom had up and left us for some guy she met on the internet. The strange part was that we were not even Catholic! He just freaked out and put me on some sort of religious lockdown. Since then our home had turned into some kind of silent, holy shrine designed to protect us from some unknown force of evil.

I had tried my best to comply with his rules in the beginning, but it had gotten harder and harder every year. I was sixteen now; ready to find myself and live a little more like a normal teenage girl would. I had executed what I like to think was a brilliantly orchestrated plan to get myself expelled from there. Charlie was left with no choice but to enroll me in Forks High, the local public school. He wasn't happy about it, to say the least, but still it was happening.

I, Bella Swan, was about to have a new beginning.

I slowly made my way towards the kitchen, quickly realizing that I was way too nervous to eat anything. Instead, I grabbed a bottle of juice, and headed out the door. Charlie hadn't allowed me to start driving yet, so I had to wait outside for the bus. As the big, yellow monster approached the curb, I took a deep breath and tried to find my courage.

It was show time.

I got off the bus feeling completely overwhelmed. I had never seen anything like it. This place was so big! Back at St. Mary's there was one room with a desk that I stayed at all day. This place had all of these different hallways and classrooms to try to keep up with. I wasn't even going to try and find my locker just yet. I hope that I would be able to locate a bathroom when the time was appropriate. Forget the schedule because what I needed right now was a navigation device.

I found my first two classes easily and made it through them uneventfully. After a few wrong turns, I finally found my way into my third period Biology class that was already in progress. My entrance into the room brought everything to an abrupt halt as all eyes suddenly fell upon me.

The teacher turned away from the board to face me. "You must be Ms. Swan. I am Mrs. Cole. I have an empty seat available over there towards the back."

I quickly assessed the situation. No one really looked unfriendly at least. In fact, there was this one pixie-looking girl next to the empty seat who was waving frantically as if she would just combust if I did not sit next to her. This struck me as a bit odd, considering this was the only possible place for me to sit, but I appreciated the welcome nonetheless.

"Hi! I'm Alice!" she chirped as she motioned towards the empty seat."You get to sit next to me! Ooh! I like your necklace!"

"Um, hi Alice…and thanks. My name's Bella," I said, approaching her with caution. She was a bit much to take in at once.

"Bella, that's a pretty name," she added, grabbing my book and flipping to the appropriate page. "We're on page 78 today; blood typing. Cool huh?"

"Yeah, I guess…and thanks again," I responded sheepishly. It was the best reply that I could come up with. This was already so different from St. Mary's. Of course, that was just what I was banking on. Still, as much as I wanted to make friends, I wasn't sure quite how to act. I suppose the best thing to do was to just be myself.

This will be a lot simpler once I figured out just who that is.

I looked around at all of the faces in the room, noticing that they all looked pretty normal. Surely, I could fit in and be like them in no time. Best not to over think it I suppose. I'm sure they didn't have it all figured out either.

Mrs. Cole quickly resumed her lesson and I was able to concentrate on that for the remainder of class. When the bell finally rang, Alice was out of her seat and instantly at my heels.

"So, Bella, you want to have lunch with me?" she coaxed as she latched onto my arm and flashed me a hopeful smile.

"Sure, lead the way!" I answered, feeling a wave of relief. Lunch was not a task I was looking forward to tackling on my own.

As soon as I spoke the words I felt my stomach tighten. The high school cafeteria was a major social scene that I was about to join. I was both panicked and thrilled at the same time. Surely, I could handle this. Besides, I had my new friend to help me make my entrance. As friendly as this girl was, one could only assume that she knew everyone in the whole school. She had to be well liked too. From what I had seen so far I seriously doubt if she would allow someone to not like her.

"So, where are you from?" Alice asked causally as we made our way down the hall. It was one question that I had not prepared myself to answer beforehand. I suppose it was only natural for everyone to assume that I was new in town as well as in school.

"Um, I'm from…right here" I replied, a bit unsure of my answer. For a second I actually considered telling her that I was fresh out of prison, but I didn't want to sound overly dramatic or anything.

"Oh, then why are you just now starting school?" Alice asked, continuing her interrogation.

Was she serious? This girl was something else.

"I transferred from St. Mary's. I've been there for what seemed like forever," I explained as my mind flashed back to my lengthy prison sentence. It certainly had felt like a prison sentence at least. The only difference was in prison they tend to release you for good behavior. That was certainly not how I had gained my freedom.

Alice's face was suddenly grim with understanding. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she replied with a look of real sympathy on her face. "I've heard about that place. I haven't heard good things either. Why did you wait so long to transfer?"

"Well, it's kind of complicated," I replied vaguely. My smile quickly faded as I recalled the countless attempts at getting out of that school. I just wanted to forget all of it. I was ready for my new life to begin here.

"Well, complicated is interesting so please do continue," Alice encouraged as we approached the cafeteria.

"You see, my Dad forced me to go there. I begged him to take me out of there for years, but nothing worked" I explained as my hands began to figet.

"How did you finally convince him then?" she asked as her eyes grew big with facination.

Convince him? I suppose that was one way of putting it.

"I didn't really," I began slowly. "I had to make public school the only option."

"Oh, I see...so you..." she said, her voice trailing off as she processed my response.

"I got myself kicked out," I answered before she had time to draw her own conclusions. Well, so much for leading up to that. We both were silent for a minute before bursting into careless laughter.

We stumbled into the cafeteria, still laughing over my recent triumph. As soon as we entered, I was overwhelmed once again. The place was as big as the food court in the mall, and filled to the brim with students. I felt like I had just stepped into a battle zone. I noticed a lot of eyes on me as I stood there in the entrance. Both girls and guys were trying to size me up right away. I could only hope that I would measure up to whatever standards they required. It was all a little intimidating.

"Alice," I called out, stopping dead in my tracks. "This place is packed. I'm not sure where to go."

"Bella," she said in the most sincere voice. "You just need to meet a few more people and then you will feel more comfortable. Follow me okay?"

She grabbed my hand and dragged me over to a small table in the corner of the room. I quickly glanced at all of the faces that were staring up at me with welcoming eyes. To my left was a blond girl snuggled up with a big, dark-haired guy. She looked like she had just stepped out of a fashion magazine. From the looks of the guy I could only assume that he made up the school's entire wrestling team.

"Bella, this is Rosalie and Emmet," Alice said gesturing towards the couple. Before I could reply, my attention quickly turned to a blond guy on the other side who was now getting up out of his chair.

With a warm smile, the guy with blond hair pulled out the chair beside me.

"…and this...is Jasper!" she exclaimed as she took his hand into hers.

"Hello, please sit with us," Jasper said as he proceeded to pull out a second chair for Alice followed by a kiss on her cheek. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Jasper was Alice's boyfriend.

"Guys this is Bella. She just transferred from St. Mary's!" Alice informed them with her usual excitement. "She had to get herself kicked out so she could come here!"

She was obviously pleased to have the "scoop" on me. I just smiled and tried in vain to will her to shut up through my mind. I could already feel the heat spreading across my cheeks. That wasn't really the ice-breaker I had in mind. Still, it saved me the trouble of explaining myself.

At that moment, Emmett spoke up. "Alright, a criminal mastermind amongst us!" He roared as he leaned forward to shake my hand. "So, how did you pull that off?"

Okay, well, at least they were taking some interest in me.

"Well...I...umm...I sort of convinced them that I was evil…or something." My cheeks turned bright red as I made my confession. What would they think of me now? The table was silent for a few seconds before everyone burst into laughter. They didn't seem the least bit put off. Maybe this would work out after all.

Emmett sat back down while continuing with his line of questioning. "So, what? Like a possessed vampire or something?" he teased before bursting into laughter.

"Something like that," I replied cooly. The laughter at the table grew even louder. This time, I was laughing with them.

Rosalie's eyes locked with mine and her face broke into a huge grin as she finally joined the conversation. "Well, Bella, we're definitely going to have to put that mind of yours to good use this Halloween. I'm sure you and Eddie could really do some damage if we put your heads together," she announced wickedly.

As happy I was that everyone was talking to me, I had no idea what she was talking about.

"What do you mean? Who is Eddie and what do you do for Halloween?" I inquired, trying to figure out what I was missing. I was definitely intrigued, but felt I was missing a piece of the puzzle. Before she could answer, the happy pixie took control of the conversation again.

"Oh, Eddie is a friend of ours," Alice explained carefully as I soaked up every word. "He's not the most social creature, so he's not around very much, but he comes out of his shell for Halloween. I mean, we all do really. We like to play pranks and create elaborate costumes and stuff like that. It's always a blast."

I was starting to get excited. They were making plans with me. Just like that, I was accepted into their clique. So much different from all of the cruel kids I had grown accustomed to. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. Although, I couldn't help but be aware of the fact that I was the odd man out. My new friends were all couples. Of course, they didn't seem to mind, so I suppose I shouldn't either.

Apparently, there were other members of this group that just weren't here at the moment. One for sure, this Eddie they were talking about, at least. Maybe the numbers wouldn't be so bad. I would just have to wait and see. I wasn't totally opposed to the idea of dating if it were to become a necessary factor to staying in the group. I had a couple of boyfriends in middle school. They weren't very long term and the most intense thing that ever came of it was some innocent hand holding. Still, this was a reinvention process and I needed some time before I could think about that step. I wasn't even sure if Charlie would let allow me to date anyone if I wanted to. He was so controlling. I knew he meant well, but sometimes he acted as if the entire world was out to steal my soul.

My thoughts were quickly interrupted by the warning bell. I gathered my things quickly, to try to give the others some private time for goodbyes. "See you guys later!" I called out to them. With that, I rushed to find my next class.

"Hey, wait up!" Alice chirped as she rushed to catch up to me. I couldn't help but laugh as I noticed her basically dragging Jasper behind her. "Do you want to ride home with me and Jazz today?"

How could I possible say no to that face? She was just too much. Still, I didn't want to intrude. "Well, I was going to ride the bus. I don't want to be a pain," I said as I shot Jasper a questioning look. I had to make sure that I wouldn't be bothering him before I said yes.

"Really, it's not a problem," he responded sincerely. "Besides, I just got a new truck and I want to show it off!"

"Okay then, I'll meet you guys in the parking lot in a little while. Oh, and thanks," I said as I walked into my next class. They both smiled and continued down the hall. I, Bella Swan, had friends. I never thought it would happen so quickly. Maybe this adjustment wouldn't be nearly as hard as I had anticipated.

The rest of the day was somewhat uneventful. I met a ton of people, but couldn't really remember any of their names. The whole day had gone by in a blur and I was now on my way out to meet Jasper and Alice. I had no idea what his truck looked like, so I just waited patiently by the entrance for their arrival. After a few minutes a bright, red truck pulled right up to the door.

"Come on Bella, hop in!" Alice commanded as she leaned her head out of the window. I wished I could be that carefree.

"Hey guys," I greeted as I made my way to the truck. "Sorry, I didn't know which one was…" I stopped as soon as I realized that he was talking on his cell phone. My cheeks burned at the recognition.

"Yeah, well, I was wondering what had happened to you. No, I don't blame you. Detention does suck," Jasper said with a chuckle. "How many is that for you bro? You must be going for the record. Alright Edward, see you later." Jasper clicked the phone shut and turned to acknowledge me. "Hey Bella how did you like that curbside service?" He winked at Alice. She just giggled and laid her head on his shoulder.

"You two sure know how to treat a lady," I replied earnestly, preparing to give them directions. "Take a left at the next light and you'll be on my street. I'm the house at the end of the cul de sac."

"So, what did you think of our little school Bella?" Alice asked enthusiastically, turning her attention to me while Jasper concentrated on driving.

"It was cool I guess. Everyone seemed real nice," I said in an effort to pacify her. "I didn't know what to make of all of the attention."

"Well, you certainly got a lot of attention from the guys anyway," Alice said as she turned to face me. "Did you see anything you liked?"

"Not that I can recall, but I'll be sure to let you know if I do," I added for good measure. I couldn't help but notice her and Jasper exchange a look as I spoke and I wondered why they were concerned with my love life?

Upon arriving at my house, I hopped out of the cab and was followed by Alice. She gave me a big hug and bounced back over to the truck.

"Bye, we'll see you tomorrow!" she called out before closing the door.

"Bye guys," I yelled as I turned to go inside.

It had been a good day. I couldn't remember how long it had been since I had one of those.

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