The rest of the story takes place three years later (including this chapter). Also, I thought I should clarify. This is a JasperxBella story. I'm pointing it out because I noticed that in the author's note for the prologue I accidentally typed "Edward." Sorry about that. :( Now I'll stop bugging you and let you read.

Let the Rumors Fly!

"I. don't. CARE!" My radio alarm suddenly began blaring My Chemical Romance full blast. I groaned and rolled over, falling off my bed in the process. Once my head rush wore off, I staggered over to my closet and pulled out my usual skinny jeans and band tee. Colors aside, no one ever noticed what I wore anyway.

"JASPER! TURN IT DOWN!" my ever-loving mother screeched from the kitchen downstairs. She's not a morning person... When I heard her footsteps stomping toward the staircase, I scrambled over to my alarm to turn it down.

"And though you're broken and defeated," the alarm was just above a whisper. After my mother's stomps passed my door, I slid down my wall with a sigh of relief. It was short-lived though.

I glanced at the large, circular clock hanging on my black wall. The Roman numerals read 7:45. Crap! I shuffled into my bathroom and brushed my teeth, simultaneously wrestling with my unruly black-and-blond hair. With a little gel and time with the straightener, it finally settled down. Once that was out of the way, I peeked out of the bathroom-just in case- and grabbed the eyeliner out of the back of the drawer.

By 8:05, I was out the door with ten minutes to drive to school. Ten minutes. Plenty of time.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

A deafening silence fell over the class as I walked into homeroom. It broke when a couple of girls giggled. Others scoffed. The jocks cracked a few emo jokes, not that that was anything new. I stalked over to my chair in the back left corner. Though it was the first day of school, nothing had changed from last year. This was all a routine everyone had established when I moved here in middle school: I enter, silence, they laugh, I sit, they laugh, I ignore them, they get bored and move on.

We had just reached the part where I sit when someone broke routine.

Rosalie, one of the schools most popular-and bitchy-cheerleaders, made some comment on how emo kids shouldn't go to school here, or something. That wasn't anything out of the ordinary; it was the response that threw me off.

"Don't you think you're being a bit judgmental?" The voice floated though the room like a cool breeze, effectively drawing everyone's attention. Everyone-including myself-turned to find the source. The room grew deathly silent for the second time this morning. No one stands up to Rosalie Hale.

"Excuse me?" Rosalie's voice raised an octave.

"Apologize to him, not me," the girl replied curtly. Her head was resting on her desk along with her left arm. She angled herself so she was facing Rosalie in the desk a row away from her. So this is Bella, the new girl. I'd heard a little about her, but not much. I knew she absolutely despised the name "Isabella," and that her parents died in an exceptionally violent car accident-which she witnessed.

Emmett, the school's massive quarterback, was sitting in between them with a cheeky grin. He seemed to be enjoying their little argument more than anyone.

"What's up with you people and your hostility toward 'emo' kids?" she lazily raised her left hand from her lap to air quote 'emo.' "Isn't that just a bit prejudiced?" The last part was quieter, like she was saying it to herself. "Clothes racist, maybe?" she tried. Emmett chuckled at her word choice.

"Just look at him!" Rosalie jabbed a finger in my direction.

Suddenly, Emmett burst into boisterous laughter. Why, I had no idea. Some confused glances were exchanged amongst my classmates. Apparently, they didn't get it either. "WHAT?" Rosalie was yelling now.

Bella scowled and clamped a hand over her uncovered ear.

Between guffaws, Emmett tried to explain. "Bella is b-"

"Emmett!" Bella snapped. Everyone jumped. A few kids dropped their cell phones and two others even fell out of their chairs in shock. Even Emmett seemed a bit frightened by the sheer intensity of her voice. For the third time in under twenty minutes, the classroom was as silent as a graveyard.

The silence was broken a few seconds later as our perky homeroom teacher scurried into the room. "Sorry I'm late! Oh! So quiet this morning."

Mrs. Larson scampered about the classroom, passing out our new class schedules. "Aren't you a cute little thing?" she cooed as she gave Bella her schedule. A blush crept across her face and she quickly put her head back on her desk.

I had to agree with the woman, not that I'd ever admit it. Her glossy, dark brown hair tumbled down her shoulders to her mid-back in loose curls. Her bangs hid her eyes, not that I could complain. My right eye was covered by my "emo fringe," as the "popular" kids put it. She was wearing converse along with black skinny jeans and a Linkin Park hoodie. What had to be the most interesting were her nails. They were painted black with red peeking through around the edges to look like her fingers were bleeding. That, and they were all filed to a point. Those things could do some serious damage.

As Mrs. Larson explained the school rules that hadn't changed in years, I couldn't help but think this year might actually be-Dare I say it?-interesting.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

An hour later, I was shuffling into Latin. Enter, silence, laugh, sit, laugh, ignore, move on. There I had the pleasure of sitting behind Edward-captain of the baseball team- and his girlfriend Alice-also a cheerleader.

We've never had much of a problem with each other; they're more more considerate than most everyone else. I heard once that Edward had gone through some sort of 'dark phase' before he met Alice which would explain their tolerance.

I was pulled from my thoughts by a squealing Alice. "Have you seen Emmett's sister?"

She's Emmett's sister? Alice's little outburst left me dumbfounded. She must've noticed because she turned from Edward to face me.

"She's adopted," Alice explained. That makes sense, I guess. She moved to face both me and Edward. "Em said that his dad found her in a forest with a pack of wolves!" That certainly turned a few heads. There were only seven other kids in the room, but I could guarantee that the entire school will have heard the story- or at least some type of rumor that stemmed from it- by lunch.

"This is Emmett we're talking about," Edward reasoned. "He could have also said she was a vampire they found in the attic one day." Let the rumors fly... I felt for the girl.

"That reminds me," Alice chirped, turned to face me again. "Did she really get into a fight with Rosalie this morning?" she whispered.

Edward's eyebrows rose as he turned to me as well. "I heard it was over you," he threw in with a cocky, crooked smile.

"It was not over me!" I snapped, suddenly irritated. Why, I had no idea.

"That's not what I heard!" Alice sang. Edward's cocky smile turned into a knowing smirk.

I scowled. "You really shouldn't believe everything you hear," I warned.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

I was right about the news spreading. In fact, I heard at least four completely different rumors just walking from my locker to the cafeteria doors.

So apparently, she was either:

A) a vampire because she slept through history class and no one ever does that. Although I also heard she took a snap at Mike Newton, the school player.

B) a rogue alien hiding from the government in Emmett's attic because her nails are far too pointy to be those of a human being.

C) a werewolf because Emmett said his dad found her with a pack of wolves, and Emmett always knows what he's talking about.

Or D) This one killed me. She's a recent recent escapee from a nearby insane asylum bent on massacring the town and eating the hearts and faces of all the "normal people that sent her away." She just moved here. Who could've possibly sent her away to begin with? I believe Rosalie started this one.

The cafeteria food seemed a bit... repulsive, so I settled for an apple, pulled up the hood of my Breaking Benjamin hoodie, and walked outside. It was raining, so I assumed I'd be alone. None of the girls would willingly risk messing up their hair or makeup in the rain, yet they end out screwing it up anyway when they make out with the guys in the hallway. Chicks. I knew the guys wouldn't be out here either simply because the girls were inside. People are so predictable it's almost upsetting.

Much to my surprise, someone was outside. As I walked toward the student parking lot, I saw none other than Bella sleeping under a tree. Alone in the rain. She really is a strange one, not that I can talk. I'm out here too, after all.

Before I knew it, my feet had carried me to the tree. Realizing I had no idea what I was doing, I nervously put my hood down. Running a hand through my sopping wet hair, I mentally slapped myself for walking over there to begin with. She is asleep. Maybe I can walk away now like nothing happened. I took a measured step back.

Bella's lips suddenly twitched up as if she knew exactly what I was doing. She stretched like a cat after a long nap in the sun and rolled onto her back, pulling herself into a sitting position against the tree.

She patted the spot next to her with a sweet smile. I cautiously took a step forward only to be greeted by a golf ball sized drop of rain that had managed to sneek between the leaves. Bella must've seen my surprised face because the moist, rainy air was filled with her tinkling laughter. It reminded me of wind chimes. The sound was almost soothing.

"Would you like to go somewhere a bit dryer?" Her voice was sweet, yet mocking. She had replaced her pleasant smile with an amused smirk.

"If you insist," I sighed with a smirk of my own.

Bella looked down and slowly shook her head as she rose to her feet. Her smile was visible, but her eyes were still hidden. I found myself wondering what they looked like.

"Where to?" she asked lazily.

"My car is closer than the cafeteria," I suggested. "Care to join me?"

"Beats being trapped in a room chalked full of hormonal, stuck-up teenagers," she agreed. Her response surprised me.

"You don't like your brother?"

"I never said that." She dismissed my accusation with a wave of her hand.

"So he's just a stuck-up, hormonal teenager, then?" I teased.

"Nah, he's not stuck-up." I could hear the smile in her voice as she reached down to grab her back and purple skelebat messenger bag.

"You forgot to mention whether or not he's hormonal," I pried. It was almost frightening how easy it was to talk to her.

"Did I?" she sang.

"I have a feeling I know the answer anyway." I may be out of the loop, but I'm not stupid. Everyone knew about Emmett and Rosalie. They weren't exactly a reserved couple.

Bella pulled up her hood and threw her bag over her shoulder. She laughed. "You probably do."

I pulled up the hood of my MCR hoodie and stepped into the pouring rain. It wasn't just coming down in sheets, it was coming down in pillows and blankets and freaking comforters!

I turned back around just in time to catch Bella as she stumbled into the rain. She fell into my chest and my arms snaked around her waist, helping her regain her balance.

"Sorry," Bella mumbled into my chest. She pulled back and I got a glimpse of one of her eyes. "I didn't realize how hard it was raining. Threw me off... Literally." It looked peculiar. Then again, I only got a glimpse.

We walked silently to my black Audi, our shoulders only an inch apart. Hers were hunched and her head was down. She stuffed her hands into her hoodie pocket.

"You'll get used to it."

"What?" She lifted her head a little to show she was listening.

"In Forks, it rains more often then not. You get used to it... Kind of," I reiterated.

"Well that's reassuring." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "When did you get over it?"

"That's where the 'kind of' comes in," I explained.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Once we reached my car, I popped the trunk and pulled out a few blankets and towels. We were soaked. I turned on the car and got the heater running. I took off my hoodie and threw it over one of the vents in front to dry. Bella copied me and we sat in back with the towels and blankets.

I started towel drying my hair. It must've looked ridiculous. "So you won't sit in a cafeteria with a bunch of teenagers, but you'll sit in the back of a car with one?" It was a bit strange... At least in the cafeteria there's room to get away from them.

"Would you rather be stuck in a spacious tiger cage, or in a smaller space with a kitten?" What?

"The kitten, I guess?" What kind of a question was that? It made me think of those psychoanalysis tests. "Does that make me the kitten?"

"Mm-hm. I didn't mean anything by it, just that you wouldn't try to pull anything." she explained.

"How do you know I'm not just waiting for the right opportunity?" I was honestly curious. My own parents didn't trust me as much as Bella seemed to.

"We've been alone for the past ten minutes, yet you haven't done a thing."

"I could be trying to gain your trust first. Besides, I'm sure everyone knows we're out here. I'd like to think they smart enough to put at least that much together," I relied sardonically. Yeah, right.

"They're not that smart. I've been here for maybe four hours, and I already know that much." I handed her my towel so she could dry her hair and pulled a comb out of my door. "Plus, I think I'd know if you were some serial rapist murderer," she pointed out. It wasn't her words that had my curious now; it was the smile that crossed her face.

"This isn't one of those 'takes one to know one' things, is it?" I asked cautiously, half serious, half joking.

She stopped drying her hair a moment, then started laughing. I didn't know whether to be relieved -that she didn't take it personally- or freaked out -because she thought it was funny. "Don't worry. I wouldn't do something like that." She stopped laughing. "Just a few close encounters, is all."

I sat there, shocked. "Are you okay?"

"No need to worry about that." She waved a hand, brushing it off. "They're taken care of. Besides, they didn't actually pull it off anyway."

"Still, you must've been pretty freaked out..." I know I would. I carry a pocket knife... She probably didn't have anything.

"A little, they were like Newton, except bigger... In every meaning of the word." She giggled at the last part. She managed to get a surprised laugh out of me. "Around here, rumors spread faster than the plague. Like I'd actually get close enough to find out." Bella's face scrunched up in disgust. That was a relief to hear.

"While we're on the topic, what do you think of Forks, Aside from the hormones, rain, and stuck-up teenagers, obviously."

"It's not too bad actually. I didn't expect anything good would come of it, especially after that argument in homeroom. I promised Claude and Phil I'd-" She dropped the brush she'd pulled out of her bag. "Oh, crap!"

"What?" I felt like I was getting whiplash from the constant mood changes.

"I was going to call during lunch to check in on them, but I took a nap instead." I caught her hand before she smacked herself on the head. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her cellphone.

"Well, you can't really go out side, so I'll turn on my iPod for you." I wasn't about to eavesdrop.

"Thanks." She speed dialed the number and lifted the phone to her ear as I put in my earbuds. 30 Seconds to Mars drowned Bella out as she spoke quietly about things I couldn't hear. I closed my eyes and settled into my seat until I felt a tap on my shoulder.

See, I told you the next chapter would be longer! It's over 3,000 words... That's a lot for me. Questions, comments, something not make sense? Let me know. Thanks for reading :D Review please! They motivate me.