Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns everything.

I decided to take some time out from my study and update! Happy? :D

I took out the expensive iPhone Jane had purchased for me as a going-away present and fiddled with it as I waited for my bags to arrive on the conveyer belt.

I saw the bright red leather suitcases as soon as they appeared around the corner, standing out like a sore thumb along the masses of cheap black cases. I tried to hide behind my Prada sunglasses as I grabbed them.

I cleared customs quickly, not having brought much with me for the trip as most of it was being couriered my way.

"Ms. Swan! Bella Swan!" A voice chanted in the crowd of people awaiting the flight in the arrivals hall. Renee never took the time to change my last name from her married one after the divorce. I saw a sign with my name on it in the hands of a well dressed middle-aged man, who was currently waving me over. Santiago had told me someone would be here to pick me up.

I cringed as he told me he had a limo waiting outside, and once I saw the size of the thing I wished I hadn't even thought about coming over here. I tried my best not to imagine everyone in Forks as they saw this thing gliding down the road.

I hadn't seen Charlie much since the Renee escaped with me all those years ago, just once staying with him during the summer while Renee had a 104 day world cruise vacation, not long before we moved to Italy.

Staring at the green landscape outside soon got boring, but seven Sudoku games later the driver joyfully announced we would be in Forks soon, so I gave up on the hard-level eighth game and stared out the tinted windows as I saw the familiar reaches of Forks approach.

I damned Santiago to the deepest pits of hell when I remembered that Charlie's house was across the other side of town from which we would be entering, and the boasting driver showed off his limo to the upmost as he slowly drove though the centre of town.

The limo stopped outside Charlie's small but familiar white two-bedroom house, and my door was quickly opened the over enthusiastic driver – Barry, as is name tag said. I retrieved my bags from the back and declined any help from Barry, thanking him for the service and tipping him. That's when Charlie came out of the house.

He looked older than how I remembered him, crinkles and lines surrounding his eyes and mouth, his hair thinning and greying a little. I suddenly felt glad I had the opportunity to live with him for the remainder of my high school years.

"Hey Bells!" He enthused, relived to see me as he wrapped me in a hug.

"Are you all right? How was the journey over?" He appraised the limo as he asked, but it was nice to know he worried about his child as much as if he had raised me my whole life rather than just a year.

"Um... good, I guess." I looked around at where I would be staying.

Charlie brought his hand up to the back of his neck. "I'm... ah... sorry about Re– your mother, I mean."

I looked down and shuffled my feet, digging a small hole in the ground. "Uh... thanks, Dad."

Everyone here thought that Renee had died in a car accident a few weeks ago, and that I had been in hospital recovering from my injuries before I was shipped off to my next of kin.

"Let's get your stuff inside, then." Charlie suggested, and I was escorted to my childhood room.

Over dinner, Charlie kindly reminded me that he had signed me up for school, but if I didn't feel up to it, I didn't have to go till next week.

I didn't want to inconvenience him, so I opted for going to school the next day. I never got affected by jetlag. And I might as well get the first day over with.

I called Santiago that evening, kindly letting him know he was getting hell from me when I saw him next, and that yes, I had arrived safely, thank you very much. I quickly spoke to Jane, who whined about coming over to keep me company in this "lonely shit of a town".

I declined her offer and said a quick hello to everyone else before hanging up. I looked around my childhood room, which included an old timber study desk with a bulky white computer on top, and a pine closet to the left of the bed. Charlie had picked out the bedding – purple flowers – and put a few photos on the bedside table, mainly of Renee, himself and me. This saddened me, as it seemed like Charlie would never get over Renee.

I unpacked some of my clothes to keep them from crinkling anymore and hung them up – colour coordinated and all. I could feel the pull of sleep coming from my long journey over from Italy, and only just stumbled into bed before dreams of the next day began.

I quickly learned the morning routine in Charlie's house. He would take a sachet of instant coffee and deftly cut the top off, pouring exactly half of the packets contents into his "morning" mug. While the morning news was on in the family room he would wait silently for the water to finish boiling, stirring it into the mug in a clockwise direction when done. When there was enough water in the mug, he would add the rest of the packets contents and stir till mixed, before adding a cap of milk and sitting in front of the TV, sipping his coffee while watching the weather report for the day.

Ten minutes later he left for the diner, asking me if I wanted to join him for breakfast. I declined by holding my bowl of expired cereal and stale milk in the air in front of me.

In some ways I liked the silence for once, as I was usually surrounded by at least ten people in the castle at Volterra. For the first time, I had complete privacy. I sighed contently at the thought.

Yesterday Charlie had shown me the red monster of a truck he had bought me as a homecoming present. It was just the kind of car I needed after learning to drive in the speed machines that Lamborghinis and Ferraris were. I briefly thought of sending Jane a picture and telling her that this is the car I really wanted for my birthday.

The drive to school was short but anxious, as I hadn't attended a school in years. I had never experienced high school, and from the horror stories I usually read in American teenage novels, I didn't feel like I even wanted to experience it. My previous schools in both Los Angeles and Phoenix hadn't been particularly welcoming.

I pulled up outside a brick building which claimed to be the school office, and was greeted warmly by an overweight but cheerful lady at the front desk, who immediately identified me as Isabella Swan without my input. When I enquired about how she knew this, she responded that Charlie had told her. I cringed at the closeness the people in this town had.

My welcome package consisted of a timetable, a map, and the regulations and rules that the school ran by. I saved those for later in the day, while I quickly studied the map in the warmth of my car. I wouldn't be seen as someone who needed a map to get around a series of buildings. Besides, I had a good sense of direction.

I drove onto the main student parking lot and shut off the engine once I parked next to a shiny silver Volvo, one of the most conspicuous cars on the lot.

Students everywhere looked at me curiously as if I was some science experiment as I walked down the pathway to building two, where my locker was supposed to be. I kept my head down and my hood up as I made my way in between the swarms of people, avoiding very nearly tripping over someone's foot.

My locker was clean except for a "Support the Legalise Marijuana Party" sticker on the inside of it.

"Hey! You're Bella Swan, right?"

I turned quickly and saw a short Korean guy enthusiastically staring at me, waiting for my answer.

"Yes, Hi. Um, nice to meet you..."

"Eric." He said, shaking my hand.

"Hi, Eric."

"So what's your first class?"

I looked down at my timetable quickly, but I had already memorised it. I didn't want to seem like a freak.

"Um... Government, with Jefferson." I chuckled internally at the ironic name.

"Oh, me too." He smiled kindly.

I waited for him to say goodbye and walk away to his class, but he waited diligently for me while I fumbled with my locker, walking by my side as I headed for building three.

"So, where are you from?" He asked, striking up small talk.

"Um, I was born here but my mum took me south when I was really young, so I don't remember much. But I just transferred in from Italy."

He looked astonished at this fact. "Wow, so you can speak Italian and everything?"

I nodded at his obvious question.

"That's pretty cool."

"Yeah."

That was the end of the conversation, and we hung up our coats at the front of the class. He bade goodbye to me as he left to sit next to a pretty brown-haired girl with glasses, leaving me to give a bright yellow slip to the teacher up the front of the room.

The first hour of school passed rather quickly, and I found myself rather intrigued with how the high school worked. I was interested in the subjects they were teaching me, since they differed from what was taught back in Italy. The classes and teachers were genuinely interesting, and in the first hour I had already learned a lot about US history.

I had Calculus second, and third and fourth period passed soon enough. During English I was seated next to the brown haired girl with glasses I had seen in Government, and I found out her name was Angela. She seemed nice and genuinely intrigued in Italy, even expressing interest in travelling to the country after she was done with her schooling. She told me where in the cafeteria her group of friend usually sat and asked me if I would like to sit with them.

I found myself waiting in the line for food, only buying a bottle of water, an apple and yoghurt, as I didn't feel like eating much. I still had first day nerves, but they were getting better as the day progressed.

The table Angela was seated at was one of the more crowded ones in the Cafeteria. She had kindly saved me a seat next to her and introduced me to all of her friends when I sat down, which included Eric from earlier this morning.

I mainly listened to the banter going on between the friends, taking small bites from my apple occasionally. I found myself looking around the dreary white room, taking in the cracks in the wall and the other groups of people when I saw them.

The familiar pale skin, the straight backs, the unnaturally beautiful features, the silence, and the unnecessary breathing is what drew me to the five people sitting at the one table isolated at the edge of the room – the furthest away from the bright windows.

Someone giggled in my ear, and I turned to see one of Angela's friends smile at me.

"They're attractive, aren't they?"

I smiled sympathetically at her and turned back to my tray of food, but she continued on anyway.

"The Cullen's. They moved here a couple of years ago from somewhere in Alaska. They're adopted by Dr. and Mrs. Cullen. See how they look like they're not related at all?"

I turned and looked at their table again – this time they were all turned in different directions but still managing to not look at any human in the cafeteria. I wondered how they were keeping their bloodlust at bay as Angela's friend kept pattering on.

"The big guy, he's Emmett, and that's his girlfriend Rosalie, the blond one. The one next to her is her twin, Jasper, who looks like he's in pain. That's his girlfriend, Alice. And the cute one's Edward."

I smirked at her as she swooned unknowingly, her eyes lingering on the last boy she mentioned.

"Jess!" Someone shouted behind her, and she quickly snapped out of her trance and joined in the conversation, leaving me to gaze upon the vampires in front of me.

I didn't even think before I whispered what could have been the most dangerous mistake of my life.

"I know you can hear me."

Sooo... thoughts? Feelings? It would really encourage me to update sooner if I had more reviews!