AN: Sorry it took so long to update, I had a couple of test I had to study for this week.

DISCLAIMER: I really don't know why we have to put these things up because it's called FANFICTION for a reason, but, whatev. I think we all know that I don't own Twilight so I'll stop putting these up for this fic.

Enjoy!


Chapter 2: First Sight

The next morning, I woke up and there was no sun peeking through the dark blue curtains. Not like I was expecting it to. I slowly crawled out from under the warmth of the bed and grabbed a long sleeve t-shirt and jeans. I tied my tennis shoes and brushed my hair until there was no trace of the mess that the night had made it, and made sure that Zerlinda's two necklaces were around my neck.. I grabbed my ipod and stopped just before opening the door. I debated whether I should bring something to pull my hair back with, but decided against it. There was no way I was showing my bruises to the entire school population.

Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet one. He tried making conversation with me, but that didn't work out too well. I'm not a morning person and I was pretty much out of it until about an hour of being awake. Before leaving for work, Charlie wished me good luck and a good day at school. I attempted a smile, holding back the sarcastic remarks running through my head. I sat in the kitchen, taking it in. Nothing changed. The same pictures were still in the same spot as well as everything else. Did anything ever change in this house?

I was getting really bored just sitting at the house. I didn't bother turning on the TV because there's only kid shows on in the morning and I knew that if I listened to my ipod I would get too tied up in the music and then be late for school. I didn't want to be early nor late for school, but I couldn't stand just sitting there with absolutely nothing to do. Sighing, I threw on my jacket and headed for the wood behind the house. Maybe Zerlinda would be in her cottage.

I was in luck. Zerlinda was outside, wearing booty, cotton shorts and a tank top and her hair was up in a messy bun. But I was also shocked, because, surrounding her, were dozens of figures in black coming at her. They seemed to appear out of nowhere and as she did something that would literally kill them, they turned to smoke. Sweat poured down her face, wetting her clothing, but she kept going with a spark of determination in her sapphire blue eyes.

I knocked on a nearby tree, and I saw her give me a quick glance before all the figures went up in smoke. She walked over to me, panting, and managed a smile.

"Hey, Bella. Whats up?" She asked like it was a normal event. I looked at her with wide eyes.

"Uh ... what were those things?" I asked.

"That was just a spell I use to practice my offence and defence skills."

"How often do you do that?"

"Every morning unless I'm on a quest or mission or whatever you want to call it." Huh, so I guess it is a normal event.

"So," she said. "What brings you here?"

"I got bored." I said merely and she nodded, giving me a look of understanding.

"Not time for school to start?"

"Not yet. I don't want to be too early, and I definitely don't want to be late. Are you going to school?"

"No. Sorry."

"Why not?"

"I got things to do around here. Not to mention my stepmother keeps bugging the crap out of me. Plus, I'm not registered. Maybe next year."

"Last night," I said, changing the subject. "You told me that elves stopped aging at about seventeen or eighteen years old and that you stopped at seventeen." She nodded, telling me she remembered. "I was just curious as to what your real age is."

"I was born about two hundred years ago." She looked up.

"You should start heading to school soon." She said. I nodded in agreement and headed back to the house, waving good bye. Raindrops started to fall and I hurried even more to my truck. When i finally got there, I sighed. It was warm and dry. I stuck the key into the ignition and cranked it up. The vehicle roared to life and I groaned. Just another thing to give me attention. I should have known this truck would have a flaw. But then I shrugged, it was better than riding in Charlie's cruiser, and that was a fact.

I found the school rather easily, which surprised me because this is my first time going there. It was just off the highway, like pretty much everything else in Forks, and you could only tell it was the school was by a wooden sign. It was more like a collection of houses with so many shrubs and trees I couldn't see it's size at first.

Unsure, I decided to park infront of the first building. There was a small sign over the door that read 'office' and though I was sure it was off limit since no one else parked there, I decided that I should get directions before I make myself look like an idiot by circling in the rain. I walked down the small, stone path that was lined with bushes and pushed open the door.

It was very warm and bright inside. The office was small and awards and notices covered the walls and a rather big clock ticked loudly in the silence. There was a long counter that was cluttered with wire baskets, filled with papers. I walked up to a red-haired woman behind the counter. She looked up as I approached.

"May I help you?"

"I'm Isabella Swan," Was all I was able to get out before awareness lit up her eyes. Of course, I thought bitterly, I should've know people would have gossiped about me before even meeting me.

"Of course," She said, digging through a stack of paper. She handed me my schedule and what appeared to be a map of the school. Picking up a highlighter, she began to highlight all my classes and routes that I should take. When she was done, I thanked her kindly and returned to my truck. I moved it into what appeared to be the place for students to park. As soon as I had my car parked I pulled out my schedule and map, hoping to have it memorized so that I won't be looking at it all the time.

Students started to arrive and I felt a wave of relief as I realized that most of them had older cars like me. Back in Pheonix, it was not uncommon to see a new, flashy car. Here, the most flashy car was a silver Volvo, which stood out. I stuffed all my books into my backpack and slung the strap on my shoulder, feeling slightly nervous. They don't bite, I told myself as I got out of the car. I pulled my hood up to hide my face as I made my way around the cafeteria and to building three.

The classroom was small and I hung up my coat like the people infront of me. I gave my slip to the teacher, Mr. Mason, and I saw him gwak as he read my name. I flushed into the color of a ripe tomato at the disencouraging reaction. I was genuinely grateful that he just sent me to my seat without introducing me infront of everyone. I skimmed over the reading list Mr. Mason had given me and realized that I had already read everything. I didn't know if I should be happy about that or not. I let my mind wander as the teacher began to drone on and on.

There was a nasal buzzing sound and I realized it was the bell as a gangly boy with skin issues and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to me.

"Isabella Swan, right?" He seemed to be the overly helpful kind of guy.

"Bella." I replied as everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me.

"I'm Eric. What's your next class." I suddenly became grateful that I had memorized my schedule.

"Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six."

"I'm heading to building four, I could show you the way, if you want."

"Thanks." We got out jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I could have sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. I really hope I'm not getting too paranoid.

"I'm guessing this is a lot different tan Phoenix, huh?"

"Extremely."

"Does it rain much there?"

"About three or four times a year."

"What's that like?"

"Sunny, warm, and dry." I told him.

"You're not very tan. Did you stay inside much?"

"No, my mother's part albino." I could hear slight bitterness in my voice as I mentioned my mother, but I was sure that Eric couldn't hear it.

He studied my face apprehensively, and I sighed. It looked like clouds and a sense of humor didn't mix well. Either that or people in Forks didn't know how to take a sarcastic joke. Eric lead me around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric walked me right to the door, though it was clearly marked as Mr. Jefferson's Government class. He wished me good luck before heading to his own class

the rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the suject he taught, was the only one who mad me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. I spoke so quickly that I was sure no one could understand what I was saying, and practically ran back to my seat.

After two classes, i began to recognized several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how i was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic ... by telling lies most of the time, I guess. But at least I never needed the map.

One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. she was small, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair mad up a lot of her height. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes, not even bothering to try to keep up.

We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends that she introduced to me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed to be impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. Eric waved at me from across the room.

It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, (AN: Here comes Edward (finally) YAY!!!! Let the romance begin!) trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and the weren't eating, though they each had a tray fo untouched food in ffront of them. They weren't gawking at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught, and held, my attention.

They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big -- muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond. The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze-colored hair. Her was more boyish than the others, who looked lith they could be in college, or even teachers here rather than students.

The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl aroud her take a hit on ther self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back, reminding me a lot of Zerlinda's hair. The short girl was pixielike, thin in the extreme, wiht small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.

And yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in the sunless town, including me and Zerlinda, who was almost as pale as me but not quite. They all had very dark eyes despite the range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under their eyes like they weren't getting enough sleep at night.

But it was not even all this the reason I couldn't look away.

I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. They were faces you neverexpected to see unless it was in a modling shoot or movie or magizine. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful, but I was able to narrow it down to two. The perfect blond girl, or the bronze-haired boy.

They were all looking away from each other and the other students and anything in particular as far as I could tell. As I watched, the pixie girl rose with her tray and walked away with a grace that should be on a runway. She threw away her tray and glided throught the back door, faster thank I would have thought possible. My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging.

"Who are they?" I asked the girl whose name I had forgotten.

As she looked up to see who I meant -- though probably already knowing from my tone -- suddenly he looked at her, ther tinner one, the boyish one, the youngest perhaps. He looked at my neighbor for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to mine.

He looked away quickly, more quickly than I could, thought in a flush of embarrassment I dropped my eyes at once. In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest -- it was as if she had called his name, and he'd looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer.

My neighbor giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like I did.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said under her breath.

i glanced sideways at the beautiful boy, who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them.

Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kinds of names grandparents had. But maybe that was in vogue here -- small town names? I finally remembered that my neighbor was called Jessica, a perfectly common name. There were two girls named Jessica in my History class back in Arizon.

"They are ... very nice-looking." I struggled with the conspicuous understatement.

"Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all together though -- Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, I thought critically. But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip.

"Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked. "They don't look related..."

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thrities. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins -- the blondes -- and they're foster children."

"They look a little old for foster children."

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."

"That really kind of nice -- for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."

"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, I would presume the reason was jealousy. "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness.

Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here.

"No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."

I felt a surge of pity, and relief. Fity because, as beautiful as they were, they were outsiders, clearly no accepted. Relief that I wasn't the only newcomer here, and certainly no the most interesting by any standard.

As I examined them, the youngest, one of the the Cullens, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression. As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation.

"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I asked. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye and he was still staring at me, but not gawking like the other students had today -- he had a slightly frustrated expression. I lloked down again.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don'e waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he'd turned her down.

I bit my lip to hide my smile. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted as if he was smiling too.

After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. they all were noticeaby graceful -- even the big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. The one named Edward didn't look at me again.

I sat at the table with Jessica and her friends longer than I would have if i'd been sitting alone. I was anxious not to be late fore class on my first day. One of my new acquaintances, who considerately reminded me that her name was Angela, had Biology II with me the next hour We walked to class together in silence. She was shy, too.

When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at the black-topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used to. She already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat.

As I walked down the aisle to introduce myself to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on hisface -- it was hostile, furious. I looked away quicckly, shocked, going red again. I stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch myself on the edge of a table. The girl sitting there giggled.

I noticed that his eyes were black -- coal black.

Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he hd no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by him, bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given me.

I didn't look up as i set my book on the table and took my seat, but i saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me, sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, i sniffed my hair. It smelled like strawberries, the scent of my favorite shampoo. It seemed an innocent enough odor. i let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher.

Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down.

I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally throught the screen of my hair at the strange boy next to me. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale sking. This, too, he never relaxed. he had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly brother.

The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was finally coming to a close, or because I was was waiting for his thight fist to loosen? It never did; he continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn't breathing. What was wrong with him? Was this his normal behavior? I questioned my judgment on Jessica's bitterness at lunch today. Maybe she was not as resentful as i'd thought.

It coudn't have anythingto do with me. He didn't know me from Eve.

I peeked up at him on more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shringking against my chair, the phrase if looks could kill suddenly ran through my mind.

At that moment, the bell rang loudly, makingme jum, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose -- he was muuch taller than I'd thought -- his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat.

I sat frozed in my seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. It wasn't fair. I began gathering up my things slowly, trying to blck the anger that filled me, for fear my eyes would tear up. For some reason my temper was harwired to my tear ducts. I usually cried withh I was angry, a humiliating tendency.

"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" The voice of a male asked.

I looked up to see a baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefull gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way. He obviously didn't think I smelled bad.

"Bella." I sighed, tired of correcting people, but giving this boy a small smile.

"I'm Mike."

"Hello Mike."

"Do you need help finding your next class?"

"I think I can find gym by myself, thanks." I told him, walking away.

"That's my next class too! We can walk there together!" I supressed an internal groan from becoming external as he walked excitedly next to me.

As we walked, I quickly realized that he was a chatterer and supplied most of the converstaion which made things rather easy for me. He use to live in California until he was ten, so he could relate to me. It turned out he was in my English class also. He was also the nicest person I'd met today.

"So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never see him act like that." Mike asked as we entered the gym. I cringed. So I wasn't the only one who had noticed. And, apparently, that wasn't Edward Cullen's usual behavior. I decided to play dumb.

"Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" I asked artfully. I was a genius at lying since I had to do it plenty of times to keep Phil from beating me. I still got beaten, but not as much as I would have if I had told him the truth, and I knew that for a fact because I started out being truthful to him.

"Yeah," Mike replied, bringing me out of my terrifying flashbacks. "He looked like he was in some serious pain or something."

"I don't know" I responded. "I never spoke to him."

"He's a weird guy." Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have taked to you."

I smiled at him before walking through the girls' locker room door. He was friendly and clearly admiring. But it wasn't enough to ease my irritation.

The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found me a uniform, but didn't make me dress down for today's class. At Arizona, only two years of RE. were required. here, PE was mandatory all four years. Unfortunately. I wasn't clumsy, in fact, I was actually more graceful than most humans sinse I use to take ballet and other kinds of dance classes. I just wasn't a huge fan of sports unless you count dance which some people do and some don't. (AN: I totally do!)

I watched for volleyball games running simultaneously. I rembered how many injuries I had sustained practicing dance steps. overextending my hamstring while I was trying to go into a full right split when I didn't have it and could get my hand to the ground fast enough. Slamming my left, little toe into my dresser do a tourjete' -- a ballet leap where you jump hight in the air with one foot up and turn 180 degrees, landing on the opposite foot -- and breaking it in the process. (AN: Both of these are very possible and I know because both of them have happened to me and the hurt like h**l!)

The finla bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong and colder. I wrapped my arms around myself. When I walked into the woarm office, I almost turned around and walked back out.

Edward Cullen stood at the desk infront of me. I recognized again that tousled bronze hair. He didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I walked over to stand infront of the couches, waiting for the recepionist to be free.

He was arguing with her in a low attractive voice. i quickly picked up th gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time -- any other time.

I honestly just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something else, somethign that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger coud take such a sudden, intense dislike to me before even speaking to me.

The door opened again, and the chilled wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. The girl who came in merely stepped to the desk , place a not in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me -- his face was absurdly handsome -- with piercing , hate-filled eyes. For an instant, I flet a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. I took a few steps back before my legs ran into the edge of the couch and I collapsed onto its soft cusions. The look lasted only a few seconds, but it chilled me more than the fierce wind outside. He turn back to he receptionist.

"Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice as soft as velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." Andhe turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door.

I went meekly to the desk, my face white for once instead of red, and handed her the signed slip.

"How did your first day go dear?" the receptionist asked maternally.

"Fine," I lied, a reflex answer to the question.

When I got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. I sat inside for a while, just string out the windshield blankly. But soon I was cold enough to need the heater, so I turned the key and the engine came to life. I drove back to Charlie's house, fighting tears the entire way there.


A lot like the chapter in the book, I know. This story is going to be like that to a certain extent. But I will add some of my own things in there too obviously otherwise it wouldn't be a fanfiction, right? I don't know if I mentioned this in the last chapter, but this is my first Twilight fanfic, I usually do Maximum Ride fics, so reviews are grately appreciated, of course, when are they not.

Happy Valentines Day, too, everyone who's reading this!

-Destiny / MaximumRide95