Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning after 9 am, which is something I had never been able to do before. It felt great to have a couple of hours extra sleep in the morning. When I went downstairs, I found no Charlie, but I did find a note on the kitchen counter.

Got called into the station. Hope you'll be okay on your own for the day. Left some money on top of the fridge and the keys to the spare truck with it. Love, Dad.

Guess I was gonna have to entertain myself today. I didn't mind, I needed to get the groceries anyway, and I needed to pick up some new clothes and get my hair done. I started school back on Monday and the shorts and t-shirts I brought back with me from Jacksonville weren't going to cut it in the Forks weather, no matter how cute they were. I ran upstairs and threw on the warmest clothes I could find, then trodded back downstairs, ready to leave. Just as I was reaching for the money on top of the refrigerator, the phone rang. I suddenly felt a little out of place. Should I answer it? After all, I only just moved back in. Did I... have the right to answer it? Of course I did, I lived here too, I thought after a moment.

"Hello?"

"Bella? It's Jake." The voice on the other end said. Then he added, "Jacob Black."

"Oh, uh hey, Jacob."

"Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"No, no. I was just, uh, no." Why was I so nervous?

"I was wondering what you were doing later on. I know Charlie's coming over to watch the game later, and I was just uh, hoping you were coming too." Did he just say he was hoping I was coming over? "I mean, we're doing burrito night."

I couldn't help but smile at that. Burrito night? "I didn't know if I was invited. Isn't football kind of the guys thing?"

Jacob laughed. He still had the same laugh! "I guess. You don't have to come if you don't want to, I just thought, you know-"

"No, it sounds great. I'll be there." Before I even knew what I was doing, I was agreeing to do 'Burrito night' with my father and the Black family. But before I could do anything, I needed to get some food into these cupboards.

The 'spare truck' was an orange 1953 Chevrolet pickup. The same truck Charlie had had since I was a baby. I never understood why he didn't buy a new car, he was Chief of Police, he could afford it after all. Men and their vehicles, I guess. It probably had some kind of weird sentimental value.

I decided to go all the way to Port Angeles for the shopping, because Forks didn't have a lot to offer. I got the groceries done in an hour and spent a couple more hours buying clothes, with my own money. Charlie didn't know I actually had a lot of money saved away. It was hard to find cute clothes to wear in Forks because the weather kind of dictated everything, but after a while I found a few nice things. Then I had my hair appointment – I had premade the appointment when I was still in Jacksonville. By the time I was done, it was 4pm and I had to rush to get the food home and packed away before I needed to get ready to go to the Black's place. Charlie was there when I arrived home.

"Hey, kiddo. Billy tells me you're coming along." He greeted me as I burst in the door, arms full of grocery and shopping bags. I put them all on the floor and began packing them in the refrigerator and cupboards.

"Jacob invited me. Hope I'm not putting a damper on your guys night."

"'Course not. It'll be good for you to get to know the guys. Jake's a good kid." He smiled a little as he said that but I ignored it.

Changing the subject, I said, "So when were you planning on going? Jacob never really told me when. Should I get ready now, or...?" I knew I'd need some time to get ready anyway, so I was hoping he wasn't in any rush to get going.

"We'll go around six. Billy had things to do today so I'll give him time to finish up." Charlie said, then grabbed the newspaper and started reading. Good, I thought. Now to get upstairs and beauty-fy.

I dumped my new clothes on the bed and stared at them, kind of waiting for one of them to jump out at me and say 'Pick me!'. In the end I decided on light blue torn jeans and a fitted white long-sleeved shirt with a black jacket to throw on if it got cold. My hair was still done perfectly from the salon earlier so I didn't have to worry about that. I had had the colour darkened a little so it was more in between chocolate-brown and dark-brown, and I had it cut and styled just so it was tidier. Looking at myself in the mirror, I smiled. New Bella. If anyone remembered me from childhood, they certainly wouldn't recognise me now.

Edwards POV

We were well into it by now. Emmett, Jasper and I had made our way back to my place when we knew that my sisters had left on their trip with Esme and Carlisle. I had never bothered to ask where they were going, all I cared about was how long they were gone for and when they were leaving.

The boys and I were currently in my living room, drinking the beer Em had brought and the stash of Jimmies Carlisle thought he had hidden secretly away. We had a game playing on TV and of course, Emmett was really into that. Jasper and I weren't so much into sports as he was. We all loved a good game of football or baseball, but we were never as over the top as he was about it. He was actually currently screaming obscenities at the screen, so Jasper and I shot into the kitchen while we still had our eardrums completely intact.

"So, how're things with the 'it' girls?" Jasper smirked, referring to Candace, Delilah and Kelly – three best friends in our year at Forks High who had, or they thought, complete rein over the school. They dressed in the latest designer clothes, drove the latest model cars and had a queue of girls wanting to be just like them. They were complete bitches, but they were the hottest things in this tiny, godforsaken town. "I'm really surprised they still haven't found out that they are all dating you behind each other's backs."

I let out a short laugh. "They're clueless, honestly. It's been 3 months. Any girl with half a brain would have caught on by now. I'm not even careful about it anymore, there's no point."

"Don't you ever want an intelligent conversation, though? I mean, they're hot, and easy, but I couldn't imagine being with anyone who didn't know the difference between Barack Obama and Osama Bin Laden."

It was true. If I asked them to tell me the difference, they wouldn't have an answer. Jasper was right, it was a little tiresome and it was getting a little boring just having sex with these girls then having to listen to their squeaky little giggles and empty flirts afterwards, but I'd never let on that I was more than my player facade.

"Woah, Jas. Are you sure you're a dude?" I laughed. "It's a dream come true. I get sex whenever I want it and I don't have to put in any of that 'relationship' effort. Telling them I'm not allowed to date during the school year to keep my grades up and they had to keep it a secret was the best thing I ever told those airheads."

"FUCK YOU, YOU FILTHY TOWEL FLICKERS!" Emmett screamed from the living room. He got rowdy when he drank and clearly his team was not winning.

"Maybe we should get out of the house before he starts throwing things." Jasper suggested. I agreed, remembering having to explain how Esme's priceless vase she got from her grandmother was shattered into a million pieces after the last time Emmett had let loose.

"We should head to La Push," I said mischeviously. "I'm keen for an evening dip."

Bella's POV

Burrito night was in full swing. Charlie and Billy had the game on, and a few other guys from the Quileute tribe had come over, whom Jacob introduced to me as Sam and Paul, as well as his two friends that were in the diner yesterday, Embry and Quil. The spread on the table was phenomenal and I wondered how we were going to get all the food that was there, but once I saw all the guys get started on it, I started to wonder if there was going to be enough food for all of us.

Sam, Paul and our two dad's were all paying attention to the screen so Jacob, Quil, Embry and I decided to take a walk down on the beach. It was already pitch black outside but Jacob's friends wanted to take a dip – how, in this freezing cold weather, I had no idea – and I didn't mind stretching my legs either.

"So, how are you liking being back in Forks?" Jacob asked, kind of awkwardly, as we walked side-by-side.

I shoved my cold hands in the pockets of my jacket – I knew bringing it was a good idea. "Well, it hasn't changed."

Jacob smiled. "Na. It never does." He looked out at his friends, who were yelling and splashing each other with sea water in a rather jouvenile way, for a moment. "I heard you're starting back at Fork's High on Monday."

I nodded. "Do you go there?" I expected that he would go to La Push High, but I asked anyway. He surprised me, by saying, "Yeah, actually. La Push and Forks schools merged last year. The towns are both so small, so they didn't see a point in having two schools anymore. I'm a Sophomore though, so no classes together." He smiled cheekily, and for the first time I recognised something familiar about this large boy in front of me. His smile was dazzling and you just couldn't help but smile back at it. It was infectious.

"Drat." I joked back. "Anything I should know?"

"As far as teachers go, they're all pretty understanding. Except Mr. Hammond. Don't even think about handing anything in late to him. You would have to be dying to be excused by that guy. The students are okay too. There are a couple you wouldn't wanna be paired up with as lab partners, obviously, but for the most part it's a pretty friendly school. There are the 'It Girls', though."

"The 'It Girls'?" I snorted.

"Candace Freedman, Kelly Moore and Delilah Sutherland. Think they run the place and for the most part, they kind of do. Daddies are all rich business types." His face shrivelled up like he was smelling something foul as he talked about them. "And they're all massive airheads. They're all dating the same guy. Everyone knows it, but them."

"Who?" I asked. This sounded more like a soap opera than the high school I was attending on Monday, it was intriguing.

"Edward Cullen. Speaking of which-"

"Hey there, Black!" A voice called from the bank above us. A black Hummer was parked crookedly up there, and three guys, two on the bonnet of the car, and one standing on the roof, were looking down at us. "Didn't expect to see you here!"

"Surprise." Jacob muttered back. The three guys jumped down off the Hummer and made their way down the bank towards us, each holding a beer in one of their hands. They were drunk, you could see that from a mile away. The biggest one had dark hair, huge muscles and was actually incredibly handsome. He had a mischievous look on his face that really suited him. The other two were about the same size. The first was blonde and although he was intoxicated, he carried himself with a kind of military stance. The last one was extremely good-looking. He was tidy, dressed very well and I could tell he came from money. When he spotted me he stopped for a second, just looking at me. He caught himself and realised that he was staring, though and took his attention off me.

"This your girlfriend, Jakey?" The big one asked as he came over and threw a heavy arm over Jacob's shoulder. He was definitely big, but Jacob almost matched him.

Jacob tensed when the big guy touched him and I suddenly didn't really know what to do with myself. I could tell this wasn't a friendly meeting. "Get off me, McCarty. You reek." Jacob told him.

"That's not very nice, Jacob." The good-looking one said. "He was only asking a question." Turning his attention to me, he went on. "What are you doing with a drop kick like Black? Come on up with us, we've got beer."

Jacob tried to dive at him but Emmett had him under a lock. "Leave her alone, Cullen."

"No thanks." I said, smiling sweetly. "I was actually having fun down here with my drop kick friend. Now, if you'd let him go, uh..." I looked up at the big guy holding Jacob, beckoning for his name. He seemed like a bit of an idiot, because when he saw me look up at him sweetly his big-man facade disappeared and he smiled back just as sweetly. "Emmett." He told me.

"Right, well, we were actually heading back to Jacob's," By now Quil and Embry had joined us, seeing the meeting from the water, "you're welcome to come with us if you like." I could sense all three of the Quileute boys giving me a look, but I carried on. "I'm sure my father Charlie would be pleased to meet you."