2. The Same Sounds

The parking lot to Forks High was busy, cars weaving in and out, students blocking turn lanes. Rosalie made a sharp turn, and I nearly requested a vomit bag after tumbling to my side in the back. Jasper sat in the front, calm, collected, and was practically serene. It was beyond me how he drove with Rosalie to school every day. My nerves were about settled when Rosalie stomped her pedal and screeched into a parking spot near the front, in the process frightening a poor sophomore who sat behind the wheel of her dingy car trying to catch her breath.

"Sorry!" Rosalie smirked, tossing her hair and grabbing her book bag beside me. I scrambled out of the car and tried to flash the girl a sympathetic smile, but I was still catching my own breath. "Kids should really learn how to drive in this fast paced world. They'll never get a parking space driving like that."

"That, or they'll probably die at the hands of Rosalie Hale," I muttered. Jasper grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

Another year for Rosalie, Jasper and I at Forks High. It was unusually warm in Forks this September and the air was thick. I found it hard to breathe, and I considered the weather, but my inability to breathe correctly was probably a direct effect from the nerves I was experiencing all week.

Jasper whistled when a group of juniors in jean miniskirts passed us. "Goodness, I must remain a southern gentleman, but these girls are making it difficult."

"Seriously, Jazz? That's skanky, not pretty," Rosalie blurted.

Sometimes I wondered how I had stayed friends with Rosalie all these years. I glanced down at my outfit, and I'm sure my pair of small plaid shorts, a black tank top and sandals did not meet her standards either. In contrast, Rosalie and Jasper both dressed is designer brands and always looked well put together. I could point to a cover of Elle and Rosalie was probably wearing a similar outfit.

"Skanky or pretty, they're pleasing to the male eye, dear sister," he laughed.

We were walking towards the entrance when I noticed a small group of seniors. Mike was leaning against the granite wall, his arm loosely draped around Jessica's shoulders. His smile was bright, the small creases by his eyes significant, his laughter loud and infectious. His fellow teammates roared with laughter at some, I'm certain, dirty joke, and they all gave each high fives. Jessica leaned into his embrace and rested her small head on his shoulder, her face filled with pleasant content.

"Is that Newton and Jessica Stanley?" Rosalie asked, her voice laced with disgust.

"Oops," I giggled. "I forgot to tell you guys. Mike and I broke up this morning," I said, nervously awaiting their reactions.

"Oh. Okay, well it's not like it's surprising or anything," Rosalie replied, indifference seeping into her voice. "Everyone knew you were screwing around with Jacob. That, I still don't understand either."

"Everyone? I highly doubt everyone at school knew that. You, Jasper, and maybe even Mike knew, but that's it. Mike and Jessica on the other hand . . . I think, deep down, my dad even knew," I whispered, my face turning a light shade of red.

Jasper softly rubbed my shoulders. "Hey, it's fine. Everyone knew you two were over months ago. It just took you guys a while to officially end it. You'll move on and meet a great guy. If that guy is Jacob Black, then it'll work out between you two . . . at least eventually, I hope. And Mike actually looks happy with Jessica. She's not the brightest girl, but you know . . . whatever floats your boat."

Reasonable, logical, Mr. Cool Jasper. I could always count on him to make me feel better. He had an uncanny ability to pin point your exact emotions.

Rosalie scoffed at her brother's reasoning. "Oh god Jazz, what guy actually thinks like you? This is why you've repeatedly gotten your heart ripped out and broken by every whore in school."

"Come on Rose . . ."

"No, Bella. Stop and just listen. I understand why you did it. Or why you waited for so long. You broke it off when you were ready, and I respect that. You move at your own pace. Jasper, on the other hand, wears his heart on his sleeve. His feelings are constantly manipulated by little whores."

I wanted to hide behind a tree. I wanted to escape the inevitable burning glare from Rosalie. "Actually, Mike sort of initiated the break up this morning," I said, nearly inaudibly.

"What! You let Mike Newton dump you?" she asked, appalled at the thought. "Okay, I change my mind then. Jasper is a hopeless romantic, wears his heart on his sleeve, is a pussy at heart and you, Bella Swan, are simply lazy. Mike had been your boyfriend for so long, and you were just so lazy that you couldn't even dump him . . . a year ago when you wanted to. Am I right?"

She looked pleased with herself, almost smug and certainly gloating. "God Rose, you're so right, like all the time." I rolled my eyes.

"Okay! I am not a pussy!" Jasper retaliated.

I laughed. "Oh Jazz. Fine you are not a pussy. You're simply a sensitive guy."

"Exactly!" he exclaimed. "I am simply sensitive to others' emotions. That's why I feel for so many people."

"Right." Not exactly what I meant.

"Yeah, okay. Just promise me you won't get your heart broken this year and run home to Lenore crying your eyes out. Because then she'll just make all your stupid little southern comfort foods for a whole week and I'll have fat chicken thighs and be 10 pounds heavier by the end of the week!" she said, pulling at the imaginary fat on her stomach.

"Rose, you don't like mom's cooking?"

"Oh god, why would you even ask that? Of course I do! Why do you think I gained all that weight at the end of last semester when Alicia Moore dumped you for Eric Sampson?"

"Mmm, Lenore Hale-Whitlock food is amazing." My mouth was beginning to salivate just thinking about it.

"You should come over for dinner soon. Mom really misses you. I mean, you live across the street from us now," Jasper smiled.

"Thanks. I'll make an appearance soon."

I felt bad about everyone I had ignored the past few weeks, but I was putting the finishing touches on my portfolio. To be honest, I wasn't surprised Mike chose today to break up with me. I hadn't made any effort whatsoever to even see him the past few weeks. And as we approached the small group, there he was, happier than ever.

I felt like I was in a fish bowl. This is how I knew I lived in a small town, when everyone in the school was staring me. They were staring at me not because I had made a huge, embarrassing scene and had fallen on my face, but because each and every student knew that Mike and I were now over. In just a few hours, my entire town knew my life story.

I waited for him to say something. What seemed like another minute went by and nothing? Rosalie stood there switching her focus between Mike and I, amusement apparent on her face.

Reluctantly, I made the first move. "Hey Mike," I smiled, my cheeks a little sore at how big my smile actually was.

He grinned. "Hey Bella." And just like that, we both knew that everything was fine between us.

Everyone, on the other hand, knew absolutely nothing. They awaited for a bitch slap, perhaps even a catfight on the front lawn of the school. Now that's a way to start a school year. Jessica shrank into the wall and tried discreetly to remove Mike's arm on her shoulder. He, however, continued his strong grip on the girl and simply smiled at me. I get it Mike, you and Jessica are together and you're making a strong statement. However, anything I said in response to Jessica would come off as catty because I'm the ex-girlfriend. Double standards, they're so unfair.

Leveled voice, not too much smiling. Don't come off as fake. "Hello Jessica."

She brushed her bangs aside and looked at me, her face turning a bright red. "Hey Bella."

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys later," I finished awkwardly. I entered the building feeling every set of eyes on my back. I didn't want to turn around, but I felt compelled to. Sure enough, everyone was staring at us. I waited for Rosalie and Jasper to join me, but Rosalie had other plans.

"Oh my god Jessica, that's such a cute top!" she exclaimed, the sarcasm pouring out of her mouth. She pulled on a loose thread at the bottom of Jessica's shirt and smirked. "Seriously, adorable."

She laughed and pulled Jasper in the doorway with her.

"God Rose, you're worse than Regina George," I sighed.

"Oh! Are we quoting Mean Girls now? Yay!"

We made our way to class, and I was looking forward to simply listening to a teacher lecture for at least an hour. That way, although I knew that every single person was gossiping about Mike, Jessica and I, I didn't have to hear or see it. First period, Jasper, Rosalie, and I all had AP English with Mrs. Kenston. I was really happy with all the AP courses Forks was offering this year. We had the basics in biology, English, and calculus, although I tried to convince Principal Thomas for an AP Art class, but I had to settle for independent study.

We lingered in the front of the class, chatting idly as I tried to ignore all the glares or smiles directed my way. Mrs. Kenston finally rushed into class, her hair in a messy bun and wearing yet another odd and eccentric dress to class.

"Okay class! Let us open our minds to literature and written works from talented and unique artists. Everyone be seated in alphabetical order, but!" she exclaimed, waggling her one finger, "alphabetical order by first name."

I made my way to the very first set of tables figuring there couldn't be too many students with names starting with A. I was about to sit in my chair when a petite brunette with a short and stylish bob walked into class. She had a dainty yet powerful stride and she smiled brightly at everyone in class.

"Well, I am familiar with every person's face except yours. Who may you be?" Mrs. Kenston asked, curious as Forks hadn't received any new students the past year, let alone a student enrolled in her AP class.

The girl passed Mrs. Kenston a small piece of paper. "Hi, I'm Alice Cullen. My father is the new chief at the hospital and we just moved to Forks today."

A neighbor who was a doctor could come in handy.

"Ah, but it looks as though you should have a brother enrolled in my course as well."

"Oh yes, Edward Cullen. Er . . . he must still be filling out some paper work," she said, frowning slightly.

"All right, have a seat next to Bella Swan. Okay, class, turn to your partner and introduce yourself Yes, yes, we all know most of you know one another, but at a literary perspective, let us discus our favorite authors, books and works of arts!"

Alice set her bag down and turned to me. "Hi!"

"Hi! I'm Bella Swan."

"Oh, I know. You're Chief Swan's daughter."

I must have looked surprised and or scared because she gasped. "Oh! Wow, I sound like a creepy stalker. No, your dad stopped by this morning to introduce himself, and he told us that you went to school with us but had already left with . . . uh I think the Hales?"

I laughed, a bit relieved. "For a second there I thought you were reading my mind, or this town is much smaller than I thought. Yeah, the Hales—that's Rosalie and Jasper Hale," I said, pointing in their direction.

She glanced at Rosalie but held her focus on Jasper a tad longer. He lifted his head and smiled at her. Oh dear.

"So anyways, I hope Charlie didn't tell you any stupid and embarrassing childhood stories of mine, especially since I wasn't there to defend myself . . ." I trailed off as I saw that Alice began to laugh. "Oh god, he did, didn't he?"

"Oh, no. I mean, it wasn't that bad. Somehow Halloween came up and he told us about that one time you vomited into your pumpkin shaped candy holder," she grinned.

"Oh Charlie . . . telling everyone my life story."

"No, it was super cute. I promise, we only laughed a little."

She glanced in Jasper's direction again, and I laughed. "He's single, but please, don't break his heart if you're going after him. Rose will kill you." Alice blushed. "No, really, I'm actually really good friends with them, well more so with Jasper, but I love Rosalie anyways."

Jasper stared at me, obviously curious. "If they're in the same year, are Rosalie and Jasper twins?"

"I never thought about that. I guess they do look alike, but no, they're stepsiblings. Rosalie grew up in New York and her dad, Christopher, if you ever meet him, is so nice and understanding, he was this hotshot banker. But then when she was seven, her mom died in a car accident and Mr. Hale asked to be transferred to Houston. He loved New York, but everything about it reminded him of his wife."

"That's so sad," Alice frowned.

"But eventually, he met Lenore Whitlock, who is Jasper's mom. Jasper's dad died when he was really young so Chris kind of just fit right into his life and then they changed his last name to Jasper Hale, and that was that. Chris and Lenore got married, and two years later she was sick of Chris being obsessed with work, so she threatened to leave him and take Jasper if he didn't take a break. So they all up and left for good 'ol Forks, Washington where Jasper's dad was originally from. Rosalie has done a lot of moving, but they've been here since I was 10 or so, and we've been friends since. Rose and I share our hatred for Forks. She really misses New York, and I actually think she hates Forks more than I do."

I let out a big sigh. I think I've told that story to a million people, and yet I'm always out of breath after I'm done.

"You hate Forks? I think it's kind of charming," Alice giggled.

"Charming?" I snorted. "Perhaps, if you've been here for 10 minutes, but it gets old . . . really fast."

I was about to ask her about her brother when Mrs. Kenston clapped her hands. "Okay, class! I hoped you all read my email and syllabus I sent out last week. Please pull out your copies of Faulkner's As I Lay Dying and let's dive right in!"

I pulled my book over and glanced over at Alice who was nervously raising her hand.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Kenston, but I wasn't able to check my email the past few days, and I don't have a copy of the book. I apologize," she said, embarrassed already on her first day of class. I felt bad for the girl.

"I'll grab a copy from the library, Mrs. Kenston," I suggested.

"How kind of you, Ms. Swan. Okay, that sounds good. Grab two copies in case Mr. Cullen arrives as well."

Alice smiled at me and mouthed a thank you before I closed the door. As I entered the library, I spotted Mrs. Carlson, our wonderful school librarian. I was always here reading books and asking her questions, and I got to know a side of the lady not many students got to see.

"Hi Mrs. Carlson!"

"Bella, sweetheart. How was your summer? Do any good reading?"

"Not as much as I wanted to, but I was focusing a lot on that application to NYU," I sighed.

"Don't worry about it. You'll get in. I believe in you," she replied, smiling softly at me. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, I'm just here to check out two copies of As I Lay Dying for Mrs. Kenston."

"Well, you definitely know where that is."

I had read it a few too many times, but I loved those Bundrens. I thanked Mrs. Carlson and made my way into the aisles of books. I took a sharp turn when suddenly, a wooden ladder appeared. I crashed into the wood and was knocked back into the section of D, fiction.

"Ouch." I rubbed my head before a heard a plop as a pair of feet appeared next to the ladder.

"You should really watch where you're going. Death by ladder isn't the best thing to recite in a eulogy."

I looked up to see a rather tall teenage boy with blonde, almost copper-like hair smirking down at me. I had absolutely no idea who he was so I made an assumption. "Edward Cullen?"

"That's me." He leaned down and offered me his hand. As I stood up and brushed some dirt off my legs, I looked at him once more. He didn't look anything like Alice and was extremely tall. He couldn't be shorter than six feet. His light hair was messy and fell partially into his face—they nearly covered his brilliant green eyes. He was quite handsome, but the snarky smirk on his face made me reconsider any feelings I may initially have had for his physical appearance.

"Thanks," I muttered. "You know, you should really be in AP English right now."

He squinted his eyes at me, and then returned to his browsing. He picked up a book and turned to a specific page. "Is that so? I figured I could just read some Dostoyevsky for an hour, which by the way I'm quite surprised your library offers, rather than sit in on an hour of AP English," he mocked," and read . . . what is it that you're reading? Perhaps Catcher in the Rye?"

"Actually no, I was here picking up a copy of Faulkner for your sister. I was going to get your copy as well in case you showed up for class, but I doubt you will now." I'm certain I was practically sneering at the boy. "That's quite ignorant of you to assume our librarian wouldn't carry some Dostoyevsky."

He snapped his book shut and laughed before smirking once again. "Defending your small town, are you? How cute."

I was taken back at his remark. Was I actually defending Forks? How many hours did Rose and I talk about leaving Forks and never coming back? We were going to go to school in the city and never look back. Yet, here I was defending my hometown to a stranger.

"No . . . I mean, Mrs. Carlson is a great librarian and knows her literature."

He smiled before paging through yet another book. "Sure. I guess." He walked further down the aisle thumbing along the books. Once he found what he was looking for, he pulled it out and chucked it at me.

"As I Lay Dying, correct? It's pretty standard."

I barely caught the book and saved myself from yet another embarrassing fall as I grabbed onto the wooden ladder. He walked back in my direction and stood directly in front of me. He towered over me, but he leaned his head down to stare at my face.

"I suppose if you like Forks, it's a bit charming. I can't say I'll be staying once we graduate," he muttered.

"And where is it that you're going?"

"University of Chicago." The answer came immediately. He didn't have to think about anything, like he always knew he would go there. It was like my NYU.

"Where do you . . . or I mean, what do you plan to do after school?"

As if I weren't going to go to university. The nerve of him!

"NYU. Tisch School of Arts to be specific." I said it with determination, as if I wished and willed it, it was true.

His eyes widened just slightly. "Hmm, how ambitious of you."

"My god! You are so snobby. You're like . . . forgive me for my choice of words, but the cockiest guy I've ever met."

"Oh really? I heard that girls secretly love guys who are cocky," he whispered, his face mere inches away from mine. And again, there appeared his stupid and obnoxious smirk.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, it was so nice to meet you Edward Cullen. Don't forget to bring your copy if you do decide to come to class."

I was just about to turn and exit the doorway when he said something that really surprised me.

"Nice to meet you Bella Swan."

Odd, because I had never told him my name.

_________________________________________

By the time I made it back to class, everyone was putting away their books.

"Nice to have you back, Ms. Swan. Next time, be a bit quicker, yes," Mrs. Kenston said, her eyes filled with suspicion. "And only one copy! Goodness."

I practically slammed the copy down in front of Alice.

"My god! Your brother is so frustrating."

"You saw Edward! I figured he was skipping. He's taking the move to Forks the worst," she said quietly.

"Ugh! I have never met anyone more condescending and insufferable in my life," I groaned, as I tossed everything into my book bag.

"I'm sorry. He must have been in one of his moods. He's really a nice guy once you get to know him. Trust me, I've known him since I was a kid."

My face scrunched in confusion. "What do you mean, he's your brother, of course you've known him since he was kid?"

Alice laughed. "Oh god, I forget you have to retell your life story when you move. You haven't met him yet, Emmett, who is also a huge giant, is our other brother. Emmett, Edward, and I are actually all adopted by Carlisle and Esme, our parents."

"Oh." I didn't know how to respond.

"It's okay," she smiled. "Carlisle and Esme really are wonderful people. Emmett and I were adopted when we were babies because each of our parents had died. Edward, on the other hand, was only adopted after he had turned 15. But he did grow up with us as children. There's another long story, but Edward can tell you that when he wants to."

"Right . . ."

"But yeah, if you bump into Emmett, I'm sure he'll be much nicer to you than Edward. He's huge, so you can't miss him, but he has brown hair like me, albeit it's curly, it's still brown like mine. We tend to pass off as brother and sister more so than with Edward because of his blonde hair."

Suddenly the bell rang, and I was unusually relieved that I wasn't going to hear more of Edward's life story. I didn't need to know his background and give him reason to be understanding.

"What's your next class? I have biology."

I groaned. "Lucky, I have gym. I hate it."

"Aw, I was hoping I would have someone to walk me. I have no idea where anything is just yet."

Just then Jasper appeared. "Oh, I have biology next. I could walk you," he smiled.

Rosalie stood to the side rolling her eyes. "Hi, I'm Rosalie. This is Jasper. He wants to get in your pants probably," she muttered.

"Rose!" Jasper yelled.

"Alice, Jasper. Jasper, Alice," I said, trying to hold back my laughter.

"Hi," she giggled.

"Hey," he said, nearly giggling as well.

"Rose, please tell me you have gym with me," I pleaded as I grabbed her arm.

"Nope, social studies it is for me."

"Ugh, this morning sucks!"

"Tell me about it."

"I guess I'll see you all at lunch?"

"Yeah, definitely," Alice said, smiling ear to ear as Jasper offered to carry her books.

Oh god, Jasper.

I made my return to the fish bowl as I tried to find my new locker for the year. I was so sick of all the staring that I grabbed my sweater from my bag and pulled up the hood. It felt like I was an undeserving reality star that had suddenly been exposed in a sex tape, and the tabloids were after me. By the time I got my combination to work, a hand suddenly snapped the locker door shut.

"Bella . . ."

Oh god, please god no . . .

"Eric! What's up?"

"I heard about you and Mike. I'm so sorry." He leaned on my locker and sighed. "If I were him, I would have never let a girl like you go."

"Uh . . . thanks, I guess." Please go away.

"So, I know that we're both senior editors for yearbook this year, so I was thinking we could go do some shooting later. I heard you got a kickass Canon over the summer," he grinned.

"Er, maybe Eric. I really have to go to class."

Forgetting about putting my things in my locker, I rushed towards anywhere that wasn't near Eric.

"Okay! Later then!" he yelled behind me.

I entered the girl's locker room, and was yet again, surprised . . . in an awful sort of way.

On the bench sat Jessica, Lauren Mallory, and Angela Webber. Angela tried to smile at me, but all I could focus on was Lauren's whispering.

"Lauren, stop," Jessica said uncomfortably as she stared at me.

Lauren stood up and walked pass me. "Hey Swan," she smirked.

Angela, who had always been nice to me, shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry about her. How was your summer?"

"I'm really sorry about not calling you back the last few weeks," I said sheepishly.

"No, it's cool. I understood that you were busy. See you out there," she smiled, as she made her way out to the court.

Jessica and I remained on opposite sides of the locker room, just her and I.

She coughed nervously before staring at me. "Uh, Bella, I'm glad I caught you in here. I . . ." she paused so she could walk over and sit next to me. "I just wanted to say I was sorry as to how everything was . . . let out. I hope everything's cool between us."

"Yeah . . ." you fucked my boyfriend, "it's cool."

She sighed in relief. "Good," she half-smiled. "See you out there. We're playing volleyball!"

I sat there a little stunned. I was cornered in a locker room by my ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend and now I'm about to go play a game of volleyball against said girlfriend who also happens to be the varsity volleyball's team captain. This couldn't possibly be karma for my sleeping around with Jacob when Mike and Jessica slept around so much more than I did with Jacob. But the list in my head totally said I had bad karma. My life was a bad teenage comedy, except I wasn't laughing, and everyone else was.

1. My day began with my boyfriend dumping me.

2. I sent out a creative portfolio that was bound for a reject stamp.

3. I nearly died in a car accident with Rosalie and Jasper . . . and that poor sophomore.

4. I now live in a fish bowl.

5. Edward Cullen is an asshole.

6. Eric will not go away. Yearbook begins soon.

7. Jessica is going to kill me with volleyballs. Death by volleyballs is much worse than death by ladder.

I changed into my gym clothes and reluctantly made my way out onto the court. The girls were warming up on one half, and on the other side Mike was shooting some basketballs with the boy's class. I almost turned back into the locker room when Mike yelled my name.

"Bella!"

"Mike . . . we have a class together," I feigned excitement.

"I know, weird, isn't it? You're taking all these AP classes this year that I didn't think we'd be in any together. Thank goodness for required physical education, right?" he laughed.

"I hate you," I grumbled.

He knew me better than that. He knew me when I was five and I hated playing on the seesaw because it took too much damn work to teeter-tot before I would eventually fall off onto my face. He knew that when I rode my bike over to his house, my dad made me wear a helmet, elbow pads, kneepads, and wrist pads . . . despite living two blocks down the road from our old house. He knew that the one game of softball I played, the ball bizarrely drove into my head and gave me a concussion at 13. He knew me far too well.

"Bells, watch out for Jessica's balls." He burst into laughter.

"You're such a boy. This is why we're broken up."

"No really though, she has a great serve. Good luck," he laughed, as he made his way to his side of the gym again.

I stood at the back of the court, precariously waiting for any flying balls. For the first set, the girls stuck to the front of the court and I was safe. I turned to watch Mike dunk a few shots when I noticed, literally, a giant standing next to him. Upon longer and closer inspection, he was the same guy that was carrying boxes into the Cullen house this morning. This must be Emmett Cullen. He didn't look anything like Edward, but Alice was right about her similar features shared with him. I laughed when I saw that Emmett had lifted a small freshman and given the poor kid a chance to make a shot. He was already a million times nicer than Edward in my mind.

I was about to walk to the drinking fountain as an excuse to miss out on more of class, when suddenly, a sharp pain radiated from the side of my head, and I was hitting the hard gym floor with a loud thud.

It seemed like a million faces were surrounding me. I could hear a few distant voices.

"MALLORY! What did I tell you about spiking it like that during class!"

"Sorry coach."

"Seriously, Lauren, stop picking on her."

"Honestly Jessica, it's far too easy. She makes herself a target."

"Oh god, that looks painful."

And then appeared Coach Martin's face, like a giant ogre, but not green. I think I might've shuddered in fear.

"Swan! Can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?

"Was that a ladder that hit me?"

"Er, no. It was volleyball. We're playing volleyball," she said, picking up a ball to put in front of my face. "A volleyball," she said slowly, as though I was mentally retarded.

"Oh, yeah," I mumbled.

"Angela, could you go and grab some ice with Swan?"

I was a little confused as I was being picked up, but I could hear Angela's voice. "Here, lean on my shoulder."

"Leaning," I laughed deliriously, as I leaned on her. "I don't get it . . . it was just a volleyball. Ouch!" I winced, as I touched the side of my head.

"You better leave it alone. I can already see it swelling. Lauren hit it pretty hard and it was coming directly at you . . . and well, you weren't exactly paying attention either."

"Right . . ."

"Here, sit down."

I glanced across the gym to see Mike eyeing me with concern. He ran over to me just as Angela handed me a pack of ice.

"Wow . . . Bella. That doesn't look good. I told you to watch for those balls!" And in seconds he was snickering again, but instead of his sole laughter, he was joined by Emmett Cullen, who ironically caused this accident.

"Bells, this is Emmett Cullen. Emmett, this is Bella Swan."

Angela waved goodbye as I looked up at this giant, and apparently said exactly what I was thinking.

"You really are a giant man."

His laughter was annoyingly loud and I think it might've given me a headache in addition to the pain on the side of my head. I tried to cover my ears.

"Ugh, shut up."

"Whoa, Bella, be the nice girl I know," Mike chuckled.

"Sorry, my head hurts. Sorry, Emmett, I know you're nice, because you're not your brother Edward "Asshole" Cullen. Alice was the one who told me you were a giant, so blame her about that remark," I slurred, as I placed my head between my knees.

He laughed even louder this time.

"Oh, so you've met my little brother. Yeah, he can be a jerk, but you learn to love him."

"Doubtful," I muttered.

"Who's Edward?" Mike asked, curious as he had yet to meet the third Cullen.

"He's my other brother. You'll eventually see him in classes, but probably not this week. He always pulls this shit where he skips out on the first week, and then he comes in and miraculously aces every class. He really doesn't need to try because he's so damn smart."

"Yeah, a condescending smartass."

Emmett boomed with laughter and smacked me in the shoulder. "Bella, you're hilarious!"

"Hmm, he sounds interesting. All right, lunch is coming up, so I'm probably going to hang with Jess. You okay, Bells?"

I pushed into the wall and slowly stood, making sure to not let my head lean near the hard wall. "Ugh, yeah, I'm fine. Emmett, I'm actually supposed to meet up with your sister and some of my friends for lunch. You can join us."

"Yeah! How about we change and then I can walk you to the cafeteria so you don't bump into anything else that could possibly harm you," he smiled.

"Thanks," I laughed.

When I entered the locker room, a small group of girls quieted as I got closer. Jessica ran up to me, alarm written across her face. "I'm so sorry! I swear, I didn't tell Lauren to hit you or anything."

"Yeah, it's fine. I get it. You're not a crazy bitch trying to come at me. I get it." Wow, I really don't have a filter when I have a near-accident head injury.

"Oh okay, I hope it doesn't bruise too badly," she winced when she glanced at my ice pack.

I changed as quickly as I could without removing the ice from my head, because the second I did, the stinging pain returned.

Emmett was waiting near the exit and it was comical to watch him standing in between a group of freshmen boys and the JV cheer team. "Ready?"

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry you to lunch? Because I will if you want," he grinned, his dimples prominent on his face.

"No," I mumbled. "I don't need any more attention than I already have from this morning and more now that I have this stupid ice pack to put on my head."

"Oh yeah, Mike kind of mentioned something."

I was immediately curious as to what he might have said. Boys never say what they mean—it's always in this boy code.

"What did he say? Oh dude, I fucked around with Jessica for like almost our entire relationship, and everyone at school knew. Now that we're broken up, nobody knows how to act around us. Something like that?"

"Pretty much," he said quietly.

"Fine, I know how you boys are with your secret codes."

"But you and Mike are still friends, right?"

"Oh yeah. We'll be friends for a long time. Why?"

"Uh, I think I'm joining the football team this season, so I didn't want any unnecessary animosity between two people I actually liked at school."

"Mike is fine. Edward, however, is another story," I groaned.

When we entered the cafeteria, I'm sure every student was creating a story as to how I got the ice pack on my head. I could just hear them.

She and Jessica wrestled! It was hot!

Jessica hit her with a baseball bat!

She got Elyse to sit on her face.

Rosalie stood up as I sat down at the table. "Oh god! What happened to you now?"

"Lauren hit me in the head with a volleyball . . . by accident."

"That bitch!"

"It was pretty intentional," Emmett piped in.

Rosalie suddenly focused on Emmett and her eyes lit up with recognition. "You're the boy from this morning! It takes a really strong man to bring in all those boxes," she said, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Give it a rest, Rose," I blurted.

"Forgive Bella, her head injury makes her say crazy things," Emmett laughed.

I sat at the lunch table rubbing my swollen bump as Rosalie and Emmett got to know each other. It was really pathetic as to how fast Rosalie threw herself at the guy. She didn't need to at all—the girl was so beautiful. She could dress in a potato sack and every guy in Forks would still grovel at her feet for just one date. Emmett seemed like a nice guy though, so I wasn't too worried about anyone taking advantage of Rosalie just yet. I was about to doze off when Jasper and Alice appeared with five trays packed with food.

"We thought we'd buy everyone lunch since we all saw you sitting here."

I mumbled a "thank you" but was barely conscious enough to sit up.

"Oh no, Bella! What happened?" Alice asked, her concerned face appearing by my head.

"Volleyball. Head," was all I could get out.

"I'll tell you later," Emmett laughed.

"Jasper, this is Emmett," Alice smiled. "My brother."

Jasper frowned, probably a little scared at Emmett's size.

"Wow, so many introductions today. My head hurts, can this day please be over?"

"You're right, she really has no filter," Rosalie nodded along with Emmett.

"Okay, I have biology, social studies, and calculus, although I'm thinking of leaving after fourth period if anything else bad happens today. Anyone else have class with me?"

"Bella Swan! Lucky you, you and I have biology together!"

"No . . . no. No! Please tell me that is not Edward Cullen," I mumbled. Disregarding my sheer laziness, I didn't even have to lift my head off the table to know that it was him. The day was progressively worsening.

"Edward Cullen. Nice to meet you two," he said, smiling charmingly towards Rosalie and Jasper.

"Bella, he may be an asshole, but he's cute," Rosalie said. All the years I knew this girl, I don't believe she ever spoke with any filter.

"You came to the conclusion that I was an asshole after just 10 minutes of talking to me? Wow, I think I'm flattered," he said, starting at the ice pack. "What's the injury from?" he asked, as he slid away my tray of food and started picking at the fries.

"Volleyball," Alice said.

"That's comical and much better than a ladder," he chuckled, as he made an attempt to cut in half the sandwich on my plate.

I grabbed it and tossed it in the trash just as he was about to take a bite and glared at him. "I'll see you guys later."

I pushed my way through a group of sophomore girls and made my way to biology, which thankfully was an empty classroom. I had never been more relieved for solitary than this moment. The entire day was a train wreck, and all I wanted was to dive underneath my comforter and sleep for days on end. The black lab table felt like a feather down pillow, at least the side without the injury, and then unexpectedly I felt my shoulders relax and the tension seep out of every tightened muscle of my body. The lab tables and the school windows opened to the busy streets of Greenwich Village and I was among a throng of people, the streets filled with adults, teenagers, and children, in which I had no inkling of their names. The continuous chatter was like a pleasantly soft humming, and of the clips of conversations I did hear, none of them included the words Mike, Jessica, or Bella. I practically skipped down another block as my eyes grazed over the beautiful skyline of the tall buildings. Perhaps I would take a ride through Times Square, and immediately, a bright yellow cab appeared on the side of the street. The driver waltzed to my side and opened the door, his arms out directing me into the backseat. His face was a tad burnt, perhaps from the scorching sun of New York's summer, but his eyes crinkled into creases that gave the old man a sense of charm and humor. Everything and everyone was so nice that I wondered if it would be too weird to give my driver a hug. As I leaned in, his charming smiled turned into an obnoxious smirk. I couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth.

"Swan, I have to say drooling is on the bottom of my list of attractive features."

And like that, I was suddenly back in AP biology.

"Ugh . . ." I wiped at my sleepy eyes and lifted my heavy head to observe my surroundings. A few students were settling in their lab seats, and Mr. Molina was in the front situating the projector. I pondered the thought of just leaving class, but Cullen was blocking my escape.

"Hi partner!" he grinned, sliding into the stool next to me. "I sure hope you believe in evolution. Do you know the difference between mitosis and meiosis?"

"Get out."

"Swan, we have class together. I can't just leave."

"No, get out of that seat. Seriously, like now, before Molina—"

"Okay class! Turn to the person sitting next to you. This is your lab partner for the rest of the year, so get to know one another."

"Does that . . . " I groaned.

"Fantastic! With your ambition and my intellect, I think we'll be a great team, don't you?"

"Cullen, I don't even . . ." I noticed he had already begun writing on the sheet Mr. Molina had passed out. He was writing frantically, switching from scratching down a few numbers, to measuring the diameter of the beaker in front of us. It was odd to watch him concentrate on something academic longer than five minutes after watching him flip through numerous books earlier that morning. I suppose Emmett was right in saying that his brother was smart, but it was hard to label him as anything other than asshole. Yet, I was still curious to find out more about him.

"Do you enjoy biology then?"

He reluctantly lifted his head from the worksheet and stared at me. "Yeah, I guess."

"But you skipped AP English meaning you enjoy science more?"

He set his pencil down and swiveled his stool towards me. "No, I didn't say that. I think you're making assumptions now."

"Okay, so you enjoy English more?"

"Yeah."

"It doesn't explain why you skipped out on class this morning . . ." I said, more confused now than before.

"Science is . . . practical for me. I like it when there are experiments and problems that need solving. It's structured and is given to me by some instructor. Like I said this morning, I can read on my own."

"How very independent of you," I sighed.

"It's a good a characteristic to have," he laughed.

For once, his face wasn't scrunched into a smirk, and he was rather attractive when he was like this. I watched him measure a cup of water before he abruptly stopped.

"Are you going to help, Swan?"

"Oh, sorry. My head still hurts. I don't know if I'll stick it out with you on this one," I said, trying to smile at him.

He eyed my pack of melted ice and waved Mr. Molina over. "Could I walk Ms. Swan to the nurse's office? She's not feeling well after an injury she sustained during gym class, and I would feel so much better if I could escort her there."

"How nice of you, Mr. Cullen. Sure. Ms. Swan, I do hope you feel better."

I shot Mr. Molina a strained smile before collecting my books and exiting the room with Edward. I racked my head as to what to say to him, but it didn't help that he was simply leaning against the wall of lockers and smirking at me yet again.

"Uh . . . thanks, I guess."

Edward laughed, his head thrown back, completely relaxed. "Sure Swan." He stepped to my side and threw his arm loosely around my waist. "It's also a great reason to skip out on class too. Let's get to you to the nurse's office before you run into something else."

I rolled my eyes at him. Of course.

We arrived in the office just as Nurse Dalton was finishing her wrappings on a freshman's wrist. "Oh Ms. Swan. Your certainly didn't wait too long. What is it now?"

Edward shot me a look and whispered, "Oh, you have a history, do you? You should really meet Carlisle."

"Gym accident. I don't really mind the bump, but I have a horrible migraine that won't go away."

"All right, let me get something for that."

Edward waited until she was clearly out of the room before he jumped into the seat beside me. "Migraine? Good one."

"I do have a migraine," I said, confused. "And it's certainly not going away."

"Really? Hmm," he replied thoughtfully.

"You don't believe me?" I rubbed the bump on my head for emphasis. "Seriously?"

"I mean . . . it was just a volleyball," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Nurse Dalton returned with a few pills in her hand. "Here Swan. Drink all of it," she said, referring to the tall glass of water. I downed it, all the while glaring across at Edward's face. He seemed bored as he peeked out the window.

"Mr. Cullen, is there a reason why you're still here?"

"I should turn on the charm," he whispered in my ear. "Nurse Dalton, how are you today?" he smiled. She visibly softened and her toe tapping immediately stopped. "It is a great day after all. Poor Bella here just can't catch a break and I felt compelled to walk her down to your office so that she could receive the wonderful care you offer Forks High students every day. I hope you don't mind my presence," he ended, practically batting his eyelashes.

"Oh! Mr. Cullen, your presence is more that welcomed. How is your father doing? Be sure to say hello to him for me," she winked.

"I'll make sure to tell him what a wonderful job you're doing here," he winked in return. "I suppose I should get going though, because I don't want to miss out on calculus. Who else will get those notes for Bella?" he grinned, glancing in my direction again.

"You're such a gentleman, Edward!" she exclaimed, nearly pinching Edward's cheek, holding her gaze on the boy. As if she had almost forgotten about me, she finally turned in my direction. "If you need to rest for the rest of the day, you can stay here until you're comfortable to return to class. You're in good hands if Edward is here."

"I am in . . . good hands," I said reluctantly. "Of course, Edward, you're planning on going to class, right?"

"Of course!" he smirked.

"Good! Well, Ms. Swan, I suggest you get some rest then. Hopefully, I'll see you later Edward."

She barely left the room when I turned to Edward. "Okay, get out."

"I'm appalled by your behavior. I walked you all the way down here, and this is how you repay me."

"Uh . . . okay, thank you for walking me down here so that Nurse Dalton could give me two Excedrin pills. You saved my life. My sincerest gratitude," I spat.

He laughed before he leaned in closely to grab something beside my head. "Really, you should keep this ice pack on your head. I expect to see you in all my classes tomorrow."

He snickered on the way out as I finally laid down on the cot. My head was throbbing slightly, but I was more tired than anything else. Without the threat of flying volleyballs and Edward Cullen, I finally shut my eyes and fell asleep.