Time for the next chapter, hope you guys like it enough to read this far
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Chapter 2- Clocks

(BPOV)

Ticking. What a lovely sound to wake up to, I thought groggily. 6:30 flashed in a brilliant red as I turned off the bomb-sounding alarm clock and motioned towards the bathroom.

I took a hot shower and enjoyed the steam that relaxed my over stressed muscles.

I took a long hard look at myself in the mirror. I wanted to beg the mirror to change what it kept showing me. A lanky pale freak with a sullen face kept staring back at me. The puffy bags under the eyes and the clarity of the veins under the skin gave off the impression the freak was also a drug addict.

I cringed as I glanced at the mirror one last time and went into my room. I put on a comfortable pair of straight leg jeans with a red baseball tee and navy rain boots Renee had thoughtfully bought for me, obviously knowing I would need them. I never put on any makeup usually but since I really did not need to get a bloody lip to round off the "druggie" look, I put on some simple pink lip balm.

By the time I got downstairs Charlie was already gone for work, leaving me a note with the directions to the school and keys to the cherry `53 Chevy pickup he bought for me from his friend Billy Black.

Note to self: thank Charlie with awesome dinner tonight. I quickly inhaled a bowl of cereal and grabbed my backpack and parka.

The school was relatively quick to reach, considering Forks was way too small to have traffic to begin with.

I relaxed noticing the student parking lot was filled with similar old cars like mine. I'm like everyone else! The nicest car in the whole lot was a silver Volvo and it stood out like a scarlet jay in a crowd of blackbirds.

I walked into the building with the sign FRONT OFFICE on it. A lady with a purple shirt stared at me expectantly.

"You must be Ms. Swan! I have your schedule right here, along with a map of the school!" she said, looking me up and down a few times before handing me the papers.

I pursed my lips together. Talk of the town already? I groaned inwardly. She kindly gave me directions to all of my classes and wished me a good day.

I easily found my first class in Building 3, English. I sighed in relief, I could not make a fool of myself in here. I timidly went into the class and introduced myself to the teacher, Mr. Mason. He gave a duplicate look of the lady in the front office and then sent me into back seat without introducing me.

That didn't matter because they all stared at me anyways. I felt blood rush to my cheeks and kept my face down most of the time. The book list were all the basics which I had read before I had even gotten to high school. This is going to be one boring semester..

As soon as the bell rang, a tall Asian boy came up to me. "I'm Eric, you're Isabella Swan right?" he stated more than asking. "Bella" I corrected. He flushed a little and then offered to help me to my next class.

I smiled a little and accepted gratefully. At least someone here is willing to be a little brave! He asked me a little about myself and then proceeded to my class, Government.

The rest of the morning went about the same, with a bit more brave people who began to introduce themselves and ask about me. One of the girls in my Spanish class asked if I wanted to sit with her and her friends for lunch. I accepted excitedly. Things really aren't going that bad!!

We ended up sitting at the end of a packed table with a few of her friends. She introduced to me and I shyly waved to them. While everyone started to calm down, I pulled out an apple and a book I brought to read for when I got bored.

Thinking I was uncomfortable with my silence, one of the boys called Mike asked, "What book are you reading, Bella?"

" Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut! Have you ever read it?" I asked eagerly. How I hoped for someone with my literary taste!

"Uhhhh...no sorry. I'm kind of a graphic novel person myself!" He joked, trying to sound funny. The rest of the table laughed but I kept silent.

Dammit! A little hyperactive there Swan, my thoughts reprimanded me.

I wasn't allowed much time to argue with myself though, because the girl in my Spanish class had chosen that time to ask what I hoped would never come up.

"Do you have a boyfriend back in Phoenix, Bella?" she questioned inquisitively, getting the table to scrutinize my movements and reactions.

Turquoise eyes flashed in my head. "Not anymore...we broke up a while ago" I said softly, trying to keep my voice and face composed.

"Aw, that sucks. What happened?" She pushed.

" Uhm... He decided to move and he thought the distance would be to much," I was close to whispering now, knowing really why he broke up with me when he left. He didn't want me anymore.

"What was his name?"

"As-Astaire" I croaked, saying his name just made it more real. My mind went back to that day.

//Flashback//

He was driving me back home from school. His ice blonde hair waved slightly with the wind and I took my time drawing a small version of him on my sketchpad. He was 19 to my 16 but that made no difference to me.

I had ran into him as a freshman in high school and he noticed the book in my hand. We started talking and we had been together ever since. He had even went to a local college to be with me even though he was so smart.

We had stopped in front of my house and I was about to invite him in when he interrupted my mouth from opening. "Izzy, we need to talk" he stated, his usually clear eyes, darker than cobalt.

"Izzy I'm moving. I got a scholarship to UC Berkeley for law school! I didn't think I would get accepted" he started mumbling.

"That's great! I promise we'll talk everyday!" I was so happy he would be able to pursue his dream even though the idea of him so far away hurt. Apparently I had said the wrong thing. His eyes turned even darker if possible as if fighting an internal war.

"No Izzy. We can't. I can't see you anymore" he said, his perfect face scrunching up, trying to figure better words to say.

"What? Why! Astaire?? But we love each other!" I exclaimed, hoping he couldn't hear the sound of my heart breaking as loudly as I could.

"That's the thing Izzy. We love each other but I don't think we've ever been in love with each other. I hope one day I can see you again and by then you might have forgiven me. I'm so sorry" He closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss my forehead. With that he went back into his car and left. The next day I found out he had moved.

//End of Flashback//

When my mind had reeled back to the present everyone had already gone back to their own conversation. I blinked back tears and looked around for something new to look at.

That's when I saw them.

There were five of them sitting in the corner, far away from everyone else. They were silent, each of them with a tray of untouched food in front of them. Each of them looked so very different but so similar.

They all had paler skin than I did and the same dark eye color with purple shadows underneath. None of that made a difference though. They were all unbelievably beautiful.

There were three boys, one incredibly muscular with dark hair, one leaner with light blonde, and the last one lanky with perfectly tousled bronze hair. The two girls made every other girl look like the elephant man in comparison.

The tall girl reminded me of one of those exotic swimsuit models every teenage boy has a calendar of in their rooms. The shorter girl was very thin with cropped pixie-cut hair and perfectly angular. Who were these people? How vain must I be to be so attracted to the "beautiful people"?

"That's the Cullens. Don't even bother, they talk to no one outside of their family" the girl who's name I finally remembered, Jessica, stated matter-of-factly. She filled me in with all the gossip she knew about them and I empathized. It must be hard being the core of such rumors all the time.

"It's best to stay away from them," she warned, sounding like she knew what happened by crossing their path. She must've gotten rejected. I felt almost smug.

"Don't worry, I've had my share of pretty-boys for a lifetime I think" I said dryly.

I stared at the clock in the cafeteria. Each second that passed felt like another tick.

When would this day end?

Tick Tock Tick
Coldplay - Clocks