Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm glad you people like it so far, and I'll try not to get sick of this, too soon.

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Please review!

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Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Chapter Two

Seatbelts, Cab Drivers, and Room 246

My stomach jumped in reaction, as the plane lifted off. I closed my eyes, letting the feeling sink in.

When I opened them, Alice was still staring at me, anxiety wavering on her face. "Bella?"

"I'm okay."

I let my muscles relax as the plane began to glide smoothly through the air, on the way to Los Angeles.

"My parents let us call them by their first names. So basically, Carlisle, my dad, well he's this surgeon. A heart surgeon, which, I guess, is pretty cool. My mom, Esme, she's an interior designer. I don't know if you've heard of her or not, but she's got all these factories all over the place, so we travel around quite a lot." She chattered on excitedly, and I nodded on, listening intently as she practically gave me a life-long description.

The plane had been in the air for around half an hour or so. Alice had been talking for half an hour or so. She only stopped to take a breath, her exuberance never fading within every constant sentence.

"My best friend's called Rosalie Hale, and she's a supermodel-like blonde. Tall. Blue-eyed. Oh, yeah," She laughed when I winced, unintentionally. "She sounds like a superficial bitch, doesn't she? Rose hates that. But she's really nice when you get to know her. A little bitchy when she gets mad, but who isn't?" She giggled again, but didn't notice this time when I flinched in reaction.

It wasn't as if I was complaining. I was listening, and I did find it quite interesting, but it was kind of hard to absorb all the information at once.

No one had every talked to me so vividly before. Shock was running in laps in my head, and I was only getting dizzier by the minute.

"Her brother, is Jasper. He's tall, taller than her, so obviously he towers over me," She rolled her eyes, but then a small smile grew on her face. "We're actually kind of going out. Well, for three years now, so that's not so bad. He's really sweet. And he's got this weird vibe that calms everyone down."

It was like listening to a biography. From the past, to the present, Alice listed off loads of things she loved, she'd done, her friends, her family. If I had a display screen, it would be flashing 'information overload!'.

"So why are you heading to Los Angeles, anyway?" She smiled brightly, waiting for my response.

I shuffled uncomfortably under her penetrating gaze. "School."

She giggled. "Me too! I'm going to this boarding school. Which school for you?" She raised an eyebrow inquisitively, leaning forward with a strangely expectant anticipation plastered across her face.

I bit my lip. Meeting Alice had been enough to send my mind into a whirlpool. Words and images were going round and round, and at this moment, I had completely forgotten my future. "I-I forgot. Sorry." I added a timid smile, hoping to prove that I had forgotten on purpose.

She laughed. "Oh doesn't matter. So how about siblings?" As usual, she easily flowed from one sentence to the next, luckily giving me no chance to stutter up an answer. "I've got two brothers. I'm the youngest."

She made a face, and I added a small smile on cue. "Emmett's huge. Loads of people think he's on steroids, but trust me, he's clean. He just works out like shit. He spends ages in the gym. He's really intimidating at first glance, but honestly, if you knew him, he's just this soft teddy bear on the inside."

From all the description I'd heard, it sounded more and more as if Alice had the perfect life. She had those kind siblings, and best friends, and her parents were, well, no less than perfect. It made me uneasy, and I could feel the existing pit deepening in my stomach.

"Edward, on the other hand, well." She paused, and I didn't miss the disgust that flashed on her face. "Edward's a jackass, really. We're all pretty close, I guess, seeing as the five of us grew up together, and I'm closest with him, since he's sort of my twin, but lately, he's been so distant. I really don't know what to think, to be honest. But anyway, if you want to narrow down his personality, one word would be 'attention-seeker'."

She clenched her jaw for a moment, and I could easily tell that she hated this particular aspect of this Edward. "He loves ladies, and he loves being the spotlight of things. He's a good brother, but as a person, he's just this conceited little rich boy."

I froze as a cold shock of recognition ran up and down my veins. It wasn't the second time I had known someone like that.

Oh, I'd known him very well.

So well, that he had his grip on enough of me, to reach out and break my heart. Then no more then six months later, he came back, only to burn the pieces.

"Hey there, Bella." He walked up to me, a gentle smile on his face. If only I'd known earlier about his superior acting skills. But this was before any contact between us had occurred.

Jake was clean and innocent in my eyes.

So I drank it all in. The first time I met him.

"H-Hi." He told me he loved it when I got all stuttery. He said it was really 'cute'.

"I'm Jacob Black. Quil told me your name." He held out a hand, and raised a confident eyebrow. Quil was in my Literature class, and sat a couple rows to my left.

"I'm Bella. B-Bella Swan." My heart thumped rapidly, as I reached out a trembling hand to shake his. I analyzed every aspect of his beautiful face. The flawless golden-tan skin, the midnight black eyes, and the perfectly straight nose.

I didn't trust people easily. Most of the time, I let my instincts decide who to keep away from, but at this moment, where he was looking directly into my eyes, and as I breathed in his calming, musky scent, my instincts were being seriously overwhelmed.

"I know." He chuckled, his voice smooth and deep. It was like drawing a moth to a flame.

Only the moth doesn't know how far it's being pulled in, before it get's burnt.

"Bella!" Then a loud, slapping noise.

I reacted as if I'd been electrified. My eyes widened, and I jumped to react, one arm wrapping around my torso, the other hand holding my cheek.

My eyes darted around frantically, looking for the source, my heart thumping rapidly.

As my vision slowly focused, I could see Alice, looking quite shocked, her hands an inch apart. She had clapped to get my attention.

I had misinterpreted.

The loud slapping noise...Memories flooded into my head, and I closed my eyes, as if to ease the pain.

Reminiscing Jake had only cut deeper into the wound in my heart, and now recollections of Renee poured in like a second wave, unstoppable, and completely destructive.

"B-Bella?"

I didn't answer. I opened my eyes, and stared firmly on the ground. I tried to slow my breathing, to calm my heartbeat from the shock that had suddenly flashed in my chest.

Though I hadn't even been touched physically, visible tremors ran down my spine.

I wasn't in control. In my mind, I panicked. What would Alice think now? She'd probably state that I was some freak who belonged in some psycho ward, and run for her life as soon as the plane hit the ground.

But I couldn't stop the shivering. Even as voices screamed in my head to get in control, I couldn't stop the involuntarily reactions that had taken over.

"Bella, look at me." Her voice was gentle, but firm. Slowly, yet unwillingly, I ripped my gaze away from the carpeted floor, and nervously made contact with her wide, beautiful eyes.

I didn't say a word. She bit a lip, her eyes analyzing, studying, examining the fresh, clearly visible terror that ran in tremors on my face.

"What was that?" From her tone, it was easy to decipher she wanted the truth from me. Here and now.

I swallowed. I had to lie, of course. That was my only option.

"N-Nothing. I...The seatbelt jabbed into my hip."

Lie better! My sub-consciousness screamed, as I watched nervously, as emotions flickered through Alice's perfect angel face.

"You blanked out for a minute, and then had some sort of shock, because your seatbelt poked you." Sarcasm dripped off every word in her sentence, and her voice was dead flat.

I swallowed heavily, but forced myself to look her directly in the eye. "Y-Yeah."

She sighed, and stared blankly out the window for a moment, her expression thoughtful. "Okay. So. Well. Tell me a bit about you. I've been talking far too long. Any siblings?"

I shook my head, exhaling loudly; relieved by the fact she had dropped the whole incident.

She raised an eyebrow. "So you're an only child?" Finally she laughed again, the cheerful and bell-like, tinkling in the silence of the plane. "Jesus, you have no idea how I wish I was one, sometimes. Emmett has this unhealthy obsession with pranks, and Edward, well; he just pisses the shit out of everyone."

I gave a timid smile, hoping she wouldn't notice the fact that my lips were still trembling slightly.

The second half of the airplane ride would be much longer than the first.

"So, you'll call me, right?" Her eyes pleaded along with her words, as she pressed the piece of paper with her number written on it, into my hand.

"O-Of course. When I can." I didn't raise the fact that I didn't exactly own a cell phone.

She smiled brightly. "Good. I'll see you then. Bye, Bella!" She waved, and skipped off towards the other exit, where I could see a silver Volvo was waiting. I could see her waving to someone behind the glass, her face still glowing with her relentless optimism.

I waved back meekly, and stumbled back to a different exit.

My chest thumped with uncertainty. I was finally in California.

Alone.

I was fucking scared. Though in Arizona, I had adapted over time to the blistering heat, this felt different.

It wasn't temperature. It was atmosphere. Sweat pooled in the base of my palm, as I absorbed my surroundings.

There was no one I knew around for at least the next thousand mile radius, with the exception of Alice, who didn't count since I had not known who she was since an hour ago.

Timidly, I raised an arm at the cab stand.

No more than a minute later, a bright yellow taxi skidded to a stop, and an old cab driver stuck his head out the window. I jumped.

"Where to, girly?" He winked, and I shuddered instinctively in disgust.

"S-Southern California Boarding High." Trying to hold my head up high, I attempted to force some hint of confidence into my voice.

He smiled widely at me, his voice deepening. "Well, hop in, honey."

I glared, trying to look fierce, but with a failed effort.

I didn't want to get in. I wanted to turn, and run as far as I could from this dirty son of a bitch.

But the heat was bounding against my back. I didn't have a bottle of water handy, and my mouth felt as dry as the desert.

Disgust flashed on my face, but I had no choice, so I stepped into the cab, dragging my suitcase with me, shuddering as a blast of cold air hit.

The driver turned around, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Buckle up, sweetheart, don't want you to get hurt, now." His grin widened, revealing rows of yellowed teeth.

Cowering, fear washed up and down my stomach, as I tried to shrink into the gap between the seats and the car door.

"I said," Trying to make myself sound firm, I glared at the driver. "S-Southern California Boarding H-High."

He raised a single eyebrow, but looked away, jamming his foot on the gas pedal.

I gazed upon the scenery behind windows, as we raced by.

"So, where you from, honey?"

I clenched my jaw, trying to ignore his repulsive voice, attempting time after time to strike up a conversation.

"Aw, don't be like that sweetheart." He grinned widely, glancing back at me constantly through his rearview mirror.

I was deathly uncomfortable. Unease pooled in my head, my stomach, my chest, and every few seconds, my hand would tremble involuntarily.

"Hey, is your mother single?" He asked, booming with confidence, and then he cackled off with laughter.

I flinched, shuddering again. I could feel a familiar pooling at the back of my eyes, and I quickly used the back of my hand to wipe away any escaped tears.

The cab driver didn't notice the subtle beginnings of waterworks about to pour.

"How old are you, anyway, sweetie?" That stupid fucking grin.

Pursing my lips, I thought quickly, and then stated flatly, "Fifteen."

It wiped all traces of humor from his face, and he shut up. A tiny voice in my head gave a timid shout of triumph, and I continued to study the view outside my window.

The sculpted buildings. The flashy neon letters, advertising a range of different businesses. High heels. Designer shopping bags. Leather purses.

I winced at the building jabbing sensation in my chest. I was never going to fit in here.

I bit my lip, as mixed emotions erupted in my head. Closing my eyes, I just let it soak in.

"Hey, darling, that'll be-" The cab driver began.

"Keep the change." I slapped a tenner in his hand, and darted out the cab before he could say another word.

Dragging my suitcase with me, I pulled out the forms that Renee had thrown at me a couple days back, out of my duffle bag.

I was in building two. I glanced around nervously, looking for anything to help. My eyes landing on a small map, I quickly memorized the directions.

Walking for around five minutes or so, I had time to analyze my surroundings.

Boarding school.

I had never been so far from home before. Not that it was much of a home to me. Fear pumped in my chest.

I could see a beach about a mile out. I could hear an audible shouts and playful screams.

Unease pooled in my head again. These were typical students, having fun on a normal sunny Saturday.

Something I had never touched, experienced in my life.

I wouldn't fit in here.

I couldn't.

I never fit in anywhere. With a life controlled by Renee, it wasn't easy for me to trust anyone.

Not that anyone wanted to trust me. One look at me, and it was undeniable of the rejection blazing in their eyes.

Why had I been so open to Jake? It was simple. He liked me. He smiled at me. He said he loved me.

It wasn't until a lot later on, I realized it was bullshit.

The embraces. The words. The kiss.

Bullshit.

And if was after that, I started to build thick walls around a broken heart, hoping to shield it from the kind of pain again.

I had learnt not to trust anyone.

Renee. My mother. One of the people who is meant to hold a significant role in a girls life, with a natural, inevitable, loving bond between the two.

That didn't exist between us.

Jake. The one guy who I thought I was supposed to open up to, and willingly pour him my heart.

He crushed it. Ruthlessly.

Time after time, I was being shot done.

I wasn't going to put myself up on the wall anymore. It was too much.

Life was fucking tough. I had to deal with it. Alone.

No matter how hard I had thought it was, it was like I had no choice.

Pushing the tears back, I sighed, as I could finally see the silver lettering 'Building Two' in the distance. Inhaling deeply, I dragged my suitcase up the steps.

"E-Excuse me?" I tapped my fingers on the desk lightly, with the words 'Reception', labeled across.

The red-headed lady looked up. "Yes, dear?" She smiled pleasantly, and I tried to do the same.

"I'm new here. My name's I-Isabella Swan." Timidly, I placed the forms on her table. With one ring-covered hand, she reached out and examined it, her eyes raking the documents behind the thick-rimmed glasses.

"Let me check, dear." She then turned to her computer, and typed in a few things. I could see my photo pop up, as well as my name and age, on the screen. There was a list of information below it. She looked at me briefly, comparing the photograph to my face, and then quickly typed in a few words, too fast for me to see.

"Well, here are your keys." She pulled them out of her drawer. "You'll be in room 246. And, this," She pulled out a bunch of forms from a cabinet. "This is everything you'll need. Your timetable, a map, and information about the school."

"Thank you," My voice was small, as I stuffed the forms in my duffle bag.

"The elevator is on the left, down the hall. You should be on the second floor. Usually, I'd tell you to take the stairs, since it's a short way, but you've got a suitcase, so you're an exception today. Welcome to Southern California Boarding High, Isabella, and have a good year." She smiled again.

I nodded, and walked off to the elevator. I doubted she meant what she said. The words were so typical; they didn't even need a thought, or a meaning. They were just words.

An hour in California. My evaluation of this place hadn't elevated at all.

In fact, I was pretty sure it had only dropped into negativity.

I was never an optimist, anyway.

My eyes were wide as I stepped out of the elevator. There was an audible 'ding', and the doors closed hastily.

I studied the hallway. The ceiling and walls were coated with light beige wallpaper, decorated with a scattered array of flowery patterns.

The carpet was thick, colored with a deep, ocean blue, and it felt soft to the undersides of my shoe.

There were doors on each side of the hallway, constructed with a polished wood mahogany, with the room numbers labeled across in gold lettering.

I walked slowly down the hallway, letting the carpet brush gently against the soles of my shoes.

Room 246.

It was at the end of the hallway, the sunlight in the window beside it reflecting gently upon the metal words.

Slowly, I stuck the key gently in the key hole, jumping slightly when there was a loud 'click'.

I wrapped my hand around the golden doorknob, and twisted it, until I felt it unlock.

Lightly, I pushed open the door.

Word Count: 3180

I got really frustrated writing this, because halfway, I accidently closed the page, and lost about 1000 words. It really pissed me off.

Anyway, what do you think? I guess it was kind of boring, just a filler chapter, but it was kind of necessary, so yeah.

Please review! I really want to know what you think of it so far.

Thanks :)