EPOV

Once everyone had moved in, I headed back down to my room to have a look at the frosh itinerary that had been given to me when I checked into the rez. They had given us most of the day to move in, and had a mandatory orientation scheduled for 7 that evening. I looked up when a knock came at my open door. Emmett popped his head in.

"Hey man, we're thinking of getting some pizza so we can have a bite and get to know each other before orientation. You want anything special?"

"Just cheese is fine for me," I responded. He broke out in a wide grin.

"Yes!" he exploded. I looked at him quizzically. I had gotten used to his outbursts, but pizza seemed like a strange thing to get excited about.

"Man, this is perfect! You and the two brunette chicks want cheese, me, Jasper, and the hot blond want meat lovers..." I continued to fail to see the point. "Don't you get it man!? The way people like their pizza says everything about them! This group was like, destined to be together or something. We're fucking in sync!" Emmett turned and launched himself from the door and back up the stairs, yelling about our community spirit. I couldn't help but laugh at his logic. I hadn't considered that the fates might work through pizza, but why the heck not? I had a feeling I'd get a lot of new ideas from that guy.

I folded up my intinerary and stuck it in my pocket before following him up the stairs. I knew what was on it, but I'm a control freak, I needed it there for my own comfort.

About 20 minutes later a knock came at the front door. Emmett bounded to the front door with six 'fives' in his hand, each of our contributions to dinner. I was sitting in the kitchen chatting with Jasper, and we could hear him enthusiastically making some comment to the delivery guy, congratulating him for making it in less than 30 minutes, as advertised. Jasper and I chuckled together. Emmett was already everyone's best friend.

We heard the door close before Emmett called up the stairs to the girls and then came into the kitchen with dinner. The smell of pizza began wafting through the space, and I suddenly realized how hungry I was. The adrenaline of moving day had kept my mind off my stomach, but at 5:30 it finally caught up with me.

The three girls filed in while we were opening the boxes and setting out paper plates and cups. I took on the job of server and cut everyone out their specified piece, before following them into the living room where they'd all congregated. The two brunette girls, Alice and Bella, had taken up on the couch, while Jasper sat in a recliner next to them. Emmett was snuggled onto the loveseat that he was much too big for, next to Rosalie. It was immediately clear to both Jasper and myself that he had made his claim on the girl he wanted. I tried not to roll my eyes at him before sitting next to Alice at the end of the couch.

"So," Emmett boomed. I saw Rosalie jump a little. Being the last to arrive, she'd had the least time to acclimate herself to his exuberance. "We've got about an hour and half before orientation. What'dya say we get to know each other a little?" The group shrugged and nodded our agreement, we could see Emmett's excitement. I think everyone was just generally amused by him, and were waiting to see what he would say or do next.

"Alright, who wants to go first?" he asked. The room was silent, everyone looked around. He rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll go first!" I settled back into my seat to listen to Emmett's story. I was genuinely interested in finding out how this particular gang of people had come to Wickham.

"So, I'm Emmett McCarthy, like you don't know. I'm from Michigan," he started. I listened intently to his tale. He had originally intended to go to Michigan State, but was offered a football scholarship from Wickham, and didn't want to pass it up. He was, go figure, top jock, prom king, but he didn't really give off that vibe. When he confided that he was also captain of the drama club, everyone chuckled a bit. I could just imagine him booming his way through Romeo and Juliet, and fidgeting while playing dead.

He finished up with his major, liberal arts. When he was done, he looked to his left at Rosalie. She cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter. It wasn't lost on anyone that she knew exactly how beautiful she was, and that she was more than a little ego-centric. But, to be fair, she seemed like a nice chick anyway.

"Umm, I'm Rosalie Hale. I'm from Florida," she began. Head cheerleader? Check. Prom queen? Check. Class President? Check. Captain of the auto-club? What? I have to admit, I listened a little more closely when she began talking about cars. I listened with rapt attention when she gave a passionate re-telling of her rebuild of a 1982 Ford Mustang that she gave to her dad for his birthday. I had seriously misjudged this girl. I glanced at Emmett, and, no word of a lie, he was drooling. She had come to Wickham for their Psychology program, and wanted to be a child psychologist. It seemed like a noble choice.

Next was Jasper.

"Jasper Whitlock," he said with a little wave. He spoke with a thick southern drawl that immediately put everyone at ease. I saw Alice out of the corner of my eye leaning forward as he spoke. "I'm from Texas, as you can probably tell." Everyone chuckled lightly. The rest of his story wasn't so predictable though. He was an army brat, having moved around for most of his early life. His dad passed away when he was 10, and his mom moved them back to Texas to be with family. He wasn't super-popular in high school, but he did have plenty of friends. People naturally liked him, and I could see why. He was just a very genuine, pleasant seeming guy. I knew right away that we would get along. His major was agricultural studies. I had no idea what that was, but I had no doubt he'd be good at it.

After Jasper, it was my turn. I looked around the room, slightly uncomfortable with everyone's attention suddenly being on me, but I sucked it up and launched into my story. I wasn't sure how much I wanted to divulge about my wealth, so I decided just to stick to the basics and told them about my upbringing in Southern California. I mentioned that my dad was a Neurosurgeon and my mom was an Architect. They all seemed interested in my schooling, having gone to a fairly elite private school. I was captain of the debate team, valedictorian. My main and only sport was horseback riding—Bella seemed impressed by that. She smiled a little wider when I talked about my horse, Izzy. Her smile was truly beautiful.

I mentioned that I was taking business with a major in Marketing, hoping to work in advertising. I then passed it along to Alice, eager to get the attention off of me. She launched in with an exuberance that nearly matched Emmett's.

"Hi everyone! I'm Alice Brandon," she said with a big smile. Her very presence could put a smile on your face. "I'm from Forks." Everyone looked at her quizzically, and she and Bella chuckled to each other. "It's a small town in Washington. And when I say small, I don't mean, oh, 20 thousand people... I mean, about a thousand. Okay, so I was born and raised in Forks, and Bells and I have been best friends since we could breathe. And yes, I mean that very literally. We were born on the same day!" I was intrigued. Anyone who can keep a strong friendship for that long had to have some great qualities.

I wanted to hear all about Alice, but I couldn't wait for her to pass it along to Bella. She had been so quiet all day, I could barely imagine her voice. Alice went on to talk about her own clubs and sports, although, the opportunities for those things were limited in their small town. She spent most of her life getting into trouble with Bella. She was at Wickham to major in business administration, with hopes of opening her own boutique. Having the same major, I imagined Alice and I would have a lot of classes together.

When she passed it along to Bella, I felt a small knot form in my stomach. I wasn't sure what it was about Bella that gave me such an immediate attraction, but I had never felt anything like it before.

She began speaking, and I let go of a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Her voice was soft, very level, one could almost call it a monotone. But there was something behind it, a musical quality that drew me in. I couldn't tear my eyes from her while she recounted her tale.

"Umm, I'm Bella Swan, as you know. Uh yea, I'm not really sure what to say that you don't already know," she laughed lightly at herself before continuing on. "Yea, born and raised in Forks. My mom passed away when I was about four, so it's just been me and my dad for as long as I can remember. He's awesome, he's about the best dad I could hope for.

"Umm... I write a lot. English has always been my favourite subject, so I guess that's why I'm majoring in it now. I read all of the time—classics, lots of Jane Austin, Charlotte Bronte, Shakespeare and the like. I mean, yea... I don't have a whole lot left to say," she said with a final nod. I disagreed. There was so much more I wanted to know about her. Which of your parents gave you your beautiful brown eyes? What's your favourite colour? Favourite snack? Favourite movie? Do you like action movies? Are you single?

Yes... I would definitely have to find out if she was single.

The conversation began to flow easily around the room once everyone had introduced themselves. We, as a group, seemed to get along very well. I could tell everyone seemed to be at ease now that the introductions were over and we could see where everyone stood. It was kind of unnerving, living with strangers.

When it was about 10 to 7 we all got our shoes on and headed over to the gymnasium together for orientation. The purpose for Mason Village was so first years could make friends, and, from what I could tell, it was more than achieving its goal. As I walked with Bella on one side and Jasper on the other I silently thanked Louis Mason, whoever he was, for giving me the opportunity to meet these people.

BPOV

The gymnasium was packed and extremely loud when we filed in. We all took seats in the back row of chairs. We were packed in like sardines, and I could feel Edward next to me. He was warm. I fought my inner temptation to lean into him. I didn't really know him, aside from what he'd mentioned over dinner. Although, I had to admit, his story about his horse was enough to melt my heart a little. He had a beautiful voice, seemed very confident. He was insanely handsome, way out of my league. I wouldn't bother entertaining thoughts about being with him. He was obviously a lady-killer, with his panty-dropping smile, velvety voice, and natural swagger. Besides, I wasn't interested in a boyfriend anyway. In fact, that was exactly the opposite of what I wanted. I just wished my speeding heart would get the memo.

When someone finally stepped up to the podium, I forced my attention onto them and away from Edward. It was a young guy at the mic, probably a fourth year.

"Welcome to Wick U, everyone!" the guy called. There were some whoops and hollers around the room. He spoke again when the place quieted. "Alright, so, I'm Felix. I'm the head house parent around here, and am also the house parent for 13 Yellow. I'm just going to give you guys a rundown of what it means to be a part of Mason Village.

"First, and most importantly, each house has a house parent. You've heard of residence attendants, well, that's what we are. We're here to help you out. If someone gets sick, if you're lost, if you lose your key, whatever the case may be, you call us. Also, if you're having an issue with a roommate, you can call us and we'll help you work it out.

"Second, room assignments. They're non-negotiable, you are where you are unless you can come up with a legitimate complaint. As you know, getting into the Village is first come first serve, so if you're really unhappy with your lot, you're welcome to give up your room and move into the regular rez on campus. I'm sure there are dozens of people willing to take your place.

"Third, Mason Village is a dry campus." Groans and boo's could be heard throughout the room. Felix held up his hands to silence the place. "Yea, yea, I know. But we happen to be fully aware that none of you are legal yet, so booze is a no-go. We operate on a three-strike system, so if you're caught with booze three times, you get kicked out of Mason Village, simple as that."

"How the hell will you know?" some smart-ass in the crowd yelled. Felix chuckled.

"I'm glad you ask, that brings us to point number four. We do random house-checks once a month. The checks are carried out by your House parent. You wont know when they're coming, so it's best to be prepared. If booze or any substance is found in a common room, the whole house gets a strike. If it's found in someone's room, that person gets docked.

"Now, the final point, on a lighter note—every two months we have a block party. This is an outdoor barbeque that everyone is invited to. That gives you a chance to get to know the other tenants in the Village, and to unwind a bit. College is stressful, as I'm sure you'll all come to find, so you'll be appreciating the parties when they come along. The first one will be hosted by the House parents from Block 6 in about two weeks time. You'll all get notice in advance.

"So, I'm sure you're all sick of listening to me talk, so now we're going to ask you all to return to your houses. Your house parents will meet you there and give you their own rundowns and answer any questions you may have.

"Welcome to Mason Village everyone. I hope we can help make your first year here at Wick U a memorable one."

When Felix finished up, the whole room burst out into conversation. Our pack from 4-White gathered together and slipped out the door to head back to our house.

"Fuck, no booze?" Emmett cried once we cleared out. I rolled my eyes. He was quite the character. I assumed if anyone from our group would have an issue with that stipulation, it'd be him. The rest of us quietly let him rant while we walked. He finally quieted when we were within hearing distance of our front doorstep, where a tall, muscular, tan skinned guy was standing. He wore a simple black shirt and jeans, and had a smile white enough to blind you if you looked directly at it.

"Hey 4-White!" he exclaimed as we made it to him. "I'm Jake, your house parent." We had gathered that, but he seemed nice enough. He led us inside and we all took a seat in the living room.

"Okay, so, I'm Jacob Black, you can call me Jake. Let me just tell you basically what I am to you. If you have any problems, you can talk to me, if you're sick, come find me. Basic day-to-day stuff that you can't figure out on your own, I'm here for ya. If I can't help you, I know who can, so please, don't hesitate to call.

"Alright, so, first things first. Dry campus? Whatever. I'll give you guys two days notice before your "random house check" to take care of whatever I'm not supposed to see." The group chuckled. Jake immediately seemed like a cool guy. "And, you know... there may be a small hole dug out in the backyard with a cover over it that might be big enough to store something about the size of a twelve pack. But don't worry, I don't know about it, because I didn't live here in my first year, andI most certainly didn't dig the hole myself."

"I like you, Man," Emmett said. I grinned. Emmett was predictable, but I liked predictability. Unpredictable people had a tendency to disappoint me. Jake chuckled.

"Look, I don't care what you guys do, just, you know, be respectful of each other and of the rest of the residents. Don't be too loud, don't be obnoxious. Just, be nice and no one should have a problem, alright?" Everyone nodded their agreement. His rules didn't seem to be too hard to follow. I was sure there wouldn't be any problems from our group, everyone seemed pretty easy-going. Except Rosalie, but I doubted she'd risk relocation to the regular dorms.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Jake asked. I looked around, and no one seemed to have anything to say. Jake pulled himself out of the seat. "Alright then. I'll let you guys go for the night. Have a look at some of the frosh activities guys, it's a good way to get to know everyone, and they're really fun."

We all stayed in the living room while Jake let himself out. I was feeling much more at ease after getting to know everyone and learning the rules for living in the Village. I felt my nerves from that morning begin to dissipate. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

A/N: Thanks for reading guys. And remember, reviews are super-motivating, so you'll probably get more chapters faster if you leave a note :)